Cycling

[viktorvaughn]

Yeah, lack of discussion on here is a little poor

It's been a bit of a classic so far (not for the best of reasons)...

I was speaking to a work colleague who is big into cycling and he thought that the changes to the Green Jersey had benefitted true sprinters like Cavandish.

Gilbert has been heroic, especially yesterday when he kept on attacking when he didn't need to.

Still backing Andy to win.

is that a bit of white tendon or ligament visible inside his knee?

 

[Slothrop]

Today's weirdness is that they're going over the Aubisque, but because of the long flat finish it's probably actually going to be a more significant day for the green jersey (ie can Cav get points at the intermediate sprint and can Gilbert place for the stage) than it is for the yellow.

 

[jenks]

I'm like Jenks without any of the knowledge about cycling.

That is Luka like in its own backhanded way!

So - I think what I have enjoyed so much this year is the fact that the race refuses to be scripted. Yep, CaV has won three stages but he didn't win the Griepel stage which everyone thought was nailed on and he won an earlier one where it was suggested teh lumps before hand would stop him being at the front. I was willing G on yesterday but not since Robert Millar have we had someone ride that well up the Tourmalet.

Frank rather than andy came out of teh pack yeaterday and Voekler is still in yellow. Thor managed to stay in yello much longer than anyone thought was humanly possible and now teh challenge for Cav's green is Gilbert and not any of the proper sprinters.

And new heroes emerge to join old favourites like Jens Voight. Hoogerland will never need to buy a pint ever again.

The weekend looks like it's got two epic stages and Conty is going to have to step out of teh peleton or Cadel will be wearing yellow for at least a few days

 

[Tentative Andy]

Great ride from Hushovd today, but I have to say part of me was hoping that Jeremy Roy would stay ahead in the run-in there. Nice that he's got the KoM jersey anyway. Cool to see people still proper battling out for the green jersey points today as well (like Slothrop predicted, just spotted that).

 

[connect_icut]

Another bloody great stage, even without any action from the GC contenders. Amazing tactics and sheer bloody effort from Big Thor.

I'm like Thor. Is it my imagination or did the various doping scandals weed out a lot of the jerks, leaving a surprising number of really nice guys prominent in a sport that naturally breeds arrogance?

Half-baked speculation aside, Saturday could be THE most important stage for the GC. And with none of the real contenders having a clear advantage, it won't just be a case of someone defending their position.

 

[Tentative Andy]

Really liking this guy Vanendert, him and Sanchez look to be the proper good climbers this year.
I was worried today might be a bit too much tactics and not enough attacking, but actually on the last climb it was fascinating watching all the little digs and counter-moves amongst the favorites. It still seems really hard to call between the big contenders: Basso & the Schlecks seem to have the most attacks in them, but no-one so far seems to have that killer kick to properly shake the others up.
Special bonus sighting of Evans actually attacking for about a couple of hundred meters near the end there : . Oh and Voekler is still fuckin unshakeable, but surely he can't keep that up in the Alps (can he?).

 

[pat]

anyone think contador is bluffing?

 

[connect_icut]

Special bonus sighting of Evans actually attacking for about a couple of hundred meters near the end there

I know, right? Cadel actually on the attack for a whole 30 seconds! I may actually be warming to him very, very gradually.

So, today turned out to be not so decisive. Quite the opposite: it made it clear how hard it is to pick a winner this year. Way harder than it seemed before the race began.

And if Contador is bluffing, I have to ask: how much longer can he bluff for?

 

[jenks]

I don't think Conty is bluffing, I don't think with those time gaps he can afford to bluff but I also think Andy isn't all that as he hasn't been able to break free of any of the GC riders when he's gone on the attack. Interesting to see Basso come to the front - his Giro experience could make him one to watch in the Alps.

People are even starting to talk about TV to win! He can't TT but only Conty can in that current group. over two mins up with a week to Paris, who knows?

Those Pyrenees stages have been hard but the Alps are even worse - Galibier and d'Huez on Thurs and Friday. I still think that of one of those GC guys wants to win the are going to have to start gaining time back before Thursday.

I always like to see the lads in orange do well and so seeing Sancez break out again yesterday was really pleasing.

I read somewhere that there is now a new unit for the measurement of hardness, the Jens.

Laurens Ten Dam's face plant was equal to any of the dreadful sights (except Hoogerland!) we have witnessed this tour.

 

[run_time]

Ten Dam looks like something out of a zombie film

 

[jenks]

I tried to embed that pic but I can never get it to work.

He's back on his bike today - the Rabobank boys are hard bastards.

It could all be about the wind today, you're going to want to be in the front with the echelon or be weeping in the gutter.

 

[Tentative Andy]

Cavendish to hold the green jersey all the way now? He's looking good for it.

 

[Sectionfive]

The pain people can get through on modern drugs.

Remarkable.

 

[you]

pretty much a dun deal fo cav

Jenks - question for you, watching the effectiveness of cav and his team - do you think in the next few years the other teams will step it up a little and the tours grow in a battle of teams rather than riders more and more? So no lone break-aways, but a whole team maybe breaking away etc?

 

[connect_icut]

I read somewhere that there is now a new unit for the measurement of hardness, the Jens.

Did anyone else notice that, after his second fall on Saturday, big Jens told the TV camera to fuck off - in English and French?! What a guy!

Is there anything more boring to watch than a really well-organized HTC sprint victory?

 

[jenks]

pretty much a dun deal fo cav

Jenks - question for you, watching the effectiveness of cav and his team - do you think in the next few years the other teams will step it up a little and the tours grow in a battle of teams rather than riders more and more? So no lone break-aways, but a whole team maybe breaking away etc?

I am not sure - HTC don't have a real GC contender so they are all about the stage win. The moving display board that is a modern rider has been very effective advertising for their sponsors but they are likely to lose sponsorship this summer and unless Stapleton puts up serious backers then Cav and co will be off - thus disbanding the greatest leadout train ever. Sky want to sign Cav, that much is obvious but how many of the others do they want? Renshaw and Eisel yep but who else and then who do Sky drop from their 9 men?

I think the tour has always been a battle of teams - just in different ways - the work Jens and Fabian do for the Schleks is often overlooked and the way Armstrong used his lieutenants to do damage on mountains before he raced off was hugely effective.

So, I suppose the romance of the lone breakaway is just that - i cannot remember teh last time one worked. The old days of Coppi putting twenty minutes into the peleton just by riding away for 100k has long gone - mores the pity.

 

[run_time]

The old days of Coppi putting twenty minutes into the peleton just by riding away for 100k has long gone - mores the pity.

Is great on paper although not so sure it would make for great television

 

[don_quixote]

really exciting tour so far. if andy schleck was in voeckler's position you'd be saying game over, but right now it's something else.

oh and cav. cav cav cav. what a man.

 

[benjybars]

Did anyone else notice that, after his second fall on Saturday, big Jens told the TV camera to fuck off - in English and French?! What a guy!

Is there anything more boring to watch than a really well-organized HTC sprint victory?

nah i love watching well-organized sprints. they look so good from the helicopter cam!

did anyone do the Dunwich Dynamo then?

4th one for me.. and probably the most enjoyable.. nice tailwind all the way and not a drop of rain.. and my missus managed to finish it aswell

 

[Slothrop]

The hours of sunflower shots before the sprint tend to be pretty dull, though.

I think this year has been really exciting so far, largely because the yellow and the green are both still tight, and because the green's actually a contest between different styles rather than being decided among the sprinters.

The lumpy course favouring breakaways has helped as well - presumably a lot of the reason that the GC has become increasingly focussed on high mountain stages with hilltop finishes is because the general speed of the race has increased with better equipment and better training, so the benefit of being in a big group has increased.