2014 Tour de France July 19, Stage 14: Grenoble - Risoul 177km

[TourOfSardinia]

Maybe he had diarrhea? :O

It's a tradition called visiting the family.
It usually happens when the group passes thru the home town
of a rider's family. The rider goes off the front so he has time
to greet the family. This time was a bit odd as they
stopped at a camper van and they weren't far off the front.
I guess it could be the girl friend!

 

[Rollthedice]

If Sky were riding up a mountain like this the forum would have melted by now.

Don't be silly. Average is 3.9%.

 

[Coat-O]

If Majka had wheelsucked his way to the win yesterday, there would have been no justice.

 

[LaFlorecita]

@nedboulting 3m
You stand there all day by your mobile home, waiting for a fleeting glimpse of the French champion, then he invites himself in for a poo.

 

[Swiss Tony]

It's a tradition called visiting the family.
It usually happens when the group passes thru the home town
of a rider's family. The rider goes off the front so he has time
to greet the family. This time was a bit odd as they
stopped at a camper van and they weren't far off the front.
I guess it could be the girl friend!

Looked more like a dash for the bog to me

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

I have a new found appreciation for how people used to find watching HTC.

Pretty vulgar to keep trying to pile up wins when you've already been handed the mother-load for free.

 

[Hayabusa]

This has all the hallmarks of a boring tour, not Nibali's fault though. When you've got Valverde behind you in second place, you know he isn't going to take any risks so he can protect 2nd.

Hoping to see a good battle for third though.

 

[Tournesol]

I have a new found appreciation for how people used to find watching HTC.

Pretty vulgar to keep trying to pile up wins when you've already been handed the mother-load for free.

Yeah,Giant-Shimano have won alot of stages.Very true.

 

[LaFlorecita]

This has all the hallmarks of a boring tour, not Nibali's fault though. When you've got Valverde behind you in second place, you know he isn't going to take any risks so he can protect 2nd.

Hoping to see a good battle for third though.

Pinot please! That would be brilliant.

 

[gunara]

Green jersey wearer is up in a third-week mountain breakaway. Is it rare?

 

[Ryongsyong]

Don't be silly. Average is 3.9%.

Hehe, I forgot; no one here ever mindlessly criticizes Sky. It's always based on carefully considered rationality

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Green jersey wearer is up in a third-week mountain breakaway. Is it rare?

You can read from his face he regrets it now.

 

[Vino's Mum]

Green jersey wearer is up in a third-week mountain breakaway. Is it rare?

2009 Thor says hello.

 

[ILovecycling]

The difference between 5-6 is the same as 0 or 1. Do you want Boonen to pull aside in the velodrome at PR because he already has a few? Tony Martin to enter the WC TT on a commuter because he already earned multiple stripes?

Especially in this Tour, Nibali does need to stamp his dominance to legitmize his win in the absence of the pre race favorites. Further, he wants to seal a reputation as the great GT rider of our generation. 0 or 1 stage wins don't earn you invites to present at the award ceremony in 30 years. 5 stages instead of 6 don't earn memorials on the side of mountains after youre gone.

This will never happen,at least to people who follow cycling for a long time.

 

[Netserk]

Green jersey wearer is up in a third-week mountain breakaway. Is it rare?

Let's wait until next week to see if Sagan joins any breaks.

 

[whittashau]

Flo, apart from Vincenzo's newly found "greedy streak" why do you not like him? Is it because he is the only GC rider other than AC that is almost universally popular? and subconsciously this makes you uncomfortable.

Or is it an aesthetic thing?

 

[LaFlorecita]

2009 Thor says hello.

Lol that's what I immediately thought

Let's wait until next week to see if Sagan joins any breaks.

And this too

 

[LaFlorecita]

Flo, apart from Vincenzo's newly found "greedy streak" why do you not like him? Is it because he is the only GC rider other than AC that is almost universally popular? and subconsciously this makes you uncomfortable.

Or is it an aesthetic thing?

... No, I just don't like his complaining about other riders. But I don't really mind him. And maybe you're slightly correct about the first thing, but I'm not sure.

And some of his fans are just unbearable, but I realize I of all people can't really complain about that

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I have a new found appreciation for how people used to find watching HTC.

Pretty vulgar to keep trying to pile up wins when you've already been handed the mother-load for free.

Green jersey wearer is up in a third-week mountain breakaway. Is it rare?

It's not super-common, but you do see sometimes sprinters and points jersey competitors getting into mountain stage breakaways in order to have a bit of a headstart on the time cut - especially with a gradual first climb that the sprinters feel they can get over unscathed. That said, Sagan shouldn't need to worry about the timecut, he's not exactly a Van Hummel.

A couple that I recall quite vividly along with Thor's exploits in 2009-10 are Alessandro Petacchi in the queen stage of the 2004 Giro, going over Tonale with the break and being dropped on the Gavia, and Óscar Freire in 2008 - I think it was the Jausiers stage, which would have meant he went over the Col de la Lombarde in the chasing bunch (Stefan Schumacher was off the front solo) and was dropped on the Bonette. Other times I recall sprinters in breaks are Danilo Hondo to Peio Terme in the 2010 Giro - he was 2nd on the day - a couple of moves with Bozic in the 2009 Vuelta, Freire's solo escapade in the 2012 Amstel Gold Race, and of course the most famous one of all, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov winning a medium mountain stage in the Massif Central attacking his breakmates on the final climb to the finish.

 

[GuyIncognito]

This will never happen,at least to people who follow cycling for a long time.

Yes it will. Look at how Ocaña's dominant 1973 win is seen. It's played down because Merckx wasn't there even though he'd been better than Merckx for 3 years whenever he was healthy...

 

[Netserk]

It's a tradition called visiting the family.
It usually happens when the group passes thru the home town
of a rider's family. The rider goes off the front so he has time
to greet the family. This time was a bit odd as they
stopped at a camper van and they weren't far off the front.
I guess it could be the girl friend!

from letour.fr:

14:48 Démare is sick

French champion Arnaud Démare has stopped at a camper van because of diarrhea but he's back racing and smiling. His guardian angel Mickaël Delage waits for him.

 

[whittashau]

... No, I just don't like his complaining about other riders. But I don't really mind him. And maybe you're slightly correct about the first thing, but I'm not sure.

And some of his fans are just unbearable, but I realize I of all people can't really complain about that

I didn't realize he did complain a lot about other riders. From my perspective he does seem very well liked within the peloton

and your man AC seems to get along with him. I cannot think of many non Spaniards that I see AC talking to more than Nibbles

 

[GuyIncognito]

It's not super-common, but you do see sometimes sprinters and points jersey competitors getting into mountain stage breakaways in order to have a bit of a headstart on the time cut - especially with a gradual first climb that the sprinters feel they can get over unscathed. That said, Sagan shouldn't need to worry about the timecut, he's not exactly a Van Hummel.

A couple that I recall quite vividly along with Thor's exploits in 2009-10 are Alessandro Petacchi in the queen stage of the 2004 Giro, going over Tonale with the break and being dropped on the Gavia, and Óscar Freire in 2008 - I think it was the Jausiers stage, which would have meant he went over the Col de la Lombarde in the chasing bunch (Stefan Schumacher was off the front solo) and was dropped on the Bonette. Other times I recall sprinters in breaks are Danilo Hondo to Peio Terme in the 2010 Giro - he was 2nd on the day - a couple of moves with Bozic in the 2009 Vuelta, Freire's solo escapade in the 2012 Amstel Gold Race, and of course the most famous one of all, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov winning a medium mountain stage in the Massif Central attacking his breakmates on the final climb to the finish.

Not a mountain stage, but when did Freire get in a break, bunny hop a roundabout in the finale and win the stage?

Tour de Suisse, wasn't it?

 

[roundabout]

It's not super-common, but you do see sometimes sprinters and points jersey competitors getting into mountain stage breakaways in order to have a bit of a headstart on the time cut - especially with a gradual first climb that the sprinters feel they can get over unscathed. That said, Sagan shouldn't need to worry about the timecut, he's not exactly a Van Hummel.

A couple that I recall quite vividly along with Thor's exploits in 2009-10 are Alessandro Petacchi in the queen stage of the 2004 Giro, going over Tonale with the break and being dropped on the Gavia, and Óscar Freire in 2008 - I think it was the Jausiers stage, which would have meant he went over the Col de la Lombarde in the chasing bunch (Stefan Schumacher was off the front solo) and was dropped on the Bonette. Other times I recall sprinters in breaks are Danilo Hondo to Peio Terme in the 2010 Giro - he was 2nd on the day - a couple of moves with Bozic in the 2009 Vuelta, Freire's solo escapade in the 2012 Amstel Gold Race, and of course the most famous one of all, Djamolidine Abdoujaparov winning a medium mountain stage in the Massif Central attacking his breakmates on the final climb to the finish.

Not 3rd week and not high mountains, but 1-2-3 in the points competition in the same break

http://autobus.cyclingnews.com/road/2004/vuelta04/?id=results/vuelta0410

 

[LaFlorecita]

I didn't realize he did complain a lot about other riders. From my perspective he does seem very well liked within the peloton

Oh yes, he certainly seems well liked. and he doesn't complain a whole lot, but more often than I'd like. Like I said, I don't really mind him a whole lot.

and your man AC seems to get along with him. I cannot think of many non Spaniards that I see AC talking to more than Nibbles

Froome and Cav and his teammates, but yeah, Contador seems to get along well with him, but then again he gets along well with almost everyone.