Tour de France:- Stage 14: Grenoble - Risoul *Spoiler*

frenchfighter

Check this out and note that Quintana's time was on a MTT. I guess the super fast time was down to AG2R really pushing the pace from the very bottom.

Station de Risoul
2014:12,6 km@6,9%---31:45---average speed 23.81 km/h(Vincenzo Nibali)-RECORD
---32:20---average speed 23.38 km/h(Rafal Majka)
2013:13,9 km@6,7%---36:47---average speed 22.67 km/h(Froome-Talansky)
2010:12,8 km@6,9%---32:36---average speed 23.56 km/h(Nairo Quintana)
2010:12,8 km@6,9%---34:21---average speed 22.36 km/h(Nicolas Vogondy)

FJS

frenchfighter wrote:

Check this out and note that Quintana's time was on a MTT. I guess the super fast time was down to AG2R really pushing the pace from the very bottom.

Station de Risoul
2014:12,6 km@6,9%---31:45---average speed 23.81 km/h(Vincenzo Nibali)-RECORD
---32:20---average speed 23.38 km/h(Rafal Majka)
2013:13,9 km@6,7%---36:47---average speed 22.67 km/h(Froome-Talansky)
2010:12,8 km@6,9%---32:36---average speed 23.56 km/h(Nairo Quintana)
2010:12,8 km@6,9%---34:21---average speed 22.36 km/h(Nicolas Vogondy)

Quintana was 20 years old in 2010. Was the Tour de l'Avenir

frenchfighter

Love this photo:


And in case you missed this nutter:

oldwelshman

http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jul/19/vincenzo-nibali-grilling-drugs-tour-de-france

Coachb

The_Boy wrote:

type:epyt wrote:

and if you are going to have a go at someone for winning of the back of others efforts you're watching the wrong sport.

I'm neither here nor there on Valverde, but if he rides smart and wins or improves his position then I'm going to see it as positive rather than negative.

But on Friday he didn't win did he? And you'd be hard pressed to say he improved his position in any meaningful way.

It's one thing to air on sometimes wheel when you're riding for a win. That's tactics. But his ride on stage 13 was nothing short of cowardly. And I used to quite like him as a racer.

Still, movistar obviously relish the role of pantomime villains.

I think some of you don't realise that there is a big difference in effort in latching on to a wheel and going past and making an attack stick. Evans used to get called a wheel sucker but once he improved he became a very attacking rider. You can only do what your body will let you. It does look like [ not just Valverde] sometimes riders are sucking wheels but they are really fighting to stay on and just respond to any dig a rider makes so they don't get dropped. To attack is sometimes just impossible but you may just be able to hang on to a wheel. I would not call that wheel-sucking.

frenchfighter

Yates by the fantastic Kåre Dehlie Thorstad:

RideOnTime

frenchfighter wrote:

And in case you missed this nutter:

I have never seen Alan A and this bloke in the same place at the same time!

frenchfighter

Nibali always very careful to stop the recording:

tailwindhome

frenchfighter wrote:

And in case you missed this nutter

My kids were in hysterics when the saw him on the coverage.
Just when they thought it couldn't get any funnier than a rider stopping for a poo

frenchfighter

De Marchi:
“Today my plan wasn't to enter the breakaway," he said. "I must thank my team-mate Peter. It's him who made me get into that small group. He has acted like a real gentleman. He put himself at my service. But I needed a bigger advantage and a bit more legs in the finale. Today I felt the fatigue I accumulated yesterday."

Not sure why he won the combativity prize - should have gone to Majka.

Sagan:
“I didn’t want to go to the breakaway, but, because my teammate, De Marchi, wants the breakaway, I wanted to help. I told him to stay behind me and I could do something for him. Tomorrow…I’ll think about tomorrow tomorrow.”

frenchfighter

frenchfighter

Shot of Demare stopping:
http://www.diehardsport.com/2014/07/19/ ... -bathroom/

DeVlaeminck

Coachb wrote:

The_Boy wrote:

type:epyt wrote:

and if you are going to have a go at someone for winning of the back of others efforts you're watching the wrong sport.

I'm neither here nor there on Valverde, but if he rides smart and wins or improves his position then I'm going to see it as positive rather than negative.

But on Friday he didn't win did he? And you'd be hard pressed to say he improved his position in any meaningful way.

It's one thing to air on sometimes wheel when you're riding for a win. That's tactics. But his ride on stage 13 was nothing short of cowardly. And I used to quite like him as a racer.

Still, movistar obviously relish the role of pantomime villains.

I think some of you don't realise that there is a big difference in effort in latching on to a wheel and going past and making an attack stick. Evans used to get called a wheel sucker but once he improved he became a very attacking rider. You can only do what your body will let you. It does look like [ not just Valverde] sometimes riders are sucking wheels but they are really fighting to stay on and just respond to any dig a rider makes so they don't get dropped. To attack is sometimes just impossible but you may just be able to hang on to a wheel. I would not call that wheel-sucking.

Yes that doesn't alter what happened on Friday, Valverde sat on then attacked hard, if he had the legs to attack hard he had the legs to do turns with Pinot and they would both have been better off. I wouldn't call what he did cowardly but with hindsight it was tactically poor.

The_Boy

Coachb wrote:

The_Boy wrote:

type:epyt wrote:

and if you are going to have a go at someone for winning of the back of others efforts you're watching the wrong sport.

I'm neither here nor there on Valverde, but if he rides smart and wins or improves his position then I'm going to see it as positive rather than negative.

But on Friday he didn't win did he? And you'd be hard pressed to say he improved his position in any meaningful way.

It's one thing to air on sometimes wheel when you're riding for a win. That's tactics. But his ride on stage 13 was nothing short of cowardly. And I used to quite like him as a racer.

Still, movistar obviously relish the role of pantomime villains.

I think some of you don't realise that there is a big difference in effort in latching on to a wheel and going past and making an attack stick. Evans used to get called a wheel sucker but once he improved he became a very attacking rider. You can only do what your body will let you. It does look like [ not just Valverde] sometimes riders are sucking wheels but they are really fighting to stay on and just respond to any dig a rider makes so they don't get dropped. To attack is sometimes just impossible but you may just be able to hang on to a wheel. I would not call that wheel-sucking.

Did you miss valverde attacking pinot immediately after refusing to take a turn on the front?

tom3

frenchfighter wrote:

The lung capacity of these boys still amazes me. Fully inflated nibs looks bloated.

Fantastic atheletes.

frenchfighter

RideOnTime

frenchfighter wrote:

Yates by the fantastic Kåre Dehlie Thorstad:

I really don't see why Yeates has gone home?

dsoutar

RideOnTime wrote:

I really don't see why Yeates has gone home?

Because he's only 21.

Matt White rated the young Briton’s Tour debut as “ten out of ten”.

“For a 21-year-old neo-pro, he contributed every day, everything he could do,” said White.

“Making one break in the Tour de France is an achievement but to make a couple and the way he has gone about the whole Tour de France experience is a great sign for the future.

“Yes, it would be nice for him to finish the Tour, but it was a group decision that enough is enough and we have a lot of goals for him in the second half of the season.”