Tour de France stage 2 York-Sheffield *Spoiler*
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“I am happy [with the result] because there were thousands and thousands and thousands of people and it was really dangerous when we were going at 80, 90 kilometres [per hour] on the decent. To get through a day like today without crashes is a victory. Now it is important to recover, tomorrow is another day.”
-Contador
“I think [Contador] is a lot more relaxed [than last year],” Rogers told CyclingTips. “I think it is quite obvious on TV as well. I think he is really in control of his emotions. He is really in control of his the way he is riding. I see that he is relaxed.”Contador is the Greatest0 -
Majka 15mins down along with three other Tinkoff (admittedly flat land riders). Majka needs to sort himself out. If he rides like a douche bag on purpose then I hope he loses his contract and doesn't get picked to ride the Vuelta.
Riis is claiming they told a number of the riders to knock off and save their efforts with about 30k to go because they reckoned on no GC splits.0 -
frenchfighter wrote:Sep V coming in 15mins down - he should have shown himself on this route and been there to protect Mollema.
Majka 15mins down along with three other Tinkoff (admittedly flat land riders). Majka needs to sort himself out. If he rides like a douche bag on purpose then I hope he loses his contract and doesn't get picked to ride the Vuelta. He better be there in the mountains burying himself for the greatest stage racer of his generation.
Friends: the one where one bad day on a snorter doesn't make you a douchebag....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
crazy situation in holmfirth today mind where marshalls, police, security let people onto the road before the broom wagon (seems like no-one told them what that is) felt sorry for the two lampre guys way off the back !0
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Macaloon wrote:frenchfighter wrote:Sep V coming in 15mins down - he should have shown himself on this route and been there to protect Mollema.
Majka 15mins down along with three other Tinkoff (admittedly flat land riders). Majka needs to sort himself out. If he rides like a douche bag on purpose then I hope he loses his contract and doesn't get picked to ride the Vuelta. He better be there in the mountains burying himself for the greatest stage racer of his generation.
Friends: the one where one bad day on a snorter doesn't make you a douchebag.
Save your breath Mac. Helping Contador to win is aiding "The greatest stage racer of his generation" Helping Froome to win is "The stupid Sky train" . Save wise words for wise people.0 -
Tinkov's tweets on the social media thread are funny.
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"It's a different feeling riding without Cav," Kwiatkowski said. "I honestly really missed him today, he gave a really nice speech to us this morning that motivated us. I hope he is well.
"For me, that was a stage which was close to a stage that can suit my skills, such as Liege-Bastogne-Liege, but with a much higher speed. I suffered so much on all of the climbs. It was not easy to be in the front. But the team was always around me. They really helped me and I could be in the front on the final.
"I think I did my best and I have nothing to complain about. I tried to wait for the finish because I saw some teams there with two or three riders. I thought they'd chase down every single attack. But, finally, Nibali went and the chase was unorganized.
"But no matter what I am happy about my performance and my 3rd place finish. It boosts my confidence. Now, the feeling is back that I had from the beginning of the season and my morale is high. I am happy to do well and, in a way, show Cav that we will fight for him even though he is not here with us."Contador is the Greatest0 -
frenchfighter wrote:Sep V coming in 15mins down - he should have shown himself on this route and been there to protect Mollema.
Majka 15mins down along with three other Tinkoff (admittedly flat land riders). Majka needs to sort himself out. If he rides like a douche bag on purpose then I hope he loses his contract and doesn't get picked to ride the Vuelta. He better be there in the mountains burying himself for the greatest stage racer of his generation.
He had an excuse. Had a puncture on the climb when Garmin were attacking and was left stranded.
As for Majka, he can't just find form that isn't their, because Bertie's best mate gets a late suspension.
But yes, Contador's mountain support does look suspect at this early stage in play."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
No idea if anyone has mentioned this but does the horrible italian national jersey actually help Nibs today as he looked like Fugelsang who had been active 2/3 times before?0
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GSVBagpuss wrote:No idea if anyone has mentioned this but does the horrible italian national jersey actually help Nibs today as he looked like Fugelsang who had been active 2/3 times before?
How does he look like Fugslang with a striking Nat Champ strip instead of the same strip as him?Contador is the Greatest0 -
Also insane crowds at the send-off:
Contador is the Greatest0 -
His jersey is still mostly Astana blue, the same as the one Fuglsang was wearing... is it so hard to imagine someone in that front group catching a flash of that mostly blue jersey going past and thinking "Oh there goes Fuglsang again", not realising it was Nibali until he was clear?frenchfighter wrote:GSVBagpuss wrote:No idea if anyone has mentioned this but does the horrible italian national jersey actually help Nibs today as he looked like Fugelsang who had been active 2/3 times before?
How does he look like Fugslang with a striking Nat Champ strip instead of the same strip as him?0 -
frenchfighter wrote:GSVBagpuss wrote:No idea if anyone has mentioned this but does the horrible italian national jersey actually help Nibs today as he looked like Fugelsang who had been active 2/3 times before?
How does he look like Fugslang with a striking Nat Champ strip instead of the same strip as him?
This is your single best comment on this forum ever.0 -
GSVBagpuss wrote:No idea if anyone has mentioned this but does the horrible italian national jersey actually help Nibs today as he looked like Fugelsang who had been active 2/3 times before?
Have a feeling that everyone except Froome probably knows who Nibali is no matter what he's wearing.
There's a great bit in the ITV pod where Rendell recalls Froome meeting Eddy Merckx at some awful thing in Monaco and Froome asking him for advice because "you won the tour before did nt you Eddy?"
"uuuuhhh yes, sort of 5 times Chris"
"huh"
"and the Giro 5 times too"
"oh..ahem..."We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
GSVBagpuss wrote:No idea if anyone has mentioned this but does the horrible italian national jersey actually help Nibs today as he looked like Fugelsang who had been active 2/3 times before?
I'm fairly sure pros recognise each as much through peculiarities of style as jerseys, and as Nibs has only had it for a week they're more used to him without a tiny flag, I'd have thought. A more interesting question - assuming that they knew it was Nibs and didn't chase - is why did they let him extend his lead so far rather than react immediately?0 -
frenchfighter wrote:Also insane crowds at the send-off:
Minor point of order here - the crowds at the Racecourse send-off were limited by (free, IIRC) ticket, and were therefore disappointingly sane and approved by council policy wonks in triplicate.0 -
It's a bit of a Catch 22 isn't it; we all want to see big crowds watching cycling but the more people there are the more people who will be a bit idiotic (standing out in the road, "selfies" etc). But at the end of the day after two days of racing on tight roads the only serious crash (AFAIK?) was Cav and Gerrans in the middle of a massive wide road. Compare with stage 1 last year with that huge pile up with a couple of km to go.0
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underlayunderlay wrote:GSVBagpuss wrote:No idea if anyone has mentioned this but does the horrible italian national jersey actually help Nibs today as he looked like Fugelsang who had been active 2/3 times before?
I'm fairly sure pros recognise each as much through peculiarities of style as jerseys, and as Nibs has only had it for a week they're more used to him without a tiny flag, I'd have thought. A more interesting question - assuming that they knew it was Nibs and didn't chase - is why did they let him extend his lead so far rather than react immediately?
That one is easy.
Nibali won't be as strong as Froome or Contador in the mountains or TT, so they are confident in taking the jersey there. It means Astana have to work harder controlling the race, working breaks, attacks etc and defending the Yellow Jersey.
2 seconds isn't much, I imagine both wouldn't have minded around 10 - 15 sec0 -
Great stage today, have yet to catch up with all the action but the atmosphere on Holme Moss was fantastic.
The problem with the some people in the crowds is a lack of consideration, or maybe even understanding, of how their actions affect others, especially when the other people are on bikes. People manage to get out of the way when cars and vehicles are passing but don't give cyclists the same room or respect.0 -
If we're so sure they can all tell the difference between Nibs and Fuglsang, then why did Froome chase down Fuglsang? He's pretty low on the list of GC threats.
And if it's so good that that they aren't in yellow, better that Nibs has it by a couple of seconds they can pull back later, then why didn't they just gift the stage to Sagan?
Of course, Froome may have just been racing for the stage originally and then not had the legs for Nibs, but that would put him at risk of being a True Racer or Certified Heavyweight, surely?Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
sjmclean wrote:Nibali won't be as strong as Froome or Contador in the mountains or TT, so they are confident in taking the jersey there. It means Astana have to work harder controlling the race, working breaks, attacks etc and defending the Yellow Jersey.
2 seconds isn't much, I imagine both wouldn't have minded around 10 - 15 sec
I'm sure many of the calculations are instinctive, gained from experience, but I'm always impressed that they don't just chase everything to avoid thinking about it. That was a tricky mixed bunch of riders for the GC guys to juggle. Keeping a cool head can't be easy when the body's on fire....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
No no no, one of the key qualifications for these coveted awards is gaining FF's approval of your riding style and clothing choices. Froome is sadly lacking in these truly vital areas and as such he can never aspire to reach the giddy heights of Certified Heavyweight/True Champion. Heartbreaking reallyNo tA Doctor wrote:Of course, Froome may have just been racing for the stage originally and then not had the legs for Nibs, but that would put him at risk of being a True Racer or Certified Heavyweight, surely?
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No tA Doctor wrote:If we're so sure they can all tell the difference between Nibs and Fuglsang, then why did Froome chase down Fuglsang? He's pretty low on the list of GC threats.
And if it's so good that that they aren't in yellow, better that Nibs has it by a couple of seconds they can pull back later, then why didn't they just gift the stage to Sagan?
Of course, Froome may have just been racing for the stage originally and then not had the legs for Nibs, but that would put him at risk of being a True Racer or Certified Heavyweight, surely?
On the cycling podcast Brailsford was reportedly "adamant Froome didn't attack". Which probably means he did
They were also making a big deal over car placement in the convoy for the cobbles. Pre-stage, Astana were 17th.
They also made the point that Sagan shouldn't have attacked on the descent and shown everyone how strong he was. So they all expected him to ride for the win give that he'd killed himself to get there....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0
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It's like the British honours system. There's a certain equivalency.adr82 wrote:
No no no, one of the key qualifications for these coveted awards is gaining FF's approval of your riding style and clothing choices. Froome is sadly lacking in these truly vital areas and as such he can never aspire to reach the giddy heights of Certified Heavyweight/True Champion. Heartbreaking reallyNo tA Doctor wrote:Of course, Froome may have just been racing for the stage originally and then not had the legs for Nibs, but that would put him at risk of being a True Racer or Certified Heavyweight, surely?
MBE = My man
OBE = True Racer
CBE = Certified Heavyweight
Sir = True Champion
The Queen hasn't given Froome anything, so why should Frenchie?Twitter: @RichN950 -
Macaloon wrote:No tA Doctor wrote:If we're so sure they can all tell the difference between Nibs and Fuglsang, then why did Froome chase down Fuglsang? He's pretty low on the list of GC threats.
And if it's so good that that they aren't in yellow, better that Nibs has it by a couple of seconds they can pull back later, then why didn't they just gift the stage to Sagan?
Of course, Froome may have just been racing for the stage originally and then not had the legs for Nibs, but that would put him at risk of being a True Racer or Certified Heavyweight, surely?
On the cycling podcast Brailsford was reportedly "adamant Froome didn't attack". Which probably means he did They were also making a big deal over car placement in the convoy for the cobbles. Pre-stage, Astana were 17th.
They also made the point that Sagan shouldn't have attacked on the descent and shown everyone how strong he was. So they all expected him to ride for the win give that he'd killed himself to get there.
So we re discounting the possibility of it being a well timed attack from a crafty rider like Nibali then..?We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
ddraver wrote:So we re discounting the possibility of it being a well timed attack from a crafty rider like Nibali then..?
Think exquisitely timed was the phrase I used. The question is why was the reaction different when Froome went, or if Contador had gone. It's interesting because Nibali's making a habit of being allowed off the front. Would be great to see him make them pay one day....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
ednwireland wrote:crazy situation in holmfirth today mind where marshalls, police, security let people onto the road before the broom wagon (seems like no-one told them what that is) felt sorry for the two lampre guys way off the back !
Pretty sure that happened on the alp last year0 -
On the "selfies" front, there's one I'd like to see. On one of the more out of the way drags it looked like somone had his kid posed on the verge sitting on his bike and took a snap when the leading group drew level. If it came out, it will look as if kid was leading the race - well planned (and safe).0
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As far as the crowds go they looked very well behaved to me - the problem was just the sheer volume of people. It's OK saying move back when the riders come back if nobody else moves back all that means is you see nothing and the race is still impeded by someone else. The only way to get people back would be to establish the norm that you stay off the road full stop and get the crowd to self police it - the problem is everyone sees what happens in the Alps and thinks well we'll just stand at the edge then someone else edges a bit further which means if you want to see you go a bit further etc etc. I understand Holme Moss has been closed to traffic for a couple of days so all those fans at the top were cyclists or keen enough to walk up there - in other words they weren't casual spectators yet we still got the encroachment.
The thing with cameras does make it worse and I can't understand why people would rather look at a photo later than experience the event at the time either.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0
