2013 Critérium du Dauphiné

[Lucky Luke.]

Yes please!

 

AICAR and GW501516. Lots of money thrown at their program, good masking agents, maybe some transfusions as well, and top it all off with some degree of leverage / protection from UCI & British Cycling.

[Wez-O]

I reckon if you have no power, and guys you routinely pummeled in the past are catching you, it's natural to shift around on the saddle trying to fix the problem.

Maybe Contador inadvertently got his saddle stuck up his a#%?

[SyncSA]

AICAR and GW501516. Lots of money thrown at their program, good masking agents, maybe some transfusions as well, and top it all off with some degree of leverage / protection from UCI & British Cycling.

 

Just needed to know that you were thinking the same of them as you were Berto. Who are you supporting for the GC in the Dauphine and the TDF?

[jcza]

That is what I chose to believe then.

 

Ok - we live and learn.

 

Looking forward to todays stage, its going to be great! (even if I don't know who is clean )

 

Berto will have to beef up his performance. Ok I'll get my coat

[Lucky Luke.]

Just needed to know that you were thinking the same of them as you were Berto. Who are you supporting for the GC in the Dauphine and the TDF?

 

I don't really root for anyone as I don't believe any of them are clean. I just watch the show with morbid curiosity.

 

Evans is probably cleanest of the lot, but inevitably suffers from a boring style because he is constantly on the limit just to keep up. I reckon in a fantasy dope-free world he'd be a pretty exciting rider and would have quite a few more yellow jersies to show for it.

[Wez-O]

Ok - we live and learn.

 

Looking forward to todays stage, its going to be great! (even if I don't know who is clean )

 

Berto will have to beef up his performance. Ok I'll get my coat

HAHAHA very good!

 

Yeah today should be a good stage and I have no doubt that many an anti diuretic were ingested after the peloton saw that HC mountain top finish.

[jcza]

AICAR and GW501516. Lots of money thrown at their program, good masking agents, maybe some transfusions as well, and top it all off with some degree of leverage / protection from UCI & British Cycling.

 

I wouldn't be surprised if teams are micro-dosing EPO or new EPO-Z. As long as Pat is around not much will change.

[Lucky Luke.]

Hard not to pick Froome for the Dauphine win though. Maybe Porte if the DS manages to talk some sense into him and gets him to take his foot off the gas a bit.

[SyncSA]

Ok - we live and learn.

 

Looking forward to todays stage, its going to be great! (even if I don't know who is clean )

 

Berto will have to beef up his performance. Ok I'll get my coat

 

Skerp boet, skerp!

[Lucky Luke.]

I wouldn't be surprised if teams are micro-dosing EPO or new EPO-Z. As long as Pat is around not much will change.

 

Ye, looks like the microdosing is getting more and more micro, assuming the UCI can be bothered to follow through on the positives. Looks like they are only interested in hammering the Russians and the Italian version of Rock Racing, packed full of guys with sanctions behind their names, and only now because it's pre-tour and Pat needs to show everyone how hard he's working to clean up the sport.

[SyncSA]

Which of the remaining stages are crucial? Today and?

 

Could we see a breakaway today, and if so where do you guys think?

[Lucky Luke.]

Froome or Porte to be in the leaders jersey after today.

[Wez-O]

Which of the remaining stages are crucial? Today and?

 

Could we see a breakaway today, and if so where do you guys think?

Definitely todays finish makes it a big day for the climbers and then the key stage will be Saturdays stage 7 when they have Alpe d’Huez/Col de Sarenne amongst other big climbs and although I think the GC will be decided by Sunday, it also looks a tough stage. Tomorrow is the only real sprinters stage of the race.

 

I'll be surprised if a breakaway survives today as it's rather short with a brutal HC finish.

[Wez-O]

I've got a sneaky suspicion that todays finish will be one for Rodriguez...

[dracs]

On the same dope as LA, he was transformed into a machine. Riding clean, he is a good climber and average TT rider, like Basso, for example.

The TT performances of Sky is suspect, imo. Big jump in TT performance for anybody leaves a question mark. Big jump in TT performance of a whole team? History repeating itself?

Where's the big jump? All 4 of those guys have good TT credentials going back years.

 

We are all entitled to be cynical after the last few years, but we should avoid jumping on the bandwagon. Sky have $ and have built the strongest team around.

 

And people better qualified than me have who have analysed climbs and the like say there is nothing super-human about any of Froome's performances on climbs (quite unlike the Alberto of olds performances on a number of GT climbs - amongst many others)

Edited June 6, 2013 by dracs

[tombeej]

Definitely todays finish makes it a big day for the climbers and then the key stage will be Saturdays stage 7 when they have Alpe d’Huez/Col de Sarenne amongst other big climbs and although I think the GC will be decided by Sunday, it also looks a tough stage. Tomorrow is the only real sprinters stage of the race.

 

I'll be surprised if a breakaway survives today as it's rather short with a brutal HC finish.

 

Personally I'd say the main GC teams have targeted this stage as a the big one, no pulling punches here.

 

So little chance of a breakaway succeeding.

 

All I see in my crystal ball is the sight of a long black/neon blue train motoring up that final climb with a man in white shades hooked on the back, and all other GC names hanging round and about his wheel...

Edited June 6, 2013 by tombeej