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

[The Hitch]

Evans had to produce more watts on the final climb so it's hard to say which one is more tired tomorrow.

Evans did a TDF stage. ANdy Schleck did a one day race.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Ivan basso is a loser. He rides and sucks wheels!

dude shut up.

ivan is not a wheelsucker.
he didn't have legs. Nor did he have the power to go over evans and ride.

 

[Not Riding Enough]

Great stage in the best tour in many years.

 

[hfer07]

well- the tables have turned- And now the game is on Evans to secure his Tour tomorrow-please Cuddles-don't blow it

 

[Wergeland]

I'm upset that Voeckler didn't pul for a single second today. On the other hand I'm really impressed. He was clearly struggling down in the valley before Galibier yet he still managed to hang on.

Andy and Cadel are the heroes of the day. Fantastic riding by Andy!

 

[turtlesoup]

Ivan basso is a loser. He rides and sucks wheels!

Seriously!! what was his plan for the tour? did he ever come in to win or just use up his team and then continue to follow wheels?

 

[auscyclefan94]

Andy could lose big time tommorow...well that's what I hope

 

[Escarabajo]

Uran always has a bad day!

I hope this one was the one.

 

[Sidbike]

There's have been only a few things Voeckler could have done to win the overall.

1. Gutsy downhill attacks...he tried that yesterdy. Didn't work.
2. Allow his competition to burn themselves out....he's been doing that on the all the big climbs. Worked
3. And hoping the field thins as riders crack. Partially worked

He's trying and in some cases succeeding at the only thing that will work. A real champion.

 

[kjetilraknerud]

Cunego in the top 5, not bad.

 

[just some guy]

Hats off to Andy and Cadel

Tomorrow will be great.

 

[spalco]

This is gonna be really close.

Realistically 2 men are still in this race. And they fully deserve the position I guess.

Oh man stage 16 could end being the most decisive stage

4 men. I wouldn't put it past Voeckler to hold on tomorrow as well and his TT is completely unpredictable imo. And Frank could attack tomorrow and take a little more time, he's probably the most frest out of the favourites.

 

[patrick767]

I'm not a big fan of riders winning the Tour with gifted time, but that's when you get a gift horse you don't look it in the mouth. TC is not good enough to win the Tour under normal circumstances. We knew that before the Tour, We'll know it even if he wins this one (which I doubt he will). If he does, or even if he doesn't I'll respect him for riding above his ability, but whatever happens I won't consider him a Tour-winning caliber rider because he isn't.

Well yes, that's my point. He's not good enough to deserve the win, but he just might get it. He's still got the MJ. He's shown that he can suck wheel all the way up the toughest mountain stages and frequently not lose any time at all on the best climbers.

Evans and Andy Schleck both put in huge efforts today. It remains to be seen if they will be able to put significant time into Voeckler tomorrow. They need to do so. Well, Andy in particular needs to do it. Evans can blast Voeckler on the ITT.

Still, anyone saying it's a 2 rider race now is forgetting about Voeckler. He's not out of it by any means.

 

[ericthesportsman6]

Seriously!! what was his plan for the tour? did he ever come in to win or just use up his team and then continue to follow wheels?

Honestly I just don't think he had the legs.

 

[MartinGT]

Tomorrow is going to be interesting, as both Andy and Cadel will be tired.

Cadel within a minute of Andy, that should be very manageable in that final ITT.

Frank may be the one to attack tomorrow. And considering he's only 1:08 back.

Contador's Tour is over.

It will prob be FSchleck attacking tomorrow hoping Evans will take the bait!

 

[thirteen]

I think Contador's tour was over before the race started.

it was... but especially after the first day (and then done in by crashes). respect that he hung in there even though he knew.

 

[ManInFull]

Evans may have salvaged victory from defeat. A huge climb alone and if he can end tomorrow no more than 2 min down, a huge chance.

Why is everyone thinking that Cadel is going to pull back so much time in the ITT? I'm not convinced.

 

[The Hitch]

Ivan basso is a loser. He rides and sucks wheels!

Basso had his TDF prep messed up by injury and then lost a lot of time in the ttt. In his situation he can suck wheels. Why should he kill himself to help somebody else win the Tour?

 

[Escarabajo]

Andy could lose big time tommorow...well that's what I hope

So could Cadel. But logic says that all Cadel has to do is follow Andy's wheel.

 

[khodder]

Andy could lose big time tommorow...well that's what I hope

So could Cadel. So could Basso. So could anyone.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Andy could lose big time tommorow...well that's what I hope

Thing is they all did big work.
Even evans did a ton of work.

Hard to say how they recover, but andy generally has very good recuperation.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I would say the race is actually down to three people.

Frank should be very well rested and tomorrow is a perfect day for him to attack. He could actually ride himself into yellow tomorrow.

 

[Cobblestones]

That was exciting. I did not expect any of this.

 

[Maxiton]

Time for me to head to work. Later.

 

[AtletiSK]

good news for Andy is that there is no really strong pace-setting team in this race, except for Leopard, therefore we can expect relatively slow race from the peloton until the Alpe-d´Huez, he will be able to recover a little