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

[Midnightfright]

I gotta admit I gotta a bit nervous when i saw sanchez and contador up the road. thought evans would lose some time. Really impressed by contador today he looked great. the schlecks were impressive too. I guess a wet and dry descent makes a lot of difference for andy. Cadel looked slightly tired at the finish but he always does so its hard to tell. He still has to fight very hard for the win. Hope he can hang in there in stage 18 and 19. FFS GOOO EVANS!!!

He usually does but this year he's looked alot better. I hope it isn't a bad omen.

 

[scullster46]

Tiralongo dnf. Looks like Contador lost another one of his many domestiques.

 

[dlwssonic]

Ha good one. The peoples champ = The Rock = Evans (because he will drop like one)

lol you mean he will drop contador, schleck and basso like rocks in the mountains

 

[hrotha]

Come on, if anything his form will get much worse.

What you think should happen, or what you would like to happen, is clearly different from what's happening in front of our eyes. Contador has been getting better and better every day. Sorry. It's a fact.

 

[sportzchick]

I think Evans thx the lord for the 1.20 minutes that contador lossed on the 1 stage, due to the crash of riders infront of him..

Or after his fare share of bad luck the cycling gods have decided it's Cadel's turn...

Don't care what anyone says in sport anyone that win a race/tour/championship whatever has some luck involved

 

[El Pistolero]

I don't see how you could realistically have two peaks like that and still not be tired even if what you are saying is true

It's simple. Contador doesn't need to be in a peak to beat Evans silly.

Let's not forget that Evans only gained 5 real seconds on Contador so far. In this stage Evans looked more tired already than the defending champ. Contador is getting better every day, that much is obvious.

 

[Publicus]

I don't see how you could realistically have two peaks like that and still not be tired even if what you are saying is true

That's your fear talking. Big time.

 

[LukeSchmid]

Come on, if anything his form will get much worse.


Come on, if anything his form will get much worse.



What race were you watching?

I was not saying you are wrong, it is just that his knee has been the major impact on his performance so far. It clearly impacted him earlier but now seems to be much better so he is riding much better. We will have to wait and see whether he can be his ussaul self over the next couple of days. If he is not then it would probably because the Giro has taken too much out of him.

 

[sublimit]

Evans is going to win, If he doesn't I'll eat my hat..
Contador is clearly the strongest rider now but I dont think he can do it quite unless he goes berserk tomorrow and Friday.
Voekler was rubbish on that descent, deserves to lose 24 seconds or whatever it was.

 

[Sem Travões]

Uau at some point the tour its starting to look more like a ski competion, only the Viessmann advertsing is missing.
Also notice that there aren't many Spanish victories apart from Samu, that's also strange I guess

 

[Grayguard]

What you think should happen, or what you would like to happen, is clearly different from what's happening in front of our eyes. Contador has been getting better and better every day. Sorry. It's a fact.

+1 Agreed. At this point there's no reason to think, he will *not* continue to improve (ofc. this is compared to the other riders).

 

[jobiwan]

Looks like France is going to end the Tour with exactly 0 stage wins.
Other than Voeckler, this Tour has been forgettable compared to last year for the French.

 

[El Pistolero]

Normally Evans would lose more than 2 minutes alone on 2 big mountain stages against Contador.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Evans is going to win, If he doesn't I'll eat my hat..

Voekler was rubbish on that descent, deserves to lose 24 seconds or whatever it was.

Get on betfair son, he's odds against.

 

[Kwibus]

I don't see how you could realistically have two peaks like that and still not be tired even if what you are saying is true

I'm 'afraid' Contador doesn't have to be at his peak to beat his competition in a GT.
Still 3 very important stages to go. Anything can happen.

 

[RdBiker]

In previous Tours many people have said that Contador's weakest point is endurance. Has that been forgotten or has he overcome this as he has gotten older?

 

[jobiwan]

GC:

1 Thomas Voeckler (Fra) Team Europcar 73:23:49
2 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:01:18
3 Fränk Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:01:22
4 Andy Schleck (Lux) Leopard Trek 0:02:36
5 Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez (Spa) Euskaltel-Euskadi 0:02:59
6 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Saxo Bank Sungard 0:03:15
7 Damiano Cunego (Ita) Lampre - ISD 0:03:34
8 Ivan Basso (Ita) Liquigas-Cannondale 0:03:49
9 Thomas Danielson (USA) Team Garmin-Cervelo 0:06:04
10 Rigoberto Uran Uran (Col) Sky Procycling 0:07:36

Basso finished with Voeckler, so he drops below Cunego. Can't see him on the podium anymore.

 

[No_Balls]

Uau at some point the tour its starting to look more like a ski competion, only the Viessmann advertsing is missing.
Also notice that there aren't many Spanish victories apart from Samu, that's also strange I guess

LL-Sanchez also. But yes, very few spanish victories, unless the most important ones is yet to come.

 

[GroupDK]

Or after his fare share of bad luck the cycling gods have decided it's Cadel's turn...

I hope for Contador / Frank schlek / Voekler / Evans / Basso

these guys im sympatic with.

Evans, a shame that he showed a hysterical attitude some years, but overall i think he has been so big a charakter for the tour so many years, that if he could finally take the win, I would be happy for him (but I need to see some action from him)

 

[hfer07]

Oh no no no Uran is in top 10. Is there a chance he wont finish there?

He will-since Voeckler, Cunego & Basso aren't that good on ITT-so those spots are going to slide down so he can at lest hold on to it & I don't see anyone from behind threatening his position at all......- I could be wrong & biased-but I won't loose my faith on my man Uran

 

[khardung la]

Come on, if anything his form will get much worse.

He did nothing 2 weeks after the Giro. Nothing.. He is getting better relative to the others. If you sum that his knee is getting better and that there are 2 huge mountain stages and a TT coming.....a probable winner.

 

[woodie]

I don't see how you could realistically have two peaks like that and still not be tired even if what you are saying is true

You don't get how overloading works do you? You train really hard for a block and tear your legs off and then let your legs recover and you'll come back stronger. Thats essentially what Contador is trying to do, he has had four full weeks to recover and he does seem to be coming good now.

Saying that......... GO CADEL!!

 

[sportzchick]

Just because the forum wants Cadel to roll over doesn't mean it's going to happen champ

 

[joeyrobbo]

Quick question.. How did Contador gain a second on A Schleck and Evans today? Was it a time bonus for aggression? They all seemed to finish together - in fact Evans finished ahead of Contador - but the CN report said he gained 1 second?

 

[bjaelkesex]

Uau at some point the tour its starting to look more like a ski competion, only the Viessmann advertsing is missing.
Also notice that there aren't many Spanish victories apart from Samu, that's also strange I guess

Speaking of skiing, has Hagen been given a nickname yet? Otherwise I suggest Lillehammer. Lillehammer is a popular skiing destination in Norway and it means "small hammer". Thor Hushovd is already the God of Thunder, so he's obviously the "big hammer" in comparison!