2016 TdF, Stage 12: Montpellier → Mont Ventoux (178km)

[RattaKuningas]

Re: Re:

I think we all know how fast Valverde can be right? This is a one climb stage and on the first part of the climb Valverde won't be as tired and I think he can easily drop Henao or anyone with his accelerations when he doesn't worry about pacing and losing minutes. I wasn't talking about Valverde pacing and doing just casual high tempo but really burying himself for Quintana in a short amount of time. Unless Henao doesn't want to go into red and lose minutes he will let go to keep his overally good GC spot.

But as I said I don't think that Quintana is concered about Henao. When Quintana attacks I doubt Henao can do anything about it. Froome has to respond and if Froome is strong he will be able to respond and if he isn't then he won't.

 

[Googolplex]

Anyone know what this means for the mountain points? Still an HC?

It becomes a cat 1, so only 20 points on offer which is ridiculours it's a far harder climb than arcalis

http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2016/us/stage-12/news/enj/half-of-the-ventoux-and-possibly-even-more-of-racing.html

There it says Chalet Reynard is HC.

 

[MatParker117]

Re: Re:

I think we all know how fast Valverde can be right? This is a one climb stage and on the first part of the climb Valverde won't be as tired and I think he can easily drop Henao or anyone with his accelerations when he doesn't worry about pacing and losing minutes. I wasn't talking about Valverde pacing and doing just casual high tempo but really burying himself for Quintana in a short amount of time. Unless Henao doesn't want to go into red and lose minutes he will let go to keep his overally good GC spot.

But as I said I don't think that Quintana is concered about Henao. When Quintana attacks I doubt Henao can do anything about it. Froome has to respond and if Froome is strong he will be able to respond and if he isn't then he won't.

Thing is these type of stages are perfect for Sky, Stannard and Rowe will not cede control of the peloton until Kiryienka is ready. Movistar does not have those big, brick shithouse types to barge through.

 

[RattaKuningas]

Re: Re:

I think we all know how fast Valverde can be right? This is a one climb stage and on the first part of the climb Valverde won't be as tired and I think he can easily drop Henao or anyone with his accelerations when he doesn't worry about pacing and losing minutes. I wasn't talking about Valverde pacing and doing just casual high tempo but really burying himself for Quintana in a short amount of time. Unless Henao doesn't want to go into red and lose minutes he will let go to keep his overally good GC spot.

But as I said I don't think that Quintana is concered about Henao. When Quintana attacks I doubt Henao can do anything about it. Froome has to respond and if Froome is strong he will be able to respond and if he isn't then he won't.

Thing is these type of stages are perfect for Sky, Stannard and Rowe will not cede control of the peloton until Kiryienka is ready. Movistar does not have those big, brick shithouse types to barge through.

If Froome is also targeting tomorrow stage then Movistar doesn't have to do anything before the climb because Sky themselves will keep tempo high. But Stannard and Rowe will probably be gone already on the top of Cote de Gordes.

If Froome attacks himself and Quintana feels strong then it is also a good scenario for Quintana because then Team Sky will put Froome in 1v1 situation against Quintana and that is something that Quintana wants. Movistar only has to initiate themselves when Sky rides defensively.

 

[Ramon Koran]

Anyone know what this means for the mountain points? Still an HC?

It becomes a cat 1, so only 20 points on offer which is ridiculours it's a far harder climb than arcalis

http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2016/us/stage-12/news/enj/half-of-the-ventoux-and-possibly-even-more-of-racing.html

There it says Chalet Reynard is HC.

Seems fair to me would make no sense for it to only be cat 1.

 

[Valv.Piti]

If Arcalis is HC; damn right Chalet Reynard is!

 

[The Barb]

Anyone know what this means for the mountain points? Still an HC?

It becomes a cat 1, so only 20 points on offer which is ridiculours it's a far harder climb than arcalis

http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2016/us/stage-12/news/enj/half-of-the-ventoux-and-possibly-even-more-of-racing.html

There it says Chalet Reynard is HC.

Thanks for that. Seems a fair call.

 

[postmanhat]

Quintana to drop Froome. Only for Foome to do his Seabiscuit impression and drag himself back, before taking the stage.

To increasingly few people's surprise, Yates comes third

 

[Bardamu]

You guys think the peloton might break before the Mont Ventoux due to the expected wind?

 

[Jungle Cycle]

It looks pretty awful up there..
https://twitter.com/ju_drem/status/753286302095777792

Like everyone else, still waiting for "the attack". 1 month ago i thought Contador would be the one attacking up to stage12 and Quintana would've been the one capitalizing on it. He wouldnt have none of this "waiting" s****..
I like Quinatana even more thah Froome. Dont know really why but this "waiting", for 3 years now, is horrible.. Froome is being very confident and not afraid of risking everything. If it wasnt for him GC would've been non existent so far... I still think this is mainly Movistar doing, not really his(!?). The pressure must be big on him...
So until tomorrow i'll wait to see if Quintana can brake free of this label...

 

[The Barb]

Re:

You guys think the peloton might break before the Mont Ventoux due to the expected wind?

Decidedly possible. If the wind is, as predicted, from the north and strong then the peloton could be shattered even by the base of Ventoux.

 

[Gigs_98]

Windforecast for tomorrow:
https://www.windyty.com/?43.666,5.361,9

It's definitely crosswind and the strength is comparable to today. It would be great to see the favorties on the final climb already separated before they even start to climb.

 

[Bardamu]

Windforecast for tomorrow:
https://www.windyty.com/?43.666,5.361,9

It's definitely crosswind and the strength is comparable to today. It would be great to see the favorties on the final climb already separated before they even start to climb.

Would be a shame if big time differences will be made on the flat due to the wind, but like 30-40s to make everybody exhausted at the bottom and give them a neccessity to go full gas from the start of the ascent would be cool.

 

[Big Doopie]

i actually think the big difference will happen in the ITT, which by all accounts is all about power.

froome has known this for months. his ability to power over to sagan is a precursor to that ITT.

so was the mountain prologue of the dauphine. the fact that contador only gained a few seconds on 18% gradients was an indication of the incredible power the much larger froome has right now.

last year there was no ITT. so froome prepped for climbing and destroyed everyone while being somewhat average in the prologue.

with him prepping for the olympics TT, this ITT is likely where he plans to take everything he needs to win the tour, while hoping to play equal with quintana in the mountains. i actually think he will be happy with being equal on ventoux.

i am pulling for yates and martin (though i think he will lose tons in the ITT)...

...and absolutely awed by sagan.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Windforecast for tomorrow:
https://www.windyty.com/?43.666,5.361,9

It's definitely crosswind and the strength is comparable to today. It would be great to see the favorties on the final climb already separated before they even start to climb.

Would be a shame if big time differences will be made on the flat due to the wind, but like 30-40s to make everybody exhausted at the bottom and give them a neccessity to go full gas from the start of the ascent would be cool.

Not at all, stage races are supposed to be the ultimate test of all round skills, whereas usually, in modern times, they are a test of climbing ability and time trialling ability only.

 

[Flamin]

Windforecast for tomorrow:
https://www.windyty.com/?43.666,5.361,9

It's definitely crosswind and the strength is comparable to today. It would be great to see the favorties on the final climb already separated before they even start to climb.

Vamos!! A shame Contador is out. Sky and Tinkoff killing it in the wind would have been lethal for Nairito.

 

[Bardamu]

Windforecast for tomorrow:
https://www.windyty.com/?43.666,5.361,9

It's definitely crosswind and the strength is comparable to today. It would be great to see the favorties on the final climb already separated before they even start to climb.

Would be a shame if big time differences will be made on the flat due to the wind, but like 30-40s to make everybody exhausted at the bottom and give them a neccessity to go full gas from the start of the ascent would be cool.

Not at all, stage races are supposed to be the ultimate test of all round skills, whereas usually, in modern times, they are a test of climbing ability and time trialling ability only.

Yep GT-riders should be more than climbers/TT'ers and have all-round skills.

I also don't want them to wait till the final ascent tomorrow if the wind is right to make everything go crazy again. I just prefer the differences will not be too big, because I prefer seeing man-to-man battles on the ascent of the Mont Ventoux .

 

[Kopuliak]

Mont Ventoux today : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8byKzVqiQ1g

 

[Gigs_98]

Windforecast for tomorrow:
https://www.windyty.com/?43.666,5.361,9

It's definitely crosswind and the strength is comparable to today. It would be great to see the favorties on the final climb already separated before they even start to climb.

Would be a shame if big time differences will be made on the flat due to the wind, but like 30-40s to make everybody exhausted at the bottom and give them a neccessity to go full gas from the start of the ascent would be cool.

Not at all, stage races are supposed to be the ultimate test of all round skills, whereas usually, in modern times, they are a test of climbing ability and time trialling ability only.

You are right but I also think that the most entertaining scenario to watch would be 30-40 seconds gaps on the foot of Ventoux. Even riders at the back could basically still win the stage, Pantani in Oropa style, but we are sure that there is action on the whole climb, and we can be sure that there will be massive time gaps even on a shortened Ventoux.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Windforecast for tomorrow:
https://www.windyty.com/?43.666,5.361,9

It's definitely crosswind and the strength is comparable to today. It would be great to see the favorties on the final climb already separated before they even start to climb.

Would be a shame if big time differences will be made on the flat due to the wind, but like 30-40s to make everybody exhausted at the bottom and give them a neccessity to go full gas from the start of the ascent would be cool.

Not at all, stage races are supposed to be the ultimate test of all round skills, whereas usually, in modern times, they are a test of climbing ability and time trialling ability only.

You are right but I also think that the most entertaining scenario to watch would be 30-40 seconds gaps on the foot of Ventoux. Even riders at the back could basically still win the stage, Pantani in Oropa style, but we are sure that there is action on the whole climb, and we can be sure that there will be massive time gaps even on a shortened Ventoux.

Yes definitely. An ideal scenario would be one where the likes of Aru, Van Garderen, Porte, Bardet etc arrive one minute ahead of a group containing Quintana and Froome, who are both desperate to win the stage as well as GC. That would lead to an epic battle both for the stage and GC on Ventoux.

But even if that doesn't happen, tomorrow has the potential to be one of the most epic TdF stages in a long long time

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Re:

Mont Ventoux today : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8byKzVqiQ1g

Climbers would get blown away. It's all about upper body.

 

[HelloDolly]

Don't know how many times so far in this Tour we have been promised epic racing and as far as i feel none has materalised

For some thing to be epic there has to be a duel among evenly matched protagonists

Cannot see that tomorrow ...More cross winds promised in the valley...even stronger than today ..so Movistar on the back foot
And don't think Quintana can distance Froome and SKY unless on a very long climb after several climbs before and with a depleted SKY train..Tomorrow if Quintana goes early on the finalclimb there will be enough SKY riders to set a high tempo and bring him back...that is if Quintana has not been distanced earlier in the winds

Froome will win this...best Quintana can do is stay with him for as long as possible and lose only a little time

Quintana can only beat Froome imo on a multiple high mountain stage ....as in the final week
Then there maybe epic racing when they go man o man

 

[PremierAndrew]

There's a real chance that all of the GC leaders' domestiques will have spent themselves on the flat in the crosswinds, leaving a mano a mano fight for the full 10k climb

 

[Oliwright]

Anyone just got a feeling that Quintana is going to loose time tmr? I think either Froome beats him on the stage or has already distanced him in the winds. Movistar were very poor in cross winds, in the final they had no riders left!

 

[BigMac]

Re: Re:

Mont Ventoux today : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8byKzVqiQ1g

Climbers would get blown away. It's all about upper body.

I love how the upper body stuff became a forum meme. :lol: