Tour de l’Ain and Critérium du Dauphiné 2020 *Spoilers*

ddraver

blazing_saddles said:

ddraver said:

Ineos are bluffing right..?

Sub chipper, innit.
Back here in 5 weeks, Covid permitting.....

🤞🤞🤞🤞🤞

As you say, gonna be a bit of an anticlimax otherwise...

robnewcastle

DB and the Ineos tent will be a hive of activity after this 😂 It’s good that things have been spiced up a bit

RichN95.

Riders going well now are mostly those that were allowed to train outdoors throughout lockdown. Belgium, Slovenia, Netherlands, Colombia.

Italy, France, Spain, Andorra and Monaco are playing catch up.

robnewcastle

RichN95. said:

Riders going well now are mostly those that were allowed to train outdoors throughout lockdown. Belgium, Slovenia, Netherlands, Colombia.

Italy, France, Spain, Andorra and Monaco are playing catch up.

That’s a very interesting point

m.r.m.

MvdP begs to differ...

gsk82

ddraver said:

Ineos are bluffing right..?

I expect to see a different scenario play out at the dauphine in 3 days. Probably Thomas leading ineos given his day off today.

DeadCalm

ddraver said:

Ineos are bluffing right..?

No. But I think and (I never thought I'd say this) hope they will get stronger between now and the Tour. If not, it looks like we'll be in for a procession.

robnewcastle

DeadCalm said:

ddraver said:

Ineos are bluffing right..?

No. But I think and (I never thought I'd say this) hope they will get stronger between now and the Tour. If not, it looks like we'll be in for a procession.

I think come the tour they’ll be a different proposition but right now Jumbo have all the ingredients to dominate. Dauphine will be interesting to see how Ineos respond.

DeadCalm

Oh. And on the Thymen Arensman front, the youngster finished a respectable 26th, 4ish minutes down on Porte and Dan Martin but well ahead of the likes of Thomas, Gesink and Froome. Yes, I know those guys were probably soft-pedalling towards the end after working their butts off for their respective leaders but, still, a decent effort from the kid.

bobmcstuff

According to Froomes socials, form is incoming.

ddraver

bobmcstuff said:

According to Froomes socials, form is incoming.

I haven't had a heart throb fanboi about a cyclist since the Schlecks retired and I think I'm going to develop one with Froome and his 5th tour this autumn...

pblakeney

bobmcstuff said:

According to Froomes socials, form is incoming.

Awaiting a package?

(No. I don't think that but thought I'd get it in first. 😉)

robnewcastle

bobmcstuff said:

According to Froomes socials, form is incoming.

I’m interested to see how he goes on the climbs at the Dauphine, whether there does seem to be something building. Actually I’m almost more interested to see how Thomas goes

No_Ta_Doctor

While I don't think Ineos were bluffing, I don't think they brought their A-game. Maybe they didn't want to go head to head with LJV this early, but also, with only 6 on the team the three leaders approach would always be tricky. So they optimised for training and keeping riders a little fresher.

The Dolphin might be different, but I don't think they'll unleash the full power of their FULLY FUNCTIONAL DEATH STAR until it really counts.

So for those reading the form tea leaves, probably best not to get too reliant on these races.

RichN95.

The average Tour rider will come into the race with less than a dozen days racing. Ineos look as though they are making sure they get something out of each them from a training point of view rather than just sitting in wheels. They know how to work together effectively in a GT while Jumbo still need to work on that side of things, so that's what they're doing.

rick_chasey

They may not be too bothered about winning or losing the Tour de l'Ain, and that may not have been the priority, but I don't think they will have wanted or enjoyed being done over by Jumbo like that, regardless.

Jumbo aren't mugs either and they're targeting the Tour just in the same way Ineos are.

No_Ta_Doctor

rick_chasey said:

They may not be too bothered about winning or losing the Tour de l'Ain, and that may not have been the priority, but I don't think they will have wanted or enjoyed being done over by Jumbo like that, regardless.

Jumbo aren't mugs either and they're targeting the Tour just in the same way Ineos are.

I think they'll be 100% unfussed. They didn't give Jumbo a chance to test things head to head, so Jumbo are still in the dark there. Jumbo aren't mugs and have a seriously strong team, but they're still learning. They've also got to dominate like that over 3 weeks, not 3 days, which is where Ineos have the advantage of a LOT of experience - especially with winning GTs with different riders and different strategies.

Lanterne_Rogue

Got the impression yesterday - perhaps wrongly - that Froome was ostentatiously domestiquing to prove that he could be trusted to work for Bernal. That he appeared to be threatening at times to drop Bernal out the back was presumably a happy accident.

No_Ta_Doctor

Lanterne_Rogue said:

Got the impression yesterday - perhaps wrongly - that Froome was ostentatiously domestiquing to prove that he could be trusted to work for Bernal. That he appeared to be threatening at times to drop Bernal out the back was presumably a happy accident.

I think it was actually Castrovejo who actually dropped him. He'd swung off earlier in what looked like a "check out the oppo" move to me, then Castrovejo ratcheted it up a notch and splits happened in front of him.

But otherwise yes, Froome was definitely playing the dutiful domestique, as he was in the race before as well

blazing_saddles

Lanterne_Rogue said:

Got the impression yesterday - perhaps wrongly - that Froome was ostentatiously domestiquing to prove that he could be trusted to work for Bernal. That he appeared to be threatening at times to drop Bernal out the back was presumably a happy accident.

As clearly was Geraint Thomas.
It's quite laughable to read the CN forum thread, which yesterday was basically writing them all off, after this race.
No wonder the get all hot, bothered and start using the "D" word, when it all looks totally different in the race that actually matters.

No_Ta_Doctor

Anyway... I don't remember the Dauphiné being quite as savagely mountainous as this edition. Should be fun.

robnewcastle

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Anyway... I don't remember the Dauphiné being quite as savagely mountainous as this edition. Should be fun.

Looks quality doesn’t it. Ineos wont be panicking but they’ll want to show a bit more at the Dauphine this week. Interested to see how Froome and Thomas go in this.

blazing_saddles

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Anyway... I don't remember the Dauphiné being quite as savagely mountainous as this edition. Should be fun.

I will update the thread later, but I have failed to find better stage profiles than the awful, official ones.
Just about run out of options as quite a few sites are not bothering to update current race details.

m.r.m.

Don't stress yourself too much. The compromised state of the upcoming racing calendar will kill you!
We love your posts, but it should remain fun. Even for you!

RichN95.

blazing_saddles said:

Lanterne_Rogue said:

Got the impression yesterday - perhaps wrongly - that Froome was ostentatiously domestiquing to prove that he could be trusted to work for Bernal. That he appeared to be threatening at times to drop Bernal out the back was presumably a happy accident.

As clearly was Geraint Thomas.
It's quite laughable to read the CN forum thread, which yesterday was basically writing them all off, after this race.
No wonder the get all hot, bothered and start using the "D" word, when it all looks totally different in the race that actually matters.

Froome's Strava numbers. Doing 390w on a 35 minute climb 60km from the finish isn't someone looking to get the finish at the front. It looks like he had a tough training session

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/chris-froome-shares-strava-stats-from-final-stage-of-tour-de-lain-2020-462336?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

m.r.m.

No_Ta_Doctor said:

Lanterne_Rogue said:

Got the impression yesterday - perhaps wrongly - that Froome was ostentatiously domestiquing to prove that he could be trusted to work for Bernal. That he appeared to be threatening at times to drop Bernal out the back was presumably a happy accident.

I think it was actually Castrovejo who actually dropped him. He'd swung off earlier in what looked like a "check out the oppo" move to me, then Castrovejo ratcheted it up a notch and splits happened in front of him.

Tactically it was really poor from Bernal. He was much too far back and was open to a Roglic (or rival) attack.
Since this stage race was almost over it wouldn't make sense for Roglic to attack since he was already in yellow, but Bernal's positioning undid the work Castroviejo was doing. Castroviejo was riding hard tempo, but due to Bernal swinging off it made Jumbo not have to close the gap. Dumoulin could just diesel up further and Castroviejo had to readjust his pace multiple times until finally swinging off and trying to help the "dropped" Bernal.
That is wasting all the matches of your domestique by poor positioning. He willfully gave up position to ride at the end of the grupetto even before he was in real difficulty. His position way back then made him and Castroviejo have to expend much more energy to bring him up again prior to his attack instead of just sagging down during a climb if in difficulty.

It's really bad resource management by a leader.

robnewcastle

RichN95. said:

blazing_saddles said:

Lanterne_Rogue said:

Got the impression yesterday - perhaps wrongly - that Froome was ostentatiously domestiquing to prove that he could be trusted to work for Bernal. That he appeared to be threatening at times to drop Bernal out the back was presumably a happy accident.

As clearly was Geraint Thomas.
It's quite laughable to read the CN forum thread, which yesterday was basically writing them all off, after this race.
No wonder the get all hot, bothered and start using the "D" word, when it all looks totally different in the race that actually matters.

Froome's Strava numbers. Doing 390w on a 35 minute climb 60km from the finish isn't someone looking to get the finish at the front. It looks like he had a tough training session

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/chris-froome-shares-strava-stats-from-final-stage-of-tour-de-lain-2020-462336?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

As someone who knows very little about watts output, does that tell us anything about where he’s at?

N0bodyOfTheGoat

Froome's solo break on Finestre at the Giro was claimed to be ~60mins at 400W.

RichN95.

When he came second in the Vuelta TT in 2011 he did 400W for an hour as well. So he's got work to do to become a contender, but they're good enough that you'd take him to the Tour

blazing_saddles

Critérium du Dauphiné 2020

The ASO shortened the 2020 edition from 8 stages to 5 in order to fit into the pre-Tour rearranged calendar. Stage 1 is a route that combines the first two stages from the original route. The following pair of flat stages have been removed altogether, while the remaining four stages are identical to the original route presentation.
All five stages finish either up a hill or a mountain.




Stage 1: Clermont-Ferrand - Saint-Christo-en-Jarez 218.5 kilometres.




The Côte de Leymieux – 2 kilometres at 5.5% – and Col de la Gachet – 3.3 kilometres at 4.6% – are connected by an uphill false flat, so one could argue the last 11 kilometres are essentially one climb.

The finish is situated 1 kilometre after the summit of the Col de la Gachet. The first half of the last kilometre goes downhill before the roads kicks up again for a final drag to the line.




Stage 2: Vienne - Col de Porte 135 kilometres




The Col de Porte is also included in the upcoming Tour de France, although the climb will be tackled from the other side on the 15th of September. Furthermore, it is an intermediate climb on the road to Villard de Lans



Stage 3: Corenc - Saint-Martin-de-Belleville 157 kilometres




Col de la Madeleine: The climb kicks in hard with the first 4 kilometres rising at 10%. The Madeleine levels out a bit, but it’s never easy. The entire climb is 17.3 kilometres long, while the average gradient sits at 8.3%.



The finish climb was also the last climb of the last Tour de France. Saint-Martin-de-Belleville lies halfway up the road to Val Thorens.
This one is 14 kilometres long and only the fourth kilometre is, at 11.6%, really steep. The gradients on the rest of the climb mostly hover around 6%, except for one flat and one descending kilometre.




Stage 4: Ugine - Megève 153,5 kilometres



The riders face no less than seven climbs in the 4th stage of the Critérium du Dauphiné. The elevation gain is 4,700 metres.



The HC-ascent of the day takes the shape of the Montée de Bisanne: 12.4 kilometres at 8.2%.



The riders descent a 20 kilometres to Praz-sur-Arly, which is where the final haul up to the Megève altiport begins. The last 7.4 kilometres go up at 4.7%.



Stage 5: Megève - Megève 153.5 kilometres





The Romme is 8.8 kilometres long and the average gradient sits at 8.9%. The route continues to climb false flat for 2 more kilometres after the summit before a 4 kilometres downhill leads onto the Col de la Colombière: 7.5 kilometres at 8.5%.



The route descends further to tackle the Côte de Domancy, which also served as the first climb of the day. The punchy ascent is probably going to hurt a bit more this time.

Following a short downhill the Dauphiné climbs to the village Cordon – 4.6 kilometres at 8.2% – and after 4 even kilometres the finish climb appears. The 9 kilometres ascent at 4.6% leads, just like the 4th stage, to the Megève altiport and the crowning of this year's champion.