Yeah, still not convinced he was going to be anywhere near the sharp end of things in GC, tbh. Lots of pressure on titchy Ritchie's little shoulders now though.
The Bicycle Racing Thread 2014
- Thread starter The Boy
- Start date
Yeah, still not convinced he was going to be anywhere near the sharp end of things in GC, tbh. Lots of pressure on titchy Ritchie's little shoulders now though.
So Froome's out of the Tour? Game over?
ChrisFilter
Like a boss.
Gutted for Froome. Not his biggest fan, but I'd choose him over Contador or Nibali every time. He must be heartbroken.
ChrisFilter
Like a boss.
Nibali could stay in yellow for nearly the whole tour now.
Amazing that they are riding on little more than farm tracks 
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
This is very nice.
butchersapron
Bring back hanging
Brilliant win.
Nigel Irritable
Five, Ten, Fifteen Years
Fantastic stage. Contador's face as a motorbike passed him a few kms from the end was hilarious. He looked like he'd just stumbled out of a trench with shell shock.
Deserved stage winner. Amazing ride by Nibali. And now others will have to go nuts in the mountains. Pity to lose the champion through crashes though.
Deserved stage winner. Amazing ride by Nibali. And now others will have to go nuts in the mountains. Pity to lose the champion through crashes though.
Nigel Irritable
Five, Ten, Fifteen Years
Wiggins is obviously the bigger issue but Sky's decision to leave Kennaugh at home isn't looking too clever at the moment either.
From a sporting perspective, he's winning the Tour of Austria currently and Sky sure could use someone else who can climb, given the thinness of the support squad now that Porte has been promoted.
From a marketing perspective, he'd double the British representation in the team. Right now, they are riding for an Australian and only have Thomas for home interest.
And from an internal team harmony perspective, who would fancy the job of telling Kennaugh that he's probably not going to be allowed to ride the Vuelta for himself if Froome fancies it?
From a sporting perspective, he's winning the Tour of Austria currently and Sky sure could use someone else who can climb, given the thinness of the support squad now that Porte has been promoted.
From a marketing perspective, he'd double the British representation in the team. Right now, they are riding for an Australian and only have Thomas for home interest.
And from an internal team harmony perspective, who would fancy the job of telling Kennaugh that he's probably not going to be allowed to ride the Vuelta for himself if Froome fancies it?
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SpookyFrank
A cheap source of teeth for aquarium gravel
sleaterkinney
Well-Known Member
Long way to go yet. Amazing ride by Nibali ahead of classics riders though.
Anyone know where I could get a hold of the whole stage?
Ted Striker
Foot's on the other hand
This is actually better than this years *actual* Paris-Roubaix
I feel quite conflicted about it tbh...A Wet and Dry PR are 2 completely different races. This was ridiculous! (in a good and bad way!)
I'd thought I'd never see things as awesome as the last few PR's - From Cancellara's superhuman break in 2010(?) to the pool of talent (inc hero Wiggo) fishing around this year, so finally glad I've seen the carnage of a wet one. Whether the crap shoot of the luck and boldness involved was fair to have it for a 21 stage race (not just any 21 stage race!) I'm not so sure. Go balls out and fail on PR day and you lick your wounds and prepare for the next Classic, though now you've ruined a year or so's training and focus. Feel sorry for Contador a little though if I had to do 2.5 weeks of watching anyone needing to start pulling some crazy attacks to make up 3 mins, it would be him.
The reality is, the 'threat' of the cobbles that done it, and that's the beauty of it all IMO. The drama of those little 15km (and the didn't even do Arenburg
) completely changed things and caused all the crazy racing of today - for which I think the organisers played a blinder. However the sentance of a written off TDF for the reigning champion is, I think, regretful.I will also openly admit I've got a childish hope this drama doesn't overshadow the next PR's though. For me it will always be the ultimate bike race/event and if anyone compares it to "that time Froome quit the TDF" I'll tell them to shut up quite politely!
I've got a slightly embarassing schadenfreud about the Froome crash - I mean him no ill will (and don't blame the lack of Wiggins (again, a bit of a hero for me) on him - IMO it was Sky fucking up at some point around 2011 when the lead both to believe they would be the main main come TDF2012 to ensure they both signed/stayed, but I digress...), though the fact he's lost it on exactly the stage when it was widely lauded that a) Wiggo could help and b) Would still have a chance at building a plan B team (Wiggo leading or Porte with WIggo as superdomestique (and still with a world class domestiques left)). Now they've fucked it.
I'm going to watch the finale in Paris, need to start picking some plucky unknowns to follow!
Ted Striker
Foot's on the other hand
Oh, and I'm a little bit in love with Greg Lemond. Know of no-one that can talk for so long, without making any verbal literal sense, but in the same sense each and every viewer knows exactly what he means. 
Cycling torrents
I feel quite conflicted about it tbh...A Wet and Dry PR are 2 completely different races. This was ridiculous! (in a good and bad way!)
I'd thought I'd never see things as awesome as the last few PR's - From Cancellara's superhuman break in 2010(?) to the pool of talent (inc hero Wiggo) fishing around this year, so finally glad I've seen the carnage of a wet one. Whether the crap shoot of the luck and boldness involved was fair to have it for a 21 stage race (not just any 21 stage race!) I'm not so sure. Go balls out and fail on PR day and you lick your wounds and prepare for the next Classic, though now you've ruined a year or so's training and focus. Feel sorry for Contador a little though if I had to do 2.5 weeks of watching anyone needing to start pulling some crazy attacks to make up 3 mins, it would be him.
The reality is, the 'threat' of the cobbles that done it, and that's the beauty of it all IMO. The drama of those little 15km (and the didn't even do Arenburg
I will also openly admit I've got a childish hope this drama doesn't overshadow the next PR's though. For me it will always be the ultimate bike race/event and if anyone compares it to "that time Froome quit the TDF" I'll tell them to shut up quite politely!
I've got a slightly embarassing schadenfreud about the Froome crash - I mean him no ill will (and don't blame the lack of Wiggins (again, a bit of a hero for me) on him - IMO it was Sky fucking up at some point around 2011 when the lead both to believe they would be the main main come TDF2012 to ensure they both signed/stayed, but I digress...), though the fact he's lost it on exactly the stage when it was widely lauded that a) Wiggo could help and b) Would still have a chance at building a plan B team (Wiggo leading or Porte with WIggo as superdomestique (and still with a world class domestiques left)). Now they've fucked it.
I'm going to watch the finale in Paris, need to start picking some plucky unknowns to follow!
The thing about the cobbles in grand tours though is that ye attrition rate seems about in line with any other type of stage. One dnf today, two in 2010, can't remember about 2004 but sure it was only low. That can happen in any nervous, wet stage in the first week of a gt, but because it's the mythical cobbles it's they who are blamed.
Things are deffo set up nicely for the next two or so week anyway. I look forward to it.
Nigel Irritable
Five, Ten, Fifteen Years
Good point about the dnf rate. I suppose its a combination of the stages not actually being close to PR/RVV length and toughness and also most of the field, who are neither cobble specialists nor GC men, backing the fuck off as soon as the field starts splitting?
On the CN forum it's being said that Sky assigned Thomas and Eisel to Porte at the start of the day, indicating that Froome was probably fucked even before his two (pre cobbles!) crashes.
Nibali is some hard nut by the way. For a guy his size with no experience in the northern classics to end up ahead of the likes of Cancellara, Sagan and the OPQS boys is crazy. It turns out being an expert bike handler with no sense of personal danger is as handy over cobbles as it is going down a mountain.
DownwardDog
Riding a Brompton with a power meter.
Such a brave ride by Nibali yesterday. He was a real assassin onze dentée as the French say.
Also: Ha Ha Froome. It's a pity there's no drugs that make you not shit at riding a bike in the wet.
Also: Ha Ha Froome. It's a pity there's no drugs that make you not shit at riding a bike in the wet.
Yeah, I was wondering if they might have been wise to put some cobbles in earlier on in the the stage. As soon as the pack got broken up things calmed down as those who didn't have a job to do for a leader or the stage win just drifted back and the group got split up into a more manageable size.
Agreed on Froome's injury. I had a suspicion that it was worse than they were letting on and the way he was riding combined with brailsford confirming porte as plan b before the stage make me think I was right. Reckon if he wasn't in the hunt for the win he wouldn't have been on the start line in the morning.
