2012 Tour Down Under Stage 5: McLaren Vale - Old Willunga Hill 151.5km

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

How I missed Valv.Piti... what a scumbag.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

 

[auscyclefan94]

Way to go, PITI !!

Should have never be banned. The guy's pure class. No need of doping. In fact, never was found positive, just the frigging blood bag.

Anyway, time for you haters to swallow it back after two years of "peace".

Are you serious?

Congrats ACF. You seem to have a knack for working those tweets.

Er, could you let them know that having studio guests of any kind, let alone guests from another sport, in the closing stages of a race is bad form? And that more screen graphics would be useful.

My aggressive style and sometimes sycophantic tweeting style does get me a lot of attention. No real point requesting for the km's screen graphics for tommorow considering it is a small circuit race but maybe another time.

BroDeal will be happy to know that I sent a few tweets through to Peter Walsh (main ABC radio guy) about the coverage giving him some advice and got a response. It is kind of weird because ABC radio found out the top 3 yesterday from me and now some of the people on the broadcast are all following me.

 

[Andy99]

Let's be fair, this isn't Plumelec here. Piti hasn't returned at the same strength he left... yet.

He's beaten a field where very few people are in any kind of form and in a race that not too many people of his style of rider care about. It's like when people were getting upset about Stefan Schumacher winning the time trial in Asturias last year; a guy who was stomping Cancellara by a minute when doped SHOULD be able to beat the likes of Sergey Shilov and Hugo Sabido when clean. And so it is here. Piti should be able to beat the likes of Simon "I've managed to come in the bottom end of the top 10 in every Ardennes Classic by making sure you don't know I'm there and never actually doing anything, you know!" Gerrans if he's on any kind of form.

Ha ha. I like that!

 

[auscyclefan94]

Matt Lloyd said in an interview that the reason he got caught behind was because of the echelon on the Wilunga Hill plateau. Makes sense now I guess.

 

[woodie]

Where are the highlights? Channel 9 decided they didn't need them today since it was live, great for all of us that had to work today

 

[Sofía_]

Finish and interview

 

[pastronef]

No pity for those getting up in the middle of the night...welcome to our world (Southern Hemisphere).
Have TDF, possibly other cycle races, London Olympics and others to keep us bleary eyed.

ahaha, and Piti won

 

[auscyclefan94]

Yes, some of these euros need to toughen up. Now you can empathise a bit more with what Australians have to put up with for every single race if they want to watch.

 

[Havetts]

Valverde winning makes the hangover a bit less worse..

 

[auscyclefan94]

Valverde winning makes the hangover a bit less worse..

Very lame troll attempt Havetts!

Anyway, I must say that BMC would be a little dissapointed (& slightly unlucky) to not come away with a jersey, a top 10 gc place or a stage win. They certainly have been one of the main protagonists from a team perspective in the TDU.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

Finish and interview

"Alessandro Valverdee," really?

 

[maltiv]

Very lame troll attempt Havetts!

Anyway, I must say that BMC would be a little dissapointed (& slightly unlucky) to not come away with a jersey, a top 10 gc place or a stage win. They certainly have been one of the main protagonists from a team perspective in the TDU.

Well, what can you expect when they sacrificed their entire team for Kohler who never has shown anything impressive in such climbs. Surely they should have gone for Ballan or GVA (what happened to him yesterday?) for the GC. Wasting Ballan on the flat in the run in to the first ascend of Willunga was just ridiculous.

 

[El Pistolero]

Well, what can you expect when they sacrificed their entire team for Kohler who never has shown anything impressive in such climbs. Surely they should have gone for Ballan or GVA (what happened to him yesterday?) for the GC. Wasting Ballan on the flat in the run in to the first ascend of Willunga was just ridiculous.

GVA isn't in shape, why would he? It's the freaking Tour Down Under.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Valverde winning makes the hangover a bit less worse..

Agreed!

 

[auscyclefan94]

Well, what can you expect when they sacrificed their entire team for Kohler who never has shown anything impressive in such climbs. Surely they should have gone for Ballan or GVA (what happened to him yesterday?) for the GC. Wasting Ballan on the flat in the run in to the first ascend of Willunga was just ridiculous.

He's not that bad on shorter climbs but in general he is a domestique so he rarely gets to race for himself. It was risky but they did have to put the team behind him because he was the race leader with the queen stage to go. I do agree that Ballan sacrificing himself for Kohler was a mistake in hindsight but Martin was looking alright going into the last climb. Like GVA, Alessandro still doesn't have the form yet.

On another note, it was quite strange to find out that Stuart OGrady won most aggressive rider. Natahan Haas really should have won it as all of the break had to attack to get into the break and it was Nathan Haas who attacked late into the stage from the break and lasted out front for a while which was quite impressive.

 

[movingtarget]

He's not that bad on shorter climbs but in general he is a domestique so he rarely gets to race for himself. It was risky but they did have to put the team behind him because he was the race leader with the queen stage to go. I do agree that Ballan sacrificing himself for Kohler was a mistake in hindsight but Martin was looking alright going into the last climb. Like GVA, Alessandro still doesn't have the form yet.

On another note, it was quite strange to find out that Stuart OGrady won most aggressive rider. Natahan Haas really should have won it as all of the break had to attack to get into the break and it was Nathan Haas who attacked late into the stage from the break and lasted out front for a while which was quite impressive.

Yeah BMC and Sky tactics were all over the place today. EBH obviously did not have it on the final climb.

 

[PCutter]

On another note, it was quite strange to find out that Stuart OGrady won most aggressive rider. Natahan Haas really should have won it as all of the break had to attack to get into the break and it was Nathan Haas who attacked late into the stage from the break and lasted out front for a while which was quite impressive.

Yes. The TdF is a bit susceptible to a home town decision on 'most aggressive' too...bl00dy ASO

 

[auscyclefan94]

Yeah BMC and Sky tactics were all over the place today. EBH obviously did not have it on the final climb.

I think a mistake from BMC was them doing so much work on the front. They didn't really need to because time bonuses going up the road helps Martin. Sky as well considering EBH would be still in with a chance of taking overall if time bonuses did go up the road. If Movistar were fprced to chase more they would have less numbers on Wiluunga.

Rabobank just simply had a disastrous day. CAught in an echelon of 30 riders with LLS and Kelderman out the back. A Dutch team should really do better than that and then those guys get caught out the 2nd time due to crosswinds on the Wilunga plateau.

 

[Spare Tyre]

...

On another note, it was quite strange to find out that Stuart OGrady won most aggressive rider. Natahan Haas really should have won it as all of the break had to attack to get into the break and it was Nathan Haas who attacked late into the stage from the break and lasted out front for a while which was quite impressive.

Maybe a gift to Stuey seeing as he's an Adelaide boy and getting near the end of his career.

 

[will10]

Way to go, PITI !!

Should have never be banned. The guy's pure class. No need of doping. In fact, never was found positive, just the frigging blood bag.

Anyway, time for you haters to swallow it back after two years of "peace".

Get to the clinic FFS.

 

[pastronef]

Way to go, PITI !!

Should have never be banned. The guy's pure class. ......

where are Marco Pinotti's tweets when you need 'em?

 

[The Hitch]

Anyone got hilights? has dim uploaded his as they will probably be longest and best?

 

[Mellow Velo]

GVA isn't in shape, why would he? It's the freaking Tour Down Under.

You, ACF and dlwssonic sharing BMC's spin doctor duties for 2012?
Not only the closed season will seem endless, this year.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Maybe a gift to Stuey seeing as he's an Adelaide boy and getting near the end of his career.

Probably true but Nathan did do a great ride today.

Strangely, yesterday both on the tv graphic and on the website they awarded the most aggressive rider to Nathan Haas yet he did nothing and when they had Nathan's name on the tv graphic they showed Biel Kadri receiving the actual jersey and he did have the red numbers today.

It's no Mur de Huy but it'll be decisive enough that Matthews will not be up there at the finish. I'll take a Matthews avatar until the end of Feb if he finishes top 10 on stage 5.

Stage results

11 Michael Matthews (Aus) Rabobank 0:00:29


So close!