2011 Tour de France Stage 1: Passage du Gois - Mont des Alouettes 191.5 km

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

The other parts of your post dont matter to me because im not talking about whether this is entertaining or not or any of the other stuff.

The one part of your post im focused on is where you said Gesink 2.25 (that is not 5 minutes) down "Tour over for him".

Then the part of my post where i said Samu was 1.2 +1 minute (=2.20) down and the part of your post where you said that i am being "Dramatic".

So answer the question on that bit.

Why is it dramatic to say Samu is out at 2.20 but not Gesink at 2.25 (the figure you gave).

Im not challenging anything else in your posts.

I suggest you go re-read. I said he hadn't come in yet, and thus more time was expected to be lost. I was expecting the next group to be between 3-4 minutes +. And the fact that Gesink's team mates had been given a time already, indicated to me that they didn't give him his bike (I forgot he doesn't get time with bike change) that something was wrong. Maybe an injury even.

I was expecting potentially 5 minutes +.
As for the TTT let us just wait and see.

I guarantee you that If gesink had come in 1.30 behind I wouldn't be saying his tour is over.

 

[Florian]

Philippe Gilbert is an awesome rider... What a strength!
He* absolutely win every race he competes in. That's* what a champion has to do, and Gilbert is a great* one.
By the way, he probably is one of the few guys who* doesn't need any earphone to understand the race.* He is able to do everything alone, by himself without* any help.

Andy had to fall to wait for his favorite contender.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I just hope this shocks Bertie out of his Mr nice guy routine.

Even if he can't drop Schleck, he can certainly outkick him on every MTF they contest. The gifts have got annoying.

 

[Barrus]

Perhaps it is an odd question, but why were the people awarded the time of the first group. I know of the 3k rule, but a finish upon a "mountain" or at least something which is awarded mountain points, is excluded from this rule, or am I incorrect?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

The rules on crashes are somewhat arbitrary, but a line does have to be drawn somewhere. The last 3 km rule exists for good reasons. It doesn't apply to all crashes and delays in a stage for good reasons. But on the relatively rare occasions when you get two big crashes, one either side of the imaginary 3 km line, it does produce what are essentially arbitrary results.

I feel sorry for S. Sanchez, the Garmin GC riders etc, who have had their Tour screwed up. I don't feel sorry that Contador lost time as, if he has the legs after the Giro, it means that we will see some exciting racing rather than a procession.

Other random points:

1) I will confess to being baffled by Saxobank's decision to leave the chase to Euskaltel, probably the last team in the entire professional sport you'd bet on in a flat time trial. At least the carrots tried to limit their leader's loss, but Contador's team seemed to just sit there.

2) It wasn't clear who would be leading Ag2r before the Tour began. Roche has had an injury-effected season and then had a big crash in the Dauphine, Gadret had an excellent Giro but must surely be tired from it, Peraud is fresh but has no Tour experience. It looks like that issue has been settled by the first stage, with Roche finishing with the leading group and both Gadret and Peraud losing 2 mins.

3) Garmin's Tour is looking very different now. All three of their prospective hopes for a decent GC place lost significant time.

 

[Delicato]

I agree that it's not over for Contador. In all honesty it's not fair, but it will make the rest of the race more interesting.

I think the weakness of his team is way overrated. They'll lose 20 seconds to Leopard at the max. That would put him 1:40 down, which he could make up in the final TT alone. Realistically he could gain 40 seconds in the mountains and easily make up a minute in the TT.

Or maybe (depends on the weather tomorrow) they can lose more than 2 minutes in case of early rain and lose any chance for TDF victory(that's because SBS is dead last in teams classification).

It was very important today not to lose any time in terms of team gc.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Perhaps it is an odd question, but why were the people awarded the time of the first group. I know of the 3k rule, but a finish upon a "mountain" or at least something which is awarded mountain points, is excluded from this rule, or am I incorrect?

cat2 and over.

 

[khardung la]

If Contador is in shape this 1:20 are nothing. If he is not in shape (like last year) then he would have had trouble anyway given the lack of help in his team vs. Leopard. Probably he will ride more angrily and will not be conservative, and that could make that instead of winning the TdF by 1 minute it will be 4.

I doubt this will direct more sympathy for him in France, but honestly I think after last year´s first week Contador is starting his tours giving advantage due to bad luck. Today he could have been in the front, but come on, it was a wide and straight road, he was more in the front when passing carrefours and villages...

 

[Ramira]

Perhaps it is an odd question, but why were the people awarded the time of the first group. I know of the 3k rule, but a finish upon a "mountain" or at least something which is awarded mountain points, is excluded from this rule, or am I incorrect?

This stage didn't count as a mountain stage. It was a 45 sprint point stage meaning it officially counted as a flat. That is why the 3km rule counts. Whether that is right or not is another question altogether.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

can you pls change your name, or better yet delete your whole acount?

lol.

good ol' ryo, direct.

 

[Barrus]

cat2 and over.

Ah, now I get it.

 

[valentius borealis]

I just hope this shocks Bertie out of his Mr nice guy routine.

Even if he can't drop Schleck, he can certainly outkick him on every MTF they contest. The gifts have got annoying.

Don't forget that Bertie lost a similar amount of time after being held up by the Frank Schleck crash last year.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Ah, now I get it.

ActuallY I could be wrong on this.
This was my initial understanding, but I might be wrong, don't hold me to it.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

No, because the number of people finishing with Hushovd/Rojas etc would still outnumber them, and therefore constitute the main body of "the group" as it was when Schleck/Wiggins/Leipheimer/Gesink all crashed.

This is basically my point. The group behind the Hushovd group outnumbered the group with Hushovd. I believe they were given 18 seconds?

EDIT: nevermind, apparently the group at 19 seconds wasn't larger.

 

[luckyboy]

Or maybe (depends on the weather tomorrow) they can lose more than 2 minutes in case of early rain and lose any chance for TDF victory(that's because SBS is dead last in teams classification).

What if it starts raining later on?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Or maybe (depends on the weather tomorrow) they can lose more than 2 minutes in case of early rain and lose any chance for TDF victory(that's because SBS is dead last in teams classification).

It was very important today not to lose any time in terms of team gc.

yeah or gain 2 minutes if it starts raining after sbs finish, my god pls wave your flag of ignorance before posting next time

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Don't forget that Bertie lost a similar amount of time after being held up by the Frank Schleck crash last year.

True, but then he was forced to play nice due to the chaingate rubbish. Hopefully he stops that crap now.

 

[SpeedWay]

The tantrums, teddy throwing and general whinging on here are hilarious!

Have a cup of tea and go for a nice walk chaps, you'll feel better for it.

Isn't it great! Such entertainment by the girls! Even my teenage daughter is rolling her eyes. All this whining and it's only the first stage.

 

[Ramira]

What if it starts raining later on?

Looking at the weather forecast there will be absolutely no rain whatsoever tomorrow so the only thing that could influence the result would be a change in wind strength/direction. And like you said even then it could favor both the early or the late starters.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Or maybe (depends on the weather tomorrow) they can lose more than 2 minutes in case of early rain and lose any chance for TDF victory(that's because SBS is dead last in teams classification).

It was very important today not to lose any time in terms of team gc.

The same can be said about going last.

And losing time is possible in the whole next week. This stage is not an exception.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Looking at the weather forecast there will be absolutely no rain whatsoever tomorrow so the only thing that could influence the result would be a change in wind strength/direction. And like you said even then it could favor both the early or the late starters.

It's basically a there and back, so I don't see weather coming in to it.

 

[rhubroma]

So Alberto is forced to stop because of a crash caused by some imbecile that turned her back on the passing bunch as it went by and his rivals put the hammer down, gain over a minute on him, but nobody is challenging their fair-play the way his was when Andy dropped his chain last year and the Spaniard went on the move. That is what is called an objective analysis.

Gone are the days when if it had happened to a certain Texan, the entire pack would not only have waited for him, but stopped at the side of the road to make sure His Majesty regained his position at the front.

This is indeed le Tour.

 

[Escarabajo]

ActuallY I could be wrong on this.
This was my initial understanding, but I might be wrong, don't hold me to it.

Somebody else said cat.3 and over. Not even sure anymore. They have an stage finishing with a cat 3 in this Tour with no neutralization. Have to check that.

 

[sublimit]

Contador will still walk this. He was soft pedaling the last Giro stages and has plenty left.
S Sanchez fans should be put on suicide watch.

 

[khardung la]

I think the spectator was not doing something wrong, I do not understand what the Astana guy was doing so much into the right side of the road, almost out of it. The spectator has the feet in the grass....