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The Bicycle Racing Thread 2014

sleaterkinney said:
I wonder if it's all over, Nibali is looking strong.
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Could be, but (a) everyone who has been anointed the red hot favourite so far in this race has ended up with broken bones a few days later, and (b) putting a few seconds into your opponents on a relatively short climb is a good sign but not proof of dominance. Yet.
 
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I only saw the highlights, but there seemed to be an absence of kamikaze French attacks today. Voeckler had a go, but that's hardly unusual for him.
 
stavros said:
I only saw the highlights, but there seemed to be an absence of kamikaze French attacks today. Voeckler had a go, but that's hardly unusual for him.
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Unusually, a lot of the big French names are more interested in the GC/white Jersey. One/two on that as it happens and for in the top ten (though galloping Gallopin won't be there for much longer, I imagine)

Not a fan of either Froome or Contador but always a shame to see riders crashing out. When is the two favourites then doubly so. Still, vuelta will be awesome assuming everyone recovers in time.

Has to Nibali as very, very strong favourite now though. Only way I see him losing is some of those guys who suddenly find themselves in with a shot at the podium take a chance on the win. Would possibly be had to control in that case, but I imagine it'll probably be very defensive from here on in.

Speaking of riders in with a shout of a podium, that 200/1 I took each way on bardet and peraud is looking interesting.
 
stavros said:
I only saw the highlights, but there seemed to be an absence of kamikaze French attacks today. Voeckler had a go, but that's hardly unusual for him.
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The best french riders have bigger to fish to fry these days than doomed breakaways. Four in the GC top 10, a couple of whom will be fancying their chances of a podium.
 
Barking_Mad said:
Anyhow, two dopers out. It's all good :hmm:;)
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Just back from France...Its great what you can achieve with a junior hacksaw in 2 minutes...the beauty of CF!:D

We just need Valverde to go now...this is shaping up to be a great tour and having him on the podium would spoil it. But he is a persistent so and so and probably eyes the GC list now thinking he can make something stick. He generally has very good third weeks sadly.

I would be far happier with Nibali if he wasn't riding for *that* team. Still the stage 5 showing was nothing to do with dopage and one can only admire the bike handling skill and balls.
 
Nigel Irritable said:
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.

.
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Nigel I promise I am not doing this on purpose but...Given the location and the year we're in that's a pretty tasteless comment:(
 
Team NetApp to become Team BORA. They're the guys who make the weird looking exctractor fans you'll have seen advertised on tell if you watch Eurosport. Five year deal apparently which is pretty awesomes for them.

Still no news on the rest day doping scandal.
 
Sigmund Fraud said:
Just back from France...Its great what you can achieve with a junior hacksaw in 2 minutes...the beauty of CF!:D

We just need Valverde to go now...this is shaping up to be a great tour and having him on the podium would spoil it. But he is a persistent so and so and probably eyes the GC list now thinking he can make something stick. He generally has very good third weeks sadly.

I would be far happier with Nibali if he wasn't riding for *that* team. Still the stage 5 showing was nothing to do with dopage and one can only admire the bike handling skill and balls.
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Yes, he's got some dodgy buggers around him. Interesting to see how Tony Martin blew a gasket yesterday. Pushed himself then looked like he was cycling backwards at one point! Always a better sign that people aren't doping when they cant repeat big efforts.

Nibali's time was quick yesterday, but without context hard to say that it was "too quick".
 
The Boy said:
Team NetApp to become Team BORA. They're the guys who make the weird looking exctractor fans you'll have seen advertised on tell if you watch Eurosport. Five year deal apparently which is pretty awesomes for them.

Still no news on the rest day doping scandal.
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Has there been some murmerings?
 
Barking_Mad said:
Has there been some murmerings?
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Nah, hence no news. Although the journos at the pressers held by Cookson to promote the women's race seemed more interested in asking about why they hadn't been spoon fed the news about Menchov et al
 
Barking_Mad said:
Yes, he's got some dodgy buggers around him. Interesting to see how Tony Martin blew a gasket yesterday. Pushed himself then looked like he was cycling backwards at one point! Always a better sign that people aren't doping when they cant repeat big efforts.

Nibali's time was quick yesterday, but without context hard to say that it was "too quick".
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tony martin looked dreadful yesterday, can't remember when i've seen someone suffering quite so much, and as you say, strangely reassuring in some ways.
 
Barking_Mad said:
Interesting to see how Tony Martin blew a gasket yesterday. Pushed himself then looked like he was cycling backwards at one point! Always a better sign that people aren't doping when they cant repeat big efforts.
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Yeah, I was thinking that, same with Kadri from the day before.

I was a young 'un at the time, but is it remiss of me to think back to mountain stages of the Tour during the Indurain/Pantani/Ullrich/Armstrong and note how boring they were in comparison to now - just seeing the same old faces relentlessly attack day after day with no let-up?

Or was it still just as unpredictable and I'm misremembering?
 
poului said:
Or was it still just as unpredictable and I'm misremembering?
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Its certainly less predictable now and it was also less predictable before the era you speak of...at least I think it was. Its hard as my tour teeth were cut between 1984-1990 so that is always my eternal sunshine time, I'm not objective about it. The EPO years were full of sledgehammering the shit out of the GC but I recall there were still battles along the way, they were just overshadowed by ridiculous wins that didn't seem possible.

I have had a few ales; heres Lemond, Hinault, Roche, Delgado, Parra, Herrera, Winnen knocking lumps outta each other. Note the conspicuous lack of trains, team mates (Hererra excepted) and measuring effort. When riders go they really do GO. None of the jerseys are shit, the bikes look mint and the lack of helmets and shades mean you can instantly tell who is who. Jumpers for goalposts.
 
Sigmund Fraud said:
Its certainly less predictable now and it was also less predictable before the era you speak of...at least I think it was. Its hard as my tour teeth were cut between 1984-1990 so that is always my eternal sunshine time, I'm not objective about it. The EPO years were full of sledgehammering the shit out of the GC but I recall there were still battles along the way, they were just overshadowed by ridiculous wins that didn't seem possible.

I have had a few ales; heres Lemond, Hinault, Roche, Delgado, Parra, Herrera, Winnen knocking lumps outta each other. Note the conspicuous lack of trains, team mates (Hererra excepted) and measuring effort. When riders go they really do GO. None of the jerseys are shit, the bikes look mint and the lack of helmets and shades mean you can instantly tell who is who. Jumpers for goalposts.
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Yeah, I was too young for the late 80s tours but from what I've seen from the archives (they've got some pretty comprehensive stuff on Youtube these days) they were much more exciting than the Indurain era which was my introduction.
 
Sagan must be fit to kill someone at this point.

Demare not really doing much to justify leaving Bouhanni at home. It's one thing not to be competitive with Kittel or Greipel, but both Kristoff and Sagan were just faster than him there. And who would have predicted two or three years ago that Kristoff would be Norway's best rider?
 
Nigel Irritable said:
Sagan must be fit to kill someone at this point.

Demare not really doing much to justify leaving Bouhanni at home. It's one thing not to be competitive with Kittel or Greipel, but both Kristoff and Sagan were just faster than him there. And who would have predicted two or three years ago that Kristoff would be Norway's best rider?
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I'm trying to work out who is the biggest Sagan fanboy between Kirky and that dick on ITV.
I also think they should make winning a stage win compulsory if someone is to collect the green jersey in Paris. Just for the laugh.
 
twistedAM said:
I'm trying to work out who is the biggest Sagan fanboy between Kirky and that dick on ITV.
I also think they should make winning a stage win compulsory if someone is to collect the green jersey in Paris. Just for the laugh.
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I don't like Sagan, but I do think he's probably the most talented bike rider in the peloton.
 
Nigel Irritable said:
Sagan must be fit to kill someone at this point.

Demare not really doing much to justify leaving Bouhanni at home. It's one thing not to be competitive with Kittel or Greipel, but both Kristoff and Sagan were just faster than him there. And who would have predicted two or three years ago that Kristoff would be Norway's best rider?
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Saw a comment somewhere t'other day about him throwing his bike through the a air after gallopin's stage win. So aye, I reckon he's quite keen for a stage :D

As for demare, it's his first grand tour so I'm minded to cut him a bit of slack. He was sort of struggling a bit today in the hustle and bustle of the last km or two - lacking a bit in confidence in his right to be there possibly. Won't be used to two weeks of racing either. Time will tell I guess.
 
poului said:
Yeah, I was too young for the late 80s tours but from what I've seen from the archives (they've got some pretty comprehensive stuff on Youtube these days) they were much more exciting than the Indurain era which was my introduction.
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I think my first Tour was 1993, so Indurain in his pomp for my formative years as a cycling watcher. I remember Rominger, Virenque, etc trying everything to break him, but he was so relentless it was quite magnificent.
 
twistedAM said:
Seems teams know how to beat him though.
Would he be better off at a big team where he wasn't the only star or do you think he wouldn't appreciate that?
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I think he'd be better off at a team that wasn't shit.

Whether there is another star or not, most WT teams have a much stronger main supporting cast. With Moser doing nothing this year, Sagan's support is markedly worse than he'd get at IAM, a top end Pro Conti team. Although Cannondale do have a couple of promising kids like Formolo, without Sagan they would be the worst WT team by an absolute mile.

And sure, all of the riders do know how to beat him. Attack the select group, everyone will look at Sagan and he will have no support riders. Either he doesn't chase, you win and then he comes second at the head of the small group, or he catches you and someone who followed in his wheel wins. Everyone knows: don't work with Sagan. In most chases, nobody can share the work with him and then out sprint him, so the call is obvious.

You can only get out of that bind regularly if you have strong teammates or you are a Kelly. Sagan rarely has strong teammates (although he did today), and is much too young to have the racing brain of someone like Kelly. On the upside, he is considerably better than Kelly was at his age!
 
Well, that's it for the battle for yellow bar another crash or illness. Green has been wrapped up for ages. That basically leaves us with KoM and the battle of the French kids for White and the podium.

Great ride from Konig.
 
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