2016 Tour de France, Stage 5: Limoges → Le Lioran (216km)

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

All depends on Sagan's stance - if he really wants go deep, he has it already in the bag. Otherwise I expect the top favourites already in the mix of whom I believe Froome the most. To make a guess, Valverde takes the stage.

If a GC guy attacks, he will have to go very deep to keep up.

In 2004 footage (featuring Puy-Mary), the GC group contained approx. twenty riders at the summit.
Here's the climb : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv_LLv0BQEs&t=39m40s

Thanks

Peloton shattered 60k from the line. No way Sagan survives this

 

[Rollthedice]

Nibali could attack, question is if Vino and Beppe approve because he might end up in yellow. Is it too early in the race? Also will Sky or Movi cover all the attacks from outsiders like Nibali?

 

[Fernandez]

If the stage is raced enough hard, Contador will loose some time.

 

[infeXio]

Daniel Benson on twitter:

@MRasmussen1974 has ridden st 5 recon. Says profile is nothing like indicated in the race book. Much harder. Final descent only 2M wide

 

[Jungle Cycle]

Re: Re:

All depends on Sagan's stance - if he really wants go deep, he has it already in the bag. Otherwise I expect the top favourites already in the mix of whom I believe Froome the most. To make a guess, Valverde takes the stage.

If a GC guy attacks, he will have to go very deep to keep up.

In 2004 footage (featuring Puy-Mary), the GC group contained approx. twenty riders at the summit.
Here's the climb : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wv_LLv0BQEs&t=39m40s

Virenque did more than half of it out of the saddle!!.. the final looks hard... the guys transmitting sounded asleep..
there'll be attacks from the main group. lets see what "kind" of riders..

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

Daniel Benson on twitter:

@MRasmussen1974 has ridden st 5 recon. Says profile is nothing like indicated in the race book. Much harder. Final descent only 2M wide

Wait, the Chicken only said the descent is much harder. He said nothing of the climbs.

 

[infeXio]

Re: Re:

Daniel Benson on twitter:

@MRasmussen1974 has ridden st 5 recon. Says profile is nothing like indicated in the race book. Much harder. Final descent only 2M wide

Wait, the Chicken only said the descent is much harder. He said nothing of the climbs.

I don't think the part about the course being hard was narrowly focussed on the descents

 

[LaFlorecita]

Yeah, the descent is allegedly really steep, technical and narrow, I read that yesterday as well. Hopefully no one crashes.

 

[Red Rick]

Absolutely wouldn't be a first that the profile is nothing like the parcours.

 

[Miburo]

Sagan has zero chance to hold the jersey imo

 

[nilfen]

Re: Re:

Daniel Benson on twitter:

@MRasmussen1974 has ridden st 5 recon. Says profile is nothing like indicated in the race book. Much harder. Final descent only 2M wide

Wait, the Chicken only said the descent is much harder. He said nothing of the climbs.

He also said the climbs are as steep as the real mountains, only shorter.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Re:

Sagan has zero chance to hold the jersey imo

Depends on how Bertie fares.

 

[infeXio]

Just watched the albeit short video of Michael Rasmussens recon, and he pretty much confirms what's been said already; last 2,5 km of the Puy Mary incredibly tough, never dropping below 11%, the following descent on good roads with visibility. He then proceeds to the finish, commenting on the descent from top of the Col de Font de Cère towards the bottom of the small bump at the finish line, and says that a local told him that this is crazy narrow and thus will be closed off for spectators

 

[Mr.White]

Re:

Nibali could attack, question is if Vino and Beppe approve because he might end up in yellow. Is it too early in the race? Also will Sky or Movi cover all the attacks from outsiders like Nibali?

He's not the outsider, that's for sure. At least, until he lose some serious time. Right now, he's a genuine threat and I think they will follow him immediately

 

[rainman]

Re:

Kreuziger
Valverde -30
Alaphilippe
Sagan
Gerrans

Contador, Pinot, Valverde, Quintana, Te Jay, Bardet to finish same time.
Froome to lose 20s. Porte to be sacrificed to Praying Mantis and lose 4 mins.

So your thinking Astana will stop for a picnic beside the road. Interesting notion.

 

[the-big-bad-wolf]

Re:

Sagan has zero chance to hold the jersey imo

Kreuziger to be next in yellow

 

[rainman]

Just an aside, Happy birthday to Chris Juul Jensen. There will be no presents on the stage but perhaps team mates Albasini, Plaza Molina or Adam Yates could potentially do something today.

 

[King Boonen]

I don't really think this stage suits Froome to attack, he needs a real MTF. He might put a dig in at the end to try and stop anyone else going but otherwise I think Sky will be covering the likes of Movistar and Astana rather than trying to put the hurt into AC.

With that said I don't think they'll soft pedal, AC is still going to have to have recovered a fair bit and have decent form, but I think he probably won't have to cover any attacks.


Will be interesting to see what Martin, Alaphillipe, Barguil, Pinot, Bardet, Rolland etc. do. This could be a very difficult stage for one team to control and there are a lot of people with the chance to take yellow and hold it for a couple of days. Conversely, I'm not sure anyone with GC aspirations really wants to have to defend yellow on Aspin.

 

[HelloDolly]

If there wasn't that steep descent then Allaphillipe or Dan Matin...the descent favours Valverde or Nibali

 

[classicomano]

Bardet has already announced hes gonna attack.

 

[vedrafjord]

Re: Re:

Daniel Benson on twitter:

@MRasmussen1974 has ridden st 5 recon. Says profile is nothing like indicated in the race book. Much harder. Final descent only 2M wide

Wait, the Chicken only said the descent is much harder. He said nothing of the climbs.

No such thing as a difficult climb for the Chicken! I was watching a bit of Wimbledon yesterday and they have veterans' tournaments for past heroes (and villains) which are played in a relaxed manner. Imagine a veteran's Tour, running alongside the regular one for some stages (I'm thinking medium mountain stages like today). The difference with tennis is many of the 40-something cyclists are more... infamous but I can't be the only one who'd like to see what kind of shape Rasmussen, Ullrich, and Vino (all 42) are in.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

10 km into the race and no attack has stuck yet.

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

10 km into the race and no attack has stuck yet.

Where do you follow?

 

[Kwibus]

Only just figured out it's also 216km and that after 2 long days. Not bad, not good for Contador though.

Rooks said on dutch radio that those long dull stages certainly are important for a GT. The longer you are on your bike the less time you have to rest and rest in a GT is one of the most important things in a GT. He said that these stages ultimately have an effect on riders and how they recuperate.

 

[CheckMyPecs]

Sam Bennett dropped.