'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Berto like "Wtf... ma crazy bossman"Sagaan like "ma crazy bossman pay well... happy happy..."Oleg like "I'm da man... ASO, shitstorm is coming" http://cdn.media.cyclingnews.com/2015/07/21/2/bettiniphoto_0217108_1_full_670.jpg
tombeej Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 The Valverde - Quintana 1-2 punch is gonna tear this race apart. For the sake of Chris hope Porte doesn't have his traditional rest day blues. Oooh it's gonna be good!! [Rubbing hands, giggling gleefully!!] I've noticed that Sky have allowed Porte to chill in the main bunch the last couple of stages and not get involved in the front group, with Froome glued to Thomas' wheel. Giving Porte a chance to rest for these last critical huge stages in the Alps. Froome is going to need him (and Poels & co) 100% fresh because the others will be gunning for him. And it will be in their interests to join up and tag-team against him, each rival hitting him one after the other until he cracks. There are only so many attacks you can respond to before you're done. Froome is going to need strong teammates to respond to these attacks or he's going to have a torrid time. It's going to be a fascinating battle for sure.
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 “It’s a tough race, it’s complicated. But I can assure you I’m very motivated for this last week. The Tour’s not over.” 'Berto
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Descending master classBy Sagaaan https://youtu.be/UHgeNu5Gq-c
Pure Savage Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 I've noticed that Sky have allowed Porte to chill in the main bunch the last couple of stages and not get involved in the front group, with Froome glued to Thomas' wheel. Giving Porte a chance to rest for these last critical huge stages in the Alps. Froome is going to need him (and Poels & co) 100% fresh because the others will be gunning for him. And it will be in their interests to join up and tag-team against him, each rival hitting him one after the other until he cracks. There are only so many attacks you can respond to before you're done. Froome is going to need strong teammates to respond to these attacks or he's going to have a torrid time. It's going to be a fascinating battle for sure. That's true until Chris attacks and makes his rivals chase. Will be interesting to see. Some very different styles of climbing all round, I think that will play a massive roll in how its going to pan out. Tough question raised above about the rest vs Froome, if you know you are not going to win, then you will aim for as high up the standings as possible for sponsors etc. With that in mind, I don't see Valverde helping Contador out at all. TBH, I was surprised when I saw him do a turn in front of Quintana the other day.
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 You could wake up in your alpine B&B in the town of St Jean de Maurienne in the Maurienne Valley and decide whether you want to head out for a day of exploring any one of these legendary TDF climbs - all within riding distance of your front door: Col du GalibierCol de la MadeleineCol du TélègrapheCol de la Croix de FerCol du Glandon Or take a day trip 70 km away to reach Alpe d'Huez. Imagine living here. What a place!I'll be rolling a few of those speed bumps over the next few weeks.What a dream.
tombeej Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 That's true until Chris attacks and makes his rivals chase. Will be interesting to see. Some very different styles of climbing all round, I think that will play a massive roll in how its going to pan out. Tough question raised above about the rest vs Froome, if you know you are not going to win, then you will aim for as high up the standings as possible for sponsors etc. With that in mind, I don't see Valverde helping Contador out at all. TBH, I was surprised when I saw him do a turn in front of Quintana the other day. Yip, I'm sure the Sky brains trust understand they're going to have to dictate things on their terms and not wait for others to come at them. Valverde has never helped anyone but himself throughout his career. He won't ride for Quintana now even if he says he will. He's never podiumed at the TDF in his long career (best was 4th last year). He will be focused on his own glory with a spot on that podium in Paris. He'll attack everyone where he can, but he's also never done well in the very long steady-gradient climbs of the Alps and I expect him to finally drop away in the coming days (and I'm sure Tejay is counting on that too).
tombeej Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 I'll be rolling a few of those speed bumps over the next few weeks.What a dream. JEALOUS!!! Please post pics - lots of them
Gen Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Yip, I'm sure the Sky brains trust understand they're going to have to dictate things on their terms and not wait for others to come at them. Valverde has never helped anyone but himself throughout his career. He won't ride for Quintana now even if he says he will. He's never podiumed at the TDF in his long career (best was 4th last year). He will be focused on his own glory with a spot on that podium in Paris. He'll attack everyone where he can, but he's also never done well in the very long steady-gradient climbs of the Alps and I expect him to finally drop away in the coming days (and I'm sure Tejay is counting on that too). Yip.. Valverde is going to fade... sadly so will TJ
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Green JerseyPeter Sagan has been in so many breaks so far in the race, but you wouldn't put it past him getting in today's. Here's how the Green jersey competition looks:Peter Sagan (Svk) Tinkoff-Saxo 405 pts2 André Greipel (Ger) Lotto Soudal 316 3 John Degenkolb (Ger) Team Giant-Alpecin 264 4 Mark Cavendish (GBr) Etixx - Quick-Step 192 5 Bryan Coquard (Fra) Team Europcar 122 6 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 109 7 Zdenek Stybar (Cze) Etixx - Quick-Step 78 8 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 77 9 Tony Gallopin (Fra) Lotto Soudal 76 10 Alexander Kristoff (Nor) Team Katusha 70
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Froome also holds the lead in the KOM competition too, with Joaquim Rodriguez keeping the jersey warm for him on today's stage. The Spaniard is around 40 minutes down on GC and has won two stages already in this year's race. He's a prime candidate to go into the day's break. 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 61 pts2 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 52 3 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 41 4 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 40 5 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 38 6 Serge Pauwels (Bel) MTN - Qhubeka 33 7 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo 32 8 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 32 9 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 32 10 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 28
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Welcome back after yesterday's second rest day of the Tour de France. Today sees the race hit the Alps for the first of four mountain stages before the race's conclusion in Paris on Sunday. The stage is 161 km from Digne-les-Bains to Pra Loup, an exact copy of the stage Romain Bardet won at the Dauphine last month.
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 There are five categorised climbs on the stage but the main action comes in the second half with the Col d’Allos, and it's very technical descent followed by the finish up at Pra Loup. 0km Cat 3 climb Col des Lèques 13:5267km Cat 3 climb Col de Toutes Aures 14:4296km Cat 2 climb Col de la Colle St Michel 15:21111km Sprint Beauvezer 15:39139km Cat 1 climb Col d’Allos 16:34161km Cat 2 climb/Finish Pra Loup 17:04
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 The final climb, itself, isn't the toughest climb the riders will have to face in the race, not by a long shot but it should provide an interesting indication as to how the GC contenders are fairing after the second rest day. Expect attacks on the descent of the Col d’Allos too. Romain Bardet attacked just before the summit during the Dauphine and built up over a minute on the peloton by the time he started the climb to Pra Loup. Anything similar today should be enough to net the stage win with the final climb 6.2km in length.
Gen Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 Froome also holds the lead in the KOM competition too, with Joaquim Rodriguez keeping the jersey warm for him on today's stage. The Spaniard is around 40 minutes down on GC and has won two stages already in this year's race. He's a prime candidate to go into the day's break. 1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 61 pts2 Joaquim Rodriguez (Spa) Team Katusha 523 Jakob Fuglsang (Den) Astana Pro Team 414 Richie Porte (Aus) Team Sky 405 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 386 Serge Pauwels (Bel) MTN - Qhubeka 337 Rafal Majka (Pol) Tinkoff-Saxo 328 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 329 Alejandro Valverde (Spa) Movistar Team 3210 Robert Gesink (Ned) Team LottoNL-Jumbo 28 Come on Purito My fantasy league is however saying come on Fuglsang
'Dale Posted July 22, 2015 Posted July 22, 2015 We're about 15 minutes away from the roll out and a further ten from the official start. The sun is out and there should be a slight tailwind on today's stage.
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