2012 Tour de France: Stage 2: Visé → Tournai (208km)

[greenedge]

Congrats to Cavendish- for coming past Greipel who was well positioned and with no team.

I agree with the idea that the last 10km or so was stop-start with a lot of jostling. The Lotto team looked impressive but maybe needed another 50m or so before Greipel was released.

Goss just needed to be ahead of Cav/ hit out on the other side of the road earlier- he can win a flat sprint but i don't know when.

 

[Geraint Too Fast]

Congrats to Cavendish- for coming past Greipel who was well positioned and with no team.

I agree with the idea that the last 10km or so was stop-start with a lot of jostling. The Lotto team looked impressive but maybe needed another 50m or so before Greipel was released.

Goss just needed to be ahead of Cav/ hit out on the other side of the road earlier- he can win a flat sprint but i don't know when.

Time to change your sig.

 

[Frosty]

Goss just needed to be ahead of Cav/ hit out on the other side of the road earlier- he can win a flat sprint but i don't know when.

Looked on the replay like the GreenEdge lead-out man surged before Goss was ready, allowing a gap to open up which Cav then filled. Goss had to come from quite a way back too - he was level with Cav coming round the last bend at 50 seconds on the video below. Third was maybe not such a bad result under the circumstances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kLa7cMMpIA

 

[greenedge]

Time to change your sig.

Ah yes thx for reminding.

Goss did do well- you are right.

 

[simo1733]

It was a great laedout by Impey.For Cavendish.

 

[Fowsto Cope-E]

Maybe Greipel would have won had he wore one of those silly helmets.

 

[movingtarget]

Looked on the replay like the GreenEdge lead-out man surged before Goss was ready, allowing a gap to open up which Cav then filled. Goss had to come from quite a way back too - he was level with Cav coming round the last bend at 50 seconds on the video below. Third was maybe not such a bad result under the circumstances.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kLa7cMMpIA

Goss wanted to go up the inside of Greipel but there was no room. If he had got through it could have been interesting. Good sprints by the top three but Sagan was burnt off pretty quickly. It's not the Tour of California and he will struggle to win the flatter sprint stages. But he has taken over Gilbert's mantle re hilltop finishes this year as long as the stage is not a super hard one before the last hill.

 

[karlboss]

Ah yes thx for reminding.

Goss did do well- you are right.

Goss will need the stars to align to beat Cav or Greipel. He started on Cav's wheel and was only just overlapping Greipel and Cav's wheels on the line, despite never having had to be in the wind himself. 2 tactics from now on, be on Greipel's wheel or hit out first. He had to work pretty hard to get to where he was, but even still I don't think he can come over Greipel, so I'd lean towards hit out first. As pair accelerate with Impey from 10 back hit the front with 200-250 to go and then dig in. It's riskier in that he might end up 10th, but i don't give him much of a chance to win otherwise.

Greipel's wheel will be a prized commodity for all sprinters from now on.

Trofinos, I don't think i was harsh in calling Sagan not a sprinter and that he can't sprint with the best. The best are Kittel, Goss, Cavendish, and Greipel. I'm not judging him after one sprint, I'm judging him on every bunch sprint he's ever contested. He has not once won a sprint over one of the best guys.
I can't see Sagan doing any better in a bunch sprint than 3rd against these guys.

 

[auscyclefan94]

People who watched the coverage with Phil and Paul commentating, did you hear Paul drop the f-bomb when talking about HTC after the stage? I am confident he said it.

 

[movingtarget]

Goss will need the stars to align to beat Cav or Greipel. He started on Cav's wheel and was only just overlapping Greipel and Cav's wheels on the line, despite never having had to be in the wind himself. 2 tactics from now on, be on Greipel's wheel or hit out first. He had to work pretty hard to get to where he was, but even still I don't think he can come over Greipel, so I'd lean towards hit out first. As pair accelerate with Impey from 10 back hit the front with 200-250 to go and then dig in. It's riskier in that he might end up 10th, but i don't give him much of a chance to win otherwise.

Greipel's wheel will be a prized commodity for all sprinters from now on.

Trofinos, I don't think i was harsh in calling Sagan not a sprinter and that he can't sprint with the best. The best are Kittel, Goss, Cavendish, and Greipel. I'm not judging him after one sprint, I'm judging him on every bunch sprint he's ever contested. He has not once won a sprint over one of the best guys.
I can't see Sagan doing any better in a bunch sprint than 3rd against these guys.

I agree about Sagan and bunch sprints but Goss showed on the intermediate sprint that he will be competitive. He has a chance to win the green jersey and Cavendish probably won't complete the race re Olympics road race.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Greipel's wheel will be a prized commodity for all sprinters from now on.

Yes, and the much larger Greipel is a perfect place for anyone, especially the much smaller Cav, to tuck in behind. Dang, in the head-on camera view at the finish you could barely make out Cav except when that bloody yellow helmet would pop out to the side. Very smart tactically for Cav.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

People who watched the coverage with Phil and Paul commentating, did you hear Paul drop the f-bomb when talking about HTC after the stage? I am confident he said it.

Hopefully someone will post a video clip of that. I could use a good laugh.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Hopefully someone will post a video clip of that. I could use a good laugh.

It is recorded on my TV but I am not sure how to get it up.

 

[Mellow Velo]

It is recorded on my TV but I am not sure how to get it up.

So, you won't be: "cumming all over Gilbert", then.(© Calton Kirby)

 

[greenedge]

Greipel's wheel will be a prized commodity for all sprinters from now on.

I trust in Goss enough to be able to beat Greipel in a sprint ( even if from behind ). Goss can fight for Greipels' wheel well- he bounced Sagan off Cavs'.

Goss' best chance to win is to have his train do what Lotto did yesterday- they just need to do what they did at the Giro in my view.