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

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JRanton

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It's probably been pointed out but it's very likely that at least 1 or 2 GC guys will suffer with sickness in the days to come after a stage like that.

Still, on paper we have a potentially great race on our hands thanks to Contador's time loss to Nibali. I still make him favourite though.
 
Vino's Mum

Vino's Mum

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Of all the days to win a race, you picked a good one, Lars.

320-PIC478126413.jpg


What. A. Day.
 
Scott SoCal

Scott SoCal

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Pricey_sky said:
Despite watching it live I thought id watch the highlights again, still gutted for Froome but the race moves on.

A brilliant stage full of action, it does set up the Tour quite nicely now. I'd put money on a long Contador attack in the mountains.
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It's going to get real interesting. Nibali will have to watch AC, Talansky, Costa, Porte, Tejay, VDB, Kwiatkowski, Valverde and all attacks from these dude's teams.

I can easily imagine a stage similar to the last stage of the Duphine where big favorites are caught looking at each other while others are attacking up the road.
 
maxmartin

maxmartin

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Scott SoCal said:
It's going to get real interesting. Nibali will have to watch AC, Talansky, Costa, Porte, Tejay, VDB, Kwiatkowski, Valverde and all attacks from these dude's teams.

I can easily imagine a stage similar to the last stage of the Duphine where big favorites are caught looking at each other while others are attacking up the road.
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nah it is like they all will attack at the same time, AT, VDB, Valverde all have their own position to protect, they will chase if other people in the similar GC attack. It is not they all a team riding against Nibali. Of course Nibali has to play it smart, but Nibali is always a smart rider.
 
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Meanwhile:
Bradley Wiggins (Sky): “It’s a tough day. I never like to see a great racer go down but Chris will be back. Today has showed how hard it is to win the Tour de France, but the team will have prepared for this and they’ll deal with it.”

lol
 
Scott SoCal

Scott SoCal

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maxmartin said:
nah it is like they all will attack at the same time, AT, VDB, Valverde all have their own position to protect, they will chase if other people in the similar GC attack. It is not they all a team riding against Nibali. Of course Nibali has to play it smart, but Nibali is always a smart rider.
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Dunno, perhaps.

There were only two uber-fav's... now there's only one. Nibs will watch AC like a hawk but there will be opportunities for some of the others to fly. Nibs can't cover everybody that is still in with a chance.

Say Kwiatkowski is in a move up the road with someone like Costa, or Mollema... Astana is going to let that go - at least for a while. I don't see Garmin reacting or BMC for that matter.

Then, of course, the attacks will happen and we will have another epic stage.

Fingers crossed.
 
fatsprintking

fatsprintking

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Don't be surprised if Nibali is the one who attacks. He is not a defensive rider by nature and he will know there is too long to go to simply defend, so why not attack?

Nibali seems to understand psychology - he is in the position of dominance at the moment.

He will also understand that for the first time in a long time, the average person watching actually has someone that they really respect and want to do well. In a sense Nibali can't "loose" from this point if he rides his natural race.

An attack on a descent would be sweet however to drive the knife in a little.
 
maxmartin

maxmartin

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Scott SoCal said:
Dunno, perhaps.

There were only two uber-fav's... now there's only one. Nibs will watch AC like a hawk but there will be opportunities for some of the others to fly. Nibs can't cover everybody that is still in with a chance.

Say Kwiatkowski is in a move up the road with someone like Costa, or Mollema... Astana is going to let that go - at least for a while. I don't see Garmin reacting or BMC for that matter.

Then, of course, the attacks will happen and we will have another epic stage.

Fingers crossed.
Click to expand...

right now if Kwiatkowski attack, Astana will react, K is too close to ignore. But if K is down on GC say 6, 7th, of course Garmin or BMC will react. Sadly in modern cycling most team are riding the Tour not for the win but for a meaningless 4th, 5th, 6th place.

Sean Kelly had questioned this mentality, saying Garming not put people to the breakaway to try to win the stage but to protect AG to get a meaningless top ten.
 
maxmartin

maxmartin

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fatsprintking said:
Don't be surprised if Nibali is the one who attacks. He is not a defensive rider by nature and he will know there is too long to go to simply defend, so why not attack?

Nibali seems to understand psychology - he is in the position of dominance at the moment.

He will also understand that for the first time in a long time, the average person watching actually has someone that they really respect and want to do well. In a sense Nibali can't "loose" from this point if he rides his natural race.

An attack on a descent would be sweet however to drive the knife in a little.
Click to expand...

if he feels good and if it is the last 5km, for sure he will attack. The best defense is offense. For long range attack he will rely on his team. Just like how W won his tour.
 
The Hegelian

The Hegelian

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Some thoughts:

*How different would the cobbled classics be if you had some top GC guys on form and committed to them? i.e. The way Nibali rode Sagan and Canceralla off his wheel was pretty astonishing. I can buy that Cance is not at peak - but Sagan? + Wiggins looked great at this years PR, despite the general mood of criticism leading up to it.....


*How much do you reckon Froome just lacked a bit of mental fortitude/courage vs purely physical constraints? Just seemed like he threw in the towel way too easily. I remember Cadel riding out the tour with an actual fractured wrist - lost a lot of time, but just refused to quit.

* On Nibali: he won the jersey with such class and style, and what a brilliant defence yesterday. Deserves every compliment coming his way.

* Sky need to learn chaos theory, and realise that cycling is closer to that than some linear science of order/control. How often have their classics just been an epic fail? Great to see them challenged in this way in a GT.

* On GC: just seems set up perfectly. Could end up being far more open than everyone was predicting with Froome v Contador.
 
maxmartin

maxmartin

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The Hegelian said:
Some thoughts:

*How different would the cobbled classics be if you had some top GC guys on form and committed to them? i.e. The way Nibali rode Sagan and Canceralla off his wheel was pretty astonishing. I can buy that Cance is not at peak - but Sagan? + Wiggins looked great at this years PR, despite the general mood of criticism leading up to it.....


*How much do you reckon Froome just lacked a bit of mental fortitude/courage vs purely physical constraints? Just seemed like he threw in the towel way too easily. I remember Cadel riding out the tour with an actual fractured wrist - lost a lot of time, but just refused to quit.

* On Nibali: he won the jersey with such class and style, and what a brilliant defence yesterday. Deserves every compliment coming his way.

* Sky need to learn chaos theory, and realise that cycling is closer to that than some linear science of order/control. How often have their classics just been an epic fail? Great to see them challenged in this way in a GT.

* On GC: just seems set up perfectly. Could end up being far more open than everyone was predicting with Froome v Contador.
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Sagan said he made a mistake when he did not get on his "friends" (his own word) wheel, maybe he was not paying attention at that time. Not many riders like Evans exist in the current peloton, Hamilton also won a stage with a broken bone. Just look at the Cancella's comment after the stage, you will have an idea what is the current mentality in the proriders.
 
Arnout

Arnout

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The Hegelian said:
Some thoughts:

*How different would the cobbled classics be if you had some top GC guys on form and committed to them? i.e. The way Nibali rode Sagan and Canceralla off his wheel was pretty astonishing. I can buy that Cance is not at peak - but Sagan? + Wiggins looked great at this years PR, despite the general mood of criticism leading up to it.....
Click to expand...

That's what a lot of people have been saying for years. The cobbled classics are simply too dangerous for a lot of riders to compete in, but this doesn't mean they wouldn't do well. Of course, Paris-Roubaix is a lot harder still, but there is no reason GC riders won't be able to do well there.
 
Pippo_San

Pippo_San

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Arnout said:
That's what a lot of people have been saying for years. The cobbled classics are simply too dangerous for a lot of riders to compete in, but this doesn't mean they wouldn't do well. Of course, Paris-Roubaix is a lot harder still, but there is no reason GC riders won't be able to do well there.
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Exactly, it's just a matter of goals. There are very little reasons in risking an entire season or even an entire career trying.

For us, as romantics, it's obiouvsly worthy, but for them and their sponsors...not so much I guess.
 
The Hegelian

The Hegelian

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Yeah, but there's a difference between 'doing well' and 'being better than the specialists'.

For example, Wiggins making the final group in PR - widely considered to be a great ride; 'doing well.'

But imagine him dropping Sagan or Cance on the pave! It seems a ridiculous statement.

The way Nibali rode demands that we consider that kind of possibility.

I personally don't think any other GC rider could do it - Nibali has always had that classics kind of pedigree. Would be great to see him have a crack at Flanders instead of LBL......
 
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