Will Froome be domestique to G if he doesn’t close the time gap? I hope so, otherwise I fear it’s G’s best chance at a GC gone
Lets get this into the mountains and see what Froome has, remember this is a man who used to train in SA uphill with his brakes on for extra resistance.
RIAC
Not a hope. As long as Froome is in the race with a chance of winning, G will ride for him and the team.
If Froome were to have a race-ending injury, Sky would either line up behind whoever they thought had the best chance of winning yellow from that point (whether that was G or Bernal) or would target stage wins.
Gutted for Porte but this is looking like it's going to be a tasty day's racing.
Interesting approach to Sky's approach to the day: https://bit.ly/2LgZgTr
It's not surprising really and I'm sure other teams will have done similar.
TomDom does like the back of the Mini!
Last edited by MakeColdplayHistory; 15th July 2018 at 12:15.
Cranking up the TV for the Flemish comments from Michel Wuyts and José de Cauwer! Mini Paris - Roubaix. I hope this day's stage will reshuffle the ranking!
M
It’s havoc! The must be so tired - dropping & tumbling even on dry, smooth tarmac!
De Cauwer, a one-time Flandrien explains the sudden ‘chutes’: today, the cyclists ride bikes with lowered pressure in the tyres and the bikes have extemely wide tyres: 28 or even 30 MM. On dry tarmac and when cornering, the bike behaves ‘weird’
I don't envy anyone trying to edit that down to a highlights programme.
Good to see Degenkolb win.
Utterly miserable day for Bardet - it's nearly (but not quite) enough to see me supporting France in the footy later.
Small wonder Degenkolb was so emotional:
- After the crash (with the Giant team training in Valencia and crashed into by UK woman driving on the left side of the road) he was expected not to return to his full forces.
- His mentor friend who kept him motivated died this winter.
And yes, whát an etappe!!
Chapeau to Avermeat for taking the risk to attack in the yellow.
Very sad for Porte.
I just watched the ITV4 highlights this morning. What a dramatic stage!
It’s always a shame to see the crashes. They make me shudder!
They are superhuman in their ability to cope with pain and discomfort. Look at Lawson Craddock!
And it's always worth looking at the Cycling Tips gallery of the day but yesterday was a particularly good one: https://cyclingtips.com/2018/07/phot...bbled-stage-9/
Epic pictures! Remind me of the old B/W pics of Coppi, Robic, Goblet and Merckx. Heroic men battered by dust, heat and chaos.
I confess to knowing nothing about cycling, hence the need to ask this question. Having just looked at those photos linked above I am surprised at the surface they are riding on. Do they ride on this surface every year?
They are typical of the region and used every year in one day 'classics'. Most (of not all) of the sections of cobbles/pavé in yesterday's stage feature in the annual Paris-Roubaix race. The Tour de France route is different every year and definitely doesn't feature cobbles every year but it does from time-to-time.
There is some debate about whether this kind of racing has a place in the TdF. Some people feel it introduces too much random risk. My own view is that the TdF should be an all round challenge and this kind of riding definitely has its place. It was great viewing from start to finish yesterday. I wouldn't want a pavé stage every year though.
Interesting stage today, particularly as I know the area so well (in winter). Superb win for Alaphilippe and a good ride from van Avermaet to stay in yellow. A show of strength from Sky but it seems like a bit of a waiting game. Someone has to do something.
Always good to see someone drop a road gap though...
https://www.facebook.com/Mpora/video...5459562007854/
Agreed - today's stage could have a bit more about it as it is much shorter and a mountain top finish so would expect some attacks. Dan Martin might fancy another go. I think it will all depend on how quickly Sky push the tempo in the peloton. I hope G can stay with any attackers and keep his lead. Even if he doesn't fully maintain it he should be in yellow by this evening.
I’ll be watching today’s stage live. Highlights don’t do these mountain stages justice.
Last edited by Phil Lee; 18th July 2018 at 10:58.
Again, it’s a pity you’re not able to follow Flemish TV. Starts at 1pm and goes on until late in the evening. The comments and knowledge are fantastic. Most commentators have done these stages as recce or as ‘coureur’ themselves, including a commentator on a motorbike. Awesome
Some stages just don’t translate well to highlights, Froome taking the lead in the Giro was a good example, it’s like watching a good crime drama plot unfold, it’s no good being shown the killing then who did it.
Been out for a cheeky lunchtime 40 miles and now sat in front of the telly.
That was sublime, a true work over by Sky while the nearly men watch their hopes fade by not working together, got to feel for Nieve but what a ride by Geraint.
Kwiatkowski looked absolutely cooked, he deserves an extra dish of pasta tonight.
Great to hear that G is now in yellow. Looking forward to the highlights this evening. There will now be a very interesting dynamic within Team Sky.
I think sky will already know ‘the numbers’* so it will probably be Froome who ultimately takes the prize. In any other team they leave (like Nieve and Porte) to try their luck elsewhere but they must be paying them handsomely to be super-domestiques. Kwiatkowski is probably a GT contender too and may be the next leader before Tao matures.
As much as I would love to see Thomas win he may be a few % short.
* my old flatmate is ex British cycling and now works at the Lee valley velodrome (it’s not the Olympic velodrome any more) and basically the ‘numbers’ are Watts and Vo2max which tell a coach if they are just a contender or a winner.
I was watching this live up until about 330 then had to leave (Bloomin work!) It was a good watch up until then.
I got home and watched the ITV4 Highlights. G’s ride was amazing! Gotta love that and the chess game of the road overall! 😎
Awesome ride by G. Need to make a decision to as to whether to cash out my bet... £15 at 9/1 currently offering £18.75 profit to cash out. Hmmm
I think Froome will attack him and will want to win Alpe d’Huez tomorrow.
I doubt Froome will actually attack him- letting G keep the yellow jersey, ideally until the Pyrenees, might be a good plan for Sky, lower the stress levels a little... but I also fully expect Thomas to have a bad day at some point and if that's on the wrong day he could lose a shedload of time.
I rode most of today's stage a couple of years back... the Madeleine is a lovely climb but the second one, the Lacets de Montvernier although quite a bit shorter was a really b1tch! It's like a mini-Alpe d'Huez, switchback after switchback coming thick and fast. Very pretty. I remember dying a thousand deaths coming up that one.
Great ride by Thomas yesterday, but Froome did well to get himself across to Dumoulin st the end there.
Listening to Thomas after the race, he was firmly back in the mode of supportive team mate to Froome so unless something happens to Froome I can’t see Sky putting everything behind Geraint.
Sad to see Cavendish timed out of the race yesterday too, it will be strange not seeing him competing for the sprints anymore, not that he has looked threatening for a while now.
Hopefully another classic today!
Well, that´s the tour done basically.
On the subject of TV coverage, While I'd love to spend all day every day watching the Tour, I ended up yesterday listening to the Bespoked live cast while walking home from work starting about 15km out. When I got home I switched the TV on and caught the last 5km and I'll watch the highlight programme this morning. I'm working from home today so I'll start watching from the start anmd have it on in the background as I'm working. Every time I have to dial in to a meeting I'll pause then restart. Even zipping over the adverts I reckon I'll be watching the finish 'as live' about an hour and a half after the actual finish.
It's a great position for Sky to have the two of them at the top of GC and the team certainly have the firepower to support them both. I'm also expecting G to have a bad day - I just wonder when Sky have it planned in for.
I've skied in Alpe d'Huez a few times but only been there once in the summer. That was for Megavalanche week so I was on a very different type of bike. We were in a chalet just below town and roadies were already coming past us when we were finishing breakfast and getting the bikes ready for the day. They were still coming past when we were sat outside with a beer at the end of the day.
I'll be watching it live today and thinking of how numb my b******s were when I rode up d'Huez a while ago!
F.T.F.A.
Team Sky caught breaking the rules again...
That was hell of a shift by Bernal
Another superb finish. What a great ride by G again.
What a great stage today. Dumoulin looked really strong, Bardet making some great attacks and Kruijswijk staying out front for all that time. Great move by Thomas on that last corner.