2012 Tour de France: Stage 6: Épernay → Metz (207.5km)

[Ferminal]

Maybe if there were more flat stages, they would learn how not to crash on them Or maybe GTs should be easier, so they aren't so tired that they are crashing - after 6 flat stages in a row.

It's unfortunate that for so many the Tour is their season, and if something goes wrong here their season is a disappointment.

These sorts of events seem to be tolerable at Amaury.

 

[Frosty]

They will have to ride like a minor French team and try to put someone in every break.

A weird fate for a Tour team with a GT winner, two other fringe GC men, some top notch time triallists and a sprinter who was somewhere between second and fourth fastest in the world last year. At least Dan Martin definitely won't be stuck with any domestique tasks on climbing stages.

The Radioshack 2011 of this year?

 

[PhiberAwptik]

Vuelta anyone?

You'll just complain when Contador takes minutes out of the other GC guys on the first hill.

 

[hfer07]

Looks like Da Costa has to take over the leadership for Movistar....

 

[The Chicken]

It really is amazing how quickly massive message board hype can get irritating, isn't it?

Sagan is, in my view, the biggest young talent in the whole peloton. Winning three stages in the first week of your first Tour is just incredible. But in terms of outright field sprints he still hasn't beaten the top guys, in top form. Cavendish wasn't there today and Greipel fell hard earlier. For that matter Kittel wasn't there either. Those are the consensus top 3 sprinters at the moment. There's no shame in that. The guy is 22 and is faster at 22 than any of those guys were, even Cavendish.

Er, no.

.................

 

[Kopuliak]

is it true that zanatta say that sagan will go for the win tomorrow and the GC?

DAMN! if it's true

lol not.If fact he said that today team helped Sagan, now Sagan will try to help Nibali.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

The Radioshack 2011 of this year?

A couple of days ago I was saying, no, their luck hasn't been that bad. One of their fringe GC men lost a lot of time, but that's about it. I've changed my mind now. The number of times their riders have been on the tarmac already this Tour is just unbelievable

Although I'm sure that they'd have done a deal for a Giro win even if it meant every last rider dropped out of the Tour before the end in a heartbeat.

I now want to see Martin and, if he's healthy, Hesjedal attack on every climb.

 

[cineteq]

Nope that is not what he said.

Yes he did.

"Gesink had a number of problems to overcome, both physical and emotional. It started when he hit the road in the fifth stage of the Tour last summer, and needed stitches in his right elbow and hand. He stayed in the race and rode it to the end, which he now says he wouldn't do again. Abandoning the race is the better option, he told Wielerland magazine.

“I don't want to get into a situation like this again – that you are only fighting against yourself. The next time in a similar situation I will say: goodbye, and you will see me again in the Vuelta.”

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gesink-puts-his-problems-behind-him

 

[Faserr]

Well, Greipel had a dislocated shoulder and a bleeding knee after the first crash and he crashed again with 62km to go.

 

[BillytheKid]

My god yes. Actually when in the freaking world will more GC contenders decide to skip the TdF and just ride the Giro and Vuelta instead?
Sure there are also crashes there, but the TdF is just ridiculous. Actually it's beyong the 'it's part of cycling' phase imo.

20-years ago there would have never been such talk. The Tour de France has always had opening weeks like this. It is a characteristic of this Grand Tour.

This is the nature of the game. Cycling, oddly like golf, is very course effected. The wide-to-narrow road effect of racing in France is what it is. Why the want to make one just like another?

We have three distinct GTs. It should be so.

As far as abandons, that has changed. Gesink has made good choice. It is an Olympic year as well with the road race just on week out from the end of the Tour.

 

[Ferminal]

Er, no.

.................

Because he didn't win Scheldeprijs?

 

[roundabout]

Oh yeah. Just can't wait to see more or 180+km of flat riding, than tempo up the mountain and some attacks for the last km. Bring it on!!

One of the stereotypes about the Vuelta are the wide motorways used during the flat stages.

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Well, Greipel had a dislocated shoulder and a bleeding knee after the first crash and he crashed again with 62km to go.

That's like saying Greipel won yesterday only because Sagan fell 3km to go

 

[Gloin22]

The Radioshack 2011 of this year?

I actually will say - Rabobank and not Garmin ( it's arguable though )

Renshaw: "Every rider in Rabobank crashed today at some point and most guys at least twice."

Rabobank had around 3 guys that had very good chance in GC too, all gone now. Same as Garmin really, but Rabobank banked ALL on Tour and will come empty handed it looks.

 

[profff]

bright idea from rabobank not to send any GC contender at Giro and put all the eggs in the same basket at tour de france.
now gesink , mollema and kruswijik all almost out of competition
I am very happy for the team management, that it is always a benchmark in cycling.

 

[TheEnoculator]

Gesink lost so much time, he's now behind Greipel in the GC. That's painful to look at.

I predicted Hesjedal would crash and lose time at the Tour. Bang on on that.

 

[Mellow Velo]

So, the team with absolutely no GC ambitions, screw over the GC for a turd place.
So many just stuck in the middle of the road block, as they power away.
The TDF is the biggest circus in town.
That's bike racing, as they say.
Mass suicides in Raboland, tonight?

 

[TheEnoculator]

bright idea from rabobank not to send any GC contender at Giro and put all the eggs in the same basket at tour de france.
now gesink , mollema and kruswijik all almost out of competition
I am very happy for the team management, that it is always a benchmark in cycling.

My sentiment exactly a few months ago. But as long as they are not hurt, they can still do the Vuelta. Granted they won't win because Contador will be back, but Vuelta is not as hectic and they can get better result there.

 

[The Chicken]

Because he didn't win Scheldeprijs?

No, because...

Cavendish won four stages in the 2008 Tour de France, his first coming in stage 5 from Cholet to Châteauroux. He won again on stage 8, stage 12 and stage 13, making him the first British rider to collect four stages in a single Tour. Overnight, at the age of just 22, he became the fourth most successful British professional in history.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

bright idea from rabobank not to send any GC contender at Giro and put all the eggs in the same basket at tour de france.
now gesink , mollema and kruswijik all almost out of competition
I am very happy for the team management, that it is always a benchmark in cycling.

Actually, I think that all these crashes showed that Rabobank did the right thing. Very often one of their contenders will crash, less often will two crash - and how often will three of them lose time? They just had some bad luck.

I think your reasoning is very results oriented.

 

[cineteq]

Message has been deleted

 

[Ferminal]

No, because...

Cavendish won four stages in the 2008 Tour de France, his first coming in stage 5 from Cholet to Châteauroux. He won again on stage 8, stage 12 and stage 13, making him the first British rider to collect four stages in a single Tour. Overnight, at the age of just 22, he became the fourth most successful British professional in history.

Wasn't he 23 in 2008?

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Er, no.

.................

In Cavendish's equivalent year, he had less impressive sprint results to his name than Sagan has now. It was really not till the Giro he turned 23 during that Cavendish showed he was the fastest around.

I don't expect Sagan to be as fast a flat sprinter at 23 as Cavendish was at 23, in part because I don't think Sagan will be allowed to or will want to train exclusively for sprint speed. And in part because you can never know in advance how well someone will develop and Cavendish developed prodigiously well from 21 to 24.

 

[patrick767]

Heard that too. He was probably high. Sagan +7:00 tomorrow.

Yep. Suggesting Sagan for the GC is insane. That's worse than Cancellara recently being asked about it and CN actually writing up a story of his response. Come on, guys. Cancellara is a fantastic rider, but he has no chance in the mountains. Why even ask him that question?

 

[roundabout]

No, because...

Cavendish won four stages in the 2008 Tour de France, his first coming in stage 5 from Cholet to Châteauroux. He won again on stage 8, stage 12 and stage 13, making him the first British rider to collect four stages in a single Tour. Overnight, at the age of just 22, he became the fourth most successful British professional in history.

I guess that depends what month Cavendish was born