Jul 09, 2014 at 02:00 PM
[spoiler]
Tour de France
Jul 09, 2014 at 02:03 PM
Can't we just agree that if you are clicking on this thread you are going to find out spoilers?
Jul 09, 2014 at 02:11 PM
Critics are bound to complain about this stage. But the big crashes occurred on smooth roads.
#blametheanticipation
Jul 09, 2014 at 02:25 PM
That said, this stage is fucking insane!
Jul 09, 2014 at 02:33 PM
Jul 09, 2014 at 02:40 PM
Oh man. This is my jam... There needs to be a cobblestone stage of the Tour every year. Wishing more than ever than ever that I was there!
Jul 09, 2014 at 02:52 PM
This is an amazing stage
Jul 09, 2014 at 03:17 PM
100 miles in the rain. Cobbles. 47km/h [edit: 29.2mph] average. No sweat.
Jul 09, 2014 at 03:18 PM
Too many cycling-related things these days are called "epic" but man...that was pretty friggin' epic.....
Jul 09, 2014 at 03:19 PM
isn't that a typical Sunday for you?JohnMalcolmson said:100 miles in the rain. Cobbles. 47km/h average. No sweat.
Jul 09, 2014 at 03:40 PM
Took me 30 minutes to find a pub in central London that wasn't showing cricket!
Jul 09, 2014 at 03:58 PM
I don't blame them, their riders are dropping like flies
Jul 09, 2014 at 04:14 PM
this stage was the fucking hotness. thatisallthankyoubye.
Jul 09, 2014 at 04:26 PM
A cobbled stage every year.
#learnfromthegiro
Jul 09, 2014 at 04:43 PM
Would require addition of a different component to their training program, which isn't a bad thing. Perhaps reduce the prevalence of the automoton phenotype.mugwump said:A cobbled stage every year.#learnfromthegiro
I can't wait for the British headlines tomorrow . . . Brailsford is sure to be in the doghouse. Even the old British geyser in the pub knew that much.
Jul 09, 2014 at 04:54 PM
The Sky thingy is totally hilarious.
Hmmm, let me see. What could have been the perfect antidote for Sky's disaster of a day....
-Maybe a still active GC guy who has experience of winning the Tour de France on the team.
-Maybe a GC guy on the team who is on top form, having just won a tough stage race (ToC) and his national TT jersey all in the last 4 weeks.
-Maybe a GC guy who, incidentally, crushed Paris Roubaix just a few months back coming 9th. A result of which no GC guy has done for like 25 years.
-Maybe a GC guy who will take bucket loads of time out of his rivals on the flat TT on the penultimate day of the tour, thereby erasing largely most of any deficit he will have incurred in the hills.
Jul 09, 2014 at 05:26 PM
It's too precious. Brailsford was definitely too clever for his own good. That said, The punishment happened before the cobbles.
Jul 09, 2014 at 05:43 PM
Froome is as much to blame as Brailsford. If Froome Dog wanted Wigg's on the team...he would have been there. But Froome was too afraid that Wigg's would do what Froomie himself did 2 years ago...upstage the team leader by going rogue. I don't believe Froome has the psychological fortitude to be a great champion. Even that bucket of syringes L.A. finished his last tour with multiple crashes and no shot at placing.
Jul 09, 2014 at 05:55 PM
Well there are many over here doubting how well Wiggo would have done in the rain today. Given his performance in the 2013 Giro, this is understandable.
However he did recently win the British TT champs, and by all accounts he scorched down the short but technical descent in the rain, which on a TT machine is no mean feat.
So all things considered I think he would have done alright today.
Jul 09, 2014 at 05:58 PM
More like: 100m to Levain. Sidewalk. 6km/h average. A little sweaty.dstearns said:isn't that a typical Sunday for you?JohnMalcolmson said:100 miles in the rain. Cobbles. 47km/h average. No sweat.
Jul 09, 2014 at 06:25 PM
This is shaping up to be the most exciting tour in recent years. I don't wish harm or injury on anyone, but with Froome gone and Contador a bit behind, things will be much more exciting.
Jul 09, 2014 at 06:35 PM
Someone needs to HTFU
“It was insane,” Van Garderen said. “I hear Froomey is out of the Tour. You guys got your drama, but that takes the race down a notch when you got your top favorite out. In theory, it could make the race less exciting toward the end. I think ASO needs to rethink having days like this in the race.”
Jul 09, 2014 at 06:54 PM
It was an exciting stage but I agree with TJ.
It's also disappointing to see that the the "code" still intimidates riders into silence.
Obviously he thought it was total shit, but was afraid to speak his mind.
Clearly everyone feels the big three stage races have become too formulaic and predictable; I think there has to be a better way to add uncertainty than simply making things more dangerous.
Smaller teams perhaps? Time bonuses for entire teams?
I mean they could just make it a cycling decathlon too; make it a bmx/CX/track/TT/uphill/downhill/bike polo extravaganza...
It's also disappointing to see that the the "code" still intimidates riders into silence.
Obviously he thought it was total shit, but was afraid to speak his mind.
Clearly everyone feels the big three stage races have become too formulaic and predictable; I think there has to be a better way to add uncertainty than simply making things more dangerous.
Smaller teams perhaps? Time bonuses for entire teams?
I mean they could just make it a cycling decathlon too; make it a bmx/CX/track/TT/uphill/downhill/bike polo extravaganza...
Jul 09, 2014 at 07:24 PM
I loved the stage, there's a side of me that loves that cycling is this kinda sport, mud and cobbles and absolute chaos. Scripts worth a damn. You had to just ride hard. It is awesome to see those that persevere and literally conquer. It is so stupid awesome romantic.
But, still, ultimately, I am in the same camp that Jules and TJ, not really sure a stage like this belongs in the Tour.
Spectacle shouldn't come at the risk of physical harm for the riders.
Jul 09, 2014 at 07:32 PM
The tour has had many cobbled stages in the past, no? Just not a lot in recent years.
I think they belong. Only 1 rider abandoned today, and he was hurt to start the stage. Most folks went down on the wet roads leading up to the cobbles, not on them.
Anything to break up the formulaic stem watching. That is what is bad for the sport.
Also, TJ's comment is so silly. He predicts that this might make the tour less interesting in the long run? How does he know that? Silly, silly, silly.
Jul 09, 2014 at 07:35 PM
maybe froome will look at the road more now
Jul 09, 2014 at 07:50 PM
maybe froome will look at the road more nowOh snap!!!
Jul 09, 2014 at 08:04 PM
Cobbled stages used to be every stage of the tour at one time. In the not-too-distant past, like the 1970s and 1980s, I think there was one almost every year,then every other year. It wasn't until the 90s that they became infrequent.
Froome might have had a hard time holding the bars and was nervous on top of that. He still could have gotten on his bike and ridden it out and maybe would have been back with Contador, but he gave up.
Contador, who did well on the cobbles in 2010 still rode well, but not incredibly. His team rallied around him, but they weren't incredible, either.
TVG himself crashed on a slick road,not on stones. His team wasn't quite as good as Tinkoff, and they had Van Avermaet to pilot TVG back and big guys like Burghardt and Schar to drive on the smooth roads.
Talansky took a small fall on cobbles after the more experienced Lotto guy did a header in front of him and Talansky got back on and drove. Talansky, unlike TVG,rode well on the pave, and his team was on a good day keeping him towards the front. And Talansky, unlike TVG was able to stay close to Geraint Thomas after his team was exhausted.
In conclusion, experience, skills, and fitness were the big issues. (funny how both Astana and Tinkoff made a show of training on cobbles and Sky...showed off Froome riding a TT next to the chunnel) That some had bad luck would be the case any day of the race. The stones didn't change it.
BTW, on his way to winning the giro last year, Nibali overcooked a corner on a wet descent and slid out. He was back on his bike in no time and continued as if nothing had happened. I don't think I could do that, but it was quite a contrast to Wiggins who was done after he slid out on a wet corner. Give the shark credit for knowing how to handle his bike and not get rattled.
Jul 09, 2014 at 08:31 PM
i am a fan of the cobblestone stage. i'm certainly not a fan of crashes or anyone getting hurt. but the vast majority of the peloton finished. froome went down 3 times in 2 days and it was never because of cobbles. and his key competitors all survived to ride tomorrow.
hard stages with varying surfaces and challenges are good for the sport. it breaks up the usual routine....it was exciting to watch. and in my opinion the race is now more interesting, not less.
i also think TJ would be singing a different tune had he managed to stay with the yellow jersey group. talansky also lost time but he fought and didn't bitch about it afterwards. in fact, i'd reckon he's pretty damned pleased with his performance, and that of his team as well.
Jul 09, 2014 at 08:39 PM
I don't read anything above taking anything away from Nibali. He rode like a #boss
I don't get the "he could have just toughed it out" argument. If he could have, he would have. And if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle.