Post Rest Day
Comments
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Wonder if Dave has a humdinger of a motivational seminar lined-up for the press. An hour of MBA powerpoint and a promotional laserpointer should turn things around.
Sounds like my employer!M.Rushton0 -
Suspect Contador has a sh1t or bust stage in him as had in 2011(?) when he blew the race apart on the Telegraphe. Niblai poss has the Pra Loup stage in his sights with that Allos descent and a large time gap to play with.
if Valverde can stay with him up the preceding climbs i can see this as being a good 2 up pairing to gain time. too little too late, i reckon.0 -
Somehow I suspect the plan is not to assist Contador despite their national allegiance. If Movistar can get 2 on the podium and the best team award (see recent Inrng article on why this is v.important) then they've done a great job.M.Rushton0
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Suspect Contador has a sh1t or bust stage in him as had in 2011(?) when he blew the race apart on the Telegraphe. Niblai poss has the Pra Loup stage in his sights with that Allos descent and a large time gap to play with.
Agree, if it's wet the day after I could see the Glandon descent being important too and if a small group got away and a favourite detached there is enough riding after that for any gap to become important.[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
Given what Contador said on Eurosport about his form not being good, I am expecting something massive from him on one of the next few stages
.Van Garderen will continue to ride cautiously
Not really surprising given he seems to be one of the most boring men in cycling.0 -
Tejay is a very witty man.0
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What time is Froome due on the ducking stool?...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0
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What time is Froome due on the ducking stool?
Been and gone.Contador is the Greatest0 -
Suspect Contador has a sh1t or bust stage in him as had in 2011(?) when he blew the race apart on the Telegraphe. Niblai poss has the Pra Loup stage in his sights with that Allos descent and a large time gap to play with.
Agree, if it's wet the day after I could see the Glandon descent being important too and if a small group got away and a favourite detached there is enough riding after that for any gap to become important.
Mikkel Condé agrees (English version is below)
http://www.procycling.no/for-contador-er-det-alt-eller-ingenting/0 -
tbh we should be able to have full transparency on all riders, why not? Have everyone upload their data including power to Strava (plenty of riders do) and let everyone see.
No disadvantage if everyone is doing it.0 -
Why should they have to release it if they don't want to do so? It's their personal data, not yours. You have absolutely no right to see it. Are we going for the "guilty until proven innocent" approach now?
tbh we should be able to have full transparency on all riders, why not? Have everyone upload their data including power to Strava (plenty of riders do) and let everyone see.
Easy to sit there and call for "full transparency" on everything when it isn't your life under the microscope.0 -
I will make an assumption that Froome had another set piece planned, like last Tuesday.
So which stage would be the most likely? Straight after rest day? Also wondering if Poels has been kept back a bit for Alps, doing the job he did in Dauphine?
Can't see Froome dropping Quintana from now until the end of the race, similar to 2013. Whether he'll try or not I don't know.Sagan strong enough to win on the stage over the Glandon?
I would be amazed if Sagan could win that stage. Even though he looks super powerful at the moment he is not climbing as well as he has in the past because he has put on a bit of muscle. The breakaway on that stage is going to be full of climbers so I can't see it.0 -
Perhaps think of it more like the F1 coverage - enhanced by the fact that some key elements of their data are able to be overlayed live on screen. Fit every bike with a tranceiver linked to a mandated powermeter, HRM, cadence and speed sensor and give the TV spectators a really good insight into the suffering going on.
Why should they have to release it if they don't want to do so? It's their personal data, not yours. You have absolutely no right to see it. Are we going for the "guilty until proven innocent" approach now?
tbh we should be able to have full transparency on all riders, why not? Have everyone upload their data including power to Strava (plenty of riders do) and let everyone see.
Easy to sit there and call for "full transparency" on everything when it isn't your life under the microscope.
Perhaps mandate a specific delay period so that opposition teams don't have access to the info all the time, or continually cycle the displayed data across (say) the top 10 in the GC, changing every 30s or so.
If its done from a perspective of making the TV spectating more informed, and as a side benefit it adds a disincentive to all riders to prevent them from cheating, something like this could work.
(And before anyone posts, I agree that the data similarities with F1 aren't entirely a fair comparison, but other sports do use this sort of thing - e.g. rowing cadence, poker players heart rates, loads of football stats, etc etc).2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
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I really hope Nairo and Alejandro can produce some gaps in the Alps; the peloton is struggling and many people suffer, there’s a chance. Obviously, we’ll give everything we’ve got left for yellow; if it’s needed to sacrifice one of the two to get it, we won’t have any doubts.”
~Imanol Erviti
Hope that's true but I'm not sure Valverde sees it that way at the moment.0 -
The forecast I saw last night seemed to suggest heavy rain over the Alps later this week. That could end up playing a part in the outcome of the race but hopefully not in a bad way.0
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Sure, lots of people would like to see that kind of live data (I would be one of them), and I think the Dimension Data tracker is a step in the right direction even if it's not particularly good yet.
Perhaps think of it more like the F1 coverage - enhanced by the fact that some key elements of their data are able to be overlayed live on screen. Fit every bike with a tranceiver linked to a mandated powermeter, HRM, cadence and speed sensor and give the TV spectators a really good insight into the suffering going on.
Why should they have to release it if they don't want to do so? It's their personal data, not yours. You have absolutely no right to see it. Are we going for the "guilty until proven innocent" approach now?
tbh we should be able to have full transparency on all riders, why not? Have everyone upload their data including power to Strava (plenty of riders do) and let everyone see.
Easy to sit there and call for "full transparency" on everything when it isn't your life under the microscope.
Perhaps mandate a specific delay period so that opposition teams don't have access to the info all the time, or continually cycle the displayed data across (say) the top 10 in the GC, changing every 30s or so.
If its done from a perspective of making the TV spectating more informed, and as a side benefit it adds a disincentive to all riders to prevent them from cheating, something like this could work.
(And before anyone posts, I agree that the data similarities with F1 aren't entirely a fair comparison, but other sports do use this sort of thing - e.g. rowing cadence, poker players heart rates, loads of football stats, etc etc).
What is making me uneasy is the way this whole thing is being driven almost entirely by the "everyone-is-doping" crowd. If the teams and riders are going to do it, it should be a voluntary choice, not something they feel pressured into through the harassment of a bunch of online loonies.0 -
What should Froome's tactics be now? Path of least resistance would seem to be to shelter behind the team, only covering those moves by Quintana, Valverde, Contador and Van Garderen if his teammates aren't able to handle it for him. Boring, boring Team Sky. But it's what I would do, unless I had plan A which was a nailed on stage win on a big Alps stage (possible).
As for the others? Surely their best bet is to work together. A joint break between Quintana and Valverde has got to be the best option; working together perhaps they could break Froome (if they can't, they can't win the race!). Or, what if Quintana, Valverde and Froome burn each other up, with Mr Consistency to come through and take the spoils?2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
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I can see
- Valverde or maybe Nibbles breaking away,
- Froome and Contador looking at oneanother then Froome eventually having to diesel it down with Quintana and Contador following him
- then Quintana breaking away and Froome following him
- the other three cracking at this point, because the earlier effort cracked Valverde / Nibbles and Contador doesn't have it this year, has been struggling a lot
- Quintana pulls away, but Froome catches him and then does one of the silly-cadence efforts to pull away0 -
Froome will dish out on Alpe d'Huez what he did to Quintana and the rest on the Ventoux in 2013. Last stage before Paris and the kudos of winning on the Alpe in yellow will be too hard to resist.
I can just hear the armchair power analysts now...0 -
I can see the kudos angle, but I can't see Froome leaving it that late; too much risk of slightly overcooking it and losing yellow on the last day. If the gap is still 3 minutes on the last day though, he won't be home and dry, particularly if the weather turns nasty.2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
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What about rideed who don't use meters? How are they going to be transparent? And inaccurate meters? Are they bring taken into account?It's not so much about winning, I just hate losing.0
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What is meant by Quintana aiming to peak in the 3rd week? Are we talking about hoarding efforts that were already banked in pre-tour training, and choosing to spend them when opponents are more fatigued? Or is this a higher top level that emerges mid-Tour? If the latter, how can this be controlled in race conditions?
Ta...a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0 -
All the GCs need to start attacking Froome together the strongest getting the break each day, get the pressure on.0
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What is meant by Quinatana aiming to peak in the 3rd week? Are we talking about hoarding efforts that were already banked in pre-tour training, and choosing to spend them when opponents are more fatigued? Or is this a higher top level that emerges mid-Tour? If the latter, how can this be controlled in race conditions?
Ta
Appears that Quintana is a bit like Hesjedal in that his recovery means he gets stronger, relative to his competition, as the race goes on.
Can't be certain, but it's possible that he has come in slightly undercooked in order to maximise this effect. Alternatiely, they just mean he'll get stronger while his competition will, hopefully, fall away.Team My Man 2018: David gaudu, Pierre Latour, Romain Bardet, Thibaut pinot, Alexandre Geniez, Florian Senechal, Warren Barguil, Benoit Cosnefroy0 -
Ref 3rd week performance - in the end, every day's racing is a relative performance to everyone else.
So whilst I doubt he is actually faster in week 3 than week 1, there must be some riders (and he claims to be one of them) for whom the cumulative effect of back to back racing over the last two weeks has less effect, relative to his competitors.2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
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To use an athletics analogy, however, it could be that none of them want to take that risk, fearing their own outcomes, in the same way that the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners fail to take a risk to try to beat Mo Farah, and then all end up finishing behind him; if a couple of them went out on a "do or die" effort, there's a chance one of them might make it.All the GCs need to start attacking Froome together the strongest getting the break each day, get the pressure on.
Who out of the top five would actually want to sacrifice themselves so that someone other than Froome won (with a potential that the winner could be them, but it would be risky?) The only logical pairing is the Movistar pair working together.2015 Canyon Nerve AL 6.0 (son #1's)
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Obliged....a rare 100% loyal Pro Race poster. A poster boy for the community.0
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Alpe d'Huez is a gimmick. The worst place to make a difference.
Often but not always, Sastre won the tour on Alpe d'Huez in 08.
Going solo from the bottom of the climb if I recall correctly.
I remember that! I'm glad someone else said it first.0 -
I can see the kudos angle, but I can't see Froome leaving it that late; too much risk of slightly overcooking it and losing yellow on the last day. If the gap is still 3 minutes on the last day though, he won't be home and dry, particularly if the weather turns nasty.
I wasn't necessarily suggesting he was going to leave it until the penultimate stage, especially if the opportunity presents itself before. I just think he would like to stamp his authority on the race at that point especially if has demonstrated that he is the strongest at that point.
Hopefully the team car won't have problems so he can't get gels and bonks on the final climb though . I also hope we don't get some nutter who takes it upon himself to wreck the race somehow. 0 -
The forecast I saw last night seemed to suggest heavy rain over the Alps later this week. That could end up playing a part in the outcome of the race but hopefully not in a bad way.
We've just had an almighty storm, very heavy rain and standing water - we've been here since Saturday and I think this is the third early evening storm we've had. If this happens a bit earlier on Thurs, Fri or Saturday it could be carnage. They are very localised though, it probably isn't even raining 10k down the road.
The other thing I was going to mention is the strength of the wind. It's between 20-30kph in the valley (westerly). It could discourage any breaks in the valley on Saturday with everyone holding on until the first climb. When they hit the climbs the shelter means that there won't be a lot of wind, but it will feel brutally hot - my Garmin was showing the temp as 39c when I was out riding earlier.0
