nochain

Maybe he wants to go on the Colombier and with them 5minutes ahead they might wait for him close to the top and pace him on the downhill section as long as possible...only a cat 3 climb left then so they should be usefull. But he needs to get away first...

2 BMC guys in the break , they must be planning something.Cadel will not let he's guy's ride for nothing.

Bliksem but Sky is strong!!! When last did we have a 1,2 results on the podium in Paris for a team?Ever? Think we might just see that this year... I think we are going to see a very boring race now,Evans I am sure will try and maybe Nibali but really it will take something very special to take down Sky now. What we need now is a Conto/Andy combined attack or something.....

Yes let’s see today but I am pretty sure he is going to struggle at the high speed finishes. Yesterday he was in there for the intermediate points sprint which was a small tester for most and he looked slow when Cav,Goss and Greipel took off. Maybe he was saving he's legs for the final sprint but then why even get involved in the first place?

Very bad,I was hoping he will take the lead at Sky after the long TT because I really think he has got the shape right for this one and Wiggens might not be 100% in week 3.He will be good but I think Froome will be better. Now he might end up be super dom!!

Posted about that 2 pages ago....

As for Sagan,I like the guy but want to make a prediction. He will not feature at all during the fast finishes,from what I have seen he likes to sprint from a slower pace.Technical finishes where the bunch needs to slow down a bit.More a type of Valverde sprinter(just better). If we get a straight run in to the finish with a full train leading out Greipel I think we will see guy's like Goss,Greipel,Kittel and Cav show him how the really sprinting is done.TDF style!!!! But then again he might just make me eat my words the way he is going.

Interesting that Brad was left on he's own for most of the final 5km with Evans having all the support in front until they hit the climb.Sky basicly lost it a bit in those last 10km and Wiggens was on he's own most of the time. Easy to spot him with green on and that helmet of him!! Gesink looking strong(hope he stays on he’s bike!) Evans also looking very comfortable. Wiggens easily also gained about 5places on the steep section.

Not gamesmanship.....don't think there is any body in procycling that can match that power over 5 to 10 minutes, especially not on a road bike....maybe TT(maybe) because of frontal drag at that speed but not power over time...not power to weight, absolute power. That is part of he's problem, he is a big guy so he takes more time to get up to speed from a slow pace like that climb...because of he's weight he had to wait until the climb flattened out but then he is to slow to get up to speed so guy's like Sagan will find it easy to get onto he's wheel. He needs to clear the bunch when no one can take he's wheel before he gets up to speed.

Froome lost big time....more than a minute,sounds like he got a flat close to the finish.

PM send...... First time ever I don't have a Schleck in my starting 9.....so probably Frank will start to ride like a demon now......

Yeah that is the big problem...the money is good here.Even for the men....mostly if they are that good in SA that they will make it in Europe then mostly they will have to take a big paycut to start off in a team there.The upside for the men is once they hit protour status it all becomes worth it.With the woman it is all about just being the best they can be,but the money they will never get. Any idea what the Mtb woman get paid?Better?

Did you even read my post?? So maybe you can explain it to me? But please don't explain road cycling tactics for me.....explain the dynamics of racing as a small team with only one leader and 2 weaker riders against bigger and stronger teams. Smart riders understand that they have to work off the bigger teams that dominated the way the race goes. They determine the tactics and the results. If 3 of the top teams wants the break to stay away and you did not make the break then you are F#$ked!!If they want to keep the race together for a sprint then you better be on the right wheel in the last 5 km. What do you think Impey will do? Use he's experience...giving him 2 workers will not really help unless they are some off the strongest riders in the world and they are able to keep him close to the front in the last 5km...the rest of the race it is up to him to stay out of trouble and close to the front with the big names. So what is it you think Robyn will do? Give her a wheel when she punchers…with no radio support does that mean she will be stuck on her wheel the whole race between 200 other riders? Keep her out of the wind, get bottles for her? Like I said it is my opinion, when racing in a race like that…very similar to worlds then send your best riders and hope 1 of them is on the right wheel when the right move goes and then it is up to them to finish it off.

Andre gaan jou bliksem.....hehe dink dis klaar erg genoeg dat sy 700km van Pta af is. Maar ek stem saam met jou!!

@Mallo, I don't understand the team worker thing.....not sure what they are thinking and how these workers/helpers will be able to have an impact on the race but I think they are just plain stupid!!!!!!But that's just my opinion.... If you ride for one of the smaller countries the best and only way to get a result in a race like this is to ride off the bigger teams....you have to be at the right place at the right time....otherwise you are F#$ked!!It is all you can do........no way are we going to race a team race in a race like that......wtf are we going to ask Robyn to close down a break? Or protect a rider from the wind between 150plus other riders..... Best they might do is provide them with food and drink and 1 rider should be enough for that job and it's lap racing so should have many feed pionts. Best option for a small nation is send your 3 strongest riders and tell them to use their experience and hope to get lucky!!!!It is as simple as that. The bigger team WILL dominate the race and we WILL have to be at there when things happen. I would love for someone to explain to me what these so called helpers will do in a race like that to "help" Ashley....maybe CSA should tell us what the plan is.....if any....send some helpers to sit there and do what?????

Yes Cav will go for it that’s for sure!!Not sure how the weight loss will affect he's sprinting but Cav wants to win some more stages big time. I think the biggest thing is not the stage wins but the Green jersey comp. He will need some more support for that. Lots of strong sprinters this year, Greipel, Kittel and Goss will be dangerous so Sagan will be up against the best in the world and all of them in perfect shape. Think Sagan might find he is not there yet. Interesting Zabel does not have him in he’s group of Green contenders, looks like both him and Cav rate Goss as the favourite and most dangerous. This will probably be one of the best tours as far as sprinting goes! Read an article in procycling mag where Zabel recons it will be better for the Olimpics guys to stay in the tour than to pull out, rest and try to get going again all in 2 weeks. Most guys are actually very strong the first week or 2 after a grand tour so I think we will see most of them ride to the end. Interesting in the July Procycling mag, Zabel recons Valverde should forget about GC and go for the Green….espesialy now that the intermediate sprints count more towards jersey.

Hunter for a top 10!!

Doing my first one this year!!Can't wait.... As far as the Epic goes I am glad I did it but also really can't understand the route choices.The amount of pushing you had to do even if you are in the front say 20 % of the field is just crazy.It is like someone already said......very frustrating because climbing big mountains is what makes Mtbing amazing to me but then I want to be able to ride the whole climb or at least 95% of it.

After the Tour de Suisse and the Dauphine my top 4 final prediction looks like this for the tour. 1. Gesink 2. Evans 3. Wiggens 4. Frank Going for Gesink because I have always supported him and would love to see him cause an upset. He's TT has improved a lot and I think he is still some way off he's best climbing form. Hope he is timing it perfectly!

Agree!!!!

I read somewhere that by the time Wiggins hits the tour he would have done a 100 000 meters of climbing(vertical meters not distance) at altitude during those training camps. Who does that these days?? Actually measure every meter he climbs at altitude in prep. He also is one of the only riders in the races that sit down for a cool down ride even before he gets into the team bus after the big stages. They are doing things in a different way from what we have seen over the last couple of years...post Lance era.

Firstly.....F#$k me but Sky is strong!!Have not seen a team ride like that for many years....Like Christie said , they will ride down anything and in the end riders will just sit there and hope they crack or something. Really Hope it is not a Wiggens Evans showdown but right now it sure is looking like it. I will back Evans to pull it off but I really don't know how...he will have to have one big day on the TT bike and one huge day in the mountains. Maybe some of the pure climbers can drag him clear of sky... As far as Froome goes, I have a feeling he will be stronger than Wiggens in the 3rd week...not that it will really help him but I just have a feeling he is peaking perfectly. With all the problems he has had he is very fresh and has been improving every race for the last 2 months. Still an Andy fan but I really can't see him coming back from all these problems...but I am not ready to throw him away. He is a serious talent in the mountains and talent like that does not just go away and he finds form very easy so let’s hope he brings something to the tour because we need someone to shake things up in the mountains. As for the rest of the guys, I back Gesink as my underdog. Like I said on another topic , I believe only 5 guys have what it takes to win at this level. The tour is just that much faster and everybody is at a different level than at the other tours so it is always hard to try and look at the other winners from the Vuelta and Giro and try and decide if they have what it takes. To me it will be between Wiggens, Evans, Andy, Nibali and Gesink(Andy,Nibali and Gesink needs to find the form). With Sanchez and Valverde the 2 that might surprize. Gesink is purely based on what I think of he’s ability not he’s results.

Ja nee F#k!!!!Wat sal ons se.......................

Waterpiont 2 was like a war zone, we spend an hour there waiting for repairs and the stuff I witnessed during that hour was amazing. The one official at one stage was on the radio with someone at the finish trying to explain to him how bad it was....was a bit funny at that stage because it seemed the person on the other side just did not want to understand how bad it was going….and he used some very descriptive language. The mechanics had a very bad day that day, they were under a lot of pressure .Actually send my partner off without refitting he's breaks because they had to give attention to 10 people at a time. Everybody was begging for help!! Loads of people just got of their bikes and got into the kombi’s to try and heat up and some got told they should not continue. Really an Epic day, one most will never forget!! Rules are rules yes but I think in this case the info should have been communicated to the various race officials that it will not be enforced due to the conditions and that would have made it easier for the pro’s to just go ahead and get a jacket from where ever they can.

Will download it for the ipad tonight...the kindle version is cheap at R 96 bucks!! Should be a good read but i also want to read McEwen's book so need to make some time!