• The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to @SHaines here on the forum, or use the Contact Us form to message the Community Team.

    In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.

    Thanks!

2012 Tour de France: Stage 5: Rouen → Saint-Quentin (196.5km)

Page 13 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Greipel did a great job to avoid Farrar in the crash and then Henderson brought him back up to the Lotto train with 2km to go. Great win.

I noticed Eisel disappeared from the Sky train without taking a pull, presumably due to his crash yesterday, which left Sky at least one man short in the last km. I don't think Cav was that badly affected by yesterday's crash as he moved up about as much as you could expect him to given how far back he was with 400m to go.
 
Also interesting that Sky completely changed their tactics today, back to what they said they were going to do pre-Tour. Although if Froome, Rogers and Porte had been taking those pulls on the front during the entire first week then it would surely have an affect come the mountain stages. They should have just left Cav at home or more to the point Cav shouldn't have signed for them in the first place.
 
Dec 30, 2011
3,547
0
0
Visit site
Eyeballs Out said:
The crash was just before the 3km banner (< 100 yds before) but it looks like they've applied the rule anyway

I havent seen it tbh but the reports said it was just within, the rule was definitely applied though..
 
Mar 25, 2011
14
0
0
Visit site
Very nice final km. I was hoping that Ghyselinck could hold on until the end, but the camera gave me a lot of false hope :p. I'm wondering if Greipel will join the intermediate sprint tomorrow, I hope he doesn't. Let that energy be wasted by Cavendish and Sagan, at the end of the Tour such details start to count.
 
Aug 12, 2009
3,639
0
0
Visit site
JRanton said:
Also interesting that Sky completely changed their tactics today, back to what they said they were going to do pre-Tour. Although if Froome, Rogers and Porte had been taking those pulls on the front during the entire first week then it would surely have an affect come the mountain stages. They should have just left Cav at home or more to the point Cav shouldn't have signed for them in the first place.

Pretty much what I have been saying. Makes no difference anyway. Only Froome was ever going to be there in the high mountain stages.

Sky actually did a good job. However having EBH at the front with 1.5km to go wasn't smart. Probably more just an unfortunate effect of positioning at the time and jostling. Based on what I saw, of the guys contesting the sprint, Cav was about the 5th fastest today. Goss had the quickest acceleration, but Greipel maintained the highest overall power output, thus he got past goss in the last 40-50m.

Greipel isn't doing anything wrong. Goss finally after two days of mix-ups, looks like he has it figured out. Should make future stuff interesting.
 
boring talking.........
someone please with a stage to planche de belles filles thread.

pic274139903_600.jpg


oh boy.he's coming to the party.
 
Good for Greipel! Glad to see that the sprints are being contested by more than one rider, the domination of one sprinter gets boring.

I think Sagan has the speed, I think in the last couple of days he's just been in the wrong place and isn't good yet at avoiding being boxed in. He's not predicting which lines will stay open and taking the spots which are being left to him instead of forcing the issue. I think he's going to learn quickly and start winning some bunch sprints.
 
Dec 30, 2011
3,547
0
0
Visit site
Eyeballs Out said:
There's a shot on the TV pics from the camera bike behind the peloton where you can see the aftermath of the crash and the 3 km banner ahead

Yep you are right just watched the recording..



Looking at Cav's sprint he opened up so early due to his bad positioning that it was really a case of damage limitation, he came back strongly and if he had been level with Greipel he may have won but he was sprinting a long way before Greipel was. I short this was a major fail on Sky's part especially as you think they would have managed to work out something when training. Seriously in the sprint itself it is easy to get swamped and fail but to miscalculate and leave Cav and EbH by themselves for 1.5km is just ridiculous.
 
Galic Ho said:
Pretty much what I have been saying. Makes no difference anyway. Only Froome was ever going to be there in the high mountain stages.

Sky actually did a good job. However having EBH at the front with 1.5km to go wasn't smart. Probably more just an unfortunate effect of positioning at the time and jostling. Based on what I saw, of the guys contesting the sprint, Cav was about the 5th fastest today. Goss had the quickest acceleration, but Greipel maintained the highest overall power output, thus he got past goss in the last 40-50m.

Greipel isn't doing anything wrong. Goss finally after two days of mix-ups, looks like he has it figured out. Should make future stuff interesting.

That's a pretty big call. What makes you so confident about that?
 
Dec 30, 2011
3,547
0
0
Visit site
red_flanders said:
I think Sagan has the speed, I think in the last couple of days he's just been in the wrong place and isn't good yet at avoiding being boxed in. He's not predicting which lines will stay open and taking the spots which are being left to him instead of forcing the issue. I think he's going to learn quickly and start winning some bunch sprints.

He already has more than a few bunch sprints under his sprint this season already;) I assume though you are talking about at the Tour against proper opposition because he has showed when Greipel, Cav and Kittel arent there that he can win, even in GTs such as last year's Vuelta.

From the sprints he did at ATOC they were all perfect and his positioning was immense, yet here he has been disappointing, probably due to the much higher intensity which the sprints are races at, right now he is probably below the above 3 and above most others maybe just below Goss as well bue on par with Ale Jet etc.

The other question is whether he will improve even more in his sprint due to his amazing development at such a young age already and as development sometimes is a bit earlier for eastern europeans.
 

TRENDING THREADS