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

[hrotha]

Sammy and his Pro Conti team were way way down in the pack when Contador shook things up (shame Conti didnt tell Samu he was going to attack though), so Sanchez had to attack from way back in the pack to reach them in the first place.

Pro Conti team? They have guys like Verdugo (24th in the GC) and Gorka Izagirre (quite down on the GC, but pretty strong and a great descender). More than enough support for a stage like this.

 

[El Pistolero]

Sometimes you're wondering why guys like Valverde, Contador and Samu ride for 3 different teams lol.

 

[The Hitch]

What I saw was Sammy feeling obligated to help Contador make time on others, more than him trying to chase a podium place. He knew Contador would attack. Yesterday's comments hint he's happy with his win in Luz, and perhaps the polka dot jersey is a more attainable goal...

Yesterday, he hadnt just flown past Basso and made back 1 minute Schleck junior.

Besides finishing well on both Galibier and Alpe can do his KOM hopes no harm.

 

[El Pistolero]

Pro Conti team? They have guys like Verdugo (24th in the GC) and Gorka Izagirre (quite down on the GC, but pretty strong and a great descender). More than enough support for a stage like this.

They definitely have a not so strong team. Though their 2 leaders seem to do fine. It's only a compliment for the Basque country that a team with almost only Basques is good enough to be World Tour.

 

[Parrulo]

Sometimes you're wondering why guys like Valverde, Contador and Samu ride for 3 different teams lol.

cus this way they have 24 domestiques working for them instead of 6. duh

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Pro Conti team? They have guys like Verdugo (24th in the GC) and Gorka Izagirre (quite down on the GC, but pretty strong and a great descender). More than enough support for a stage like this.

Exactly, I like Samu as much as the next man (well, maybe not as much as The Hitch), but no slagging off the carrot army!

 

[Arnout]

What I saw was Sammy feeling obligated to help Contador make time on others, more than him trying to chase a podium place. He knew Contador would attack. Yesterday's comments hint he's happy with his win in Luz, and perhaps the polka dot jersey is a more attainable goal...

No, he is concerned about his own position as well, as showed by the stage on Sunday, permanently surrounded by three teammates at the very front of the peloton (for the first time this Tour).

The only thing is that it is sometimes better to work together with someone that might be better than you in the next few days than try to gain 5 seconds on him.

And he didn't seem to have the energy to give it everything in the descent. Actually he said after the race he didn't want to risk falling in the wet for a few seconds, its more important to keep in check for the days to come.

 

[Arnout]

Pro Conti team? They have guys like Verdugo (24th in the GC) and Gorka Izagirre (quite down on the GC, but pretty strong and a great descender). More than enough support for a stage like this.

Egoi Martinez was up there too today. Actually the team is doing a good job, in the stage where he got his flat leading up to Plateau de Beille there were still three guys to bring him back and Izagirre in the front, that's better than we have seen the last few years actually.

 

[Parrulo]

the day the carrots stop being invited to the biggest races they are good at, will be imo the saddest day in cycling history.

the peloton isn't the same without their orange. and lampre's pink and blue for that matter

 

[hrotha]

They definitely have a not so strong team. Though their 2 leaders seem to do fine. It's only a compliment for the Basque country that a team with almost only Basques is good enough to be World Tour.

Certainly, the team's talent pool is not very deep, even if their A-team is very good, but there's this undercurrent in pretty much all of Hitch's posts that Samu is unfairly screwed because he's in a small team. Leaving aside the fact that Samu is still riding at Euskaltel because he wants to, the only stage where his team was a real disadvantage was the TTT. Other than that, they're strong.

 

[red_flanders]

According to climbbybike this is the last climb.

http://climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Colle Pra Martino&qryMountainID=1942

And I think this is the descent

http://climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col=Colle-Pra-Martino&qryMountainID=1941


A very stop start climb, the steep bits are going to be very testing and a very quick descent, about 4 and a half kilometers at over 10% average.

Great stuff, thanks for posting. That has AC written all over it, he's going to shake Evans loose on that climb. Here's hoping it's raced like the stage today!

 

[Arnout]

Certainly, the team's talent pool is not very deep, even if their A-team is very good, but there's this undercurrent in pretty much all of Hitch's posts that Samu is unfairly screwed because he's in a small team. Leaving aside the fact that Samu is still riding at Euskaltel because he wants to, the only stage where his team was a real disadvantage was the TTT. Other than that, they're strong.

If you don't like Samu riding for Euskaltel you don't like Samu.

Sometimes I have the feeling that Hitch supports Sanchez not for him, but to be unique in supporting an undervalued rider.

 

[luckyboy]

I've always been interested in the Basque country, it's just a bonus that their team has a load of crazy attackers and climbers. And they wear orange.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Even though he isn't Basque, it just wouldn't seem right to see Samu in anything other than bright orange. He's been in with Fundación Euskadi since time immemorial.

Euskaltel definitely have the riders to put together a strong team for the Tour - but it would come at the expense of their team for the other GTs. They would rather contend for the Tour and the Vuelta than send Samu to France backed with Antón, Martínez and Nieve, and then possibly fail to podium the Tour, and then have no bullets in the gun for the Vuelta (though of course that may change soon with Astarloza likely returning).

Besides, Amets Txurruka crashing out in week 1 has meant we've seen far less of the orange jerseys than we usually do, if only because it's meant that 1,428 breakaways have been a man down.

 

[roundabout]

It's possible that I might have missed, but can some kind person post the map of the final kms? I want it to compare to what i think the route is.

 

[H2OUUP2]

It's possible that I might have missed, but can some kind person post the map of the final kms? I want it to compare to what i think the route is.

This what you're looking for?

Brought to you by LukeSchmid:

According to climbbybike this is the last climb.

http://climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col...ountainID=1942

And I think this is the descent

http://climbbybike.com/climb.asp?Col...ountainID=1941

 

[roundabout]

That's good but a map would be even better.

 

[DenisMenchov]

Will Voeckler attack on descend from Sestrieres?
Will Contador attack before cat2 climb?
How much time will Andy lose?

 

[Wallace]

Will Voeckler attack on descend from Sestrieres?
Will Contador attack before cat2 climb?
How much time will Andy lose?

How much time will Basso lose on the descent?

 

[Alberto Attack]

Maybe the likes of Voeckler, Evans, Sanchez could attack on the descent to the final climb, then see if they can keep the gap on the final climb.

 

[Wallace]

Maybe the likes of Voeckler, Evans, Sanchez could attack on the descent to the final climb, then see if they can keep the gap on the final climb.

It's the descent after the final climb that everyone's concerned about.

 

[Bennyl]

So Cadel now has 1min18 on Andy, who cannot time trial or decend - Schleck probably needs at least 3 minutes on Evans from here on in with questionable form.

....He also has a few seconds on Frank, who also cannot time trial or decend and has questionable form. He needs at least 1:30 - 2 mins.

...He has 2 mins on Contador who is probably superior in the time trial (just) and seems to be finding his legs... not as good on the decent though.

...has nearly 2 mins on Sanchez who would need that time and more to compete in the time trial.

....needs 1:45 on Voeckler who probably won't stick with Cadel for all of the next 3 days and will lose time in the time trial - probably not a threat.

If Cadel is going to lose time in the mountain top finishes (especially on the punchy and most probably decisive stage 19) does it serve him to look to make time tonight with some decent decents and what seems to be his favoured climb - a cat2 near the finish??

If he gained any time on the other contenders mentioned above, surely he would put some of them out of the race....

 

[Bennyl]

After last night, I think Cadel only needs to worry himself about following Alberto on the difficult climbs. Any move by the Schlecks or other contenders will most probably be matched by Contador now who seems to have found form and will easily match the others attacks, IMHO. Otherwise, its hard to match the attacks of 4-5 contenders at a time, who will all be looking to attack Evans in particular due to the lose in time by the Schlecks.

 

[The Hitch]

Certainly, the team's talent pool is not very deep, even if their A-team is very good, but there's this undercurrent in pretty much all of Hitch's posts that Samu is unfairly screwed because he's in a small team. Leaving aside the fact that Samu is still riding at Euskaltel because he wants to, the only stage where his team was a real disadvantage was the TTT. Other than that, they're strong.

You got to differentiate between the jokes, the semi serious and the serious posts.

Pretty much everything i write about Samu is at least half joke, other than when i say that i think he would have won without the Mon Allouts screwjob and the ttt. A lot of it is paraphrasing wonderlance, or Ryo, or other fanboys/ trolls/ jokers.

I love Euskaltel as much as the next guy (well maybe not as much as Arnout).

Calling them pro conti support group is just a joke and also i use it because i generally prefer to call persons and entities by nicknames, or describe them rather than always refer to them properly.

And i dont blame them for the ttt, they did what they could, I obviously blame the organisers and the idea of a ttt (which i have always opposed) for that.

 

[BYOP88]

It's the descent after the final climb that everyone's concerned about.

Yes that's the descent that Andy is concerned about.