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[Kung Fu Jedi]

Getting good now! 3.5 KM to go!

 

[Hanmik]

And Frank is off in front.. damn

how the fuck is the yellow jersey hanging on..? he is one tough contender..

 

[kottila]

noone following. they're not afraid of Franck?

 

[Leonsito]

Lol, no one cares about Frank

 

[Hanmik]

2 km... this is a great stage of the Tour..

now the yellow jersey let go.. he had a good fight..

oh my Frank is winning this.. not,.. he is out of power now..

no andy lost contador.. fuck Team Saxo and Bjarne Riis..

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Frank can win this Tour. It's not a good idea to underestimate him or give him too much time.

 

[JohnsonUT]

I love watching mountain stages so much. It always makes me want to go out and ride hills. And then I realize why hills sucks so bad.

 

[kottila]

Like I thought. contador is not in top condition, either he's tired after the giro or his leg is still restricting him. (don't know why I have still have him on my fantasy team though)

 

[TheGoldenGunman]

Good stage to watch, the last 5K was good viewing.

Frank Schleck getting away from Contador has a lot of implications for the tour. Contador does not look like he will run away with the tour this year, and to me it looks like Basso, Evans and Frank Schleck look like the strongest of the riders on show today.

Another mountain stage tommorow, if it's anything like today, it should be good!

 

[Pachael]

The Schleck 1-2 always get me. The gap is still quite small for the other teams to wonder if Andy will go for the win or Frank, though Contador being dropped on the last few hundred metres was a tad surprising.

 

[koji]

Oh man, what a crazy tour this year

Contador losing a couple seconds, shocking!

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Yeah, I was surprised that Contador lost time too. Thought he'd at least hang with the main group. He looked like he was hurting on the final push. Maybe his knee is giving him major issues.

 

[Hanmik]

I hope Contador will man up and show them why he is the real winner of Tour De France 2011..

 

[kottila]

Voeckler could remain in yellow all the way until the Alps if they're going to wait that long before attacking on saturday

 

[seanoff]

neither of the Schlecks can TT for shit tho so you can give them some time before Grenoble.

 

[Darth Sonik]

Fair play to the Schlecks, they have finally made their advantage count.

Great ride by Voeckler as well, hanging with the true GC guys for as long as he did.

 

[Hanmik]

Voeckler could remain in yellow all the way until the Alps if they're going to wait that long before attacking on saturday

could you please be so kind to list the stages (with your brilliant pictures) for the next couple of days.. ?

and I´m still counting on Contador to win the Tour,

 

[kottila]

new KoM rules are stupid. Sanchez first up one mountain and he's in the lead.

 

[kottila]

could you please be so kind to list the stages (with your brilliant pictures) for the next couple of days.. ?

and I´m still counting on Contador to win the Tour,

After saturday it's mostly "flat" until thursday when they reach the Alps.

Friday:

Saturday:

 

[Hanmik]

After saturday it's mostly "flat" until thursday when they reach the Alps.

]

thank you so much.. I´m to lazy to look on other sites.. ;o)

so the next two days (saturday in particular), are going to show "who´s the boss before the Alps"..

and then Thursday the Tour is being decided... for real..

 

[Darth Sonik]

I think Mountain top finishes were always double points. Today was the real start of that competition.

I've always loved a good descent finish like tomorrows, reminds me of some great stages wins.

EDIT:

Looking at that profile its not a true descent finish, its too far of a drag after the mountain.

 

[Zakath]

You can also look on the official site : http://www.letour.fr/2011/TDF/LIVE/us/1300/etape_par_etape.html.
There's a lot of info on each stage.

 

[Hanmik]

I think Mountain top finishes were always double points. Today was the real start of that competition.

I've always loved a good descent finish like tomorrows, reminds me of some great stages wins.

it will be fun to see if the Schlecks have learned how to climb down from a mountain.. they were lousy at it the last couple of years.. we know Contador is good at it..

 

[kottila]

I think Mountain top finishes were always double points. Today was the real start of that competition.

I've always loved a good descent finish like tomorrows, reminds me of some great stages wins.

Yes, but they've made the smaller mountains count far less than before, so only the HC mountains at the end of the stage actually mean anything. 4th cat is 1p, 3cat is 2p, 2cat 5p, 1cat 10p, hc 20. So if you're first on a HC at the end of the stage, you need to be first on 4 1.cat to equalize that.

 

[ElyrionX]

I've watched parts of the Tour de France the past few years but was never really into it. This year's race looks pretty exciting though.

Anyway, just want to clarify something quick. What do you guys mean when you say the the Leopard team is built around the Schlecks to help them win? What is the role of support riders in a team? Is it just to take turns to provide slipstreams for their strongest riders?

 

[Boozeroony]

I've watched parts of the Tour de France the past few years but was never really into it. This year's race looks pretty exciting though.

Anyway, just want to clarify something quick. What do you guys mean when you say the the Leopard team is built around the Schlecks to help them win? What is the role of support riders in a team? Is it just to take turns to provide slipstreams for their strongest riders?

Basically. They also bring their main rider to the best position in the peloton, especially after a crash or flat tire.

Bringing water is also one of the tasks.

edit: They also need to be able to neutralize attacks of other riders.

 

[Kabouter]

Basically. They also bring their main rider to the best position in the peloton, especially after a crash or flat tire.

Bringing water is also one of the tasks.

In the case of Leopard-Trek, they can also attack in turns, like they did today. This forces other GC contenders to expend energy trying to catch the attacks, until they are fatigued, and one of the two can make it out, like Fränk did today.

Also, I keep saying it, you don't allow Voeckler to take the yellow. Such a stupid mistake, it's going to cost so much more energy to get him out of the yellow jersey than it would have cost to have prevented him from getting it in the first place.

 

[kanugo]

Tomorrow's stage:

It'll be a crazy ride between Col d'Aubisque and Lourdes.

 

[Kabouter]

Tomorrow's stage:

Would've actually thought that more the stage Samuel Sanchez would go for than today's, given his incredible skills in descents.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Alp-d'Huez will decide this year's tour, which comes a week from tomorrow.

 

[kottila]

I think tomorrow will be a great time to get in a breakaway. The pack will go calmly untill the mountain and due to the long distance from the top to the finish, they probably won't go full speed

 

[Boozeroony]

Would've actually thought that more the stage Samuel Sanchez would go for than today's, given his incredible skills in descents.

Sammy Sanchez is a madman. I hope the road is better than today.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

I think tomorrow will be a great time to get in a breakaway. The pack will go calmly untill the mountain and due to the long distance from the top to the finish, they probably won't go full speed

Agreed. I don't think you'll see any changes in the GC tomorrow and a break could easily win it.

 

[Kabouter]

I think tomorrow will be a great time to get in a breakaway. The pack will go calmly untill the mountain and due to the long distance from the top to the finish, they probably won't go full speed

Such a waste that the stage doesn't end on top of the Aubisque. Hell, even ending it at the 139.5km mark would have been much much better.

 

[Kung Fu Jedi]

Such a waste that the stage doesn't end on top of the Aubisque. Hell, even ending it at the 139.5km mark would have been much much better.

I think they figured with four mountain top finishes already this year, they wouldn't punish the Peloton too much.

 

[kottila]

I think they figured with four mountain top finishes already this year, they wouldn't punish the Peloton too much.

And it's a logistical nightmare to have finishes on moutain tops. Narrow roads, not a lot of parking and spectators everywhere

 

[Hanmik]

so what time does the TV transmission start today..?

 

[kottila]

so what time does the TV transmission start today..?

14.30 CET. Going for a 4 hour drive at 15.00, so I'll miss this stage, even though it could be another great Norwegian day (if they manage to get in a breakaway)

 

[Hanmik]

14.30 CET. Going for a 4 hour drive at 15.00, so I'll miss this stage, even though it could be another great Norwegian day (if they manage to get in a breakaway)

ahh so you are from Norge.. (vi har jo haft en lille Danmark-Norge konkurrence kørende på TV2)...

I will watch every second of the race.. last day at work before the summer holidays..

 

[kottila]

There is a massive fight to get in the breakaway, but the bunch has so far denied every attempt

 

[Kabouter]

Klödi out of the tour
Radioshack has just had the worst of luck this year.

 

[Hanmik]

Klödi out of the tour
Radioshack has just had the worst of luck this year.

Stegman also left.. he had a broken wrist.. he has had it for several days, the doctors just found out last night.. those riders are tough.

 

[Boozeroony]

Stegman also left.. he had a broken wrist.. he has had it for several days, the doctors just found out last night.. those riders are tough.

The toughness of the riders is one of the things that make it such a beautiful sport.

 

[Kabouter]

Boom
Another bad day for Rabobank incoming? :/

Edit: And Roy attacking again, I love that guy , he just keeps attacking.

 

[Kafel]

After saturday it's mostly "flat" until thursday when they reach the Alps.

Which is silly : everyone watches the Tour on Sunday and wants to see a hard and impressive mountain race.

 

[Kabouter]

Hushovd, Petacchi, Roy, Tjallingii, Hagen, Bak, Fofonov, Pineau, Gusev, Moncoutie
Group that's away now.

Boom abandons

 

[kottila]

Which is silly : everyone watches the Tour on Sunday and wants to see a hard and impressive mountain race.

They need to rest as well. Body can't deal with 10 mountains stages in row.

It's another win for Norway today!

 

[n0n44m]

some sick downhill action now ... Hushovd trying to get back 2 minutes on Roy for the lead

 

[Hanmik]

I hope J. Roy can make it home as th winner.. he has done good today.

wtf is up with all those idiots waving flags and obstructing the riders.. ? leave France..

 

[froliq]

Haha great race by Thor. So sad for Roy