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Tour de France 2014 |OT| Riding Around 101
- Thread starter Linkinito
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Did you see the riders getting hit?
Fuck selfies, they are a narcissistic plague to society.
Here's the stage 4 profile:
Not as pancake flat as the London stage, and it features some hills including the Mont Cassel, which is surprisingly, not a KOM climb but an intermediate sprint. At least the breakaway will be able to fight for two mountain classification points.
Anyway that won't change the outcome of the stage as it will surely end up in a massive sprint. The main contenders' teams will try to have a good place as the results of this stage will define the order of the team cars for the next stage. Which is of course crucial because it's the cobbles stage, and punctures are frequent.
Not as pancake flat as the London stage, and it features some hills including the Mont Cassel, which is surprisingly, not a KOM climb but an intermediate sprint. At least the breakaway will be able to fight for two mountain classification points.
Anyway that won't change the outcome of the stage as it will surely end up in a massive sprint. The main contenders' teams will try to have a good place as the results of this stage will define the order of the team cars for the next stage. Which is of course crucial because it's the cobbles stage, and punctures are frequent.
Yep.
And expect crosswinds.
And rain.
Awesomeness to the max.
Hell of the North!
Actually, they should do some Desgrangian style torture one year and basically have a Paris-Roubaix stage. Maybe in 2021 (125th anniversary of Paris-Roubaix)?
And have the climbers losing 20min?
A little OT: regarding tortue, the book where Tim Moore rides the 1914 giro on a period wooden bike is highly reccomended. Average stage length 390km! http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0224092073/?tag=neogaf0e-20
Would make the mountain stages and TTs more interesting.
Not saying it is a good idea. Just saying it is an idea.
This Tour has somewhat boring mountain stages in trade for two mini-Classics in the first week, IMHO.
The pave sections will sort this out a bit. Wet and windy, we will find out who has big balls.
Jens Voight was just on here explaining what it's like. He doesn't know how the lighter guys will go.
Could be a key to the race. Can see some of the climbers losing minutes. Good to see actually, evens the race up a bit.
Jens Voight was just on here explaining what it's like. He doesn't know how the lighter guys will go.
Could be a key to the race. Can see some of the climbers losing minutes. Good to see actually, evens the race up a bit.
Testing webm.. It was pretty cool, whole road was just covered with Canary Wharf workers.
http://a.pomf.se/mbtohx.webm
http://a.pomf.se/mbtohx.webm
Can.not.wait.for.tomorrow. It's going to be epic, especially if it's raining, cold, and windy as the forecast looks now. I've always wanted to see some of these guys on the cobbles, particularly in the big Paris-Roubaix race so we'll get our chance tomorrow. Wonder if they can do as well as Wiggins did earlier this year? Here's what Contador had to say about tomorrow:
Anyway, another Kittel win today. Guy is just beastly and Sagan has outright admitted he can't keep up with him. Big news of course is Chris Froome and his accident only about 3 miles after the depart flag went up. He looked pretty roughed up, constantly flexing his wrists and eventually needed a splint on the wrist. Tomorrow could be quite challenging from a physical standpoint for him.
Going to be quite the scene as big Fabian effortlessly glides past the GC guys who are holding on for dear life. LOL.
Anyway, another Kittel win today. Guy is just beastly and Sagan has outright admitted he can't keep up with him. Big news of course is Chris Froome and his accident only about 3 miles after the depart flag went up. He looked pretty roughed up, constantly flexing his wrists and eventually needed a splint on the wrist. Tomorrow could be quite challenging from a physical standpoint for him.
Going to be quite the scene as big Fabian effortlessly glides past the GC guys who are holding on for dear life. LOL.
Sagan isn't that good anymore. he has won quite a bit, but he seems to have hit a small downward spiral so him not being able to keep up with Kittel is no surprise. He never stood a chance against Kittel this year.
captscience
Member
Totally psyched as well. If Froome/Sky have a weakness, it seems that they're poor at covering the opportunistic moves that riders like Contador and Nibali are so good at. If the crosswinds break them up at the beginning, the cobbles could create huge gaps.
So Sagan, Cancellara, or Van Avermaet for yellow tomorrow?
I'd say he's still good, but he seems to be stuck in no man's land; is he a true sprinter, classics specialist, or potential GC contender? I think he needs to figure out which path to take and then focus on it. And the field is no longer caught unaware of his talents so you see more of stage 3 happening, with no one daring to lead out with him because they'll lose. Also doesn't help that he's stuck on a shitty team that always seems to be AWOL during critical moments of races, particularly classics. He's always alone out there. But apparently Cannondale and Garmin/Sharp are merging so he'll be getting help soon.
Yeah, I think both Nibali and Contador will spring some attacks tomorrow. Totally fits their style and with Froome ailing they could really cause some damage. Last year's stage in the crosswinds was the only instance in when Contador gained time on Froome when his team attacked Froome and Sky and caused a split. Hopefully we'll see some of that tomorrow.
If Cancellera can create some space between him and Sagan near the finish then I'm going with Cancellara. Heads up? Toss up. I'd like to see Van Avermaet compete for yellow tomorrow but I'm not sure if he's going to be pulling protect TeeJay at all costs duty or not.
My wife has the day off and will get to watch the whole stage. Jealous
I think I'm going to make it an evening and get some Belgian beer, some cheese, and sausages and enjoy the stage.
Was listening to Richard Moore's podcast and someone said that "no one wants to see someone lose the tour on stage 5."
I do. I want to see carnage and craziness. It is a grand tour... Not a whole bunch of sprint stages until we get to the mountaintop finishes. Too many GTs have boring first weeks. You might not be able to win today, but you can lose, and that is what makes grand tours great.
If I get a mini-Paris-Roubaix with Terpstra, Van Avermaet, Spartacus, Sagan AND I get to see GC contenders suffer and try to survive AND I get to see Spanish climbers ping-pong into ravines... Sign me up. I want more cannibals and spartans and less dogs.
Shanks D Zoro
Banned
This is gonna be great. I don't think Nibali has done P-R before so I don't know how he will handle the cobbles. He is great in the rain and likes to take risks, so I hope Nibali attacks on this stage.
There's still 7 sectors including the final four ones. Still good for some action.
depends where you are and what channels you have
e.g. its on right now on UK Eurosport, that's where I'm watching today!
bobnowhere
Member
Froome down again, looks alright, but it's going to add up.
LOL. Should have brought Wiggins. Never disagree with LeMond.
Shanks D Zoro
Banned
I really hope Nibali goes on the attack today. froome will have no confidence when the race really starts and will either fall back or crash again.
My dime on Contador. He already experienced the cobbles four years ago. He might gain big time today.
Shanks D Zoro
Banned
I think Nibali is the better bike handler and the weather suits him, but the two of them are both fearless and will put it on the line. I am guessing they will both come in around the same time, but just Froome taking it easy and saving his energy for later in the tour.
Don't think wiggins would've prevented any of the crashes
Wiggins was top 10 at P-R this year and won the Tour of California. Froome goes down, there is no plan B for Team Sky. No puncheurs for stage wins. No sprinters. The fact they would put all of their eggs in Froome's basket with only a single time trial and a stage like today is pure silliness on Brailsford's part. Even if they win, it is a dumb decision. If anyone actually thinks Richie Porte is ready, Contador will happily eat your lunch after he eats Porte's.
Yep, with 2014 being Wiggo's last road season, they could have included him in the team and let him have all the fun he wants all by himself.
Sky wants to win the whole thing, they couldn't care less about a stage win. If wiggins and froome can't go together at all, three weeks of them grindkng on each other can do alot of damage to the whole teams mentality. It's definately a gamble, but they're willing to take it. I'm sure lemond would have had a much easier and cslmer win in 86 without hinault on the team
Sure. But that was Lemond's point. They had two leaders on that team, even if they wanted to rip each other's throats out. Coppi and Bartali are another great example. Valverde and Quintana last year is another.
Not only does Sky only have one leader, their domestiques are pretty much cooked should Froome go down. No one is a stage hunter. No one is a sprinter. The entire team is 100% focused on one guy who has taken more falls then Cristiano Ronaldo.
Shanks D Zoro
Banned
I watched the opening with the merchandise trucks. The Robinson's Fruit Shoot wagon got the loudest cheer of the day. I didn't have a bike but I did my best to get involved: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y54Yjsw6ygY
I really nailed that "grinning northern simpleton" look.
I really nailed that "grinning northern simpleton" look.
Contador and Armstrong did have the same problem during 2009 Tour, Astana didn't
Yes, and quite classy - on Zoncolan from Ovaro
Every guy on the team has a specific job and they will lose people throughout the tour, so you can't just drop one to add wiggins if you can't trust him to work 100% for froome. He hasn't ridden a GT since his catostrophic Giro in 2013, so he may not have the form to do great stuff. If anyone should be included it ahould be kennaugh who's riding great in austria
Total carnage today and they haven't even reached the pavé yet
Shanks D Zoro
Banned
Froome again down
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