TDF 2018, Stage 10: Annecy > Le Grand-Bornand 17/07/2018 - 158,5 km *Spoilers*

above_the_cows

Pross wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

Does no one else find the Col de Bluffy a hilarious name? Who is going to bluff on the Col de Bluffy?

You know who's going to drop that into commentary tomorrow now don't you?

No Carlton I don't, anwyays who is dat there hanging off the back of the peloton?

m.r.m.

Above The Cows wrote:

Sorry all I just heard I've won a €3 million grant from the EU so I'm off to get trollied.

Horses can hold.

Congrats! With that kind of cash you could even afford the good stuff from Lidl while you rest your head on a linoleum floor from Quickstep. Ah the high life!

ridgerider

knedlicky wrote:

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Favourites 10th stage 2018 Tour de France

*** Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde, Chris Froome, Rigoberto Uran
** Thomas De Gendt, Dan Martin, Primoz Roglic, Romain Bardet, Nairo Quintana, Mikel Landa
* Lilian Calmejane, Warr2en Barguil, Serge Pauwels, Pierre Latour, Jakob Fuglsang, Geraint Thomas

I think the stage very hard to predict (esp if Movistar play tactics).
With two MTFs to follow, some GC contenders may be prepared to allow a break succeed (presumably, as well as being possibly polka-dot claimants, why De Gendt and Calmejane are among the favs - to which maybe add often-breakaway-ers Alaphilippe and the stage's birthday-boy Fraile?)

But I'd like to see those GC-contenders who can descend well, not postpone things till the MTFs, but take take a chance to get a head's start before the MTFs (esp if they are outsider-GC-ers, like Roglic).

... Subscribers to my 'Not the stage 10 spoiler' thread get an on-the-spot guaranteed stage winner prediction!

rick_chasey

Flat for 9 days, a lot of cobbles and a rest day and then straight into the alps.

Expect some weird performances.

takethehighroad

Lots of them were talking about "forgetting how to ride climbs"

pat1cp

Rick Chasey wrote:

Flat for 9 days, a lot of cobbles and a rest day and then straight into the alps.

Expect some weird performances.

I listened to the Bespoke Podcast last night and this is pretty much what Rob Hayles said.

rick_chasey

Christ there are a lot of podcasts out there aren't there?

larkim

With rain forecast for the final descent, wonder if we might see any correlation between success and failure for disc-braked riders?

rick_chasey

larkim wrote:

With rain forecast for the final descent, wonder if we might see any correlation between success and failure for disc-braked riders?

Pain in the arse if you get a puncture though.

pat1cp

larkim wrote:

With rain forecast for the final descent, wonder if we might see any correlation between success and failure for disc-braked riders?

It's not that technical as I recall, long sweeping bends with a couple of hairpins as I recall. It's long time since I've ridden down it though :?

DeadCalm

Presumably Sky will try to control the race as if they were in yellow, given that they effectively are as far as GC is concerned.

Do we think some of the teams will try and get second string riders (Rolland, Nieve, Pozzovivo for example) into the break to provide support for an attack or will they wait for later in the race?

Nibali is sounding confident and saying he thinks the next three days will be very selective.

larkim

Rick Chasey wrote:

larkim wrote:

With rain forecast for the final descent, wonder if we might see any correlation between success and failure for disc-braked riders?

Pain in the ars* if you get a puncture though.

If you're after a Mavic service you mean? Suppose so. But enough of the peloton have been using them for the race so far, just wondering if any teams were switching to them for the mountains?

knedlicky

Ridgerider wrote:

knedlicky wrote:

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Favourites 10th stage 2018 Tour de France

*** Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde, Chris Froome, Rigoberto Uran

I think the stage very hard to predict (esp if Movistar play tactics).

... Subscribers to my 'Not the stage 10 spoiler' thread get an on-the-spot guaranteed stage winner prediction!

In your thread, Ridgerider, seems your tip is Katusha-Alpecin, but in PTP you've Majka. :shock:

Katusha-Alpecin part-matches what I heard on a German podcast last night. It tipped Zakarin (Dan Martin and Bardet too) possibly taking off when they reached the Romme (which I remember as hard because of its sudden steepness after flat approach roads).

Also had a look this morning at French and Swiss cycling forums with PTP-type competitions to see what their tips for today are. The French one (21 tips) had only 7 different riders named as 'winner', the Swiss one (73 tips) 14 different riders.
French forum, most tips in order: Valverde, Nibali, Froome, Bardet, Barguil; most interesting solitary tip: Caruso
Swiss forum, most tips in order:: Valverde, Alaphilippe, Nibali, Yates, Martin; most interesting solitary tip: Latour

rick_chasey

larkim wrote:

Rick Chasey wrote:

larkim wrote:

With rain forecast for the final descent, wonder if we might see any correlation between success and failure for disc-braked riders?

Pain in the ars* if you get a puncture though.

If you're after a Mavic service you mean? Suppose so. But enough of the peloton have been using them for the race so far, just wondering if any teams were switching to them for the mountains?

Hincape feels it’s a much slower wheel change with discs.

Plus too heavy for mountains.

specialgueststar

shirley_basso

Rollout now, neutralised zone for quite a long time - 10K or so. Actual racing to start around 12.45 UK time.

above_the_cows

The peloton looks really little from those heli shots.

blazing_saddles

Landa down in the neutral zone.

above_the_cows

Landa crashes in the neutral zone.

Lanterne_Rogue

Landa down having drifted sideways into some bollards. Valverde somewhere up the road, trying very hard to look innocent...

above_the_cows

underlayunderlay wrote:

Landa down having drifted sideways into some bollards. Valverde somewhere up the road, trying very hard to look innocent...

Pross

knedlicky wrote:

Ridgerider wrote:

knedlicky wrote:

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Favourites 10th stage 2018 Tour de France

*** Vincenzo Nibali, Alejandro Valverde, Chris Froome, Rigoberto Uran

I think the stage very hard to predict (esp if Movistar play tactics).

... Subscribers to my 'Not the stage 10 spoiler' thread get an on-the-spot guaranteed stage winner prediction!

In your thread, Ridgerider, seems your tip is Katusha-Alpecin, but in PTP you've Majka. :shock:

Katusha-Alpecin part-matches what I heard on a German podcast last night. It tipped Zakarin (Dan Martin and Bardet too) possibly taking off when they reached the Romme (which I remember as hard because of its sudden steepness after flat approach roads).

Also had a look this morning at French and Swiss cycling forums with PTP-type competitions to see what their tips for today are. The French one (21 tips) had only 7 different riders named as 'winner', the Swiss one (73 tips) 14 different riders.
French forum, most tips in order: Valverde, Nibali, Froome, Bardet, Barguil; most interesting solitary tip: Caruso
Swiss forum, most tips in order:: Valverde, Alaphilippe, Nibali, Yates, Martin; most interesting solitary tip: Latour

Odd tip, doesn't Zakarin usually wheel suck until the final km or two? Also, I thought he was a poor descender.

blazing_saddles

We are off, but I doubt that the break will get sorted before the Croix Fry.

FocusZing

Seeing the rims brakes enforce today.

rick_chasey

FocusZing wrote:

Seeing the rims brakes enforce today.

?

TheBigBean

"[out] in force" I would imagine.

larkim

So some teams shifting from discs back to rims for climbing? If there really is a weight penalty to discs (I thought the bikes struggled to get up to the minimum weight) is there an issue with the location of the weight? Lower centre of mass etc?

I suppose they are more interested in how to go fast than how to slow down, so perhaps the consideration of discs *perhaps* being a better option in the wet for stopping purposes is low down the radar for the pro teams.

above_the_cows

Gosh Sagan is an absolute unit relative to the others up front with him.

Pross

larkim wrote:

So some teams shifting from discs back to rims for climbing? If there really is a weight penalty to discs (I thought the bikes struggled to get up to the minimum weight) is there an issue with the location of the weight? Lower centre of mass etc?

I suppose they are more interested in how to go fast than how to slow down, so perhaps the consideration of discs *perhaps* being a better option in the wet for stopping purposes is low down the radar for the pro teams.

It seems odd when one of the main arguments for disc brakes on road bikes is their performance on this sort of terrain.

No_Ta_Doctor

Sagan takes the sprint points, I guess that's him done for the day. Nice couple of minutes on the peloton, take it easy, get caught, roll in with the autobus.