2014 Tour de France, Stage 8: Tomblaine – Gerardmer/La Mauselaine: 161km

[murali]

Valverde/Kwiatkowski ftw.

if neither takes it, then it will be a non-GC rider.

 

[theyoungest]

Before the Tour I expected Purito up here. But he hasn't shown anything yet, so I've no clue about his form. Maybe Valverde? Or Slagter. But maybe the first climb is too difficult for him or he has to work for Talansky.

Slagter isn't exactly looking great so far either. And yeah, Talansky seems to be all they're going for.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Fuglsang to go fullsong tomorrow.

 

[RENS99]

Expecting König to finally show himself and to take tomorrow's win!

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Fuglsang to go fullsong tomorrow.

Maybe Astana 1-2......

 

[Tank Engine]

A really good chance for a long break. If no-one is threatening on GC, I don't know who would really want to chase.

If JRod is finding his legs, this is a stage where he will go hunting. Might be a bit early though.

I'm going go for Michael "Flowers" Kwiatowski (on the basis of I don't know who to pick from a break, so on this parcours and with his present form, he's as good a choice as any other and better than nearly all).

 

[Fzotrlool]

Sagan will be 55th or something. Way too hard for him.

It's a Kwaitkowski vs. Valverde stage.

 

[maxmartin]

A really good chance for a long break. If no-one is threatening on GC, I don't know who would really want to chase.

If JRod is finding his legs, this is a stage where he will go hunting. Might be a bit early though.

I'm going go for Michael "Flowers" Kwiatowski (on the basis of I don't know who to pick from a break, so on this parcours and with his present form, he's as good a choice as any other and better than nearly all).

too early for J Rod, he is still in training mode, expect him to do something in the final week to fine tune his form for the Vuelta.

 

[VeloHuman]

This could be Kwiatkowski's chance to get some payback over Valverde after narrowly missing out at La Fleche Wallonne.

 

[ILovecycling]

His time

note: props to Zam

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

That's true but he'll still drop like a stone on this one. I would be very surprised if he's able to top 5 on this stage.

OFC he can finish up there with the big guys. Just because he doesn´t go for 3 week GC rankings, doesn´t mean he isn´t able to tackle short steep hills... even did it when he won the Tour of Poland... A win might not come by tomorrow, but he certainly won´t be "dropped like a stone".

 

[Contadoraus Schlecks]

I don't think the poll is to be taken seriously. Pretty sure Red Rick meant it as a joke

Can't see Nibali being dropped by anyone here. Not difficult enough for AC to do much damage

 

[Flamin]

Mathias Frank DNS. Broken femur.

 

[Pricey_sky]

The last 30k's look very nice indeed, this is a not a bad stage design at all. Hopefully Contador can attack before the last climb and make things tough for Astana to control, if someone like Porte or Valverde goes with him then they can put some good time into Nibali here. Even a few seconds back for Contador would be a big boost for his confidence with the long climbs to come.

 

[roundabout]

Mathias Frank DNS. Broken femur.

Dammit. And just when his career is finally picking up

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Mathias Frank DNS. Broken femur.

Damn, thats bad.

Brutal sport.

 

[Hugo87]

Mathias Frank DNS. Broken femur.

That's sad, a top-10 was a strong possibility for him, let's hope he can recover from this brutal injury and manage to race this year again.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

OMG, my high CG pick Frank is out...

 

[ILovecycling]

OMG, my high CG pick Frank is out...

Still better than my Schleck pick,I've been completely embarassed

 

[difdauf]

The last 30k's look very nice indeed, this is a not a bad stage design at all. Hopefully Contador can attack before the last climb and make things tough for Astana to control, if someone like Porte or Valverde goes with him then they can put some good time into Nibali here. Even a few seconds back for Contador would be a big boost for his confidence with the long climbs to come.

This doesn't look like the tour de france way. I would bet on a teamate battle with a sprint on the last climb like every years.

 

[jens_attacks]

two femurs gone in one day. precedents for this?

get well guys!

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Still better than my Schleck pick,I've been completely embarassed

Well, Schleck wouldn´t have finished high in CG anyway.
But Frank is a real blow. Rodriguez just rides for fun to recover (didn´t knew that), but half-dead Horner is going all out....
I am not amused by all this.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

two femurs gone in one day. precedents for this?

get well guys!

Who was the other rider?

 

[Bushman]

That's sad, a top-10 was a strong possibility for him, let's hope he can recover from this brutal injury and manage to race this year again.

Strong possibility might be too much though, I can quite easily name 10 riders who are better stage racers.

However I agree that it is very sad news. These kind of injuries are always sad, especially for riders who seem to be on the rise.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Who was the other rider?

El Puma Darwin