Gen Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 It's going to be crazy today.. teams will be fighting to be at the front in anticipation of a split because of the wind.. GC riders are going to have a tough time.. they can't hide too far back.. wet cobbles=crashes. Cobbles also = punctures and team cars can't be right there to help.. someone may very well lose the TDF today.
kosmonooit Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 All the skinny GC contenders are going to need a lot of nurturing and protecting today, whilst the hard men are out front. Besides Fabs, Pete-ou: Greg van A, Seb vanmarcke, Gee, ...? Sir Wig will be missed.
Gen Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 Received this message from a friend who lives in France, yesterday he was still in 2 minds because of the weather forecast. ..Hotel booked- check. Flag pulled out and packed - check. Mini maps of escape routes and paths printed and waterproofed - check. ... I've now committed to standing in rain all day, Fabman better not let me down now. Doing it for him! Stg win and in yellow, I won't Accept anything less!!!!! Oh and BeefyBert taking over a min on Froome would be an excellent day out! But I'll accept no time lost and a safe finish for Beefy...
jcza Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 Well for sadistic bike-fans everywhere, it's now raining steadily in the land of cobbles for Stage 5 of the Tour
jcza Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 The last wet Paris-Roubaix was in 2002. There were 190 starters and 41 finishers.
jcza Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 Four riders in the Tour today started the 2002 Paris-Roubaix: Matthew Hayman, Jens Voigt, Thomas Voeckler and Samuel Dumoulin. None finished.
tombeej Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 The last wet Paris-Roubaix was in 2002. There were 190 starters and 41 finishers. Hells bells
gummibear Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 Extra brake levers and 27mm tubbies on the Colnagos for the cobbles
jcza Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 Favourite for the stage must be Cancellara. Might also be in yellow tonight as he only needs 36 seconds.
tombeej Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 I commute to work with a mtb that has a rigid carbon fork. The final 4km to the office is a heavily used dirt road, so lots of hectic washboard sections. As soon as I get above 30km/h it gets almost too uncomfortable to hold the handlebar, and I have to stand (difficult to stay seated and pedal). My wrists sometimes hurt when the road is in a bad state. When riding in to the office this morning, I couldn't help thinking about the torrid time anyone carrying injuries will have on those cobbles today. Especially people with sore wrists (a la Froome). This one of those days where the riders don't want to get out of bed, but the fans can't wait to see all the action. There are going to be full lead-out trains in the approaches to each pavé sector. That's where the crashes will happen. Once they're onto the cobbles, there's just one line - down the middle - so it effectively becomes singletrack. If you are a GC rider and not in the top 20 riders into a pavé sector, you'll soon find yourself hundreds of metres back with no chance of overtaking. It will take huge team effort to get back into position before the next sector. Let that happen more than once and you could lose minutes, not seconds. Make no mistake, with the rain and mud, this is going to be a hectic day.
rouxtjie Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 A good day to throw the dice for the GC contenders....big risk...big reward. Hoping bertie's team keep him safe, attacks from the usual suspects could throw the cat amongst the pigeons
gummibear Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 Jens has some awesome bike skills and would be great if him and Fabian could get away. Will be great for the viewers and spectators but those riders will be kaking themselves today.
jcza Posted July 9, 2014 Posted July 9, 2014 Will be interesting to see Tony Martin on the cobbles. Guys like Terpstra will also fancy their chances.
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