2013 Tour de France, Stage 13: Tours - Saint-Amand-Montrond (173 km)

[Amsterhammer]

Well done both.

p.s. RaboBlancoBelkin have always been the nice guys in the bunch and usually let themselves get screwed over. Good they screwed someone else for once.

This! Maybe also an unexpected blessing losing the name Rabo, they've been a different team since.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

This! Maybe also an unexpected blessing losing the name Rabo, they've been a different team since.

and losing the name blanco

 

[Poursuivant]

Amazing stage.

Some observations:

1Sky are looking really, really weak.
2 super impressive win by Cavendish, him and his team rode smart all day.
3 Oleg Tinkov is so cringeworthy, everytime he opens his mouth it's embarrasing.

 

[Kwibus]

Valverde allready promised to hurt the teams that hurt him today

http://movistarteam.com/news/2013-7-12/the-gloomiest-face-of-cycling

 

[postmanhat]

Stage 9 was one of the greatest pyranees/mountain stages in decades.

This was the best flat stage in absolute years. Leaving fanboi and fanhate nonsense aside for a moment, this is shaping up as on of THE great tours.

As a Sky fanboy, I'm gutted about the injuries and form evaporation, but couldn't agree more!

 

[jilbiker]

Anyone have a link where I can watch this stage? I didn't bother following it, i guess "it ain't over till its over"

 

[puffin]

Nice tactics by OPQS at the finish:

“I just had to stay on [Peter] Sagan in the final. We had three of us there and he had two so we could afford to attack in the final and it would mean that his lead-out guy would have to chase. Niki attacked in the last kilometre and it was Bodnar with Sagan and he had to chase the move down and that meant that if I just stayed on Sagan, then he'd have to hit out in the headwind finish so he was left on the front a bit too early. He knew I was going to come around him. He was happy to save his legs for another day.

 

[Carstenbf]

btw people who think froome could've closed that gap have no understanding of cycling and never been on a bike in a race.

^ this!!

(10 chars)

 

[Ataraxus]

quintana already said he will attack froome in the mountains. not ride with him and be gifted a stage

But if the situation unfolds such as the two being the strongest ones, a coalition is highly likely IMHO. In the same way as Rujano and Contador in Grossglockner 2011.

 

[Hawkwood]

Nice tactics by OPQS at the finish:

“I just had to stay on [Peter] Sagan in the final. We had three of us there and he had two so we could afford to attack in the final and it would mean that his lead-out guy would have to chase. Niki attacked in the last kilometre and it was Bodnar with Sagan and he had to chase the move down and that meant that if I just stayed on Sagan, then he'd have to hit out in the headwind finish so he was left on the front a bit too early. He knew I was going to come around him. He was happy to save his legs for another day.

Classic tactics played to perfection, it destroyed Sagan's leadout, leaving him leading out Cav. And there was me yesterday saying Cav was on his way out, didn't think for one moment he was going to win from a breakaway!

 

[Warhawk]

Nice tactics by OPQS at the finish:

“I just had to stay on [Peter] Sagan in the final. We had three of us there and he had two so we could afford to attack in the final and it would mean that his lead-out guy would have to chase. Niki attacked in the last kilometre and it was Bodnar with Sagan and he had to chase the move down and that meant that if I just stayed on Sagan, then he'd have to hit out in the headwind finish so he was left on the front a bit too early. He knew I was going to come around him. He was happy to save his legs for another day.

Yeah, that was textbook - good attack by Terpstra, perfect timing for Chavanel to pull off the front leaving Sagan to lead Cav in towards the finish, and then obviously a well done sprint by Cav.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

But if the situation unfolds such as the two being the strongest ones, a coalition is highly likely IMHO. In the same way as Rujano and Contador in Grossglockner 2011.

quintana is stronger than froome. you will see

 

[uconnryan]

Yawn...just another boring old flat sprint stage

 

[Jelantik]

Valverde allready promised to hurt the teams that hurt him today

http://movistarteam.com/news/2013-7-12/the-gloomiest-face-of-cycling

Movistar angry! FIREEEE WOOORRRKKKSSSS.... Watch out Mollema. He could have been toppled down to the abbys...

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Movistar angry! FIREEEE WOOORRRKKKSSSS.... Watch out Mollema. He could have been toppled down to the abbys...

in the netherlands people are hystericlaly euphoric. mollema is bad at long climbs as we already saw in the first mountainstage where he almost dropped with still 25 riders in the group. he can easily blow on ventoux and lose 10 minutes. ten dam I have more faith in, but he doesn't have the class

 

[Ataraxus]

quintana is stronger than froome. you will see

He might be, but riding together in the Windy Mountain might be more beneficial than attacking and riding solo(past editions have referred so). Quintana, as a team captain now, needs seconds more than dropping Froome.

 

[The Sheep]

What happened to Porte btw?

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

What happened to Porte btw?

something called demotivated

 

[The Hitch]

quintana already said he will attack froome in the mountains. not ride with him and be gifted a stage

source.

10 c.

 

[martinvickers]

As a Sky fanboy, I'm gutted about the injuries and form evaporation, but couldn't agree more!

As some one just said to me, it's "game of thrones" on saddles -you ride or your die! - So far we've had 'contenders' Tejay, evens, porte, schleck and now 'valverde' completely destroyed in one days racing - each a different day (Porte is Renly baratheon - i haven't worked out who the demon imp is yet!).

Froome's clearly the best single rider on fomr so far, and he has one TT left but his team has gone to pot (a lannister of some description, me thinks) - meanwhile quintana was shelled in the TT, but with VV gone, it's up to him now; Contador (the last dragon) is arguably the weakest he's been, but his super strong team, and racing nous keeps dragging him back into it; Belkin/Blanco/Rabo have two guys up there, and mollema just put down a big marker. And Dan Martin (the king in the north ) and Garmin (the second sons!!) keep sniffing around looking to cause mayhem. all while, sitting on a couch with his Froomie voodooo doll, Wiggins, the king across the water, laughs. And nibali thinks of 2014, and plots.

And that's before i even think of the green and white jerseys.

It's been absolutely cracking stuff.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

He might be, but riding together in the Windy Mountain might be more beneficial than attacking and riding solo(past editions have referred so). Quintana, as a team captain now, needs seconds more than dropping Froome.

of course all of us must pray for a windless ventoux. that would be disastrous for anyone who want to make time.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

source.

10 c.

http://www.biciciclismo.com/cas/site/noticias-ficha.asp?id=63781

 

[DirtyWorks]

of course all of us must pray for a windless ventoux. that would be disastrous for anyone who want to make time.

Forecast is saying it will be quiet. I'm hoping there is enough wind below/before Ventoux to make the run into Ventoux interesting.

 

[Opalius]

Tanja ‏@bambula 50s
My new sounds: Stannard Stage 13 #TdF http://soundcloud.com/roidub/stannard-stage-13-tdf … on #SoundCloud

Absolutely love it

 

[max_powers]

Cav said in his interview that he only got across because Kwiatowski pulled for him, then he had to flat out sprint to bridge. Don't really see Froome doing that.

yes that wacky chainring of Froome can perhaps limit his actions on the road