The Official 102nd Tour de France, thread.

[Stat Brother]

Desperately sad news, I hope it all works out for him.

 

[Stat Brother]

Yay, part of this weeks ITV prize is a £400 Rapha gift voucher.



That's handy I need a new pair of socks.

 

[1066familyman]

Horrible news for Basso. Certainly puts things in perspective.

Hopefully they've caught it early and a full recovery lies ahead for him.

 

[1066familyman]

What's your thoughts for tomorrow SB?

Break to take it?, GC stage win with small time gaps?, Froome unable to resist putting everyone to the sword already?, or some other scenario?

My money would be on the break taking it. A lot of good riders now as good as out of GC, Bastille day, KoM points and big GC contenders reserving energy and sizing each other up ready for when it all kicks off on Wednesday and Thursday.

The list of potential breakaway candidates that can easily take the stage win without posing a threat to GC is as long as your arm.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

What's your thoughts for tomorrow SB?

Break to take it?, GC stage win with small time gaps?, Froome unable to resist putting everyone to the sword already?, or some other scenario?

My money would be on the break taking it. A lot of good riders now as good as out of GC, Bastille day, KoM points and big GC contenders reserving energy and sizing each other up ready for when it all kicks off on Wednesday and Thursday.

The list of potential breakaway candidates that can easily take the stage win without posing a threat to GC is as long as your arm.

1st mountain stage usually goes to a gc contender ad they can't resist it! Also sky will probably get the train going to hamper attacks so break will get caught.

 

[1066familyman]

1st mountain stage usually goes to a gc contender ad they can't resist it! Also sky will probably get the train going to hamper attacks so break will get caught.

That is my biggest fear for someone from the break not taking it - 15km final climb high tempo from a super strong Sky train might take some surviving I admit.

I have an inkling that Pinot in particular is sufficiently angry at the moment to throw all his eggs into a Bastille stage win and polka dot jersey basket to get in the break and stay away. Ordinarily his best chance of a stage win would be to sit in with GC and attack on the final climb as they all watch each other, but then there's that high tempo Sky train to overcome still.

 

[Stat Brother]

Tour de France 2015 Stage 10: Tarbes - La Pierre-Saint-Martin, 167 km





Stats & Facts

This is the first time the Tour has had a stage finish on the Col de la Pierre St Martin and the first time the race has climbed the col from the French side.
The race crossed the col from the Spanish side during the 2007 stage which finished at the summit of the Col d’Aubisque.
Stage 10 is late for the first mountain summit finish of the race. In 1979, the riders climbed Superbagnères in a time trial on the third day of the Tour.

Prognostication






Tour de France 2015: Geraint Thomas's most stressful start ever
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/33498831

 

[1066familyman]

Would be great if Meintjes could do what he did in the Dauphine - help Teklehaimanots KOM cause by getting in the break with him but then staying away to either win the stage or at least finish top 3.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

Anyone else caught up with the overnight - customary rest day doping/not doping scandal!

http://road.cc/content/news/157516-chris-froomes-training-data-hacked-says-sky-boss-sir-dave-brailsford

Its a weird one as Sky have got fully lawyered up on the matter and tried shutting everyone down who's sharing the data. Seeing as they're basically admitting its true data then why bother - just come out and explain. Anyway, it turns out the estimates made by the experts on his power that day was fairly accurate anyway at around 6.1W/kg for 40 minutes (impressive, but even more so that there are some sustained spikes higher than that).

I have to say Froome on Ventoux in 2013 was one of the most incredible climbing performances I've ever seen in the Tour - reminiscent of the Armstrong "mouth closed" charges. However, that doesn't mean he doped - he was in top form and could have a stormer of a day. By contrast even some of the early 2000s (as opposed to the ridiculous late 90s) climbs estimated at 6.5+W/kg.

 

[Bozza]

Amazing watching this climb and Froome's efforts.

 

[banjo]

Froome attacks 6km out.

 

[banjo]

Brilliant!! Sky owned that stage.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Brilliant for Froome and Sky, massive blow to the excitement for the rest of the race. Froome's support also look incredibly strong with both Porte and Thomas showing their own grand tour leadership credentials. Can't see anyone else getting anywhere near yellow again now.

 

[Horton's halftime iceberg]

Crazy stuff

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

1st mountain stage usually goes to a gc contender ad they can't resist it! Also sky will probably get the train going to hamper attacks so break will get caught.

Ahem!

Tour over, boom!

 

[1066familyman]

Oh dear

Does G put his hand on Valverde's back and let him go over the line first with a - "Go on then, we don't want to take the piss"? or "Thanks for setting the tempo for us all day, there you go, have this one on me"?

Never thought I'd here myself say thank God for Robert Gesink

 

[1066familyman]

Ahem!

Tour over, boom!

Would have needed to be on a motorbike to stay away from the Movistar, sorry I mean Sky train today!

Not a pretty sight from start to finish.

 

[Pantani]

Holy Shit !!!!!!! WTF??

That was ridiculous. I really do not know what to say to that. It was reminiscent of Armstrong or Pantani. As I was watching I started writing down people as they got dropped, mainly because some were ridiculously early.

1. Rui Costa
2. Kwiatkowski These two really are not on it this tour.
3. Kelderman
4. Bardet
5. Martin
6. Talansky
7. Pinot
8. Peraud
9. Nibali
10. Uran
11. Mollema
12. Rodriguez
13. Barguil
14. Yates, A
15. Contador
16. Valverde
19. Rolland
20. TJvG
21. Porte
22. Quintana

That was incredible stuff. Nice of Movistar to do all the work in to the climb again though, helped Sky a lot. The great French hopes were all a bit of a let down, seems last year the real top riders did crash allowing some lesser riders some glory. Impressive stuff from Adam Yates and Warren Barguil though, at 22 and 24 those guys will be GC contenders for a long time. Richie Porte really confuses me, his performance today actually makes me think he is even less of a GC contender (career wise rather than this Tour) than before, he always manages it as a support rider but when he is the boss he messes it up, gets ill has a jour sans etc, etc.

Finally, to put a bit of a dampener on things, and I wish we did not have to say this kind of thing. When Astana did this in the Giro we raised our eyebrows. When a rider destroys the opposition like this, you have to question it, you only have to look at who I have compared this performance to, to see that. Hope it is for real, and Sky should just put Froome's numbers out there, they have been leaked/stolen anyway so why not be entirely transparent?

 

[Pantani]

Brilliant for Froome and Sky, massive blow to the excitement for the rest of the race. Froome's support also look incredibly strong with both Porte and Thomas showing their own grand tour leadership credentials. Can't see anyone else getting anywhere near yellow again now.

Ahem!

Tour over, boom!

Oh dear

Does G put his hand on Valverde's back and let him go over the line first with a - "Go on then, we don't want to take the piss"? or "Thanks for setting the tempo for us all day, there you go, have this one on me"?

Never thought I'd here myself say thank God for Robert Gesink

Indeed, the rest will race for 2nd now. Today was thrilling and incredible but the rest of the Tour? Froome will need to crack horribly tomorrow, and I almost hope he does for the reasons in my previous post.

 

[Stat Brother]

A cracking day to step away from the prognostication business.
I'd have been carted away if I'd said 'hey I think Froomey gonna go vroom vroomey with 7 kms to go.

Nuts, head mentals nuts.

Finally, to put a bit of a dampener on things, and I wish we did not have to say this kind of thing. When Astana did this in the Giro we raised our eyebrows. When a rider destroys the opposition like this, you have to question it, you only have to look at who I have compared this performance to, to see that. Hope it is for real, and Sky should just put Froome's numbers out there, they have been leaked/stolen anyway so why not be entirely transparent?

Your 100% right, and it's so shit that has to be one of our first thoughts.
With his gap extending to 55 seconds I found myself thinking 'I wonder if Sky are on the next super drug'.

It's so unfair, but sadly still valid.