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maxmartin said:that is exactly my point, there are not lots of folks to watch. None of them can challenge VN in the mountains. Nibali only has to keep his eyes on AC. Game is much simpler with Froom gone.
Could be, but Nibali has quite a good track record there.No_Balls said:And as i said, it is to early to predict that. Sure, he might be in good form for the moment, but will that last after today in say two and a half weeks from now?
Again: Could be, but 2012-2013 were also early leads. As long as Kittel is riding I doubt it's too much work.There are not that many moments in modern times where a rider has defended the jersey since second stage. Nibali might as well has compromised his form/interests after his effort here.
2.37 is a lot on Nibali, but Ac certainly isn't out of the competition.Well, he better. Don't say it will be easy, but you guys make it up to be a walk in the park (guess it goes in both direction) which is clearly naive.
Red Rick said:I just read the first three pages of this thread again. Makes me laugh every time
Great picture and the reason why we need this kind of stage every few years: a Paris Roubaix winner suffering alongside aone of the best climbers in the world in horrid weather. LovelyCimber said:
LaFlorecita said:Lol .... where is will10? Haven't seen him in ages.
And Froome19 with one of the few serious posts
We need to watch videos of Alberto's attacks.... He can win
Red Rick said:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2AiCVzx2L8 starts at 23.20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0YmrXTC1b0 starts at 20.00 like froome, but with style
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-DgS1APZks
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYnEcAQiNLA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nbxa3TeeyQ
You're welcome
Franklin said:Could be, but Nibali has quite a good track record there.
2.37 is a lot on Nibali, but Ac certainly isn't out of the competition.
Laflorecita said:Lol, he probably just meant it won't be a battle between him and Froome, but it sounds like he isn't expecting a battle at all I hope he's right
LaFlorecita said:I don't think he had any mechanical troubles. It's just something Riis makes up. He's done it every single time Contador did badly over the past few years. Every single time it was either a hunger flat or a mechanical. Sure.
ggusta said:and apparently Riis makes him say these things, too ! " ...I had blocked gears because they were full of mud and I couldn't not use them so I lost lots of time," he explained. "But the important thing is that I haven't fallen off. Nibali did well – he was in exactly the right place at the right time."
inthepink said:How come no other riders had mud in their gears ??
Why not have mud guards
Also why not swap bike with Bennati or Roche (who crashed at 20km)
I think Kelly is right ....Alberto had problem with his gears at the very end but lost the initial time because he did not want to risk going quickly on the pave ....
maxmartin said:that is exactly my point, there are not lots of folks to watch. None of them can challenge VN in the mountains. Nibali only has to keep his eyes on AC. Game is much simpler with Froom gone.
The race will indeed be very interesting because none of the riders with hope for top GC placing can afford to rely on the stages that favor their strengths only. Alberto must do what Nibali has done already: use any opportunity to take action. He has done that before by striking when he was not expected to. The mountains and the TT are not the only place he can make a difference, and neither can the others ahead of him on GCJelantik said:hear hear . If contador ended up finishing with nibali, i bet everyone would start rooting other riders because it's going to one person race before we goes to the third week. Now with he lost 2:30, it makes the race more interesting. Again, I like Nibali, but i don't think he'll be able to keep up with Contador in the mountain.
sacrifice&hardwork said:Apparently some teams believe that Alberto peaked too early because he started winning races too early in the season and thus mistimed his peak form for the tour