2014 Tour de France, Stage 5: Ypres – Arenberg Porte du Hainaut: 156km

[hfer07]

I'm going with Fabu for the win and yellow

^ THIS

10 char

 

[sir fly]

I see and hear bad weather predictions.
Hopefully there won't be a GC consensus on neutralizing the stage.

 

[etymology]

Yep best preview post I have ever seen

+11111 to ilovecycling - a great job.

Looking forward to this stage soooo much.

agree with the above except, wellllllllllllllllll.....the best preview post that ever was or ever will be is

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=13542&highlight=monte+crostis

this preview was SO danged good AND put so much fear into the hearts and psyche's of the peloton...that the stage was altered.


darn that hitch....darn him to HECK!

 

[veji11]

To be honest I think his best chance tomorrow on the cobbles is just head down and pedal his a** off in his usual attacking cadence. It doesn't look good for him though that he's had to go for an x-ray on the wrist, it must be hurting him which is pretty much the worst area to be hurting on those cobbles.

It sucks big time ! If he is really in pain, there isn't much he can do on cobbles, He could lose a massive amount of time or even have to bow out of the race. If the pain is really high he just can't race on cobbles. Question tommorrow might quickly come down to : Do I finish the stage at my pace, far at the back to avoid a fall and minimize the pain, and from then on I will go for stages and the polka jersey (and/or support Porte) ? Or do I leave the race, rest a bit, and smash the field on the Vuelta so that at least I have my GT win for the year ?

 

[go crazy]

I see and hear bad weather predictions.
Hopefully there won't be a GC consensus on neutralizing the stage.

Doubt it, because Froome (especially injured) would be at the forefront of this, and the rest of the guys probably smell blood and want to race full out. At least ride hard, and force Froome to suffer with an injured wrist all day.

 

[EvansIsTheBest]

Underestimating Cancellara...lol ok! You say his sprint is nothing special, but you are failing to realize that this is after many sectors of pave in the rain. This isn't like putting them on a track with zero K's in their legs. If we're gonna make asinine statements, how about "Sagan couldn't even chase down Vincenzo Nibali in a sprint finish"! This statement is still not as ridiculous as your "analysis" of the stage. Also, it's a shorter stage with less cobbles, but then again, it's also not full of PR-type riders. PR is a race full of hardmen who are constantly trying to break up the favorites. This is just one stage of the Tour de France, not a dedicated one day race over the cobbles. Where's Boonen again? Oh that's right.

Perhaps you should try reading what I wrote. I said that Cancellara couldn't drop Sagan and Degenkolb during PR which is true, despite all the hardmen pushing the tempo earlier on to make the race difficult. This actually helps Cancellara because it tires out the sprinters like Sagan and Degenkolb. Despite all that help, which he won't get tomorrow because the hardmen won't be there according to you, he couldn't drop Sagan and Degenkolb during PR which is 10 times more difficult than tomorrow's stage. So I don't think it's that big of a stretch to think Cancellara won't be able to drop Sagan and Degenkolb tomorrow. This just isn't 2010 anymore when he would just ride away on the cobbles whenever he felt like it.

Since it's unlikely Cancellara will drop everybody tomorrow, he will probably have to finish things of in a sprint where he clearly isn't faster than Sagan, Degenkolb, Kristoff or Démare. I mean if Cancellara can't beat Degenkolb at the end of PR where you would assume that he is much fresher than the German, how is he supposed to do it at the end of tomorrow's stage when he has much less time to tire Degenkolb out ?

I guess Cancellara can always put in a sneak attack in the last kilometers and solo to victory while the sprinters cancel each other out. Even then, he may or may not stay away depending on whether there are GC contenders/teammates interested in keeping the tempo high behind him. He has the ability to do it but I don't think it is the likeliest scenario hence why I don't rate him as the top favorite for tomorrow.

As you said yourself tomorrow isn't a full PR. Surely you would agree that tomorrow parcours is much more in favor of Sagan/Kristoff/Degenkolb/Démare against Cancellara than PR is. If Cancellara couldn't get the job done in PR, he is going to have a hard time get it done tomorrow, don't you think ?

 

[DenisMenchov]

Tomorrow I'm all in for Sep.

 

[Parrulo]

Same here, but I will still call you an OCD freak

GC and car position updated.



yeah its weird,but I just wanted to keep this trend cuz nobody can ever (ok once for 4 years) write there Cobbled in GT stage,it was a pleasure

This is too much, i want to use this thread but my jymmies can't handle this tittle. I am going to edit it

 

[UpTheRoad]

Maduit on Cantador:"I cannot even say that the rain will be an issue on the cobbles for Alberto rides pretty well on them. He is technically comfortable. But in spite of the work we have done on this stage, you can never be sure. You can always crash, suffer a mechanical but were confident."

Contador was held up by the Frank Schleck crash, but he raced pretty well over the cobbles the last time. His chase with Vino and the rest of the group was very good. It would have been better if he hadn't flatted in the last km or so.

The guy is not a threat to win Paris-Roubaix any time soon, but he can get over the cobbles just fine. I think AC and Nibali might be the best of the GC contenders over them. Nibali just because he is a terrific bike handler.

 

[Parrulo]

Much better now . . . .

Anyway, OPQS will go all out for Kwia and all hell will break loose. Froome to crash out and Nibs, Contador and Bala will lose 2 minutes to a group with Canc, Sep, Terpstra, Kwia and Costa

 

[cineteq]

Contenders:
*** Cancellara
** Van Marcke, Sagan, Degenkolb, Terpstra, Kristoff
* Demare, Chavanel, Thomas, Boom, Langeveld, Roelandst, Van Avaermet

GC names conteders:
*** Kwiatkowski,Mollema,Van Garderen
** VDB,Valverde,Nibali,Talansky
* Froome,Contador,Pinot,Schleck
Outsiders: Rui Costa, Konig, Rolland
My opinion according to team strenght,goals,handling skills,cobble experience and car position

Sagan, Cancellara or Terpstra FTW. GC guys: Valverde and Mollema will excel. Prediction: 2 top GC riders will crash out.

 

[Jagartrott]

Cobbles will likely be more slippery than in April: more grass between the stones and plenty of mud because of the recent rain.

 

[Fight.The.Power]

agree with the above except, wellllllllllllllllll.....the best preview post that ever was or ever will be is

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=13542&highlight=monte+crostis

this preview was SO danged good AND put so much fear into the hearts and psyche's of the peloton...that the stage was altered.


darn that hitch....darn him to HECK!

Yup, OK, I stand corrected

 

[indianfanboy]

Valverde looked strong on the cobbles early in the year..he could a create major surprise and hang on to the Cancellaras and Vanmarckes

 

[Jspear]

Degenkolb for the win. I can't see Fabian or Sep dropping him, and I think he is faster than even Sagan.

 

[SKSemtex]

As Cav is out I hope that OFQS will do the firework this stage.

 

[thehog]

I guess Sky should have kept Wiggins in the team?

 

[pastronef]

Henderson to be at the front tomorrow

Hendy crashed and DNF today

 

[Hugo87]

Rui Costa from the GC contenders it's the only one(I think) to complete a Paris-Roubaix, maybe he can use this edge to keep out of trouble.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

There are other ways a rider can lose time. Mechanicals, getting caught behind a crash.

stopping for coffee etc.

 

[JRanton]

I guess Sky should have kept Wiggins in the team?

It's likely to rain tomorrow though and we all know what Wiggins is like in wet weather.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

I guess Sky should have kept Wiggins in the team?

but would he have followed team orders .....

 

[Angliru]

And they are wet... It will be utter carnage. F*ck me I really hope we avoid any GC crashes

Looking at that picture I can't imagine at least a few having their dreams shattered. That's a scarey looking road to ride solo on let alone at race speed in an almost 200 strong peloton. Somebodies are going down!

 

[Flamin]

Can't wait for this. By far the best stage of the Tour, because of its unpredictability. Very curious to see some of the team's tactics. Anyway, I expect a strong breakaway at least.

 

[SKSemtex]

Rui Costa from the GC contenders it's the only one(I think) to complete a Paris-Roubaix, maybe he can use this edge to keep out of trouble.

OK Kwiatko is ot the real GC but his PR 2013 showed he is really good on them.

Sorry RVV