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

[Sciocco]

I can't help but interpret Froomes 'arrogance' as bit of naive enthusiasm somehow.
Maybe that makes me naive.

I'm don't really like Froome, but the hate he gets here from some is ridiculous. Everything he does is wrong.
He is definately isn't boring. Sky is boring, but Froome is so eager he tends to attack too often. His style is awful, definately, but boring.. definately not.
He is boring when he dominated last year, but I also found Nibali boring in the Giro 2013 while Nibali isn't a boring rider at all.

Froome is a 29(?) year old professional athlete.

I see a lot of hate going for a lot of riders. The bigger riders getting tons of hate for various reasons.

Yes he does attack and though some of his attacks are weird in regards to when/where/why he attacks, he does try to light the race up, or end it I guess.

 

[Liquigas]

Teejay looked very strong today, even if this type of stage doesn't suit him.

But very early days.

 

[seldon71]

Voeckler lost 10+ minutes, Taaramäe 15+. I don't think either one will be in domestique role so they are strong candidates for breaking away for stage honors

 

[xanadu]

Forget alpe d`huez and the galibier, all we need is a back street in Yorkshire. Sheesh i have never seen anything like it. Where did all those people come from.
Day 2 in the tour and the big boys come out to play.
Tour organisers please take note, a RAFTSIB (race around france that starts in Britain.)is the way to go.

 

[Kwibus]

Forget alpe d`huez and the galibier, all we need is a back street in Yorkshire. Sheesh i have never seen anything like it. Where did all those people come from.
Day 2 in the tour and the big boys come out to play.
Tour organisers please take note, a RAFTSIB (race around france that starts in Britain.)is the way to go.

Not sure what the big boys coming out to play on stage 2 has anything to do with Britain. The hills made sure the big boys came out to play.

 

[happytramp]

Nibali has no chance of wining tour de france.

Probably not, but it'll be a good battle between him and Froome for second and third.

 

[SKSemtex]

The opposite to why I dislike Gerrans. Gerrans is by most accounts a nice guy who happens to race horribly, Sagan is quite an interesting racer who by everything he's shown in public is an absolutely unlikable ******bag. Meat Puppet brought up RVV'13, and yes that was bad, but if it was a one off thing it would be forgivable. He did the same thing at E3. Everything about him is designed to make you look at him. He's like a hyperactive kid at a school who has to mess about to get attention in the classes he can't do well at. At first we cut him some slack due to his youth but this is his 5th pro year now and he's still just as childish and narcissistic. He's a Backpfeifengesicht, and therefore it is better for me never to have to see his stupid face.

LOL allways the same ****ty story. Come on grow up. You know **** about that the real character of that boy.
Anyway who cares about your personal hate.

 

[happytramp]

I see a lot of hate going for a lot of riders. The bigger riders getting tons of hate for various reasons.

Honestly, it's not even close. Not even the same stratosphere! Froome gets over 2x hate as any other rider. Ironically the second most openly hated is Wiggins. Although I'd say Valverde is probably the most disliked rider in the peloton he dosn't get near as much hate as the other two. When you factor in Cav there's an 'extremely' obvious anti-british sentiment on this forum..... being an fairly pro Irish cycling fan I'd say I know I contribute to it at times. But at least i'm not deluded enough to think that it's not happening.

 

[Warhawk]

Well, personally, I don't like Sagan because, no matter what length he cuts it, he consistently has stupid hair.

 

[SKSemtex]

Congrats to Nibali. What a rider.

It was Sagan stage to loose and he managed it pretty well. The same mistake like in TDS. Too many tactical mistakes this year agaist the last year.

 

[Rollthedice]

Congrats to Nibali. What a rider.

It was Sagan stage to loose and he managed it pretty well. The same mistake like in TDS. Too many tactical mistakes this year agaist the last year.

The Tourminator himself:

"I'm happy. I perhaps made a mistake in the last three but I'm happy for Vincenzo, very happy. I didn’t follow him when he attacked. I also knew that if I chased him down, somebody else would have attacked, so I'm happy he won."

 

[SKSemtex]

The Tourminator himself:

Student and The Master.

 

[Sciocco]

Honestly, it's not even close. Not even the same stratosphere! Froome gets over 2x hate as any other rider. Ironically the second most openly hated is Wiggins. Although I'd say Valverde is probably the most disliked rider in the peloton he dosn't get near as much hate as the other two. When you factor in Cav there's an 'extremely' obvious anti-british sentiment on this forum..... being an fairly pro Irish cycling fan I'd say I know I contribute to it at times. But at least i'm not deluded enough to think that it's not happening.

I still think it boils down to success leading to animosity. Don't remember people *****ing about Froome pre-2012, maybe some in 11 vuelta? Wiggins and Cav have also been successful. Actually if you go back to 10/11 I remember seeing a lot of *****ing about A. Schleck. There are other British riders who do not seem to get much hatred. Yates brothers for example. Maybe when they get some real success in the pro peloton they'll be hated. I find it hard to personally cheer based on nationality, but I do not see any reason why it is not ok.

Also it is a good counter to the idiots on Eurosport. After listening to them all but **************** team sky and froome, it is nice to hear the other side.

 

[manafana]

a good stage today, last climb wasn't quiet raced hard enough to blow it up more but in end Nibali made the killer blow and Sagan decided it wasn't him who was going chase although a worry how Cannondale didn't hold back a man to help him later.

 

[pigoonse]

Student and The Master.

What I was thinking, too ^^

Also Peter got what he really wanted on the stage - the green jersey; and Nibali got the color jersey he wanted

 

[veji11]

a good stage today, last climb wasn't quiet raced hard enough to blow it up more but in end Nibali made the killer blow and Sagan decided it wasn't him who was going chase although a worry how Cannondale didn't hold back a man to help him later.

What killed Cannondale was having to chase Rolland and then having Contador attack up Jenkin Road. Still, Sagan lacks a top noth leutenant in hilly terrain who could have done the job, even with a teammate, he would probably have been too fried to pull back Niblai.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

LOL allways the same ****ty story. Come on grow up. You know **** about that the real character of that boy.
Anyway who cares about your personal hate.

I know English isn't your first language, but there is something ironic about being told to grow up by somebody for not liking Peter Sagan.

Especially ironic when that request includes a number of expletives. And when one of my reasons for not liking Sagan is his immaturity.

Edit: and even more ironic when I realise that it is quite likely from what you've said on other threads that patriotism factors into your Sagan fandom too.

If his real character is something other than what he projects in public, then please enlighten me. Because the character he projects in public is one that makes me think that I really can't identify with anybody who thinks that is something likable.

 

[Ricco']

Caruso really could have had some good use for Sagan today in that finale.

 

[maxmartin]

What killed Cannondale was having to chase Rolland and then having Contador attack up Jenkin Road. Still, Sagan lacks a top noth leutenant in hilly terrain who could have done the job, even with a teammate, he would probably have been too fried to pull back Niblai.

Nibali used to be that leutenant lol

 

[Dazed and Confused]

What killed Cannondale was having to chase Rolland and then having Contador attack up Jenkin Road. Still, Sagan lacks a top noth leutenant in hilly terrain who could have done the job, even with a teammate, he would probably have been too fried to pull back Niblai.

On a stage likes this Moser in great form would have been that guy.

 

[veji11]

On a stage likes this Moser in great form would have been that guy.

Yep.

To me there is a lesson to be learnt here by Sagan : When the stage is hard enough to eliminate his teammates, he needs to take an initiative and attack himself, not just play defensive waiting for the sprint because he ends up having to defend for everybody. For example, here he should not have gone down ahead after Jenkin Road. He should have dropped back a little bit to attack from behind. By being positioned at the front he had all the looks on him.

As was said before, the ideal scenario for him would have been one similar to the eggidio stage : go on the attack with a smaller group. arriving in a group of 10/20 with no teammate (or dead ones) was the worst. To some extent he ended up in the same situation as Degenkolb on Paris Roubaix this year.

No catastrophy here, but a good opportunity to win a stage is gone, and when we look at last year's tour, well, it could prove frustrating to end up with another green jersey but maybe no win...

 

[Netserk]

He still has three-four stages left where he is the favourite.

 

[veji11]

He still has three-four stages left where he is the favourite.

Of course, I am far from saying that his tour is going down the drain ! But nevertheless, the situation isn't as easy as it sounds, and has gotten significantly tougher compared to last year :
- If the route is hardish (some hills or cobbles), enough to drop the big sprinters but not too hard to drop them all, he has to contend with Degenkolb now, who has proved to be his match or more for the last 6 months, as opposed to the situation one year ago. On the stage to St Etienne for example, as well as to Nancy and Bergerac where some well placed little bumps could drop Kittel, Démare and co, he will have to deal with Degenkolb, not a done deal nowadays.
- IF the route is actually harde, like today or say Oyonnax or even harder Gerardmer, well he has to deal with Kwiatowski, who might be too tired but for 6 months has proven better than him on such routes, and Valverde + Gerrans who have proved this year to be on form.

So compare that to the situation the last few years where he didn't seem to have rivals in those type of routes, and the situation can seem less rosy. Again I agree, the tour is long and I would be surprised if he didn't win one at least, and my bet is on 2. But for the first time in 3 years I can see him winning none. Unlikely but distinctively possible : a weakish team for its workload + significantly stronger rivals is not a good combination.

 

[SKSemtex]

I know English isn't your first language, but there is something ironic about being told to grow up by somebody for not liking Peter Sagan.

Especially ironic when that request includes a number of expletives. And when one of my reasons for not liking Sagan is his immaturity.

Edit: and even more ironic when I realise that it is quite likely from what you've said on other threads that patriotism factors into your Sagan fandom too.

If his real character is something other than what he projects in public, then please enlighten me. Because the character he projects in public is one that makes me think that I really can't identify with anybody who thinks that is something likable.

Libertine, I do not want to quarrel with you here. I respect you, your opinion, your job you have done here regarding stage profiles. It is just that I saw again your famous: Backpfeifengesicht, and therefore it is better for me never to have to see his stupid face.

This is not "not liking" this is hate for me. We all know e.g. that Netserk dislike Cance but nobody can say he hate him. That is the difference.
We have a proverb: He who wants to beat the dog will always find a stick.
Any of us has some “stick”: permanent whining, wheelsucking, arrogance, complaining about teammates etc. Your one is RVV and stupid T-shirt.
I do not blame you. You do not have to like him . We are fans. The difference between me and you is that my “hate” lasts few days and I always try to find the way how to like or at least respect. I just hope you can also close one day his failure on RVV.

 

[SKSemtex]

On a stage likes this Moser in great form would have been that guy.

This. It would be nice to see how this two can play mouse and cat with the rest of the group. What a pitty his form is gone and probably even their relationship.

I wish he will end up in team where he can have such a twin.