Arnaud Démare discussion thread

[Son of Amsterhammer]

He appeared to the fasted guy today. However....how has he avoided some kind of punishment for his lines in this sprint? How?

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re: Re:

Not that I think it should be sanctioned, but Demare did clearly deviate from his line unnecessarily as he could easily have continued straight ahead when he launched his sprint. By the letter of the rules, he ought to have been relegated.

Straight ahead meant getting in the funnel that Krystoff was setting up, and either brake or end up like Cav. It was a tight squeeze, you can't blame him. It's a sprint. Pretty much every sprint has something like this happening.

Remember last year: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_sQ4aJGThFU

Kittel almost fell, Cav was stronger anyway, no DQ.

 

[Tonton]

Re:

He appeared to the fasted guy today. However....how has he avoided some kind of punishment for his lines in this sprint? How?

Because no one fell. And in all fairness, being slightly to the right of AK, staying in his lime would have meant slowing down and settling for second, or steering to the right and getting boxed in. Demare recognized his only way to pass Krystoff was to the left, turned .05s too early...it doesn't warrant a penalty man...if we put every sprint under the same microscope, there wouldn't be winners, only first non-relegated...Demare didn't act against the spirit of the sprint. It was a tight squeeze...a balsy move.

 

[Ricco']

Well, Démare is earning a fan this Tour.

He didn't catched my eye before but now he's turning as one of my favorite sprinters, wish he could win green and at least more 2/3 stages.

Don't know why, but I always like the sprinters with full flag jerseys. Thor Hushovd was the rider I cheered for on the sprints of Tour 2004 because of that.

 

[carton]

Wins first monument: all the talk is about sticky bottles and Gaviria going down in front of Sagan and Cancellara.

Wins first GT stage:all the talk is about line deviations and Sagan taking out Cavendish.

Either he's very lucky or very unlucky. Maybe both. I haven't made up my mind quite yet.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

Marc Madiot's reaction
https://twitter.com/AlexandreBardin/status/882285911601545216

Longer version is even better!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfpIqDyu224

 

[Son of Amsterhammer]

Re: Re:

He appeared to the fasted guy today. However....how has he avoided some kind of punishment for his lines in this sprint? How?

Because no one fell. And in all fairness, being slightly to the right of AK, staying in his lime would have meant slowing down and settling for second, or steering to the right and getting boxed in. Demare recognized his only way to pass Krystoff was to the left, turned .05s too early...it doesn't warrant a penalty man...if we put every sprint under the same microscope, there wouldn't be winners, only first non-relegated...Demare didn't act against the spirit of the sprint. It was a tight squeeze...a balsy move.

"Because no one fell" - Bingo. Positioning is part of the sprint. If Bouhanni went down and I'm sure you can see it was VERY close to happening, then would they have had to kick Demare out too? So basically it came down to how good Bouhanni's reflex's were. Bouhanni did nothing wrong, he was going dead straight, yet was very close to being taken out and had to completely give up his sprint as he fought to keep his balance and not crash.

Either you enforce the rules equally or just throw them out.

 

[carton]

Re: Re:

Either you enforce the rules unequally or get out.

FTFY

 

[Breh]

Did he get a fine?

Thought Naesen mentioned something along these lines.

 

[trucido]

He needs a few big wins without any controversy to shed the "lucky" or "cheater" tag.

Do Teflon make cycling apparel these days?

 

[Blanco]

Re: Re:

He appeared to the fasted guy today. However....how has he avoided some kind of punishment for his lines in this sprint? How?

Because no one fell. And in all fairness, being slightly to the right of AK, staying in his lime would have meant slowing down and settling for second, or steering to the right and getting boxed in. Demare recognized his only way to pass Krystoff was to the left, turned .05s too early...it doesn't warrant a penalty man...if we put every sprint under the same microscope, there wouldn't be winners, only first non-relegated...Demare didn't act against the spirit of the sprint. It was a tight squeeze...a balsy move.

He did exactly that! Act against the spirit of the sprint! Bouhanni was in dead straight line and he cut him off badly. No one fell because Bouhanni had good reflexes, otherwise it would be another crash. And it wasn't a balsy move, it was a dangerous one imo. If there wasn't that Cav crash I think Bouhanni would made complaint and Demare would be relegated. He was the fastest though, no doubt...

 

[Der Effe]

Anyone else thinks he way of celebrating is beyond cool?

 

[GuyIncognito]

He made the time limit.

Still, this is clearly due to the stomach illness he discussed yesterday. I doubt he has any chance at green now.

 

[Netserk]

With an 8' margin. When was the last time a group was thrown out of the race because of the time limit?

 

[staubsauger]

Karma speaks its final judgment.

 

[portugal11]

Shameful rider. His two biggest wins are illegal and today I'm pretty sure he was helped by his team's car

 

[Tonton]

Blah, blah, blah .

 

[Netserk]

I doubt it will happen, but at least we can hope that the time limit will do its job tomorrow.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Happy he made the cut. Good luck Nono for tomorrow!

 

[portugal11]

Seiing demare win the green jersey it is like seeing anthony charteau winning the polka dot. Fortunately, it won't happen.

 

[Alexandre B.]

He may not win the green jersey, he even may not be able to finish the Tour, but at least he won a stage.

Cipollini's true heir

 

[trucido]

I guess having a protected rider status can't help you against getting sick.

 

[Tonton]

Cippo would have been DNF while Nono finished the stage . Tomorrow will be a torture and require a lot of guts: hard enough for a healthy rider, a death march for a sick guy. Hang in there Arnaud.

 

[RedheadDane]

The situation today had me thinking:

If a rider is in a situation in which he - some way out - is well aware that he's already fallen for the time-cut, is he then most likely to battle on to the finish line, knowing he'll be out anyway, or leave then race then-and-there?
In other words; which is the more "honourable" way to leave a race? Having a big fat DNF slapped next to your name? Or having a big fat HD slapped next to your name?

 

[Tonton]

I hope he recovers. And wins another stage...

I want the same schedule for FDJ next year. I think that Nono has done enough to please the sponsor and make it a strong possibility. France finally has a top-tier sprinter. Rash, maybe, but I take a thoroughbred over a donkey any day.