2012 Tour of California May 18 stage 7: Ontario - Mt. Baldy 126 km

[Zinoviev Letter]

Great performance by Gesink. Even better that he was excellent in both the TT and the big climb.

It seems strange after seeing such a dominant performance to point out that the biggest winner today was someone else: Dombrowski can take his pick of teams next year and will be treated as a future star.

 

[18-Valve. (pithy)]

No, you are pitifull, you remind me of me when Nibali wins. Give it up man, you don't want to look like me when nibali wins

lol I bash Kreuziger and Frank Schleck way more than Gesink. It's not my fault that Atapuma and Horner made that mistake. It is what it is.

 

[Ruudz0r]

This was definitely their best race as a team so far. The other guys at least got into breaks, and Rodriguez was with Duarte until the beginning of the final climb.
Suarez remains the big disappointment.

As others have said, it was a great stage to watch. I was hoping to see Atapuma hang on, but at the same time it's impossible to begrudge Gesink the win after the tough 18 months he's been through. Duarte could maybe have done a bit better if he hadn't been sitting at the back of the group all the time. Uran does the same, it's a little frustrating.

Horner's comments towards Atapuma seem like sour grapes to me.

What did Horner say about Atapuma?

 

[Duartista]

What did Horner say about Atapuma?

His only regret was that Atapuma didn't contribute a fair share of the work to make the move succeed. "The Colombian guy really wasn't working through the valley, he sat on me going up the next KOM, pulled about half as much as I did in the rollers, and barely any on the descent, so I was glad to see Gesink catch him," Horner said.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-of-california/stage-7/results

 

[El Pistolero]

I really can't stand this guy after all his interviews. Obviously he's going to suck your wheel, you want to win GC, he wants to win the stage.

 

[janraaskalt]

Well, in all fairness to Dombrowski, 5 years ago Gesink also rode TT's from that level.He improved. So why couldn't Dombrowski. He looks like a great talent

Dombro was 3rd in the TT in the Tour of the Gila. He trained hard to develop his TT skills, but screwed up this one.

 

[Froome19]

I really can't stand this guy after all his interviews. Obviously he's going to suck your wheel, you want to win GC, he wants to win the stage.

And if he had worked earlier he probably would have gone on to win the stage.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Dombro was 3rd in the TT in the Tour of the Gila. He trained hard to develop his TT skills, but screwed up this one.

The tour of gila is ofcourse a whole other level. And the bakersfield ITT was one of the worst for climbers. Mostly flat, very windy. You need raw power. Dombrowski is still a bit too young.

 

[El Pistolero]

And if he had worked earlier he probably would have gone on to win the stage.

And if Sky stopped working for Wiggins after the Vuelta time trial, Froome would now be a Vuelta winner.

Captain Hindsight.

 

[janraaskalt]

The tour of gila is ofcourse a whole other level. And the bakersfield ITT was one of the worst for climbers. Mostly flat, very windy. You need raw power. Dombrowski is still a bit too young.

True. I just wanted to adjust the image of a climber who cannot TT before it's too late.

 

[Froome19]

And if Sky stopped working for Wiggins after the Vuelta time trial, Froome would now be a Vuelta winner.

Captain Hindsight.

Sky were wrong.

Atapuma was wrong.

Horner was right.

 

[El Pistolero]

Horner was wrong and lost everything. He's finally past it. Move on, nothing to see anymore from Horner.

The only thing Horner can blame here is him being so weak. If he was as strong as he thought he was, break would've survived.

 

[Froome19]

Horner was wrong and lost everything. He's finally past it. Move on, nothing to see anymore from Horner.

The only thing Horner can blame here is him being so weak. If he was as strong as he thought he was, break would've survived.

He was right that it was wrong for Atapuma not to work.

 

[Poursuivant]

What happened to Nibali?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

What happened to Nibali?

he didn't want it

 

[Spine Concept]

Nor was he able to get it either way, at least not with this form. Also, I think someone mentioned an allergic reaction to something? Not sure though.

 

[El Pistolero]

It's the Tour of Cali, it's a prep race. That's what happened.

 

[theyoungest]

It's not really Nibali's style, to let go like that. He's usually a Gesink who tries to do his best. So probably he's come across something, someone indeed mentioned an allergy. Or a hunger flat (which is what happened to Talansky, I suspect)

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

gearing choices on baldy (only rear, don't know what they used in front)...nearly every gc contender on a 28 as smallest except Horner who used a 27 as lightest gear

 

[Spine Concept]

It's the Tour of Cali, it's a prep race. That's what happened.

Be that as it may, this was a prep race for Gesink as well. To try out where he stands after a couple of months of recovery. He had no idea that he had it in him at this point. Furthermore, I don't think anyone expected Nibbs to suck this hard either, judged by the surprised reactions everywhere when he was dropped. Thus, I think the allergies might well have played a role in this.

 

[Zam_Olyas]

Any highlights?

 

[CQmanager]

All this cheer for Atapuma .... Horner was doing all the work after Jens pulled out about 40K from the finish and he took no pulls on Glendora Mt climb. Of course he dropped Horner after sitting on his wheel for 99% of the time. I was happy to see Gesink win because Atapuma didnt deserve to win. Even Horner was laughing when Atapuma attacked him. Yeah, he can climb but what a loser.....

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Sour horner fan?

Horner was fighting for the GC, Atapuma purely for the stage. Uphill I saw Atapuma do plenty of the work as well. It's only logical he sits on in other parts because he's not the one fighting for GC. That's race tactics

 

[Dutchsmurf]

All this cheer for Atapuma .... Horner was doing all the work after Jens pulled out about 40K from the finish and he took no pulls on Glendora Mt climb. Of course he dropped Horner after sitting on his wheel for 99% of the time. I was happy to see Gesink win because Atapuma didnt deserve to win. Even Horner was laughing when Atapuma attacked him. Yeah, he can climb but what a loser.....

Of course Horner was doing all the work, it was his job to. He wanted to salvage his GC, Atapuma only wanted the stage. Working harder wouldn't have increased Atapuma's chances. It would however have increased Horner's chances, but that isn't something Atapuma has to worry about. Basically what we saw is basic cycling tactics.

 

[Don Johnson]

Of course Horner was doing all the work, it was his job to. He wanted to salvage his GC, Atapuma only wanted the stage. Working harder wouldn't have increased Atapuma's chances. It would however have increased Horner's chances, but that isn't something Atapuma has to worry about. Basically what we saw is basic cycling tactics.

I don't think it was tactics to beat Horner in the stage, I think Atapuma saved his energy for a stage win, selfish and for the team yes, team tactics.Makes Coldportes look good.
If he had worked with Horner, they would have both died like Horner did.
Typical Hincapie move by Atapuma.