TDF Stage 13: St Etiennie - Chamrousse *spoiler*
Comments
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Thomas had already long before been droppedpowerbookboy wrote:iainf72 wrote:
To date the climbs look like they'd have suited him. Long high tempo drags, no sudden burst. Might also have had a buffer like Nibs after cobbles, plus a TT to back it up. Seems a worse and worse decision to leave him at home, unless the numbers were way off. And why the hell was G windbreaking for Porte? Who's DS in the car?
Wiggins might have had a buffer after the cobbles, but might also have crashed in the rain. Who knows.
Wiggins was dropped by Rohan Dennis in California in the mountains. Nothing this year suggests he would have been up there in the TdF0 -
Still to come:
Contador is the Greatest0 -
Italian TV making a big thing with Nibs about he 100th anniversary of birth of Gino Bartali*
Watching the coverage in sunny Lucca 8)
That was a monster final attack
All the gear, but no idea...0 -
FJS wrote:
2 seconds on a hilly stage and a ride on wet cobbles are not much indication of form in the mountains, right? Suggestion of 'grinta', yessjmclean wrote:FJS wrote:
No need for that. People on here are claiming the opposite, that Nibali would have beaten Bertie and Chris, also without evidence. Why not attack those?sjmclean wrote:Based on what?
like the fan girls you are akin to do you have a nickname for your club?
Well based on the fact he has over 3 minutes on his nearest rival, he also put time into Contador and Froome in stage 2, not to mention the cobbles. I think that is evidence enough to be able to form a good opinion.
But both are proof that he was in good form. That's all I'm saying. Neither Contador, or Froome showed they were.0 -
Breakaway stage win for Neive is all sky are playing for now.0
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Macaloon wrote:Hard not to conclude that Sky know very little about preparing a team for the Tour. Off the back of an invisible GC effort in the Giro, it's borderline negligence, a long way from the accolades heaped on SDB.
You're right... no clue...
Grand tour podiums in 2011, tour wins in 2012 & 2013, another podium in the giro...SDB clearly hopeless!
It's sport - sh*t happens, this year wasn't theirs clearly... you willing to put good money in thinking they won't make amends next year? (hey - here's hoping Froome is on the mend for the Vuelta this year even!)0 -
ContrelaMontre wrote:TimB34 wrote:Enough of the cheese talk - 10 minutes to the start and letour.fr ticker is already bigging up the only remaining jersey battles with any chance of changing - Bardet/Pinot for the white, and Purito/Voeckler for the climbers jersey.
Purito talking about getting in the break.
I don't see the yellow jersey as a foregone conclusion yet. Nibali is favourite, but the race has not gone over 1500m yet or any HC climbs. I think Nibali has been great so far, but you can't rely on brain, tactics and bike-handling when the big mountains arrive. At the finish today we will see if he has any challengers.
Nibali not just the most intelligent, tactical and skilled rider, he's also the best on HC climbs. A worthy wearer of the maillot jaune. Now it is a foregone conclusion bar accident.
Rule No.10 // It never gets easier, you just go faster0 -
Don't get the Sky bashing.
Bad, bad tour, but they won the last two. Can't always win.
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Aah, Hautacam. Lance's old stomping ground.0
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TheStone wrote:Don't get the Sky bashing.
Bad, bad tour, but they won the last two. Can't always win.
If Sky bashing is the pure aim then I see why it happens... pointless that it is though0 -
I was really impressed by Nibali today. That attack was brilliant, I had been wondering when someone was going to take that jersey off him.
I'm a bit down about Porte, he seems to be a really solid guy so it's a shame to see him drop off like that. It seems a strange seeing as he was so strong in the mountains last year.Specialized Allez Sport 20130 -
Tinkoff on Eurosport seems like quite sensible person - I was expecting a bit of a swivel eyed loon...0
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And then he ruined it by saying Contador would be in yellow after today. Oh well...powerbookboy wrote:Tinkoff on Eurosport seems like quite sensible person - I was expecting a bit of a swivel eyed loon...0 -
I must admit that I was expecting the usual Tour stage with Astana riding tempo for most of the climb, then an attack with a couple of Km to go. It was great to see aggressive riding from what is a long way out (relatively speaking) in modern cycling. I really wanted Nibali to lose time on someone, just to give some hope for the rest of the race. Obviously that didn't happen - barring illness or a really bad day he could come out of the Tour with two or three more stage wins and a wardrobe full of daily yellow jerseys (and lions).0
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dish_dash wrote:TheStone wrote:Don't get the Sky bashing.
Bad, bad tour, but they won the last two. Can't always win.
Kick them when they win... kick them when they don't...
Well, if it's a results business, you look at the results and this year....
If this was a surprise then fair enough, back to the drawing board, like they did with the classics squad after the 2013 joke. But they fell apart as a team in 2013, and are getting worse.
I think it reflects a lack of long-standing road cycling know-how in the team. They're being crippled by zero-tolerance (the only approach they have IMO), and seemingly a training regime that breaks riders. And given the reputations of the people involved I think the gentle coverage of their performance is 'interesting': The Knighthood shield....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
putneypeddler wrote:Macaloon wrote:Hard not to conclude that Sky know very little about preparing a team for the Tour. Off the back of an invisible GC effort in the Giro, it's borderline negligence, a long way from the accolades heaped on SDB.
You're right... no clue...
Grand tour podiums in 2011, tour wins in 2012 & 2013, another podium in the giro...SDB clearly hopeless!
It's sport - sh*t happens, this year wasn't theirs clearly... you willing to put good money in thinking they won't make amends next year? (hey - here's hoping Froome is on the mend for the Vuelta this year even!)
Mmm. They had an awesome team for the Tour in 2012, but last year and to date this year, Froome was winning despite the team, not because of it. Whereas you might argue Wiggins won because of the Team. Froome's extraordinary, not Sky of late. They've lost a lot of very good riders and not replaced them with similar talents.0 -
Fuglsang wasn't happy about crashing on VDB's full bottle...0
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powerbookboy wrote:putneypeddler wrote:Macaloon wrote:Hard not to conclude that Sky know very little about preparing a team for the Tour. Off the back of an invisible GC effort in the Giro, it's borderline negligence, a long way from the accolades heaped on SDB.
You're right... no clue...
Grand tour podiums in 2011, tour wins in 2012 & 2013, another podium in the giro...SDB clearly hopeless!
It's sport - sh*t happens, this year wasn't theirs clearly... you willing to put good money in thinking they won't make amends next year? (hey - here's hoping Froome is on the mend for the Vuelta this year even!)
Mmm. They had an awesome team for the Tour in 2012, but last year and to date this year, Froome was winning despite the team, not because of it. Whereas you might argue Wiggins won because of the Team. Froome's extraordinary, not Sky of late. They've lost a lot of very good riders and not replaced them with similar talents.
I'd agree with that - tour teams of 2013 and 2014 don't look a match at all for the 2012 team - and that includes a sprinter which probably wouldn't be ideal unless you're a world champ!0 -
His shoulder looked like the pork tenderloin I'm eating tonight. I'd be angry...ThomThom wrote:Fuglsang wasn't happy about crashing on VDB's full bottle...0 -
ThomThom wrote:Fuglsang wasn't happy about crashing on VDB's full bottle...
He never is happy. Always happy to mouth off about something, be it Schleck, Contador, team support or a water bottle.powerbookboy wrote:
And then he ruined it by saying Contador would be in yellow after today. Oh well...powerbookboy wrote:Tinkoff on Eurosport seems like quite sensible person - I was expecting a bit of a swivel eyed loon...
Well he is correct.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Nibali loves his bananas as does Contador. Food of the greats. Never mind the elaborately wrapped rice cakes. Porte could have done with a banana or two today.
Contador is the Greatest0 -
frenchfighter wrote:ThomThom wrote:Fuglsang wasn't happy about crashing on VDB's full bottle...
He never is happy. Always happy to mouth off about something, be it Schleck, Contador, team support or a water bottle.
You had no idea who Fuglsang was before the Tour so that's quite a statement.0 -
Richie Porte maybe a tad overestimated as a climber?left the forum March 20230
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frenchfighter wrote:Nibali loves his bananas as does Contador. Food of the greats. Never mind the elaborately wrapped rice cakes.
This is amazing.0 -
ThomThom wrote:You had no idea who Fuglsang was before the Tour so that's quite a statement.
That's a funny comment.Contador is the Greatest0 -
ugo.santalucia wrote:Richie Porte maybe a tad overestimated as a climber?
Not based on his 2013 Tour performance or many other performances. Today was well on the outlier scale.Contador is the Greatest0 -
ThomThom wrote:frenchfighter wrote:Nibali loves his bananas as does Contador. Food of the greats. Never mind the elaborately wrapped rice cakes.
This is amazing.
Contador is the Greatest0 -
ugo.santalucia wrote:Richie Porte maybe a tad overestimated as a climber?
Was there ever any doubt? SKY fans aside? His performances this year have been sub-optimal, I don't understand why people were talking about him for a podium place.0
God this race needed Contador and Froome
