2014 Tour De France stage Stage 2: York – Sheffield: 201km

[Beech Mtn]

Is this the best stage 2 in a grand tour ever? (ok maybe hyperbole, ill wait for libertine to come and correct me) But it really looks like it could provide some great racing.

Froome to go thermonuclear and take yellow.

This is what I expect too. Sky to be very active and try to make a statement on home soil. Would be a massive PR coup for Sky and Froome after the mess about Wiggins and the book, etc.

We'll have to see if they can do it, or if the rain makes everyone wary of trying too much. It's still very early days yet.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Well anybody who hopes to see some of the wind sucked out of the giant Sky machine of total doom had better hope both Gerrans and his team are 100% tomorrow.

Why, what's he going to do, sit in the bunch and beat Froome in the sprint? Gerrans hasn't animated a race since 2009. Better to hope for Nibali. He might actually put some pressure on the Sky machine. Maybe someone like Visconti can get up the road and give Valverde somebody to ride over to as well.

 

[kingjr]

"Yes! It's fabulous to see a boring race won by a boring rider, because it annoys those who like to hope that the race will be fun!"

Pretty accurate. Reading the LBL thread after the race this year is actually really good compensation for the boredom of the race itself.

 

[Cookster15]

Sagan all the way. Valverde will be 2nd. Gerrans, Jrod, and Kwiatkowski will all be there as well.

If Gerrans is unaffected by today's crash he will be right there with Sagan and Valverde too - could even win if he's in the form we saw at TDU. The stage seems tailor made for Gerrans and he has no GC ambitions like Valverde.

 

[dduff442]

Why, what's he going to do, sit in the bunch and beat Froome in the sprint? Gerrans hasn't animated a race since 2009. Better to hope for Nibali. He might actually put some pressure on the Sky machine. Maybe someone like Visconti can get up the road and give Valverde somebody to ride over to as well.

The course may look like LBL but it's not. Most of the teams (and Sky most of all) have nothing to gain from the stage. Cannondale and probably Astana, Movistar, Lampre and Saxo-Tinkoff are going to go all-out, Cannondale, Lampre and Movistar for the stage (and more than a week in Yellow), Astana and Tinkoff to upset the GC.

That's just 5 teams and the last two won't want to bury themselves totally. Gerrans mightn't be the most exciting but his team will want to shut the Cancellaras, Martins etc. out of contention. That'll make them an invaluable addition to the forces trying to crank things up tomorrow. For all we know they could be a key factor for the entire tour.

 

[pastronef]

I'm no fan of Gerrans, but I can give you a good reason to root for him, because every win of his seems to be a solid punch in the face of the romantics, which is always a great thing to see.

ahaha, nice one. you should see Italian RAI TV Beppe Conti's face when Gerrans wins
he can't come up with it

 

[dduff442]

Two minute stage drive-through here:

http://www.derbyshiretimes.co.uk/news/grassroots/video-sheffield-tour-de-france-route-in-2-minutes-1-6710178

 

[Arnout]

I just think he's a very dull person on a very characterless team who races in a very dull and unlikable manner, hasn't made a race interesting in five years yet is trumped up for the win in everything he enters because he can possibly win the sprint when everybody else suffers a tactical lobotomy (which is depressingly frequent), and can't imagine why anybody would ever want to root for him.

So I don't want him hurt, but I can't see why anybody would mourn the loss of the opportunity to see him in yellow.

You're right, he is dull, but I just don't see how you can blame him when it is others that are failing. He is making the most of it, you can't blame him for that can you?

 

[Broth3r]

Kittel said he expects to lose the jersey, so why bother.

See, this is why I abhor the absence of a prologue: these sort of people get a chance at the yellow. I mean, how can you be in yellow and not even try? Incredibly dishonorable, it boggles the mind.

If only Sagan had won.

I just think he's a very dull person on a very characterless team who races in a very dull and unlikable manner,

While I'm not a fan of Gerro, calling OGE characterless is just inaccurate.

 

[petiagos]

Sagan to win ...
Rui Costa, Albasini and Gerrans if he is ok ....also to fight.
Jens Voight ...again in the break to score more points to the Mountain Jersey.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

This is the stage I'm looking forward to the most this year. I think it'll be a real spectacle and it definitely has the potential to be the best stage of this Tour.

 

[manafana]

Yeah, they said his bid for yellow was over so I'm presuming he's too banged up to contest.

Guess they could be playing it cool though.

never write the guy off though seen him suffer before then when it mattered just dig in and leave his injuries behind him

 

[alspacka]

Nibs is going to show he's been bluffing this whole time. Sagan and Butcher complete podium.

 

[tomorrow]

Nibs is going to show he's been bluffing this whole time. Sagan and Butcher complete podium.

well it surely has sagan written all over it, his problem is, that stage 2 and 3 of last year could be repeated again. Sagan isolated, small break and cannondale has not enough firepower to chase like the on of bakelants

Honestly, my wish would be rain and something like Sagan, Nibali, JRod coalition in last year's T-A Saint Elpidios stage, but not necessarily with same riders. It was really exciting to watch. The battle for GC places between 3 groups was just awesome.

 

[Marco Pantani]

Andy, Contador, Valverde to make Froome suffer.

 

[williamp78]

What are the chances that the crowds are so thick that, like today, it will be almost impossible to attack on the climbs?

 

[alspacka]

well it surely has sagan written all over it, his problem is, that stage 2 and 3 of last year could be repeated again. Sagan isolated, small break and cannondale has not enough firepower to chase like the on of bakelants

Honestly, my wish would be rain and something like Sagan, Nibali, JRod coalition in last year's T-A Saint Elpidios stage, but not necessarily with same riders. It was really exciting to watch. The battle for GC places between 3 groups was just awesome.

100% agreed. According to various forecasts pretty high chance of rain in York in the morning and Sheffield in the afternoon, so they could be in for a soggy day.
I'm expecting it from Nibali, because he's a boss, maybe Valverde but I'm interested to see if any of the GC favourites fancy a crack at his. Froome vs Bertie from 30km
But more realistically, Andy's got this in the bag. If not, boring repeat of L-B-L substituting Albasini for Gerrans.

 

[postmanhat]

Would the GC contenders really be interested this early? An extra week defending yellow, especially with the cobbles coming. Sky could be daft enough I suppose

Impossible to predict. Can't wait

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Would the GC contenders really be interested this early? An extra week defending yellow, especially with the cobbles coming. Sky could be daft enough I suppose

Impossible to predict. Can't wait

Never pass up a chance to take time on your rivals. The sprinters' teams will do most of your work on stages 3 and 4, after that it's the cobbles. Can always let a non-GC threatening break go and steal a day in yellow, like when Romain Feillu got the jersey off Valverde in 2008.

 

[Afrank]

Nibali and Contador to put Froome under pressure big time.

The Terminator, Tourminator, Hulk, Wolverine, Sagain (Jesus, how many nicknames does a guy need?), etc. to take the win.

 

[Rollthedice]

Nibali and Contador to put Froome under pressure big time.

The Terminator, Hulk, Wolverine (Jesus, how many nicknames does a guy need?), etc. to take the win.

If I remember right it was "Tourminator". A good chance to be in yellow for a week.

 

[postmanhat]

Never pass up a chance to take time on your rivals. The sprinters' teams will do most of your work on stages 3 and 4, after that it's the cobbles. Can always let a non-GC threatening break go and steal a day in yellow, like when Romain Feillu got the jersey off Valverde in 2008.

You are almost certainly right. Such a great first week for a GT. So many permutations

Must be Valverde then. Suits him and he'll need the time.....or Riblon, GVA, Rodriguez....

 

[karlboss]

If the roads are narrow like stage 1 there is potential for serious time to be made and lost on GC. Given Sky's performance in the ardennes I think others would be foolish not to try.
On Gerrans, seems like a good guy and a smart racer, it's more than just hang on and sprint, it's the way he moves through the peloton for the best sit and the wheels he fights for and holds, his analysis of stages is often spot on. I like to see him win over some others as he's Australian, I don't like seeing him win because of the way he wins and what it means for the race you've just seen. The only times I actually want him to win is after the race has already been boring and he's still there, other than that I'm barracking for the attackers all the way.

 

[Yorkshire89]

I can't see there been more than 20-25 rides together by the finish.

I'm surprised to see so many tipping Sagan, I'm pretty certain he'll be dropped, it'll be too tough for him.

My money's on either Valverde or Rui Costa.

I've done the last 40km in the car & the climbs will break the race up.

My only concern is we have bad weather & the stage is rode conservatively

 

[Potomac]

Cancellera to attack from 40km out and win.....