2011 Tour De France Stage 17 (20/7/2011): Gap > Pinerolo, 179km

[The Hitch]

Is hitchy pants an insult? Relax a bit

You posted a very serious post on a fun thread on alliances go read it again.

Fun thread? I see a lot of other serious posts on that thread starting with page 1. Dont see why I cant post a serious post there too.

And I wouldnt have responded to that mild namecalling had you not been very impolite when responding to posts of mine before.

But as i mentioned, had you bothered to read my post you would see that i wasnt actually talking about Samu as much as Contador. Obviously im going to mention Sanchez, the damn thread is about an alliance between himself and Contador, but I was praising Contador and saying Contador did most of the work.

So please in the future read my posts rather than seeing the word Samu and deciding to call me out on it.

Just think you need to relax re Sammy and calling others fanboys

I never called anyone a fanboy. i implied that sportzchick was a fangirl, only after she proceeded to accuse a lot of others of being fanboys, which is quite funny considering she lives in her own little world where Cadel the white knight is fighting off the evil of the forum whose one mission in life is to hate on him.

If you read posts from last year, you would notice she was doing the exact same thing in the Giro and TOur last year even when people were opening threads about how great Cuddles was with his new attacking riding.

As for Samu, i think you need to relax a little and realise that most of of my posts on him are at least half jokes or deliberate hypes. Take a look at the poster "wonderlance" look through his search history and you will find that my posts mirror many of his deliberately.

In reality while i am a Samu fan, i absorb most of this laughing behind my computer screen. If i wasnt "relaxed" or if i was genuinly troubled by any of this i wouldnt spend so much time on the forum.

 

[thirteen]

And that means he doesn't like Cadel how exactly....

It's an opinion which is like an areshole...everyone has 1

no one is saying anything one way or another.

if you had said "i think" beforehand rather than stating it as a fact, not so many people would have jumped on you.

 

[sportzchick]

no one is saying anything one way or another.

if you had said "i think" beforehand rather than stating it as a fact, not so many people would have jumped on you.

I'm a Cadel fan....wounldnt make a difference...

 

[Tank Engine]

Got to admire EBH. After losing out yesterday, he gets in both the main breaks and then wins solo. Somewhat surprised that Andy didn't lose out today, but the next two days will be more interesting. Up to now it's been manoveuring for position. The real racing starts tomorrow. There's still half a dozen riders that hope to win this. I reckon that by this time tomorrow there will be a couple less.

 

[The Hitch]

How can you NOT like Ivan!

Everyone likes Ivan

Basso got 2nd so im sure everyone is happy

 

[sportzchick]

That's me done for the morning....it's been fun & tommorow shall be a blast!

 

[Parrulo]

Everyone likes Ivan

quoted for truth.

 

[Maxiton]

All his ex team mates talk bad of him.

Staf Scheirlinck told a story about him yesterday how he yelled at him "get me a coke NOOOWWWWW" in a race with an angry loud voice. One of the many stories about Cuddles... I've never heard any ex team mate of him except Phil say a good word about him. Some have called him weird, others autistic, eccentric, etc

When pro cyclists openly say they don't want Cuddles to win than you now something is wrong with him.

Interesting. OK, thanks.

It does occur to me though that you hear, at one time or another, insider stories told about every wearer or near-wearer of the Maillot Jaune, that would lead you to believe they must be complete a-holes. Not unlike military and corporate leaders. Maybe that's why they call them Type A personalities.

 

[kurtinsc]

Did Cadel earn the lead?

Well, he was at the front at the right time when other riders were not. While he didn't drop others, there was still a choice to move to the front and having the determination to do so which others did not have.

Has he defended the whole way?

I don't think so. He's sent his team to the front to work much more then I expected and acted like the leader of the race when he was the highest ranked "serious" contender. He's won a stage, was second with a small time gap to the group on another, his team smashed the TTT and got second.

He has yet to lose time on any stage to Contador this year and if I'm not mistaken, the only times he's even finished behind Contador in the rankings when they finished with the same time are stage 3 (sprint, 1 place down) and stage 11 (sprint, 3 places down).

17 stages, and Contador has actually crossed the line before Evans only twice. He has yet to gain a second on Evans, and even not including stage 1, Evans had put time on Contador in 3 stages (very small amounts of time though).

I'm going to take a wait and see on Cadel. So far he's put time in on Contador even barring the crashes, not the other way around. He may just be better this year then a Giro-tired, crash-slowed Contador.

 

[kurtinsc]

All his ex team mates talk bad of him.

Staf Scheirlinck told a story about him yesterday how he yelled at him "get me a coke NOOOWWWWW" in a race with an angry loud voice. One of the many stories about Cuddles... I've never heard any ex team mate of him except Phil say a good word about him. Some have called him weird, others autistic, eccentric, etc

When pro cyclists openly say they don't want Cuddles to win than you now something is wrong with him.

All the BMC guys have seemed very positive about Cadel. And he's seemed much calmer and more... normal... since joining BMC.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say the lotto-cuddles match simply didn't work for some reason.

 

[Archibald]

Did Cadel earn the lead?

Well, he was at the front at the right time when other riders were not. While he didn't drop others, there was still a choice to move to the front and having the determination to do so which others did not have.

Has he defended the whole way?

I don't think so. He's sent his team to the front to work much more then I expected and acted like the leader of the race when he was the highest ranked "serious" contender. He's won a stage, was second with a small time gap to the group on another, his team smashed the TTT and got second.

He has yet to lose time on any stage to Contador this year and if I'm not mistaken, the only times he's even finished behind Contador in the rankings when they finished with the same time are stage 3 (sprint, 1 place down) and stage 11 (sprint, 3 places down).

17 stages, and Contador has actually crossed the line before Evans only twice. He has yet to gain a second on Evans, and even not including stage 1, Evans had put time on Contador in 3 stages (very small amounts of time though).

I'm going to take a wait and see on Cadel. So far he's put time in on Contador even barring the crashes, not the other way around. He may just be better this year then a Giro-tired, crash-slowed Contador.

he's certainly earnt his spot. he's raced intelligently to get there too and is in a prime position. if the ITT was tomorrow he'd win this tour. however, tomorrow and friday are two days where all will be out to knock him off. He's going to need that little bit of fortune to choose and follow the right attacks and not waste energy following them all - some he will need to let others do the work in bringing it back, but choose to leave one where no one goes, then he could well do himself out of the malliot juane very easily.

 

[goggalor]

All the BMC guys have seemed very positive about Cadel. And he's seemed much calmer and more... normal... since joining BMC.

I'm willing to give him the benefit of the doubt and say the lotto-cuddles match simply didn't work for some reason.

Honestly all this mouthing off in public reflects poorly on the Lotto guys. I think I remember some schadenfreude from VDB and the Lotto camp in last year's Tour as well. Evans appears to have moved on, I've never heard him say a word about Lotto since he left.

 

[mewmewmew13]

I like Ivan and always have...and have heard that he is a nice person and well-liked as well.

I just saw the last few k's and looks like Alberto is doing a good job at tactics, and I think Cadel is riding an impressive race. He doesn't need to go crazy at this point and is in an excellent position. It seems he knows that when an attack goes down he will be able to do what he has to and still have some gas left to further his position. Smart tactics by him for sure.

Samu, well I think maybe he could darn well end up in 3rd on the podium!

 

[GroupDK]

Wauue !!..

Patience is the "keyword" when reading a numerous amount of replys in this thread.

 

[fuggles]

I think all Evans needs to do is follow (easier said than done) Contador's wheel. It is apparent that Contador is racing to win. If Frandy, Voeckler, Basso, Samu go up the road, just stay put. Only go if Bertie goes. If he cant follow Bertie then he needs to just pace himself up the climb as best he can, limiting his losses.

I dont think its a complicated task for Evans, just a mighty difficult one. Unfortunately for him Contador seems to have found his legs just in time.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Don't want to hurt your feelings but the odds of Rui Costa making a big difference in the Giro di Lombardia is not that great.

True dat, Boassen is winning Lombardia this year.

 

[just some guy]

I think all Evans needs to do is follow (easier said than done) Contador's wheel. It is apparent that Contador is racing to win. If Frandy, Voeckler, Basso, Samu go up the road, just stay put. Only go if Bertie goes. If he cant follow Bertie then he needs to just pace himself up the climb as best he can, limiting his losses.

I dont think its a complicated task for Evans, just a mighty difficult one. Unfortunately for him Contador seems to have found his legs just in time.

I have a feeling the position behind Contador is going to be a busy one - Everyone will wait for his move.

 

[Grayguard]

I have a feeling the position behind Contador is going to be a busy one - Everyone will wait for his move.

Yeah, and Contador is not a "one attack" guy... he will attack once... then he will attack again, and again - until he either runs out of steam, or is happy with the riders still with him.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I have a feeling the position behind Contador is going to be a busy one - Everyone will wait for his move.

Don't forget that position is already claimed by Andy

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Don't forget that position is already claimed by Andy

With his extensive experience tailgating Alberto, Andy can now immediately sniff which brand of chamois cream Contador is wearing on a given day.

 

[UpTheRoad]

Don't think it will happen because AC won't wait, but he could let the Schlecks take off and do nothing, forcing Evans to chase. If the Schlecks attack hard and continue with the attack (unlikely), AC could get a free bridge and then launch one (or two or three or four) where nobody can follow.

I think, though, that everybody knows this and won't attack AC first.

 

[alberto.legstrong]

Wauue !!..

Patience is the "keyword" when reading a numerous amount of replys in this thread.

this whole thread seems to have taken a very lame turn.

 

[kurtinsc]

Don't think it will happen because AC won't wait, but he could let the Schlecks take off and do nothing, forcing Evans to chase. If the Schlecks attack hard and continue with the attack (unlikely), AC could get a free bridge and then launch one (or two or three or four) where nobody can follow.

I think, though, that everybody knows this and won't attack AC first.

I'm not sure Evans will chase Andy. I'm positive he won't chase Frank.

The thing is... due to his lead over contador, pretty much every rider becomes dangerous to him with less of a gap then needed for them to be dangerous to Evans. With Contador riding to win, he's not going to let Andy go just to try to make Evans work. Because he won't win by doing that... he'd just let Andy win.

Evans is not going to work to help Contador win. Contador is the stronger climber and he needs time. Evans has the cushion and has to avoid cracking, not crack his opponents. I don't think Contador can afford to play that game with just 3 meaningful stages to go.

 

[jobiwan]

I know the camera is playing some tricks, but to me this is a cool-looking photo.

 

[hfer07]

I'm not sure Evans will chase Andy. I'm positive he won't chase Frank.

The thing is... due to his lead over contador, pretty much every rider becomes dangerous to him with less of a gap then needed for them to be dangerous to Evans. With Contador riding to win, he's not going to let Andy go just to try to make Evans work. Because he won't win by doing that... he'd just let Andy win.

Evans is not going to work to help Contador win. Contador is the stronger climber and he needs time. Evans has the cushion and has to avoid cracking, not crack his opponents. I don't think Contador can afford to play that game with just 3 meaningful stages to go.

at this point is getting more clear to the world that this final battle is between Evans & Contador- the Schleck Bros "must" put time on both to secure a comfortable buffer before the ITT-so is imperative for them to "attack"-and when they do-AC will use them as a spring board to launch attacks..... this is where Evans must be wise & select whose wheel is he going to follow-even if he already knows who's the real danger-he cannot let the racing get out of control, ala 08 when he wasn't able to a thing & allowed Sastre to take off & take over the Tour lead.