2011 Tour de France Stage 18 - Pinerolo - Galibier Serre-Chevalier 200.5km

[RdBiker]

bravo to Schlecklette

that valley floor is going to be the longest 15km of his life

I say he fails, but respect for having a go

I too fear it's too much if no one else helps andy except Monfort.

 

[Ferminal]

Evans is losing the Tour in the exact same way he did back in 2008. He should take responsibility for chasing down down, or at least keep the pace high. Instead he chooses to go on the wheel of a spent Navarro. Doesn't seem really smart to me but we'll see....

lol, working now means Contador, Frank, Basso, Samu all destroy him on Galibier.

 

[khodder]

Deevenyns and Silin with Monfort and Andy and they seem to be catching Roche and Iglinsky.

6 of them going over the flat as a unit will be scary for the likes of Evans, Basso, Contador.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

You really don't get it do you?
It's not about the result right now. It's about exciting racing.

this.

andy has imo just delivered the best moment of this tour so far.

 

[spalco]

I wouldn'tsay it's over, but if Andy gets down the mountain alive I think he's almost a lock for the stage win at least. I don't see him losing 2 minutes on the Galibier on anyone regardless of where the wind blows from if he's feeling well (which he obviously does).

 

[Epicycle]

Pantani attacked with two mountains to go in 1998 and Ultirch blew up losing over 9min.

Yeah I remember that. Ullrich tried to go real early once during the early 2000s and get the jump on Armstrong but it didn't work.

 

[RdBiker]

Wow, are you guys seeing this.

Contador is flying past everyonbe on the descent like a motorbike past doombugies.

But if he drops everybody he'll have to do it solo in the valley - where is Sanchez?

 

[lilyprotector]

can anyone tell how fast/slow andy's descending?

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Much respect for Andy today.

 

[Escarabajo]

I seem to recall he went even earlier, but he did have Armstrong on his wheel from the start. That was quite amazing though.

Tourmalet in 2003.

 

[Kwibus]

Deevenyns and Silin with Monfort and Andy and they seem to be catching Roche and Iglinsky.

6 of them going over the flat as a unit will be scary for the likes of Evans, Basso, Contador.

The question is will the others help? I doubt it

I hope they will, because I cheer for the attacker and that's Andy right. Go Andy!

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Contador is mid-pack on the descent, so he isn't leading the chase.

 

[spalco]

can anyone tell how fast/slow andy's descending?

Looks fast to me.

 

[TRDean]

It's about winning the tour...not looking good

In which case Evans has neither...looks like *** and hasn't won.

 

[The Hitch]

So far on this stage we have seen Andy Schleck and Levi Leipheimer attack.

I would like to see something from Cadel too then.

 

[Jamsque]

Andy is nearly in the virtual race lead now.

 

[RdBiker]

can anyone tell how fast/slow andy's descending?

According to letour.fr he's 3sec behind Roche so they're going faster with Monfort

 

[jobiwan]

If Sanchez and Contador get away, again, do they have the power to catch Andy and Monfort by themselves?

 

[mastersracer]

Andy gaining time on the descent and getting a group around him - danger...

 

[Sidbike]

vs ticker flashing:

chase 1 - 1:45
chase 2 - 1:42

giant mountain warps the laws of physics.

 

[Ramira]

I wouldn'tsay it's over, but if Andy gets down the mountain alive I think he's almost a lock for the stage win at least. I don't see him losing 2 minutes on the Galibier on anyone regardless of where the wind blows from if he's feeling well (which he obviously does).

Not to mention he won't look back anymore. So far the main weakness of Andy this tour haven't been his legs but his unwillingness to push on after his attacks. As there won't be anyone on his wheel on the Galibier he'll be able to go all out.

 

[The Sheep]

The question is will the others help? I doubt it

I hope they will, because I cheer for the attacker and that's Andy right. Go Andy!

I'm sure Leopard aren't broke

 

[kurtinsc]

lol, working now means Contador, Frank, Basso, Samu all destroy him on Galibier.

This.

Evans has a delicate tightrope to walk. He has to conserve energy so he doesn't crack totally and give up tons of time to everyone, but he also needs to not let the main contenders get too much time on him. He can afford to lose 30-45 seconds. He can't afford to lose 1:30-1:45.

I think he made the absolute correct call on not following andy and not being the one to push the pace. Pushing the pace would crack him... which many of you have stated. But you seem to think he should do it anyway.

Why on earth would he do that? Evans has to ride within his means. For the first time in a grand tour, he seems to be doing that.

 

[Cerberus]

No one remembers second...

I thought you were an Evans fan.

 

[RdBiker]

The question is will the others help? I doubt it

I hope they will, because I cheer for the attacker and that's Andy right. Go Andy!

A.Schleck better get his checkbook ready