2011 Tour de France Stage 16 (18/7/2011): Saint-Paul-Trois-Châteaux - Gap, 162.5km

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Gingerale

Jun 16, 2011
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python said:
no. imo evans did everything right. he couldn't have afforded to risk since he did not know if the two spaniards will work with him.

kudo to berto for riding with panache and congratulations to all evans' fans !
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i'm not an expert but it appeared evans rode very smart by NOT working with sammy and contador on the descent and working to stay ahead to the finish. cadel in a spanish "sammich" contador or sammy would have had more chance to take some seconds on cadel. in the end, cadel only got 3 seconds on them but that was better than taking a chance losing seconds.

bertie surprise attack made this way more interesting for the rest of TdF! thank you, contador :cool:

but i still doubt cadel and bmc wanted yellow....anyone think contador would have been quite happy to have cadel take yellow?

i look to conti and sammy to attempt forcing that issue some more. evans and schlecks are ahead. for tomorrow's stage - i thought i'd get some sleep but contador has changed my mind :p

andy schleck:confused: what is wrong with him? maybe he should switch to tennis or golf. no descending finishes...maybe a little bit downhill in golf, but it's fairly safe. cycling is dangerous, some of my friends won't watch it. or they wont watch the lycra is the claim... ha!
 
Spine Concept

Spine Concept

Apr 28, 2010
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Kwibus said:
I agree that we haven't seen the same Gesink, but that doesn't mean he gets dropped on the Tourmalet with one more mountain to go. He would've been there with the best on the last climb, but probably end as nr.10-15 or something. Considering he really isn't the same as last year.
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Sure, but you are under the flawed assumption that I was implying he would get dropped and wouldn't do anything of note. I am simply pointing out that he would not have shown is true potential, which is basically what you said. Nothing more, nothing less.
 
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Delicato

May 15, 2009
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Gingerale said:
i'm not an expert but it appeared evans rode very smart by NOT working with sammy and contador on the descent and working to stay ahead to the finish. cadel in a spanish "sammich" contador or sammy would have had more chance to win. in the end, cadel only got 3 seconds on them but that was better than taking a chance on a sprint.
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Sorry, if I sound too rude, but were you on crack(not Spanish version of the word)while watching the stage? The breakaway won it,ya know.
 
Kwibus

Kwibus

May 25, 2010
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Spine Concept said:
Evans also changed as a rider, I hear it everywhere, ''Evans is a different rider post WC''. I have seen that change as well. Thus, I do not think it is only his luck that has taken a turn for the better. I am not underestimating the crash, I never did. I was just pointing out that he hasn't been up to his normal standards all year up to this point - and with good reason. He's just dealing with the psychological ramifications of the sad occurrence we know all to well and maybe just needed some more time off to get through it. I know what he is capable of, which is why I'm a fan. However, I refuse to share the delusions that certain people want to use as an excuse in my opinion. I really hope he could one day show his true potential without anything holding him back.
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Last year was post WC for Evans btw.

I think it's an fine excuse for not being able to compete for the GC. I have the same doubts about Gesinks performances this year as you have, but that doesn't mean that this crash totally erased his GC ambitions.

Personally I hope Gesink rides the Giro and Vuelta next year and skips the TdF. Let Kruiswijk and Mollema have a go at the GC. Release the pressure from Gesink a bit. This won't happen though, certainly not after 1 failed GC attempt.
 
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Gingerale

Jun 16, 2011
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Delicato said:
Sorry, if I sound too rude, but were you on crack(not Spanish version of the word)while watching the stage? The breakaway won it,ya know.
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yeah, i edited :eek: i knew thor won.....what i meant was cadel working with sammy and contador wouldn't have benefitted cadel. imo.

watching the race now actually.

great stage!
 
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kurtinsc

Nov 17, 2009
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I am still not sure Cadel would have gained anything by waiting for Contador and Sanchez.

I don't think he tried to drop them. He was trying to put as much time into everyone else as possible, assuming Sanchez at least would stay with him. They didn't.

There wasn't enough flat on the end to warrant waiting after that. He may have saved some energy by dropping back, but I doubt he would have put more time into the other groups. We were talking about what... 2 km after the descent in which they couldn't keep up?
 
goggalor

goggalor

Oct 16, 2009
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Great descending by Evans, Samu disappointing. He looked exhausted. And interesting to see Contador attacking with his earpiece out. :p I'm sure Bjarne had a word with him before the stage though.

Andy showed some real weakness today. Not just for the win, but as a rider.
 
Spine Concept

Spine Concept

Apr 28, 2010
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Kwibus said:
Last year was post WC for Evans btw.

I think it's an fine excuse for not being able to compete for the GC. I have the same doubts about Gesinks performances this year as you have, but that doesn't mean that this crash totally erased his GC ambitions.
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I realize that post WC was last year, however, last year Evans contested the Giro before heading to the Tour, hardly a fair gauge for his capabilities. Furthermore, he had some bad luck at the Giro last year as well which does not attest to his changed riding style.

As far as Gesink's GC ambitions go, read my previous post since that's a flawed assumption on your part.

Kwibus said:
Personally I hope Gesink rides the Giro and Vuelta next year and skips the TdF. Let Kruiswijk and Mollema have a go at the GC. Release the pressure from Gesink a bit. This won't happen though, certainly not after 1 failed GC attempt.
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I agree. However, I highly doubt it will happen as you pointed out. Like you said, Gesink might be feeling the pressure more than ever now, which in the end is a mentality thing, and in turn comes back to what I'm trying to get across.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Ryo Hazuki said:
that doesn't matter, he's simply not a climber. I can see him lose some serious time on alpe dhuez and galibier, both he could lose over 2 minutes on contador. evans isn't cut out for real high mountains unless they sofptedal like on plateau de beille
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I guess everybody can now safely bet on Evans FTW.:D
 
Cimber

Cimber

Jan 3, 2011
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Lol cant believe Andy's whining over the route. He actually said that ppl dont wanna see races being decided on decents. He didnt complain much after stage 1, where he told Bertie to use his head. Well Bertie could tell him to use his bicycle handling skils after today (0;

Scott SoCal said:
I guess everybody can now safely bet on Evans FTW.:D
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The Alps will be interesting. I reckon Contador will be able to drop him in the alps if today was a sign of what is to come. The is a climb that suited Evans nicely. Mountains above 2000m wont suit him as good, but he has amazed me so far so he might do it again. But I am pretty confident that Contador will take time on him in the alps, but the big question is, will he be able to take enough? he needs to take alot. Min 2mins, but to be save more like 3. I doubt the latter will be possible, but everything is totally open now.
 
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indurain666

May 13, 2009
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not sure if anyone has mentioned this before, but after stage 16, the gap in gc between Schleck and Contador...is...39 seconds :D
 
El Pistolero

El Pistolero

Jul 16, 2010
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This news just came in: next year the Tour will have no stages anymore that finish on descends and they will scrap all time trials, but they will have a prologue.
 
taiwan

taiwan

Aug 18, 2009
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Gesink: his pre-Tour season this year was better than last year. His placings in T-A and Pais Vasco were better. His '11 Dauphinee was poorer than his '10 Suisse, but overall CQ says this season was worth 100 pts more.

If he lacked mental or physical toughness he wouldn't have finished the 2009 Vuelta in 6th place after crashing (on his knee, was it?) on stage 17.
 
goggalor

goggalor

Oct 16, 2009
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El Pistolero said:
This news just came in: next year the Tour will have no stages anymore that finish on descends and they will scrap all time trials, but they will have a prologue.
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Also a three-man team time trial.
 
goggalor

goggalor

Oct 16, 2009
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El Pistolero said:
Wait, they finally succeeded in cloning Cancellara?
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Yes. Andy will push Fränk off the team and hang onto Spartacus' and mini-Spartacus' wheel and gain 2 minutes on Contador.
 
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