TDF 2017: Rest day 2 *spoilers*
Comments
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Correlation is not causation.0
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Above The Cows wrote:No tA Doctor wrote:Sunweb, along with AG2R have definitely been good value for money this tour. Also noticed Geschke investing in some good karma by making sure Martin had his wheel over the line yesterday. Obviously he'll also be pleased if QS need to invest a little more energy on Martin...
According to twitter Geschke will be very happy not to see any male roadside 'fans' bumcracks (this is not the word he used, his word started with a) today.
And so say all of us. What possesses these pricks to do it?It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.0 -
Salsiccia1 wrote:Above The Cows wrote:No tA Doctor wrote:Sunweb, along with AG2R have definitely been good value for money this tour. Also noticed Geschke investing in some good karma by making sure Martin had his wheel over the line yesterday. Obviously he'll also be pleased if QS need to invest a little more energy on Martin...
According to twitter Geschke will be very happy not to see any male roadside 'fans' bumcracks (this is not the word he used, his word started with a) today.
And so say all of us. What possesses these pricks to do it?
That was literally the conversation I was having on a ride this morning none of us could figure it out beyond' alcohol'.Correlation is not causation.0 -
It was just a reference to the doping and tears.No tA Doctor wrote:
RichN95 wrote:
Let's hope not.Rick Chasey wrote:Anyone else feel Wawa is turning into a 21st century Virenque?
Leaving aside the doping and tears, would that be a bad thing? Virenque decided he was never going to win a Tour, but lit up the race going for the polkadot. I quite like that. Unless you think he has genuine GC potential that's being wasted...Twitter: @RichN950 -
It's a shame Mathews and sunweb didn't chase the green jersey from the moment Sagan was dispatched. I'll never understand the complacency of not going after every point. Something I think they will regret come Paris.
Sprint stages are dull as dishwater, but as last two days has shown anything can happen on a rolling stage, and it has been great viewing.
Feeling more & more sorry for Dan Martin as tour goes on, he could have easily been 2nd on podium if not for LRP''s crash0 -
kleinstroker wrote:Feeling more & more sorry for Dan Martin as tour goes on, he could have easily been 2nd on podium if not for LRP''s crash
LRP could have been second on the podium if it wasn't for LRP's crash.
Have I told you all how I'm missing LRP?Correlation is not causation.0 -
Above The Cows wrote:
Second that - I've actually liked him since he went toe-to-toe with Gilbert up the Cauberg in 2015. He's dynamic and gets great results in both Classics and Stage races. What's not to like - his earrings?0 -
Above The Cows wrote:kleinstroker wrote:Feeling more & more sorry for Dan Martin as tour goes on, he could have easily been 2nd on podium if not for LRP''s crash
LRP could have been second on the podium if it wasn't for LRP's crash.
Have I told you all how I'm missing LRP?
LRP would not have been paralysed by fear and would have attacked when Froome was gapped yesterday (even if he was mate-less like dan and aru - but especially if he had numbers)0 -
On the other hand you have stage 20 last year, where IIRC his team spent most of the day riding to set up an attack on the Joux Plane, only for his legs to fall off as soon as they hit the climb - lost over 10 minutes to the GC group in the end.Blazing Saddles wrote:RichN95 wrote:
Aru is the one that looks likely to faulter to me.No tA Doctor wrote:Aru looks like he's got a decent kick on the big climbs, but no team, few mates, and some really careless moments. Again, Froome holds the TT Trump over him, so will need to do major damage on Izoard.
I wouldn't put much faith into how he has looked over the past two days.
In the 2015 Giro, he looked as if his form had begun to erode, rather drastically.
This was his result on stage on stage 16, the Mortirolo/Aprica stage.
http://www.procyclingstats.com/race.php?id=149913
He then bounced back to break climbing records on stages 19 and 20.0 -
I reckon the parcours is all right - I wouldn't want it to be the same every year, but it's breaking up the formula. In any given year about a third of the stages are instantly forgettable, between two and four are great, and the rest just sort of happen. The rush to criticise the flatter stages mostly seems to forget that if you replaced them with something that's a bit more scenic then the chances are the peloton will neutralise some of those instead - that's what happens every year. I'd also rather the Tour offers something for every type of rider than became a mountain-monster-freakshow, or returned to being a gift to the best time-triallist.
This year I reckon we've seen proper excitement bubble up on more stages than usual, and in unusual quantities for the GC. I don't think the teams are entirely sure who's strong or not, let alone the fans, because the course is mixing things up. By now we'd normally have had three or four MTFs and know exactly who was likely to win, and I'd argue that too many mountain days actually make the race more boring than too many sprint days - once you know who can take minutes on a climb it's boring watching them do it repeatedly. At least in a sprint there are usually a few riders fighting at the end.
My personal hunch is that we'll look back in five years and think that this was one of the better tours. If Porte hadn't crashed I think it would have had the potential to boil up into a proper classic.
As for the climbers jersey, it's nice to see someone working for it. Would be great if it became a proper contest again though - Barguil is impressive, but there's nobody to measure him against.0 -
Above The Cows wrote:kleinstroker wrote:Feeling more & more sorry for Dan Martin as tour goes on, he could have easily been 2nd on podium if not for LRP''s crash
LRP could have been second on the podium if it wasn't for LRP's crash.
Have I told you all how I'm missing LRP?
I think we all know LRP would have fallen off again somehow & ruined his chances
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adr82 wrote:
On the other hand you have stage 20 last year, where IIRC his team spent most of the day riding to set up an attack on the Joux Plane, only for his legs to fall off as soon as they hit the climb - lost over 10 minutes to the GC group in the end.Blazing Saddles wrote:RichN95 wrote:
Aru is the one that looks likely to faulter to me.No tA Doctor wrote:Aru looks like he's got a decent kick on the big climbs, but no team, few mates, and some really careless moments. Again, Froome holds the TT Trump over him, so will need to do major damage on Izoard.
I wouldn't put much faith into how he has looked over the past two days.
In the 2015 Giro, he looked as if his form had begun to erode, rather drastically.
This was his result on stage on stage 16, the Mortirolo/Aprica stage.
http://www.procyclingstats.com/race.php?id=149913
He then bounced back to break climbing records on stages 19 and 20.
there is a ? mark , does Astana miraculous last rest day works in TdF ? Maybe it works only in Giro ...0 -
kleinstroker wrote:Above The Cows wrote:kleinstroker wrote:Feeling more & more sorry for Dan Martin as tour goes on, he could have easily been 2nd on podium if not for LRP''s crash
LRP could have been second on the podium if it wasn't for LRP's crash.
Have I told you all how I'm missing LRP?
I think we all know LRP would have fallen off again somehow & ruined his chances
Correlation is not causation.0 -
Seems an appropriate time to post this:
https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2017/07/tou ... works.html
I found it interesting - each bike has a GPS that sends the data to a helicopter. And all the sensors in a group form a wireless network so as long as any one of them has sight of the helicopter, the data for all riders gets transmitted.0 -
Quintana“There wasn’t enough time to recover between the Giro and the Tour,” Quintana said. “Next year, I believe I will be in excellent condition to come and fight for the Tour.”0
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kleinstroker wrote:Quintana“There wasn’t enough time to recover between the Giro and the Tour,” Quintana said. “Next year, I believe I will be in excellent condition to come and fight for the Tour.”
Correlation is not causation.0 -
kleinstroker wrote:Quintana“There wasn’t enough time to recover between the Giro and the Tour,” Quintana said. “Next year, I believe I will be in excellent condition to come and fight for the Tour.”
What's Spanish for 'le sigh'?0 -
imatfaal wrote:I also love the fact that wanty-gg have as almost as much prize money as Movistar+Orica+cofidis+bahrain combined
bahrain-merida - why bother? we would have been better with the french army team, or a youth team, or any team that actually gave a damn*
*they will now go a win a scintillating stage to give me the lie
I am asking myself when Euskaltel folded and I needed another team to support why did I pick Cofidis. Bouhanni probably couldn't trouble me in a sprint at the moment, Navarro seems to capitulate on every climb and the rest just appear to be circulating.
Let's hope the new green basques get a wild card for the vuelta.0 -
I can't stop laughing at Brailsford vs Cyclingnews.
Does that make me a bad person?Fckin' Quintana … that creep can roll, man.0 -
underlayunderlay wrote:I reckon the parcours is all right - I wouldn't want it to be the same every year, but it's breaking up the formula. In any given year about a third of the stages are instantly forgettable, between two and four are great, and the rest just sort of happen. The rush to criticise the flatter stages mostly seems to forget that if you replaced them with something that's a bit more scenic then the chances are the peloton will neutralise some of those instead - that's what happens every year. I'd also rather the Tour offers something for every type of rider than became a mountain-monster-freakshow, or returned to being a gift to the best time-triallist.
This year I reckon we've seen proper excitement bubble up on more stages than usual, and in unusual quantities for the GC. I don't think the teams are entirely sure who's strong or not, let alone the fans, because the course is mixing things up. By now we'd normally have had three or four MTFs and know exactly who was likely to win, and I'd argue that too many mountain days actually make the race more boring than too many sprint days - once you know who can take minutes on a climb it's boring watching them do it repeatedly. At least in a sprint there are usually a few riders fighting at the end.
My personal hunch is that we'll look back in five years and think that this was one of the better tours. If Porte hadn't crashed I think it would have had the potential to boil up into a proper classic.
As for the climbers jersey, it's nice to see someone working for it. Would be great if it became a proper contest again though - Barguil is impressive, but there's nobody to measure him against.
I would agrree with this appraisal. For me a Grand Tour should be about the strongest all-round rider, not the best climber or the best time triallist and the course should reflect a reasonable balance. Of late the Vuelta seems to be unduly biased towards climbers with a mental amount of MTFs and even the one measly TT has generally been up a mountain. This is probably due to the surfeit of climbers that Spain has had in recent times.
The Giro is usually subject to the vagaries of the weather and can be a bit of a lottery coming earlier in the year. I can't see Froome going for that any time soon with his emphasis on winning at least 5 Tours. Sky will probably use leading the team as a sprat to tempt the likes of Thomas etc. into staying and providing Tour support duties for Froome.
Ironically I think this year's Tour route has actually helped Froome with his new later preparation or maybe that has been deliberately designed because of the route. Either way he certainly seems to be getting stronger and the one stage blip was maybe down to food and/or gears.0 -
kleinstroker wrote:Quintana“There wasn’t enough time to recover between the Giro and the Tour,” Quintana said. “Next year, I believe I will be in excellent condition to come and fight for the Tour.”
He will be lucky if they send him to the Tour next year. Giro and Vuelta for you Nairo.0 -
Typical CN though. They weren't invited so they turn up anyway to make a fuss and then write about how important they are. In journalism, if you act like a bellend you don't get access - that's almost the first lesson on day one of journalism school.iainf72 wrote:I can't stop laughing at Brailsford vs Cyclingnews.
Does that make me a bad person?Twitter: @RichN950 -
RichN95 wrote:
Typical CN though. They weren't invited so they turn up anyway to make a fuss and then write about how important they are. In journalism, if you act like a bellend you don't get access - that's almost the first lesson on day one of journalism school.iainf72 wrote:I can't stop laughing at Brailsford vs Cyclingnews.
Does that make me a bad person?
Yesterday, their load of old bollocks began with the headline: "Landa ordered to Wait....."
Then, "Froome was cut adrift" and no mention of a puncture.
Today and it's: "Cyclingnews has always strived to cover Team Sky and Dave Brailsford fairly and accurately."
Cyclingnews's jaundiced view, as one comment aptly put it."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Wanty G are my favourite team of the tour. It's great so see them going up against - and beating - some of the big world tour lot. They also still have all 9 riders in the race, something not everyone else can sayimatfaal wrote:I also love the fact that wanty-gg have as almost as much prize money as Movistar+Orica+cofidis+bahrain combined
And they have the coolest looking bikes 8)0 -
lettingthedaysgoby wrote:imatfaal wrote:I also love the fact that wanty-gg have as almost as much prize money as Movistar+Orica+cofidis+bahrain combined
And they have the coolest looking bikes 8)
Have to disagree, saw Dan McLay's bike t'other day and almost fell over:
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Blazing Saddles wrote:RichN95 wrote:
Aru is the one that looks likely to faulter to me.No tA Doctor wrote:Aru looks like he's got a decent kick on the big climbs, but no team, few mates, and some really careless moments. Again, Froome holds the TT Trump over him, so will need to do major damage on Izoard.
I wouldn't put much faith into how he has looked over the past two days.
In the 2015 Giro, he looked as if his form had begun to erode, rather drastically.
This was his result on stage on stage 16, the Mortirolo/Aprica stage.
http://www.procyclingstats.com/race.php?id=149913
He then bounced back to break climbing records on stages 19 and 20.
Yeah. He's good at miraculous third weeks. Same in the Vuelta in 2015.
I think it's an Astana thing.It's a little like wrestling a gorilla. You don't quit when you're tired. You quit when the gorilla is tired.0 -
Blazing Saddles wrote:RichN95 wrote:
Typical CN though. They weren't invited so they turn up anyway to make a fuss and then write about how important they are. In journalism, if you act like a bellend you don't get access - that's almost the first lesson on day one of journalism school.iainf72 wrote:I can't stop laughing at Brailsford vs Cyclingnews.
Does that make me a bad person?
Yesterday, their load of old bollocks began with the headline: "Landa ordered to Wait....."
Then, "Froome was cut adrift" and no mention of a puncture.
Today and it's: "Cyclingnews has always strived to cover Team Sky and Dave Brailsford fairly and accurately."
Cyclingnews's jaundiced view, as one comment aptly put it.
One wonders if they actually know anything about cycling or whether its a case of such knowledge getting in the way of a good (read scandal) story (read manufactured controversy).Correlation is not causation.0 -
I reckon that so far we've seen the cliche that 'it's the riders that make the race not the route' confirmed. The days where we've had some of the best action haven't necessarily been the most obvious on paper. I think we are also seeing that riders really struggle to put together back to back hard stages.0
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Pross wrote:I reckon that so far we've seen the cliche that 'it's the riders that make the race not the route' confirmed. The days where we've had some of the best action haven't necessarily been the most obvious on paper. I think we are also seeing that riders really struggle to put together back to back hard stages.
So why were we complaining about all those flat stages then?0
