2011 Tour de France, Stage 12: Cugnaux - Luz-Ardiden, 209 km

[diggercuz]

Touche! Fair enough but I certainly don't think Evans will crumble like some are saying.

i agree totally, but then again, i am almost as bad a fanboy as ACF94... but honestly when have you ever seen Cadel look so darn good?

In terms of this stage though i don't think the gaps will be that great either, all the top favourites will shadow each other but the diesel that Cadel is may just hang on. Maybe. Remembering the Zoncolan last year when Basso rode away was just plain depressing but to me evans looks that little bit better this year.

BRING IT ON!!!

second post ever after reading the forum for the last few years and one thing i must say, ACF94 is probably the most intelligent poster here, never biased to BMC or Cadel, and never gets worked up over anything.

 

[auscyclefan94]

I'm not a big fan of massive leaps in form in July, so on the Tourmalet I'd like to see Andy struggle to keep up with Danielson, just like he did on Mt. Baldy and again at the Tour de Suisse. Twelve days in between Tour de Suisse and Stage 1 of the Tour, with rest days, Luxembourg Road Nationals and presumed easy days before the start - there's no time to transform a guy into one of the top two climber's in the world.

Cadel has been consistently strong since day one, so I wonder just how much longer his peak can last, like the 2010 Giro.

I wish that Contador was overplaying the injury for the media, but the actual photo of the knee with acupuncture needles in it was depressing.

Have some teams pushed too hard in early stages? Has Saxo Bank really been resting, or are Navarro, Porte, Tosatto and Hernandez cooked from the Giro?

I'm excited for the day because all the talk and spin stop on the Luz-Ardiden. This is the Stage Of Truth.

Well Contador has been up there on pretty much every stage and so has Schleck. I don't really see your point. A lot of the others have only just been behind Evans so I don't see how things are any different.

 

[auscyclefan94]

second post ever after reading the forum for the last few years and one thing i must say, ACF94 is probably the most intelligent poster here, never biased to BMC or Cadel, and never gets worked up over anything.

Surely you are being sarcastic? btw, this post is going in my signature. Personally I think Evans is looking much better at tthe tour than the giro 2010, Evans coming down from his peak and was quite ill during the last two weeks and Basso didn't look that impressive to me in his victory. On the stages to Monte Grappa, Plan de Corones and to Tonale, Evans either dropped him or stayed with him.

Both Phil Anderson and Scott Sunderland have both said that they think he is in the best form of his career. We'll wait and see.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

+ Gesink I think.

Probably.
he has been feeling better, but those cols might be too much i fear.

As for his palmares, Frank was 10th at the TdF in 2006, 5th in 2008, and 5th in 2009. Of course he crashed out in 2010. Just based on those results, if he's in good form I don't know how he wouldn't be considered a podium threat.

2008: weak field.
2009: weak course.

Keep underrating Evans...thursdays victory will be very sweet!

lol hanging on maybe, winning hell no.

---

anyway, this stage will pan out like this IMO.
Leopard will pace the race especially the final 2 climbs. On the final climb they will pace and eventually rest assured cadel will be struggling off the back, as he does, all the while someone will attack, maybe not andy but he will follow.

And thus the first big loss for cadel

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

i agree totally, but then again, i am almost as bad a fanboy as ACF94... but honestly when have you ever seen Cadel look so darn good?

In terms of this stage though i don't think the gaps will be that great either, all the top favourites will shadow each other but the diesel that Cadel is may just hang on. Maybe. Remembering the Zoncolan last year when Basso rode away was just plain depressing but to me evans looks that little bit better this year.

BRING IT ON!!!

second post ever after reading the forum for the last few years and one thing i must say, ACF94 is probably the most intelligent poster here, never biased to BMC or Cadel, and never gets worked up over anything.

saracsm right ?

The thing is, the course suited him a lot in teh first 2 weeks.
I am sure if the tour was similiar to the stages we have had so far he would win. But he has been good on these stages for the last few years, and again this year (and last giro), but it has always been the mountains were he has failed. I doubt he is good enough to match them in the mountains, that would be a dramatic turn around in climbing ability.

Both Phil Anderson and Scott Sunderland have both said that they think he is in the best form of his career. We'll wait and see.

uhhhf, those geniuses said that?

 

[El Pistolero]

Jelle Vanendert will win the Tour de France.

As for Cuddles climbing ability:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgGFPjVMxk

It's depressingly bad.

 

[Midnightfright]

Jelle Vanendert will win the Tour de France.

As for Cuddles climbing ability:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgGFPjVMxk

It's depressingly bad.

jelle to finish 3rd to Andy and Alberto. Stealing Cuddles podium slot

 

[dlwssonic]

Jelle Vanendert will win the Tour de France.

As for Cuddles climbing ability:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgGFPjVMxk

It's depressingly bad.

its like saying andy will do badly because he was terrible in california and in suisse. its not like cuddles was peaking for the tour of catalunya.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Jelle Vanendert will win the Tour de France.

As for Cuddles climbing ability:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPgGFPjVMxk

It's depressingly bad.

Talkin about one-eyed, bad, naive post...

 

[El Pistolero]

its like saying andy will do badly because he was terrible in california and in suisse. its not like cuddles was peaking for the tour of catalunya.

Cuddles just won Tirreno-Adriatico. He was in good form

It's not like Contador was peaking for Catalunya. Face it he sucks on the real climbs as proven in Dauphiné again. Both Gesink and VDB2 climbed better there and no one expects them to win the Tour, or get close.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Cuddles just won Tirreno-Adriatico. He was in good form

It's not like Contador was peaking for Catalunya. Face it he sucks on the real climbs as proven in Dauphiné again. Both Gesink and VDB2 climbed better there and no one expects them to win the Tour, or get close.

I personally think it is fair to say that Cadel was not on good form at all in Catalunya. long climbs V short climbs requires a different effort. He even said so before the start of Catalunya that he didn't expect to be very good.

FFS, Leipheimer and Scarponi were right up there.

*** edited by mod ***

 

[dlwssonic]

Cuddles just won Tirreno-Adriatico. He was in good form

It's not like Contador was peaking for Catalunya. Face it he sucks on the real climbs as proven in Dauphiné again. Both Gesink and VDB2 climbed better there and no one expects them to win the Tour, or get close.

Cuddles didnt need great form to win TA. He just won a hilly sprint and he did a average TT. Really gesink was better? gesink only showed himself on the last stage but he sucked at the earlier stages and was saving energy while cuddles was fighting it at the front everyday. Anyway evans last race before the dauphine was romandie and he was still building form for the tour. On the last stage he looked like one of the strongest, but of cause not strong enough for jrod.

 

[El Pistolero]

I personally think it is fair to say that Cadel was not on good form at all in Catalunya. long climbs V short climbs requires a different effort. He even said so before the start of Catalunya that he didn't expect to be very good.

FFS, Leipheimer and Scarponi were right up there.

nice work El Clenbuterlero!

It wouldn't be the first time Scarponi outclimbed Evans.

 

[just some guy]

I guess we will have to wait and see watch the race etc then after one group will say

I told you so !!!!!

and the other will say to tour is still long and its the 1st mountain stage

Blah blah blah

Anyway just found out I can watch the last 1.30 of the stage live not a happy Camper

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

its like saying andy will do badly because he was terrible in california and in suisse. its not like cuddles was peaking for the tour of catalunya.

evans never really peaks, he's always racing at a high level and never much worse or much better which means this says a lot. him getting beaten by alex cano is hilarious to me

also just look at last years giro and tour, or any mountainstage in the past 2 years. his days are over for gc, he should focus on classics

 

[Jamsque]

Hey guys, guess what? Bertie's knee is feeling better! I know, I'm shocked too.

 

[Cimber]

Hey guys, guess what? Bertie's knee is feeling better! I know, I'm shocked too.

Better =/= good.

 

[vcampbell]

Better =/= good.

(Better =/= good) != not going to be good till tomorrow

 

[the student]

No one has mentioned LL sanchez here, he's now on a comfortable second place. If hes on top form he might keep top 5 after this day.

 

[airstream]

What do you think about Schlecks tactics for tomorrow? Do they have to attack? I hope they'll try. Pretty tough to start stage to Alpe d'Huez, for example, having a necessity to bring 1-1 '30

 

[Cimber]

(Better =/= good) != not going to be good till tomorrow

(Better =/= good) != not going to be good till tomorrow =/= not going to be bad tomorrow

But summa summarum: Its better, but not fully recovered. All we can do is hope that it will be by tomorrow. Sadly the crappy weather today isnt optimal for a knee-injury.

 

[vcampbell]

(Better =/= good) != not going to be good till tomorrow =/= not going to be bad tomorrow

But summa summarum: Its better, but not fully recovered. All we can do is hope that it will be by tomorrow. Sadly the crappy weather today isnt optimal for a knee-injury.

But also don't forget, if Contador feels better, than it's bad for the others. And the weather is not optimal, but it's a luck that today there is no mountain, so he can recover much more.

 

[jonjungel]

What do you think about Schlecks tactics for tomorrow? Do they have to attack? I hope they'll try. Pretty tough to start stage to Alpe d'Huez, for example, having a necessity to bring 1-1 '30

Don't know why you're talking of Alpe d'Huez here, but the tactics of Leopard will be as follows:
Use helpers to set hard tempo on Tourmalet and give everything on the lower slopes up to Luz, probably Fuglsang last man standing. Then, attack with Schleck 1 and 2 if they have anything left in the tank.

The same applies to Saxo, BMC, Liquigas and Euskaltel. Just change the names.

 

[Duartista]

Hey guys, guess what? Bertie's knee is feeling better! I know, I'm shocked too.

Don't know if this has been mentioned anywhere here, but there was an interesting morsel in El Pais yesterday about the knee:

Y mientras en el pelotón, el tricampeón del Tour dice a sus conocidos que está como nunca, pero que ha decidido tirar balones fuera, mecanismo de defensa para que no le agobien (un farol a lo Armstrong), a los corros de periodistas les repite tantas veces lo mucho que le preocupa la rodilla, la de hielo que le consume, lo mucho que mejora cada día pero aun así...

Basically, Contador has been telling friends in the peloton that he's in great form and all the knee talk is just a defensive tactic to relieve pressure.

http://www.elpais.com/articulo/deportes/Jugar/despiste/despista/elpepudep/20110712elpepudep_11/Tes

 

[El Pistolero]

Yeah, Marianne Vos saw Contador close a gap after the peloton split when Phil was hitting the front yesterday. And she said he did it with a lot of panache and didn't believe his knee problems.

I think Contador has been fooling the Schlecks and it's working. Cause Andy thinks Frank is his biggest opponent for the victory in Paris. Trap laid, and waiting to crush

The only thing Contador needs to do is break Frank and Andy will not know what to do. Not the time trial, but Frank is Andy's greatest weakness.

And I do see a touch of Riis already in Contador. Contador will want to win on Plateau de Beille as well.