2012 Tour de France: Stage 9: Arc-et-Senans → Besançon (ITT) (41.5 km)

[mb2612]

It is pathetic, Wiggins is always strong in TT. All year on here it has been "tour will be boring, wiggo friendly course etc"

Soon as he wins one stage, his specialty, he is a doper. It is tiresome, anyone who performs well = doper (unless you happen to be a 'fanboy').

Look at Wiggins results before this year and count the number of long time trials he has won.

Count them, find them, discover them, they don't exist.

This was a Wiggins friendly course, because of the time trial km, and he has always been a very good time trialler, and an excellent prolouger.

And I can understand his loosing loads of weight and becoming a climber, it's been tried by plenty of people, and some of them succeed.

But his new-found ability against the clock after loosing 10km of muscle. It's nothing short of miraculous.

 

[cineteq]

The people who claimed that Wiggins had peacked to early at the Dauphine and that riders like Cadel were going to catch up with them were entirely wrong.

Sometimes you say silly things. Normal riders have peak cycles. Do I need to go on?

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

There is an entire thread in the Clinic dedicated to Sky and their performance today. Please post all doping related talk there, and not here.

 

[Bernie's eyesore]

I don't understand all the fuss about this performance from Sky today. Froome just performed on a similar level to his time trial in the Vuelta. Wiggins did well but still beat Cancellara by 30 seconds less than Tony Martin did in Spain last year. This must be one of the weakest tour fields in years and Sky are taking advantage.

 

[Thee_chisa]

yep, blame the competition. evans is old, nibali is not a true GC contender, menchov is not the rider he was 5 years ago, contador is banned, the schlecks can't TT, etc, etc

 

[gustienordic]

This must be one of the weakest tour fields in years and Sky are taking advantage.

lolololololololololol

If you want a weak Tour field check out 2006, 2007, & 2008... If Popo can be top 10 in a tour, you know the field is terrible

 

[Froome19]

Sometimes you say silly things. Normal riders have peak cycles. Do I need to go on?

If I understand your meaning we will see if you are right but I highly doubt you will be as I said in the other thread

clutching at straws

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

lolololololololololol

If you want a weak Tour field check out 2006, 2007, & 2008... If Popo can be top 10 in a tour, you know the field is terrible

No, he's right. The best 2 GC riders of the past 5 years are not here (Contador/A Schleck). The potential top 10/top 5 candidates have been decimated again by the first week, leaving only 3/4 of them.

Result, people like Monfort, Roche and other Van Garderens in the top 10. Guys who get owned whole year long by people who now have already been eliminated due to falls and other stuff.

This is really one of the weakest TDF fields remaining now. Still not as bad as 2006 though, you're right

 

[gustienordic]

No, he's right. The best 2 GC riders of the past 5 years are not here (Contador/A Schleck). The potential top 10/top 5 candidates have been decimated again by the first week, leaving only 3/4 of them.

This is really one of the weakest TDF fields remaining now. Still not as bad as 2006 though, you're right

By this time yes, I agree that the field is weak, but it didn't start out that weak, thats what I thought he was talking about...

 

[Bernie's eyesore]

By this time yes, I agree that the field is weak, but it didn't start out that weak, thats what I thought he was talking about...

Good to see you agree I was right.

 

[sjonnie]

But his new-found ability against the clock after loosing 10kg of muscle. It's nothing short of miraculous.

I'm not sure how accurate that statement is, but anyhow, Wiggins's weight loss is nothing new. In the 2007 tour he states he weight 78kg, he was 4th in the prologue and 5th in the ITT and lying in 131st place before he quit. By 2009 he had dropped his weight to 71kg and finished that tour in 4th position, behind AC, AS and LA, 3rd in prologue, 6th in ITT. Wiggins describes himself as "being almost an alcoholic" after the Olympics in 2004. That level of drinking would most certainly ensure he was carrying excess weight as fat. Indeed, he says most of the weight he lost was fat, reducing his body fat content as low as 4%.

Not that is matters if he did loose muscle, as long as that muscle was mostly type II muscle fiber, which seems plausible given that cycle track sports are designed for intense short efforts that require type II muscle. If he decreased type II muscle fiber and increased type I, which his long term training program may have accomplished, that could lead to reduced muscle mass but increased sustained power output.

 

[FujiAnton]

What a performance by Froome, still that i was expecting something like that. It's a shame he have lost "1'25 because of the flat tire in the stage 1, otherwise he would be a serious threat to Wiggins, even being of the same team.

 

[maltiv]

No, he's right. The best 2 GC riders of the past 5 years are not here (Contador/A Schleck). The potential top 10/top 5 candidates have been decimated again by the first week, leaving only 3/4 of them.

Result, people like Monfort, Roche and other Van Garderens in the top 10. Guys who get owned whole year long by people who now have already been eliminated due to falls and other stuff.

This is really one of the weakest TDF fields remaining now. Still not as bad as 2006 though, you're right

But none of those guys who crashed out would have been in the top 3 by now anyway. But yeah, from 5 and below it's looking quite weak indeed.

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

What a performance by Froome, still that i was expecting something like that. It's a shame he have lost "1'25 because of the flat tire in the stage 1, otherwise he would be a serious threat to Wiggins, even being of the same team.

As a rider definately he is a threat to Wiggins, in reality you only have to look at the marketing of Sky to know that Froome wont be allowed to ride for himself unless Wiggins abandons.

 

[La Vie Claire]

I wanna see how sky fare against contador next year.

if they can last till next year.

Contador doesn't have a chance next year. Wigans is the new Armstrong and Contador his Ullrich.

 

[webvan]

If Wiggo wins this year and Froome wins the Vuelta, I'm guessing they'll enter as coleaders next year (Wiggo is probably only interested in being the first Brit to win, so once is ok), a BIG headache for the competition.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Contador doesn't have a chance next year. Wigans is the new Armstrong and Contador his Ullrich.

and my grandmother is faster on the world hour record than boardman

 

[happychappy]

Contador doesn't have a chance next year. Wigans is the new Armstrong and Contador his Ullrich.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

If Wiggo wins this year and Froome wins the Vuelta, I'm guessing they'll enter as coleaders next year (Wiggo is probably only interested in being the first Brit to win, so once is ok), a BIG headache for the competition.

How long is froome contract to sky? I suppose he would want to be a leader of a team next year

 

[webvan]

Renewed for 3 years last November...after the Vuelta so he must be making big £££.

If he gets co-leader status at Sky for the next TDF and Wiggo's happy with the "first Brit to ever win the TDF" why would he go elsewhere, Sky can certainly match any money he'll be paid elsewhere ? He owes it all to Sky and he certainly looks like a loyal guy.

 

[_nm___]

wouldn't wiggins do very well at paris roubaix with a power like that and assuming he doesn't mind the cobbles?

 

[LeafCrAzY]

Evans pretty much abandoned wheel sucking after wining a WC.

While he didn't accelerate away in last year's tour much, he rode a LOT at the front. He took to the front and chased down breaks by Schleck and Contador on stages 18 and 19.

That kind of climbing isn't what he needs to do in this year's race though. He needs the sharp attacks.

Yeah that's what I'm saying... it doesn't suit his style well IMO. Hes gonna have to go for broke though. Like I said, I hope Wiggins bonks, but if he doesn't have it, all he has to do is ride at his pace.... hes go a lot of time, and still another TT left. I don't even think one bad day will ruin Wiggins.

 

[blaxland]

Been watching this sport for over 30 years now and that stage last night was....Am i honestly meant to believe that Wiggins and Froome are both riding clean??They both made Cancellara look like a b grade timetrialist?Wtf?Yes i knew Wiggins would go well but to crush all like that?And froome?Sad day for Cycling world wide"

 

[greenedge]

@lvc: next year their shall be less ITT's and Contador is younger than wiggins and will still most likely win a GT- the Vuelta this year, even after a layoff.

 

[taiwan]

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