webvan said:
He's certainly an odd one. The 'alien' moniker that some have given him is quite fitting. And for all his antics on La Toussuire and today we still don't know quite how strong he really is. For what it's worth I don't think he'd have won today's stage even if he'd been allowed to ride for himself. At best he'd have caught Valverde just before the flat section, if at all, and then would have logically lost the sprint to the line.
Disappointing stage especially for a professional Valverde hater like me. It was a great sneaky move by Nibali to get in the break after the first climb. The only way he was going to have any chance of threatening Wiggins was to do something crazy like this and force Sky to ride hard for the entire stage. Ultimately it probably wouldn't have amounted to anything, still disappointing to see Nibali drop back to the main field though it was a nice display of sportsmanship.
The worst part was at the end watching Froome and Wiggins try to pull off a one-two hand in hand victory ala Lemond and Hinault and instead just ended up handing the race to Valverde. I understand and admire a bit the team unity they were trying to show here but couldn't pick a worse rider to end up the beneficiary of it.
The worst part was at the end watching Froome and Wiggins try to pull off a one-two hand in hand victory ala Lemond and Hinault and instead just ended up handing the race to Valverde. I understand and admire a bit the team unity they were trying to show here but couldn't pick a worse rider to end up the beneficiary of it.
So I don't agree with all the criticism of Froome, sure he was show boating trying to get Wiggins to go faster and probably annoyed he didn't have a chance to win (and tbh probably needed Wiggins to lead him out to win anyway if he had made the catch). But I don't think that was really the case. Wiggins obviously lost motivation once they'd dropped everyone and wasn't pushing himself at all - that's not too unreasonable, it just became certain that he'd won the tour. On the climb up to the small descent, Wiggins was on the front looking great, Froome was gapped briefly with Nibali, so I really can't believe it was really Wiggins being in serious trouble. He just didn't care enough, had it mattered it would've been very different I'm sure.
Froome was trying to motivate Wiggins, if it was to go for the win, or if it was just to take time it doesn't really matter, he rode well for his team mate, at no time did he attack Wiggins, Wiggins simply couldn't be bothered to hold the wheel from what I can see.
Froome was trying to motivate Wiggins, if it was to go for the win, or if it was just to take time it doesn't really matter, he rode well for his team mate, at no time did he attack Wiggins, Wiggins simply couldn't be bothered to hold the wheel from what I can see.
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Blakeslee said:
Why? That Valverde was the direct beneficiary of it couldn't have been more fitting.
- May 19, 2011
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robert_c said:
You'd think a man who's ridden it 9 times would know the plural is Giri
Virtual rep for anyone who can work out who it is from the amount of rides in those races. Should keep Libertine busy for 2 mins
- Apr 2, 2009
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Mellow Velo said:Contador was also the designated leader; Armstrong the "unpaid" gate crasher and general sh*t stirrer, who had previously attacked Contador on stage 4.
Bottom line to all: Even if Froome had "attacked" Wiggins, both today and on stage 11, he'd still be in second place, about a minute behind, with the flat ITT to come.
(cue the 1 minute odd lost to the stage 3 wheel change moan)
Sour grapes have declared a bumper crop, this year.
Nonsence. Had Froome not had the flat and been on a different team he'd be 2 minutes ahead.
Really?
That does seem plausible and confirmed by Wiggo in the interview at the finish where he said he was just "submerged" when he realized he'd won the TDF when he made it to the top of Peyresourde...guess he could have kept his focus for a couple more Ks, but hey, he's only human!
@JRanton - might well be, as I posted in the Wiggo thread, Froome certainly has a killer "kick" but can't really sustain it as seen last year in the Vuelta when he'd gapped Cobo and would have won the Vuelta if he'd kept that advantage.
JibberJim said:
That does seem plausible and confirmed by Wiggo in the interview at the finish where he said he was just "submerged" when he realized he'd won the TDF when he made it to the top of Peyresourde...guess he could have kept his focus for a couple more Ks, but hey, he's only human!
@JRanton - might well be, as I posted in the Wiggo thread, Froome certainly has a killer "kick" but can't really sustain it as seen last year in the Vuelta when he'd gapped Cobo and would have won the Vuelta if he'd kept that advantage.
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auscyclefan94 said:
Nibali set his entire team up only to come up short and lose more time. Couldn't even put in 1 attack himself today.
Evans was further on the decline
Froome was obviously the strongest but for some wild reason he kept waiting for Wiggins, who was 2nd strongest.
Zubeldia dropped off the pace causing Van Garderen to move up
That's it
- Dec 30, 2011
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robert_c said:
Unfortunately I dont think he is an actual pro; thanks to Search who researched all retired riders from somewhere far back in the past and added the startlists up and then calculated that the only riders who could fit the description remotely are ust Addy Engels (9*Giro/4*Vuelta/2*Tour) and Alberto Ongarato (9*Giro/4*Vuelta/1*Tour) both of whom dont fit the exact criteria and whom dont live in Barcelona to the best of my knowledge.
I dont think the poster thought people would attempt so hard to track him down when he posted those GT facts
rhubroma said:
Well if you're going down that road...Froome not being on SKY...do you seriously think Froome would be at the level he his had he not benefited from the expertise of the Sky Team to take him where he is? Before signing his three contract in September he probably looked at what happened to Wiggo in 2010 after he jumped ship from Garmin and figured he was better off staying and playing second fiddle to Wiggo for a while?
So yes he lost 1'25" with his flat, but with a 40" second gap today, there would have been no other reason to race differently since. The only reason to do things differently would have been for him to put 30" seconds to Wiggo in the first ITT and he didn't.
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Dekker_Tifosi said:
Things change when you're on a bike, I guess.
You can say you'll attack and then understand you don't have legs. I haven't seen Liquigas going full in today. Which leads me to believe Nibali knew from the beginning (or at least from Bales) this wasn't a good day for him.
But this is cleary speculation. You might be right anyway.
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