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Marty

Audere est farce
Mar 10, 2005
39,884
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Really feel for Kittel. Poor guy lost probably the best ever shot at the green he'll ever have.
 

dave5150

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2011
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3,748
Wow didn't think to check for a cycling thread until just now!

Great tour so far but too many great riders missing - including Quintana but this is his fifth grand tour in a row so not surprised he is tired. Must've been gutted to miss out on the Giro when he looked odds-on but surely had to have a break and go for the Vuelta fresh?
On the plus side, all of these riders being out means we should have a great Vuelta.

My main bike is a Cannondale and I was a fan of the old Slipstream Sports Garmin teams (Martin, Millar, Hesjedal etc) so happy to see Rigo doing so well and two riders wear the KOM jersey.

Tomorrow should see some great racing with everyone below Froome knowing it is their last chance and they probably need to get a minute's advantage ahead of the TT.
 

aussiespursguy

Well-Known Member
Mar 21, 2015
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How powerful was Roglic? For a guy that even at 27 is pretty new to the sport he has some ability. Former world junior ski jump champion. Top 5 at Romandy,Basque and Torino adriatico this season. I think Lotto NL Jumbo may have a real GC chance for next season. Great TT rider as well.
 

dave5150

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2011
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It's good to see some new GC contenders. Roglic could definitely do a Dumolin and upset the expected winners. He would need a stronger team pulling for him, though. Especially for the the TDF. Sky's team is ridiculous. 2 potential GC contenders (G and Landa) and a former world champion to help Froome up the mountains.
 

aussiespursguy

Well-Known Member
Mar 21, 2015
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Huge stage today. All or nothing for Uran and Bardet. They must make a decent amount of time to have any hope. Matthews just has to finish now to win green. Expect Barguil to be prominent in the break chasing points to shore up his jersey. Yates will need to keep an eye on Meintjes today but he should be fine. Should be a great stage. The Col d'Izoard looks a beast as well!
 

nightgoat

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2005
24,604
21,898
I think Roglic would have to win the stage to get enough mountains points to take the jersey off Barguil. Similarly I'm not sure there are 161 sprint points left that would allow Greipel to take the green jersey off Matthews, so Sunweb don't really need to attack but may do as a sort of lap of honour.

Froome hasn't won a stage yet, and the yellow jersey needs to win a stage at some point. He's usually won a couple each year. The longer climbs suit him more, so I'd expect Sky to set a very high pace and then Froome attack. It just depends who's attacked already. Bardet has to take a lot of time, Uran less so but would probably need to be ahead of Froome. It's all or nothing for Aru.

There'll be lots of little battles going on such as Yates and Meintjes for the white jersey, so it could be a pretty chaotic finish.
 

nightgoat

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2005
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Also, it's really interesting what they've done to expand the women's token Champs-Élysées sprint. They've gone up Izoard this morning and on Saturday instead of a time trial in Marseille they go off in the order they finished today, separated by the time gaps from the stage, effectively having to chase each other down.

Annemiek van Vleuten won by 43 seconds from Lizzie Deignan, Elisa Longo Borghini another 40 seconds down. 22.5km might not be long enough to close those gaps but it could be a fascinating finish.
 

nightgoat

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2005
24,604
21,898
Given the crowd's shameful reaction to Froome going down the start ramp it would have been absolutely hilarious if he'd managed to put in an extra four seconds and passed Bardet on the line. As it is Bardet clings on to a podium spot by one second!
 

Col_M

Pointing out the Obvious
Feb 28, 2012
22,636
45,670
He doesn't get even a quarter the recognition of Wiggo. Shows what a personality does.
 

dave5150

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2011
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Amazing how little racing Froome has done this year and hasn't won a single race yet still wins the TDF again. Team around him is obviously a massive help.

He did mention a few days ago that he felt himself getting better as the race went on due to being fresher than ever before. Wonder if he will have a go at the Vuelta again?
 

aussiespursguy

Well-Known Member
Mar 21, 2015
3,437
6,677
Can't see Bardet ever having the all round skills to win the tour. Just not built to time trial. I do think however that Barguil has the tools to get closer than Bardet IF he has a team around him working for him. Barguil time trialed well, even after strolling down the ramp giving everyone a wave!
Froome is a machine. Will be interesting next year. Landa leaving to fight himself. Nieve leaving to Orica. Pretty sure Sky will still put an awesome team out to support him.
Really happy for Michael Matthews. As Sagan has proved over the years, its the points classification, and Bling did just that. Yes i know Kittel was leading, but Matthews had cut the lead to 9 points and was on a massive roll. Now the third Aussie to min it. Very proud of him.
Alot to like about Yates as well (actually both of them!) He has been very consistent for three weeks and deserves the result.
A great tour and will be interesting to see who gets up across the line tonight in the final sprint.
 

nightgoat

Well-Known Member
Sep 12, 2005
24,604
21,898
He doesn't get even a quarter the recognition of Wiggo. Shows what a personality does.

To be fair Wiggins' was the first time a British rider had won the Tour, so understandably got a lot more mainstream coverage than any of Froome's subsequent wins have. And he won an Olympic gold a couple of weeks later. But it does seem a lot of the public really don't appreciate how hard it is to even finish the Tour, let alone win it.
 

aussiespursguy

Well-Known Member
Mar 21, 2015
3,437
6,677
To be fair Wiggins' was the first time a British rider had won the Tour, so understandably got a lot more mainstream coverage than any of Froome's subsequent wins have. And he won an Olympic gold a couple of weeks later. But it does seem a lot of the public really don't appreciate how hard it is to even finish the Tour, let alone win it.
Spare a thought for Adam Hansen. He is about to complete his 18th, yes 18th straight Grand Tour. That's ridiculous. He is Superman!
And yes everyone of these riders should be congratulated for just finishing. Approx 3500km in 3 weeks. Hats of to all the riders.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
He doesn't get even a quarter the recognition of Wiggo. Shows what a personality does.

I think there's a few factors at play there though, Wiggins was a first, and since then Sky have become tainted. Also Froome is more of an introverted character and is kind of seen as Kenyan or certainly as more of an adopted brit as he was born and grew up in Kenya.
 

Bus-Conductor

SC Supporter
Oct 19, 2004
39,837
50,713
What do you guys think about individual time trials as part of the TDF ? I've always had a bit of an uncomfortable feeling about them, they don't seem in keeping with the ethos of the Tour to me, which is all about teams racing side by side on the road. It just doesn't sit easy with me that you can spend three weeks grafting like absolute bastards in torturous conditions for seconds and that ca all get blown away in a day on a time trial which are piss boring to watch as well.
 

Col_M

Pointing out the Obvious
Feb 28, 2012
22,636
45,670
What do you guys think about individual time trials as part of the TDF ? I've always had a bit of an uncomfortable feeling about them, they don't seem in keeping with the ethos of the Tour to me, which is all about teams racing side by side on the road. It just doesn't sit easy with me that you can spend three weeks grafting like absolute bastards in torturous conditions for seconds and that ca all get blown away in a day on a time trial which are piss boring to watch as well.

This is about the best overall rider. Climber, Sprinter, Endurance, Trialist and Team work. Just a fact of life, wanna win the Tour you have to be the complete cyclist.
 
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