After second rest day, who will win the Tour de France 2017

[This Charming Man]

Re: After second rest day, who will win the Tour de France 2

Contador!

 

[Nin1388]

Uran Uran will crush Froome in TT. Froome needs a minute on him to be safe.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I hope Froome will win at this point. The other simply don't seem prepared or willing to risk anything in order to beat him, so I can't help but to root for him despite Im no fan of him at all.

 

[ice&fire]

Re: Re:

A man needs delusions

Alberto Contador will win this bike race.

Love this post in all ways

Contador will play Sagan; he may not win but he will decide the winner.

 

[meat puppet]

Aru will resurrect. Bardet becomes stronger. Uran too, and Martin will remain strong. Yet they all will hesitate on key moments and froome, who also is on the rise wins comfortably. Not because he is superb but because the others wont throw the kitchen sink at him.

Landa wont Landa. Too Bad.

 

[Akuryo]

Re:

I hope Froome will win at this point. The other simply don't seem prepared or willing to risk anything in order to beat him, so I can't help but to root for him despite Im no fan of him at all.

So Dan Martin attacking each day even though he can't even walk straight is "not willing to risk anything" ... okay. Noted.

 

[dacooley]

froome seems to be improving his condition slowly but surely, im expecting him to win on l'izoard and eliminate all the questions. if not, uran will win.

 

[bob.a.feet]

Re: After second rest day, who will win the Tour de France 2

If Froome, Aru,and Bardet perform the same as they did in Stage 13 last year, Aru will lose 2 minutes to Froome, while Bardet will lose 1:43. Obviously these are only estimates and they could perform entirely different, but it just gives us an idea.

Maybe a better, more up-to-date estimate would come from the opening ITT. The final ITT is only about 50% longer than the opening ITT, and all the time gaps between Froome and the other GC hopefuls there were less than a minute, with Aru and Bardet about 40 seconds slower. Moreover, the climb in the middle should reduce the disadvantage that climbing specialists usually have in flat ITTs.

I expect Froome to wear the MJ the rest of the way, but if he should fall behind one of the others by more than a minute prior to the ITT, he should be worried.

With the opening ITT we're not sure what was down to ability and what was down to risk-taking because of the rain (Froome would have beat them either way).

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re: Re:

I hope Froome will win at this point. The other simply don't seem prepared or willing to risk anything in order to beat him, so I can't help but to root for him despite Im no fan of him at all.

So Dan Martin attacking each day even though he can't even walk straight is "not willing to risk anything" ... okay. Noted.

I don't consider Dan Martin a contender for the win after his crash on Chat. Its mainly Aru and Bardet.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Mollema in a 40 minute break like Pereiro.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re: Re:

Froome. I can't see anyone else winning. I think the stages in the Alps are perfect for the Sky train - long steady climbs, long steady descents, long valleys. I honestly believe the final week will be pretty boring, not to mention the final TT which will be like a victory lap for Froome. And really, after what happened yesterday, the others don't even deserve to win. Cowards.
Only the "battle" for the positions in the top-5 looks somewhat exciting - Landa, Bardet, Uran, Aru, Martin.

A man needs delusions

Alberto Contador will win this bike race.

Love this post in all ways

Contador will play Sagan; he may not win but he will decide the winner.

So then he'd play himself! Anyway, I don't see him deciding anything, a few attacks here and there that'll be reeled in by the Sky train, before getting dropped.

 

[Cookster15]

I can smell an upset. Froome to crack. Bardet to send France into a frenzy. Uran is still a dark horse if he pulls out his 2014 Giro TT form.

 

[Matteo.]

Re: Re:

Froome. I can't see anyone else winning. I think the stages in the Alps are perfect for the Sky train - long steady climbs, long steady descents, long valleys. I honestly believe the final week will be pretty boring, not to mention the final TT which will be like a victory lap for Froome. And really, after what happened yesterday, the others don't even deserve to win. Cowards.
Only the "battle" for the positions in the top-5 looks somewhat exciting - Landa, Bardet, Uran, Aru, Martin.

A man needs delusions

Alberto Contador will win this bike race.

Love this post in all ways

Contador will play Sagan; he may not win but he will decide the winner.

So then he'd play himself! Anyway, I don't see him deciding anything, a few attacks here and there that'll be reeled in by the Sky train, before getting dropped.

How true, how true (unfortunately)

 

[loge1884]

Louis Meintjes will somehow sneak into the win ...

 

[loge1884]

on a more serious note:

Froome
strenghts: being Froome, strongest team, TT
weaknesses: not being the Froome of 2013 / 2015 anymore

Aru
strenghts: climbing
weaknesses: TT, team doesn't seem yellow material after having lost Fuglsang

Bardet
strenghts: attacking spirit, descending, 2nd strongest team
weaknesses: being french (somehow since Hinault/Fignon the frenchies don't seem to be ready for big wins and prefer complaining)

Uran
strenghts: being overlooked, allrounder
weaknesses: team

Dan Martin
strenghts: rides like there is no tomorrow, underestimated
weaknesses: rides like there is no tomorrow, not sure if his team is fully dedicated (or they prefer another 1-2 sprint wins by Kittel)

Landa
strenghts: being Landa, everyone concentrating on Froome
weaknesses: probably no team support

Simon Yates
strenghts: underestimated
weaknesses: making 2:02 (+ TT) on Froome seems a bit stretching; largely a follower rather than a leader


Result:
1. Froome
2. Uran
3. Bardet

 

[PatrickLeeds]

Re:

A man needs delusions

Alberto Contador will win this bike race.

Oh? in that case, I vote for Andy Schleck

I went with my heart and voted Bardet. My head says otherwise, but a Bardet/Uran/Froome podium would restore my faith in sport.

 

[Escarabajo]

I voted for Froome. I don't see how anybody else can defeat him. My heart will be rooting for Uran.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Re:

The biggest obstacle for Froome is his bike.

Even that doesn't matter. The guy could ride down a cliff and they'd still all wait for him like the good little boys they are.

 

[Leinster]

Re: After second rest day, who will win the Tour de France 2

I voted for Vino .

If there are attacks everyday like the one today, at some point, one will work. No one has attacked the TdF-Sky team like this before, It can't be just AG2R though. Like USPS before, there was an inferiority complex that prevented Froome's opponents to attack him, except for a few late moves-istar when the race was already lost. The race is not lost with so many within seconds of Dawg. That's where I deeply disagree with the critics of AG2R today, like hrotha: they didn't spank the King, but they showed that he's naked. Psychologically, today was vey significant.

Froome is still the favorite. Aru and Bardet have to make a decision: go for the ultimate prize and risk a blowback, or play for a safe podium. Same for Uran, although he probably thinks podium. Martin can be a poison, a thorn in Sky's side...too close to ignore. We shall see.

Tour de France 2013 stage 9.

I don't recall Froome being dropped...attacked, yes, isolated yes, four years ago. That makes today very special, doesn't it? Which is my point BTW.

Lost 20 seconds to Dan Martin and Jakob Fuglsang, though.

The funny thing with that day was Garmin had attacked from the gun to set up a Martin stage win chance, resulting in Froome being isolated, but none of the other GC contenders then had the will or wherewithal to attack lonely Froome on the Peyresourde or Ancizan. The Sky aura of ivincibility was already well enough established.

 

[dacooley]

Re: After second rest day, who will win the Tour de France 2

I voted for Vino .

If there are attacks everyday like the one today, at some point, one will work. No one has attacked the TdF-Sky team like this before, It can't be just AG2R though. Like USPS before, there was an inferiority complex that prevented Froome's opponents to attack him, except for a few late moves-istar when the race was already lost. The race is not lost with so many within seconds of Dawg. That's where I deeply disagree with the critics of AG2R today, like hrotha: they didn't spank the King, but they showed that he's naked. Psychologically, today was vey significant.

Froome is still the favorite. Aru and Bardet have to make a decision: go for the ultimate prize and risk a blowback, or play for a safe podium. Same for Uran, although he probably thinks podium. Martin can be a poison, a thorn in Sky's side...too close to ignore. We shall see.

Tour de France 2013 stage 9.

I don't recall Froome being dropped...attacked, yes, isolated yes, four years ago. That makes today very special, doesn't it? Which is my point BTW.

Lost 20 seconds to Dan Martin and Jakob Fuglsang, though.

The funny thing with that day was Garmin had attacked from the gun to set up a Martin stage win chance, resulting in Froome being isolated, but none of the other GC contenders then had the will or wherewithal to attack lonely Froome on the Peyresourde or Ancizan. The Sky aura of ivincibility was already well enough established.

Quintana and Valverde were testing Froome back then. It might be not all-out attempts but they definately tried.

 

[MarkAndrew123]

Re: After second rest day, who will win the Tour de France 2

My predictions,

Aru to start going backwards in the final week and finish outside top 5. Froome to get stronger and dominate on the Galibier, only to get a mechanical on the descent while still trying to keep away (Landa cycles past and does not give him a wheel). Bardet gets yellow and France goes absolutely nuts.
Uran then smashes Bardet in TT and gets yellow, but then gets a 1 min penalty for illegal champagne feeding on the Sunday procession, which conveniently hands the yellow back to Bardet.

 

[JS10]

Re: After second rest day, who will win the Tour de France 2

Much has been made of the significance of the Alpine stages in determining the final result.It would be a supreme irony if the most innocuous stage on paper could be the most decisive. Tomorrow it is forecast that the Mistral could be barrelling up the Rhone Valley at up to 50km/hr.If that turns out to be the case then there will be crosswinds for the the last 50kkm.IN such a scenario one would imagine that Sky & Etix will be putting the hammer down in the hope of forcing echelons.What the result will be is anyones guess but there is certainly going to be a lot of praying done by the smaller climbers tonight!.

 

[Arredondo]

Nairo Quintana

I mean, his third week peak has to come, right? Everybody keeps telling me it's his biggest strenght...

 

[RedheadDane]

Re:

on a more serious note:

Froome
strenghts: being Froome, strongest team, TT
weaknesses: not being the Froome of 2013 / 2015 anymore

So... Froome's weakness is that he's the wrong Froome?

Also, you might wanna add the back injury as one of Martin's weaknesses...

 

[starlord]

Re: Re:

on a more serious note:

Froome
strenghts: being Froome, strongest team, TT
weaknesses: not being the Froome of 2013 / 2015 anymore

So... Froome's weakness is that he's the wrong Froome?

Also, you might wanna add the back injury as one of Martin's weaknesses...

I believe what loge1884 wanted to say in his/her analysis is that being Froome refers to the fact that he's a fighter, has plenty of experience etc. as opossed to not being Froome '13'15 form/legs-wise.