2016 Tour de France

[Cav']

I think experience plays a big role in Cavendish' success, you don't win against such a field without knowing exactly when to pounce and where to position yourself. (and he probably studies the finish more than we know)

[N-I-N-J-A]

 

 

 

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[HappyMartin]

Saturday is going to be a bit of a tester. Almost 5000m of climbing in 183km. I think I'm going to chop extra firewood and lay on some serious snacks.

['Dale]

Saturday is going to be a bit of a tester. Almost 5000m of climbing in 183km. I think I'm going to chop extra firewood and lay on some serious snacks.

 

That'll warm me up (not the fire ????????????)

[Cav']

Saturday is going to be a bit of a tester. Almost 5000m of climbing in 183km. I think I'm going to chop extra firewood and lay on some serious snacks.

Cant wait to see who will stamp their authority.

[scotty]

Who's your lead out this year Mark?

Other sprinters . . . .

 

:-)

That's where Cavendish's experience counts, been able to read the race.

['Dale]

['Dale]

One for Gen...

 

Sagz, you funny

 

 

[Gen]

One for Gen...

 

Sagz, you funny

 

 

https://youtu.be/FnAX-xcjytE

Lol

 

I saw that thx.. it's so funny he he he

[worriesnot]

I think experience plays a big role in Cavendish' success, you don't win against such a field without knowing exactly when to pounce and where to position yourself. (and he probably studies the finish more than we know)

 

if you just listen to him talk about the finish in the interview... amazing the detail he provides from those final moments in the sprint. almost second-by-second commentating on what he see, feels and does. amazing athlete.  

[bertusras]

if you just listen to him talk about the finish in the interview... amazing the detail he provides from those final moments in the sprint. almost second-by-second commentating on what he see, feels and does. amazing athlete.  

 

What I found quite interesting was this part of his post-race interview:

 

 

"Oh my god, that was terrifying," he told ITV4. "That was like the old days, just wheel surfing. There are almost two finish lines, and I was a little bit too far back so it was carnage in the final straight, there were guys coming from everywhere.

 

"I was fighting to be on Marcel Kittel's wheel, I wasn't sure if they were that organised, but I knew it would be the right thing to go early because it was downhill. I went for the line and I had to come again, I did what Marcel has done to me in the last four years and held on."

 

When he made his move and I checked the meters to go I was like nope, he went too soon. And then he just kept pulling and I was like, holy crap. And then he popped that in the interview and proved that I know sweet blue stuff-all about this, but it was wonderfully insightful!

[xcd]

Who's your lead out this year Mark?

Other sprinters . . . .

 

:-)

"To be very honest, in the finals this year, there is no tactic. It's impossible to ride with a team here," complained Kittel, who said Cavendish had produced a better sprint tactically.

[Plentipotential]

At what stage would the MTN bosses begin regretting their decision to not renew the sponsorship of the team...?

 

This has probably given DD more exposure than they would have thought realistically possible... and we are not even done with the first week.

 

Might have regretted it from the get go. Their problems in Nigeria and elsewhere may have forced their hand.

[tombeej]

It's the Pyrenees, baby!

 

Today, the race profile might say the finish comes after a long downhill, but really the stage should be decided on the famous Col d'Aspin.

 

From the Inner Ring: "The descent is shorter and steeper, 8% on the way down which makes it fast and means it’s hard to chase, someone who takes 20 seconds over the top can keep it on the way down, at least until the point the descent ends."

 

In the past, Froome has targeted the first mountain stage to be his big all-out attack. Quintana has said he's been training specifically for that, so he'll be ready and waiting for sure.

 

It might just be another win from the break again, with the GC teams wanting to keep all their ammo for the Col d'Aspin. So they'll most likely let a break go away.

 

That final climb is a very regular one, hardly changing from 6.5% to 7% all the way up its 12 kilometres.

 

So it's tailor-made for the big teams who can hold big watts for long periods of time, barely having to change gear. We'll be seeing Movistar and Sky doing that today.

 

A nice moody photo of the Col d'Aspin (click on image to enlarge):

 

[HappyMartin]

I think today the GC guys will take time from everyone else but I would be surprised to see too much energy expended. Tomorrow is a monster. No sense in doing too much today.

 

But what do I know. Sooner or later someone will have to do something unexpected and take it to Sky to try and disrupt their rather clinical plans.

[tombeej]

Here's the profile of the climb, showing its very regular/consistent gradient. The true mountain goats prefer the steep, irregular ramps where they can put in short attacking bursts to knock out the legs of their opponents. They don't really care for these straight-line climbs that require an ability to hold high power numbers for long periods of time.