Tour de France Spoilers thread 2014

cjcp

JonGinge wrote:

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

JonGinge wrote:

rubertoe wrote:

Porte put over 70 seconds into Nibili in the last comparable TT that they did. I'd expect the same this time.

Don't think the gap will be that big. Nibali only lost 20s to Wiggins in the lumpy 54k ITT in last year's Giro

But Wiggo was ill, wasn't he?

Could be an exciting TT if Nibali fails to maintain a big gap.

True. Still well enough to finish second in the TT but point taken.
Nibali may have been injured during that final 2012 TdF TT, though*, so I'm not sure a 70s besting by Porte is representative of current form.

I hope it's still a contest but I fear it's not. I don't particularly care who wins but I want exciting stages.

* complained of a strained calf muscle after the Peyragudes stage

*Hypothetical episode of Mastermind*

Magnus Magnessossosnsosnsososnson to JG: What was the average speed of the peleton during stage 15 of the 1982 Tdf?

rubertoe

Stage 15: Monday, July 19, 1982, Manosque - Orcières Merlette, 208 km.

1st Pascal Simon: 6hr 34min 41sec

31.12 kph. roughly.

pblakeney

Google is not allowed in Mastermind. And your rough figure is very rough, it should be 31.62 km/h.

I would be extremely impressed if anyone could genuinely recall the figures.

pblakeney

No posts for quite a few days now?
I would hazard a guess that everybody thinks that it is all over?

I would just like to put it on the record that I think Nibali is making the mountains look easy. Possibly too easy.

Kieran_Burns

Who else was screaming at the end of yesterday's stage? I was out the seat shouting to get to the line... poor Jack Bauer he was in tears afterwards and I bet that will be on his mind for a long, long time

jonny_trousers

Kieran_Burns wrote:

Who else was screaming at the end of yesterday's stage? I was out the seat shouting to get to the line... poor Jack Bauer he was in tears afterwards and I bet that will be on his mind for a long, long time

Completely! It could barely have been closer. At least Sagan failed to cross the line first again.

vimfuego

Can't help thinking this has been a poor rest day. Nobody has given expletive riddled responses to questions from journos about doping or anything........

Didn't LeMond describe Nibali as riding "out of this world" and making it look like a training ride? - just saying.
Go on, someone "nibble" this threads gone a bit quiet :twisted:

Kieran_Burns

Paging DDD....

pblakeney

vimfuego wrote:

Didn't LeMond describe Nibali as riding "out of this world" and making it look like a training ride? - just saying.
Go on, someone "nibble" this threads gone a bit quiet :twisted:

I did.

PBlakeney wrote:

I would just like to put it on the record that I think Nibali is making the mountains look easy. Possibly too easy.

rick_chasey

PBlakeney wrote:

vimfuego wrote:

Didn't LeMond describe Nibali as riding "out of this world" and making it look like a training ride? - just saying.
Go on, someone "nibble" this threads gone a bit quiet :twisted:

I did.

PBlakeney wrote:

I would just like to put it on the record that I think Nibali is making the mountains look easy. Possibly too easy.

He's really not.

If he wasn't beating the likes of Pinot and Bardet it'd be more unusual.

He didn't make that much time on the break on Friday after he attacked, with Konig of Nett App endura managing to keep him at 10 seconds. That's not particularly scintillating stuff.

pblakeney

Rick Chasey wrote:

He didn't make that much time on the break on Friday after he attacked, with Konig of Nett App endura managing to keep him at 10 seconds. That's not particularly scintillating stuff.

But it is not only them, it is also people thought to be contenders for the Polka Jersey.
And the time is not what is raising eyebrows but how easily he is doing it. Everyone else is blowing out of their proverbial whist he is on a cafe run.

rolf_f

PBlakeney wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

He didn't make that much time on the break on Friday after he attacked, with Konig of Nett App endura managing to keep him at 10 seconds. That's not particularly scintillating stuff.

But it is not only them, it is also people thought to be contenders for the Polka Jersey.
And the time is not what is raising eyebrows but how easily he is doing it. Everyone else is blowing out of their proverbial whist he is on a cafe run.

He's not sharing the stage end points with Froome and Contador for a start - he's picking up lots of KOM points by default simply because there is no GC competition left.

pblakeney

Rolf F wrote:

He's not sharing the stage end points with Froome and Contador for a start - he's picking up lots of KOM points by default simply because there is no GC competition left.

Again, people seem to be missing my point.
With Froome and Contador out, it is no surprise that he is in Yellow.
That he is in Yellow, it is no surprise that he has the Polka Jersey.

My point is the ease (not time) with which he is dropping those who should be his competition for both jerseys.

He could at least have the good grace to make it look difficult. We will see in the steep slopes of the Pyrenees.

I truly hope that my fears are unfounded but his performance is just too reminiscent of the past for me not to be cynical.

rolf_f

PBlakeney wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

He's not sharing the stage end points with Froome and Contador for a start - he's picking up lots of KOM points by default simply because there is no GC competition left.

Again, people seem to be missing my point.
With Froome and Contador out, it is no surprise that he is in Yellow.
That he is in Yellow, it is no surprise that he has the Polka Jersey.

My point is the ease (not time) with which he is dropping those who should be his competition for both jerseys.

He could at least have the good grace to make it look difficult. We will see in the steep slopes of the Pyrenees.

I truly hope that my fears are unfounded but his performance is just too reminiscent of the past for me not to be cynical.

You need to make your point less ambiguously then!

Nibali isn't really making it any easier than Froome and Wiggo did. There's usually a few GC contenders and then the non contenders looking very slow in comparison. Just because Nibali is on his own doesn't alter that. Is your point is that Nibalis performance in this years Tour looks anomalous or that the GC contenders always look too good as a whole?

I'm more impressed by the insanely remarkable performance of 42 year old Mr Horner - how good he is at blowing away riders of all ages on all gradients.......

pblakeney

Rolf F wrote:

...You need to make your point less ambiguously then! ....

I thought this was fairly unambiguous.

PBlakeney wrote:

But it is not only them, it is also people thought to be contenders for the Polka Jersey.
And the time is not what is raising eyebrows but how easily he is doing it. Everyone else is blowing out of their proverbial whist he is on a cafe run.

If you watched the highlights show last night then there was enough questions asked and skirted around, that I am far from the only person raising their eyebrows.

rolf_f

PBlakeney wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

...You need to make your point less ambiguously then! ....

I thought this was fairly unambiguous.

PBlakeney wrote:

But it is not only them, it is also people thought to be contenders for the Polka Jersey.
And the time is not what is raising eyebrows but how easily he is doing it. Everyone else is blowing out of their proverbial whist he is on a cafe run.

If you watched the highlights show last night then there was enough questions asked and skirted around, that I am far from the only person raising their eyebrows.

I think you are missing my point!

pblakeney

Rolf F wrote:

I think you are missing my point!

No. I got your point. I am just trying to be positive on a new day and drop the subject.
Lets just hope the subjects aren't positive.

I am now moving on with hope in my heart.

vimfuego

ah that's better.... some lively debate.

Hopefully another good day today - must say, I hope the French boys go well - I've got no time for Valverde (a wheel-sucking drugs cheat) and the Bardet/Pinot battle is pretty fascinating. Enough teams looking for stage wins to salvage their tour too, so it could be an interesting day or three.

Paulie W

PBlakeney wrote:

Rolf F wrote:

...You need to make your point less ambiguously then! ....

I thought this was fairly unambiguous.

PBlakeney wrote:

But it is not only them, it is also people thought to be contenders for the Polka Jersey.
And the time is not what is raising eyebrows but how easily he is doing it. Everyone else is blowing out of their proverbial whist he is on a cafe run.

If you watched the highlights show last night then there was enough questions asked and skirted around, that I am far from the only person raising their eyebrows.

Raised eyebrows is the default position for many cycling fans/observers. I think Nibali's performance, however, is not deserving in isolation of suspicion: as others have pointed out he is taking seconds not minutes out of riders on MTFs who have historically been no better than Top 10 fodder at GTs (Valverde, TVG, JVDB) and one or two bright young hopes (Pinot, Bardet). Yes, he looks to be taking it relatively easy whereas Peraud for example looked to be on the limit keeping up with Nibali but how a rider looks is not an absolute guide to how they are feeling or how much they have left in the tank.

rick_chasey

Get double points for MTFs don't you?

rubertoe

Yes rick, you do.

jonginge

Rick Chasey wrote:

Get double points for MTFs don't you?

Yes. Poor old J-Rod.

I think Pinot will need to drop Peraud today or he may lose his podium spot. I'm pretty sure Peraud is the better TT-er.

jonny_trousers

It's a good job Richie Porte's super domestique role was never called upon. Kiryienka's looking good, though.

Kieran_Burns

Jonny_Trousers wrote:

It's a good job Richie Porte's super domestique role was never called upon. Kiryienka's looking good, though.

I did think this myself but as a domestique he would bury himself at the start of the climbs to help Froome. He's now (or was!) in the position where he has to climb the whole thing at GC pace. Clearly he can't do that bit.

vimfuego

Well - a nice shake up on the GC podium (bye bye Alejandro! - just hope it lasts beyond the TT).

And after 3 hard days in the pyrenees, Nibali charges up Hautacam like a scolded whippet.............

?

EKE_38BPM

Mrs EKE isn't a cycling fan but watched the Lance Pharmstrong documentary with me the other day. She saw the end of todays stage and has declared "Nibali is on the juice" after seeing the ease at which he accelerates and how relaxed he looks when everyone else is in bits.
For a novice cycling watcher, I think she has called it very accurately.

rubertoe

Slanderous EKE, but I wholeheartedly agree with Mrs EKE

dhope

Anyone else getting a bit bored of Wiggins soundbites?
Competes on the track, suddenly he's done with the road and the track feels like family. It's the sort of snarky stuff I expect from Lewis Hamilton when he has a bad day, rather than BW

EKE_38BPM

dhope wrote:

Anyone else getting a bit bored of Wiggins soundbites?
Competes on the track, suddenly he's done with the road and the track feels like family. It's the sort of snarky stuff I expect from Lewis Hamilton when he has a bad day, rather than BW

I seem to have missed Wiggo's soundbites. What has he said?

pblakeney

It is is like watching a replay from the 90's,

I stand by all my earlier posts, slanderous or not.

Good race for second though!