2013 Tour de France, Stage 3: Ajaccio - Calvi 146 Km

[saneguy]

Very good stage indeed. Glad Sagan has some competition. Gerrans did exceptionally well to get this win.

Happy for Bakelants - gets to keep the yellow for a day more

 

[theyoungest]

primary goal is helping mollema anyway.

How will he be of any use? He's terrible at keeping in front, and he's climbing like a brick.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

How will he be of any use? He's terrible at keeping in front, and he's climbing like a brick.

i think you're being overly negative, when the going gets tough and he had enough time to recover from his bruised ribs i expect him to be with the last 30/35. Could provide usefull in support of brining water bottles at crucial times just before the last climb.

Mollema doesn't need anyone to pull anyway, he's not a top 5 candidate anyway. Only thing he needs is 1 guy up there, preferable 2, who can set him off at the foot of the climb without Mollema himself having to go back for water bottles etc. Ten Dam and Gesink are probably still there with the last 30/35. That's all he needs.

 

[cineteq]

Wut... Gesink finished in the autobus?

Is he taking the year off or training for La Vuelta?

 

[Boardslide]

Intermediate sprint results from the pack:

6. KITTEL M. ARG 10 pts
7. GREIPEL A. LTB 9 pts
8. CAVENDISH M. OPQ 8 pts
9. KRISTOFF A. KAT 7 pts
10. SAGAN P. CAN 6 pts

Presumably this was a proper sprint between Kittel, Greipel and Cav as they wont feature at the end today. Cav has been behind Griepel in all 3 intermediate sprints they have contested now. I am not sure he is even the favourite in the bunch sprints for this tour.

As previously stated by others he's been on antibiotics, quote below is from OPQS blog.

Mark Cavendish

"Today I felt a little bit better than yesterday," Cavendish said. "Unfortunately last week I had to take antibiotics until this Sunday, due to bronchitis. Now I'm better, even if not 100 percent. We will see day-by-day."

And from Tony

Tony Martin

"Today I felt better then yesterday," Martin said. "Of course I'm still not 100 percent, but I'm feeling better than what was expected. Now I hope to get a good night's rest and tomorrow give my best effort to the team for the team time trial. I know how important it is to race hard for the team in this moment. We will do our best to get a good result."

 

[argyllflyer]

I'd expect Cav to pop up and be very prominent in the pure sprinters stages across central France etc. Green is beyond him while Sagan picks up points in all stages barring injury and mountains.

 

[richard_91]

I'd expect Cav to pop up and be very prominent in the pure sprinters stages across central France etc. Green is beyond him while Sagan picks up points in all stages barring injury and mountains.

In terms of Cav Vs Sagan i think Cav wont be overly upset at the fact that Sagan took 2nd in two stages he would have been expected to win

 

[cineteq]

 

[willbick]

'Chaaaaaaaaaaarge!!!!!!!'

 

[Alpechraxler]

Watch his shoes

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Watch his shoes

lol, nice catch.

 

[Wilba60]

It was a duel Simon day for OGE today, with Simon Clarke having almost as good a day as Gerro. Not only did he have a real dash at getting the mountains jersey, he hung on over that last summit after being caught and would have been excused to roll in at the back of the peleton. Instead he formed part of the train for Gerrans and led Impey and Gerro up to the 2km mark. Excellent day in his first TdF.

 

[auscyclefan94]

ohh,bad sprint by Sagan..
he has a lot better climbing but his sprints looks worse,we'll see if this pays off in green jersey battle

Bad sprint? It was perfectly set up for Sagan. He got the wheel of Gerrans but Gerrans beat him in a pure drag race to the line.

Great win by Gerrans. Cam Meyer also did well chasing the break down.

 

[TheBean]

Bad sprint? It was perfectly set up for Sagan. He got the wheel of Gerrans but Gerrans beat him in a pure drag race to the line.

Great win by Gerrans. Cam Meyer also did well chasing the break down.

IMO, Gerrans rode much smarter than Sagan and earned the stage because of it.

Sagan found himself in 2nd wheel with far too much distance to go. Gerrans was able to judge his jump while keeping an eye on Sagan for that reason, and he timed it perfectly!

Sagan was closing quickly and was clearly faster, but had put himself in the position of being part of Gerrans' lead-out train, essentially.

A well earned victory for Gerrans and his team.

A lesson learned for Sagan and his team.

And, another exciting stage with a few fun surprises for us fans and viewers.

A beautiful stage and fantastic video from start to finish. Corsica has impressed.

 

[Polyarmour]

1/. First Class lead out by Impey completely put Cannondale on the back foot.
2/. Kudos to Gerro for holding off Sagan. Gerro is obviously a lot faster than people give him credit for.
3/. Monster pulls by Cam Meyer in the final 10km were instrumental in pulling back the Chavanel group.

 

[blackcat]

1/. First Class lead out by Impey completely put Cannondale on the back foot.
2/. Kudos to Gerro for holding off Sagan. Gerro is obviously a lot faster than people give him credit for.
3/. Monster pulls by Cam Meyer in the final 10km were instrumental in pulling back the Chavanel group.

gerro always been fast for those watching the crits in Melbourne. just not a field sprinter. and not as fast as Valverde or Gilbert or Sammy Sanchez or Bartoli.

 

[Pentacycle]

gerro always been fast for those watching the crits in Melbourne. just not a field sprinter. and not as fast as Valverde or Gilbert or Sammy Sanchez or Bartoli.

He beat Meersman in Catalunya, a pretty decent sprinter himself. Gerro's definitely quicker than the current Valv, Sammy or Gilbert.