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2014 Tour De France


ScottCM

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Posted

Did I see somewhere Chris Horner is riding, and rated as a dark horse.? I am sure I did, but I was probably so gobsmacked I instantly dismissed the stupid notion.

 

Any ideas.?

 

Ja, he's in. As a backup GC option to Costa. Word is that he's been training hard and will be on the start line with no illnesses or injuries. Let's see how long that lasts.

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Posted

Ja, he's in. As a backup GC option to Costa. Word is that he's been training hard and will be on the start line with no illnesses or injuries. Let's see how long that lasts.

 

I just had a good chuckle, I needed it so its not a bad thing. :lol:

Posted

I think its still possible, the top guys like 'Berto, Valverde and probably Froome dont need a team in the mountains, they can look after themselves when the gradient goes up, what they do need is a team to get them to the base of the mountain safely, but then if really necessary they could just hide in the peleton as well, big Jan made a career of doing just that, apart from a short stint when he had Vino as a team mate he pretty much rode the tour on his own.

 

Besides the support needed on the flat and rouleur stages, the thing about the French climbs is that they're often very long and generally not super steep a la Giro and Vuelta. The top guys will all have their main lieutenants sheltering them until the final few kays of a mountain top finish. They'll just be expected to do the finishing off.

 

But if they don't have riders with them until the critical moments, watch them get isolated and soon into trouble. Seen it too many times over the years.

 

This years Dauphine is a case in point. While Garmin-Sharp had a brilliant day on the last day, it was Contadors title to lose. And he lost it because his team completely abandoned him when he needed riders to take him to the final climb. If he had a couple of riders with him when Froome crumbled they would have closed the gap for him to then finish off the race. And that was only an 8 day race. The effect of a weak team is multiplied in a grand tour.

Posted

Besides the support needed on the flat and rouleur stages, the thing about the French climbs is that they're often very long and generally not super steep a la Giro and Vuelta. The top guys will all have their main lieutenants sheltering them until the final few kays of a mountain top finish. They'll just be expected to do the finishing off.

 

But if they don't have riders with them until the critical moments, watch them get isolated and soon into trouble. Seen it too many times over the years.

 

This years Dauphine is a case in point. While Garmin-Sharp had a brilliant day on the last day, it was Contadors title to lose. And he lost it because his team completely abandoned him when he needed riders to take him to the final climb. If he had a couple of riders with him when Froome crumbled they would have closed the gap for him to then finish off the race. And that was only an 8 day race. The effect of a weak team is multiplied in a grand tour.

 

Yah, I hear you, 'Berto's team was shamefully poor at the Dauphine though, I dont know what his team is like for the tour but its likely to be a lot stronger with at least Kreuziger as a close mate.

Posted

Did I see somewhere Chris Horner is riding, and rated as a dark horse.? I am sure I did, but I was probably so gobsmacked I instantly dismissed the stupid notion.

 

Any ideas.?

 

He's tagged to be a domestique to Costa I've read

Posted

@Joecools, I’ve started an online hub league through Ultimate Dream Teams - details below.

 

What's good about this one is that you get to make 15 transfers during the tour.

 

Here are the details:

 

Ultimate Dream Teams is finally online with the 2014 TDF Fantasy League .

 

Sign up and enter your team here:

http://www.ultimatedreamteams.com/site/current-games/item/53-tour-de-france-fantasy-league.html

 

A mini league has been set up for hubbers:

 

League name: TheHubSA

League code: 18929198107995

Posted

Kreuzinger's removal from the TDF, and the questionable manner in which this thing has been handled by the UCI, is sure to set off again all those accusations about favouritism for Sky and Froome.

 

Accusations that the UCI rushes through TUEs for Froome by bypassing due process, the young Cookson employed by Sky, etc., now compared against Froome's no.1 rival being 'done in' by removing his key lieutenant on the eve of the race. Watch the conspiracy theories fly.

 

This could have been handled far better. Very bad news for Tinkoff-Saxo. But ironically this controversy is not going to good for Sky either.

Posted

@Joecools, I’ve started an online hub league through Ultimate Dream Teams - details below.

 

What's good about this one is that you get to make 15 transfers during the tour.

 

Here are the details:

 

Ultimate Dream Teams is finally online with the 2014 TDF Fantasy League .

 

Sign up and enter your team here:

http://www.ultimatedreamteams.com/site/current-games/item/53-tour-de-france-fantasy-league.html

 

A mini league has been set up for hubbers:

 

League name: TheHubSA

League code: 18929198107995

 

Cool! Registered a team in your league. Reading through my selection they seem such an obvious choice. Guess 1 has to decide to go with the form riders or make a few underdog selections to score unlikely points

 

1st for me playing this game so looking forward to it

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