Reply With QuoteWhat money that Sky try and get a rider or two in the break... send Kiri or Poels up the road so Froome’s got some company when he attacks...
Don't forget Froome.Originally Posted by Jardine32
He has been playing it perfectly and the climbs suit him. At those climbs his time defiicit is just a few hundred meters!
Imo he and Dumoulin are tied favourites at this point with Yates close behind.
What money that Sky try and get a rider or two in the break... send Kiri or Poels up the road so Froome’s got some company when he attacks...
13:26 GMT+1: a 20 men break with Sky / Bora / Sunweb riders @ 51 sec in front of the Magila Rosa. 117 kms to go. The av speed is high! The Col de Finestra will be the axe-man.
Col de Finestre: starts 90 km before the finish, is 19 km long, up to 2100 m high and... the second part of the route upwards is paved with gravel!
Menno
14:18: on the slopes of the Finestra. The road is narrow, luckily with trees on both sides (shadow). Yates doesn't look good the Sky squad (5 guys) just in front of him just added a notch. Dumoulin is quietly following the Sky team with one team member on his side. Yates is losing 1 minute/km uphill! And still 14 kms to go to the top!
14:40: the road looks like Paris Roubaix uphill! F attacks, D follows. F is a few seconds in front of the group.
Last edited by thieuster; 25th May 2018 at 13:41.
Dumoulin in the pink virtually but Froome only needs 300 meters on him on these climbs to be ahead.
Dumoulin's in a decent group behind Froome... Pinot should work with him (if he doesn't come off on the descent!).
If Froome can make this stick it'll be the ride of his life.
I do feel sorry for Yates - didn't expect to see him crack quite as dramatically or quite as early.
This is shaping up to be a proper race.
Day off recovering from having my wisdom teeth out, watching this with added codeine is quite enjoyable.
Recipes for hats wanted.
I don't mind if it's tough eating so long as it doesn't repeat on me.
More than 11 minutes behind, Yates, really didn't expect that!
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
He's looking like I do when climbing... poor guy.
As the French say, I think he's met the man with the hammer...
Absolutely gutted for Yates. I was worried he might lose some more time today, but didn't see him popping so spectacularly and so early in the stage.
But Froome,wow, what a ride!
Looks like he will be in Pink, unless D can do something in the last climb.
Brilliant racing.
Impressive.
Never thought I'd see Froome descend thìs good!!
What a cracking duel.
Surprise indeed!, Yates gone, but Froome trying to take his place and still secure a British winner.
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Wow, what a stage so far. 2km to go.
What a battle going on - come on Froome
Dumoulin measuring his efforts so well!
This duel will become a classic.
What. A. Ride.
Will Dumoulin finish 2nd...?
One of THE most amazing Grand Tour stages of recent years. Shame for Simon Yates but chapeau Chris Froome.
Wow, 80km solo ride.
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Absolutely stunning ride.
No...
3.22 behind Froome.
Chapeau Froome!
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Congratulations Froome!!
A 38 seconds lead for Froome now, Dumoulin still second, just another Brit in front of him :)
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
I had the strong impression that despite the power display of the duel both were riding like there ís a tomorrow.
Well done to Yates, maybe a week too far but hopefully a star of the not too distant future.
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There’s certainly a very good chance!
Promises to be an exciting day tomorrow with Froome carrying just a 40 second lead after his epic ride (and particularly descending) today.
I doubt Dumoulin would normally see that as insurmountable, though today must have hurt not just physically but also psychologically.
They are now, IMO...
No Italians, French or Spanish these days, which is nice...
Got a new watch, divers watch it is, had to drown the bastard to get it!
Why?
The more different parties involved, the more interesting the competition, regardles of nationality. It is also by far the best for the sport as it attracts more varied international following and coverage thus sponsors keeping the teams fed.
The best GT stage that I have seen in a very long time. For UK viewers there are highlights on Freeview Quest at 7pm tonight.
Pete
OMG what a ride.
If CF is taking drugs I really want some
i feel for Yates, but he was ompletely destroyed by Froome today. Looking forward to watching it tonight.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Ventolin does help during spring/summer and is all the norm so feel free.If CF is taking drugs I really want some
Watching him climb was as horrible as ever but today his descend was truely AWESOME and a joy to watch.Looking forward to watching it tonight.
That was an awesome stage, one of the best I have seen since getting into watching the tours. Cycling at that level looks merciless.
J
Just Wow!
If you look at the top 10 in the GC there is 1 Brit, 2 Dutch, 1 French, 1 Colombian, 1 Ecuadorian, 1 Italian, 1 Spaniard, 1 Austrian and 1 New Zealander.
That's a pretty good mix by anyones standards!
Not everybody looks to be happy with Froome. On Twitter a lot of people reacted that Froome has still not explained what happened last year: ventolin-ish medicin, testosterone patches for on the skin. Some even compared him with Floyd Landis... Which is unfair. For now he's the big winner in my book.
Menno
To be expected I guess. It’s less than ideal, having a cloud over the potential potential winner - more Contador than Landis though really!
Funnily enough I was listening to last night’s Cycling Podcast this morning and Daniel Friebe made a really good point about Froome basically not giving a damn about 2nd or 3rd and for it would be win or bust so he expected him to go all in today. The made a lot of sense so I stuck £25 on him to win the Giro before the stage at 7-1... just praying he can hold on tomorrow now!
I haven’t seen the full finishing list but what’s the betting that the rest of team Sky were told to take it easy and finish in the gruppetto today? Save their energy for a full-on barnstormer tomorrow.
Even Contador is a too harsh imo even though téchnically Contador broke no rules and Froome did.
Nevertheless I feel very strongly that this situation should have been avoided by all involved although I just about exclusively blame Sky. They are to blame for it happening AND for it not having been solved yet.
As this Giro is concerned Froome is basically the only victim. It unjustly takes the shine off his awesome ride.
Btw. noticed these two fans near the summit of Finistere? One dressed up as a medical doctor, the other carrying a one meter high ventlin inhaler.
I though it great humor AND showing the disgrace of it for Froome and the sport.
Chris Froome -what a magnificent performance by him today, so pleased for him after all the crap he has taken.
Just watched it on TV what a stunning performance.
To put some context on this (from a doping perspective), a quote from someone on BikeRadar:
“Froome's ascent of Finestre, even will the full Sky lead out was the slowest there has been. (2005, 2011, 2015 were all faster)
Richard Carapaz ascended the Jafferau fastest, but was almost 3 minutes slower than Santambrogio/Nibali in 2014, in appalling conditions.
Dumoulin and Froome both 20 odd seconds slower than Carapazzzzz”
Pete
The same could be said for almost all recent times on categorised climbs on most races, even with all the tech advances riders now are slower than 10 years ago
A career defining ride in a career defined by defining rides. The phrase '5h1t or bust' is v.apt. If he turns up at the TdF a lot of people are going to be thinking about racing for second place. Panache is the word to use but if only that case had been resolved it would have made the victory sweeter
Chapeau to Froome and his team. Ballsy plan spectacularly executed!They are now, IMO...
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Here we go! 8 km left in stage 20...
Hard to see Demoulin getting the time he needs now after having to bridge that gap.
There we go then....Froome joins the pantheon of the all-time cycling greats!
Very impressive all round.
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