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

[aahmadhu]

Im not unhappy with Samus performance, im unhappy with the situation that hes in - 2.25 minutes back to Frank Schleck.

I dont care much for stage wins, maybe ALpe d huez since its the last mountain stage, but other than that i care far more for GC.

understandable.. i jumped with joy when he crossed the line.. but then as i sat down and analyzed the situation, i'm afraid that he might have spent 3/4 of his tank for this Tour.

kinda remind me of igor anton in the Giro. won on the mighty zoncolan, and disappeared the following days.

but i won't take anything away from samu's win. it was a mighty win nonetheless.

 

[Escarabajo]

If AC said the real tour starts in the Pyrenees, and he looses time there, what does it mean?

Ok. So if you are Andy Schleck's coach would you discard him already as a GC thread?

 

[Kwibus]

The guy laughs at Gesinks failure.

I dont know why you target Dekker Tifosi, he has a right to respond to that post.

I should've added that I didn't like his post as well, but starting about banning him is ridiculous.
If Schleck was dropped(injured) and someone posted a mocking post about it then Dekker would've laughed along.

 

[andy1234]

I laughed my *** off as well, can't wait for tonights talkshows making excuses for his ridiculous performance

Is everything you post, so ill informed?

You laugh your *** off, from the comfort of your armchair, big man.

 

[The Sheep]

The other GC candidates might regret not leaving Basso behind on that bridge last week.

 

[Arnout]

understandable.. i jumped with joy when he crossed the line.. but then as i sat down and analyzed the situation, i'm afraid that he might have spent 3/4 of his tank for this Tour.

kinda remind me of igor anton in the Giro. won on the mighty zoncolan, and disappeared the following days.

but i won't take anything away from samu's win. it was a mighty win nonetheless.

Would we remember Anton if he finishes 5th in the GC of the Giro without winning Zoncolan? He put his name on maybe the most mythical climb of Italy, who cares about GC.

I really don't get all that obsession with GC's for climbers. Noone really cares about it.

We will see Samuel and Laiseka winning on Luz Ardiden countless times, it will be remembered as the Basque mountain. Who even knows who finished 4th in the 2001 Tour de France?

 

[Kwibus]

one thought crossed my mind tho.

what would have happened today if contador was on his giro form? i mean he clearly is miles away from his best form and he still was able to hang till the last 500 meters.

He would've ended up in yellow? Or almost atleast. Or maybe we just don't know and will never know.

 

[Parrulo]

I should've added that I didn't like his post as well, but starting about banning him is ridiculous.
If Schleck was dropped(injured) and someone posted a mocking post about it then Dekker would've laughed along.

he wasn't talking about banning sublimit. D_T was said that he thinks the amount of time sublimit spends on the naughty step(banned) is funny. iirc i have seen sublimit banned a few times before for trolling and stuff like that

 

[nesocip]

understandable.. i jumped with joy when he crossed the line.. but then as i sat down and analyzed the situation, i'm afraid that he might have spent 3/4 of his tank for this Tour.

kinda remind me of igor anton in the Giro. won on the mighty zoncolan, and disappeared the following days.

but i won't take anything away from samu's win. it was a mighty win nonetheless.

Pretty wrong.

1. Samu is in a different class compared to Anton
2. Anton did not target Giro GC, Samu did (does) target Tour GC
3. I dont see how riding alone for 13 km UPHILL can take more then 3-6% compared to what he would have spent if he was in MJ group
4. If this indeed did sap 3/4 of his Tour energy, he would have abandoned on stage 14.

 

[fixedgear]

Cadel is not going to chase Frank. Frank will lose 1:00 + to Cadel in the TT. Cadel just needs to watch 1) Andy and 2) Contador 3) Frank if he extends his lead over Cadel close to a minute or so.

He controls this he wins.

Why not wait and see what Cadel or even Basso does? Cadel doesn't want to give Frank too much time so he lets him go then kicks at the end. If AC would've have stayed on someone else's wheel, he might've been fresh enough to stay with the group and only lose 20 sec to Frank instead of over 30. Either way, I think he's done and probably won't podium.

 

[Escarabajo]

Your boy Uran sort of failed today. Fecking Jeannesson beat him.

Explain how is Uran's performance a failure?

 

[Arnout]

"It's a very emotional and exciting win for us because there was a lot of support out there for us. For me it’s a dream come true,” Sanchez said.

“It’s a very important victory. We are not a big-budget team but a modest, all-Basque team. It's our biggest victory of the season. I’ve worked very hard to be at my very best for the Tour de France and I've sacrificed more than ever before: I’ve spent time away from my family and from people who I’ve lost. But now it's worth it."



Igor Anton won't be pleased

Can I say though that Euskaltel won the three biggest mountainstages of this year to date? Finally back where they belong.

 

[nesocip]

The other GC candidates might regret not leaving Basso behind on that bridge last week.

+1 and 10 chararararararacters

 

[Anonymous]

Ok. So if you are Andy Schleck's coach would you discard him already as a GC thread?

Absolutely not. But Andy should look to eliminate him as a potential winner as soon as possible.

I think Andy's attention will likey turn to Cadel. He has to attack Cadel... but if successful he will also likely eliminate AC.

 

[Kwibus]

Do you know he's injured?

Doesn't matter. If he's injured or not Ryo will laugh when Gesink fails.

It's always hilarious to see people failing isn't it? *sigh*

 

[No_Balls]

Contador is the complete wild card of this tour. He could either just start a slow weardown from the Giro and just seem to be able to keep up or he may need a few days to get back to form and for a big attack. We all dont know, many of us think we know, but not sure. Don't forget the first day in teh mountains can be strange for some riders, sso Contador and A. Schleck form is a cause of question for today, but not a final verdict.

+1

It can go either way, really. Possibly not a complete cooking but more of a steady ride yet not so explosive or back to the old ways.

The worrisome possibility also is that maybe Contador just stays with the climbers and on the day of the TT he has his best form, and maybe Andy/Frank does not. This is probably not a likely scenario given the current facts, but if I am Leopard, its one I do need to keep in the back of my mind.

Depends much on how the Schlecks are in the standings the day for TT. The higher up the better TT i think. But if the scenario stands as i predicted/hoped then Contador will have another follow-the-climbers stage, perhaps not being dropped in the last final 500 meters.

Andy Final TT form may seem to be better, but I think too many people are reading into last years results. There was massive cross/head wind for the final 30 riders.

Last years TT means nothing this time. Just different scenarios/forms/environments et. al

 

[El Pistolero]

I'm actually surprised Andy only took 13 seconds on Contador today.

 

[Carl0880]

Would we remember Anton if he finishes 5th in the GC of the Giro without winning Zoncolan? He put his name on maybe the most mythical climb of Italy, who cares about GC.

I really don't get all that obsession with GC's for climbers. Noone really cares about it.

We will see Samuel and Laiseka winning on Luz Ardiden countless times, it will be remembered as the Basque mountain. Who even knows who finished 4th in the 2001 Tour de France?

Andrei Kivilev, that i knew without looking, but I do agree with your point.

 

[Kwibus]

he wasn't talking about banning sublimit. D_T was said that he thinks the amount of time sublimit spends on the naughty step(banned) is funny. iirc i have seen sublimit banned a few times before for trolling and stuff like that

Once I arrived at your post I've read 3 more posts of sublimit and I am starting to understand what D_T and you are saying

Pure trolling indeed.

 

[spalco]

Cadel is not going to chase Frank. Frank will lose 1:00 + to Cadel in the TT. Cadel just needs to watch 1) Andy and 2) Contador 3) Frank if he extends his lead over Cadel close to a minute or so.

He controls this he wins.

Frank will get that minute if things continue like today.

 

[Arnout]

I'm actually surprised Andy only took 13 seconds on Contador today.

He might (I hope he will) regret that 10 days from now.

 

[Anonymous]

Why not wait and see what Cadel or even Basso does? Cadel doesn't want to give Frank too much time so he lets him go then kicks at the end. If AC would've have stayed on someone else's wheel, he might've been fresh enough to stay with the group and only lose 20 sec to Frank instead of over 30. Either way, I think he's done and probably won't podium.

Ultimately Cadel controlled Frank at the end. By doing so he was able to put the hurt on AC.

Cadel's big worry is not Frank, imo. I think Cadel is in the drivers seat and should take a huge amount of confidence from 1) AC being exposed, 2) he's as good as Basso on the hard climbs, 3) Andy is not super at the moment.

Both of the Schlecks will need significant time on Cadel going to the TT, otherwise Cadel wins.

 

[Arnout]

Andrei Kivilev, that i knew without looking, but I do agree with your point.

You sir have received an internet cookie

 

[No_Balls]

I'm actually surprised Andy only took 13 seconds on Contador today.

Me too! As i see it. This was perhaps the day where he should have put the pressure on him given ACs questionable form. He might not get any more chances. Who knows?

 

[therhodeo]

He might (I hope he will) regret that 10 days from now.

It might not even be Bertie that he'll regret not attacking.