'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Chris Froome is riding a personalised bike today. It's in support of a wildlife charity
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 No surprise to see more breakaway hopefuls try to join the fun. Andriy Grivko (Astana) and Perrig Quémeneur (Europcar) have also gone of the front of the bunch in pursuit.
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Haas and Périchon have made the bridge and there are now six riders out front with a lead approaching two and a half minutes.
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Giant-Alpecin come to the front of the bunch to try and control things. There's an intermediate sprint in Laboutarie after 92.5km, remember. The gap is down to 1:30, with the two chasers just 20 seconds in front of the peloton.
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 The pace has been knocked back slightly in the bunch and the gap stands at 2:30. Big q:Will they control this until the intermediate sprint or let the escapees off the leash?
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 After 35 kilometres the gap is staying steady at 4:20. Giant are still on the front, not allowing this to get out of hand.
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 The six breakaway riders have covered 41.5km in the first hour of racing. The gap back to the bunch has ducked back under four minutes and is now at 3:50.
Pure Savage Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Chris Froome is riding a personalised bike today. It's in support of a wildlife charityThe purr that can be heard is a speaker with wild life noises, not an electric motor, definitely not an electric motor
T-Bob Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 Sagan isn't a sprinter if Cav moved it would be to bring in a pure sprinter, not Sagan. Funnily if you look at the stat's from his TDF this year he's doing a great impression of a fast man and is fairing better than his showing at the classics (all the time while dom'ing for others and not having a lead out). For sure he hasn't won any this year (or last) but it's only because he's being beaten by some of the genuine flat fast men about. Remember he was killing it as a sprinter in the Tour of Cali very early in his career. At this year’s Tour only Andre Greipel and Mark Cavendish have beaten Sagan in bunch sprints. And only by a tyre width each time. In Stage 2 he was second to Greipel, but ahead of Cavendish. This was repeated in Stage 5. In Stage 7 he was third behind Cavendish and Greipel. It is pretty decent company to keep and he has been the only rider to threaten the two ‘pure’ sprinters. Last year he had the ‘misfortune’ of twice finishing second to a rampant Marcel Kittel. No shame in that considering the ice man was in awesome form. There is no doubt that he has more strings to his bow than being just a sprinter. His general classification victory at the recent Tour of California proves that he is a more rounded cyclist than Greipel, Cavendish or Kittel. But should that exclude him from being spoken about in the same breath as the other sprinters? I don’t think so. Yes, more difficult finishes or stages should suit him better than his sprinting rivals, but that also leaves him vulnerable to the more tactically astute. Tony Martin and John Degenkolb outpointed him on the cobbled Stage 4 (although it must be said that his first priority that day was looking after Contador), while Zdenek Stybar got away from him on the uphill finish at Le Havre on Stage 6. His other top five finish this Tour was on the Mur-de-Bretagne, a steeper, longer end to a race where he will always be vulnerable to more accomplished climbers. That day he was gapped by Alexis Vuillermoz, and the experienced pair of Dan Martin and Alejandro Valverde. Sagan will always put himself in the mix when it comes to the classics or races that have lumpier terrain than a dead flat sprinter’s paradise, but, as we have seen time and again, he is no surer chance to win those than he is a bunch sprint. For mine he is closer to being a pure sprinter than anything else. When you get so close to the likes of Grepiel and Cavendish, how can you be thought of as anything else? Personally, I'd love to see him at Ettixx. It's be awesome but I think there are a lot of Princes in waiting to take Toms crown that have to be managed.
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 We're into the Tarn department of France now and the leaders have just over 3:30. The peloton are on a long straight road and it's pretty much single file. Giant-Alpecin are still on the front.
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 On another hot day hydration will be key. That means lots of work for the domestiques.
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 3:45 is the current gap for the six breakaway riders. In 15 kilometres' time we'll be winding up for the intermediate sprint.
ibruegge Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 I wonder when TdF starts paying ol 'Dale for working more than Phil Ligget!
'Dale Posted July 17, 2015 Posted July 17, 2015 "Out of the Pyrenean frying-pan and into the Tarn fire. We basically did the same route back in 84 and my overriding memory of that day was of legs hurting and my feet burning. It's warm in the mountains but at least you cool down on the descents. Going inland from Toulouse it just gets hot, then hotter and as Rodez approaches stiflingly uncomfortable. Perfect stage for a breakaway and until one gets away no-one will be happy, though with the last 60km being of the up and down, in and out, melted tar variety it's hard to say if it's better to be in the front or hiding at the back.” Robert Millar
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