Teams & Riders Brothers in (crank) arms - Yates Discussion Thread

[dirkprovin]

Re:

I feel like Yates missed an opportunity today. Jungels was clearly in trouble and off the back of the group, wouldn't that have been a perfect time to attack? Instead he just followed wheels for the whole climb.

Arguably he could've, arguably he SHOULD've but its quite possible that he was on the limit himself and just hanging on after having to expend extra fuel in the chase back earlier in the stage .....AGAIN due to his tactical immaturity of riding too far back and choosing to follow the wrong wheels.

On Blockhaus, he nailed himself to SKY wheels (not generally advisable at GTs other than TDF) and here he obviously nailed himself to Dumoulin's wheel early in the stage and found himself on the back foot when it proved that Dumoulin was on a bad day rather than figuring that the others were clearly likely to be looking to attack and being ready to mark them.

 

[yaco]

Re:

Its funny how Orica always is trying to set something up for Yates, but when it gets tough he often disappears. Seems Matty White is as high on him as Premier Andrew is, basically a rider who fluked a top-4 in a very conservatively ridden Tour de France.

They are providing the level of support expected for a team leader, as they also provided for Ewan - For me Yates has been a bit off the form he showed pre-Giro - I am interested in how Simon goes at the TDF, seeing that his form was less consistent than Adam, though at the same time his preparation was a bit behind Adam - Simon is a more aggressive and tactically savvy rider, though I wonder about his recovery in a 3 week tour,

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Kind of interesting that he's moved up to within one place of where he'd likely be without the crash.

Assuming the finished with Quintana, yes.

The most likely scenario, given what we have seen so far, is finishing 7th-8th on the climb, around 2 minutes down along with Kangert and Zakarin.

This is an accurate post - Reckon Yates would have lost 2 minutes Blockhaus - Probably costs him the white jersey.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Good start.

 

[SlickMongoose]

Yep, great TT from Simon.

 

[dirkprovin]

Re:

Yep, great TT from Simon.

A very creditable ride. He knew that he had to put out all that he had, no matter the conditions, and was rewarded (in relative terms to most of GC rivals, many of whom backed off) for doing so.

We also had it confirmed today that HE will be the main GC focus as Chaves basically backed it off and will most probably just look to ride himself into form and condition for the Vuelta ... and if such form arrives and happens to coincide with a stage opportunity ...

 

[yaco]

Always felt Simon should ITT better considering his track pedigree. It's a matter of keeping out of trouble to stage 5.

 

[SlickMongoose]

Simon lost time today. That can't be a good sign, he's usually pretty good on this sort of finish.

 

[Strawberry_Jams]

He got caught behind a slight split. I don't think there is anymore to it.

 

[Wurfel]

Re:

He got caught behind a slight split. I don't think there is anymore to it.

Mmmm... He was already on the back before the last km. Imo he was struggling.

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

He got caught behind a slight split. I don't think there is anymore to it.

Mmmm... He was already on the back before the last km. Imo he was struggling.

Should never have lost time In that finish. Stage 5 will tell us more.

 

[Strawberry_Jams]

It did. He's alot stronger than I thought he would be.

 

[dirkprovin]

2nd rest day TDF = SY 7th on GC, White Jersey with 3.07min margin.

Whilst not always a fan of his riding at back of leaders group (like his brother), unlike his brother he is more astute that his brother (or his lieutenants/DS are far more switched on) when it comes to general positioning in the peleton.

Has lost a couple of secs on a few short punchy finishes but only ever single figure seconds and has been able to hang on satisfactorally on the major mountain stages to date. His descending is also superior to many others in the leaders group

Unlike his brother at the Giro, SY has been considerably more aggressive in looking for opportunities and joining moves off the front.

Unless he has an absolute shocker in the final week, his hold on White Jersey looks fairly solid. Chances to move up on GC ?? Realistically 5th would be his ceiling. Both Martin & Landa are within a minute and whilst SY is no super TTer, he may be superior to these two ..... but 1min may be a push. Martin has looked reasonably strong as has Landa but the latter may be forced to sacrifice for Froome at some point.

 

[ice&fire]

The two main contenders for the white jersey might also be awarded the prize for best Leipheimer impersonation.

 

[dirkprovin]

Re:

The two main contenders for the white jersey might also be awarded the prize for best Leipheimer impersonation.

Meintjes = perhaps but maybe he knows his capacities and limitations .... and rides accordingly

SY = you obviously weren't watching yesterday's stage where he hit out on the final Cat4 but was brought back by Landa at the top OR Stg13 when he bridged across to Martin on the run into the finish. He certainly hasn't been launching any "death or glory" moves but neither has he been as passive as certain other members of that lead pack or his brother at the Giro

.... but I suppose you have your own narrative to run with and why let the facts interfere with a good story ~~

 

[RedheadDane]

Bit of an old story, and unfortunately I don't have an English like, but when Simon went onto the podium to claim his first white jersey, the reaction of the podium girls was "Hello, again."

 

[Valv.Piti]

Meintjens capacitiy and limitations seems to have been exact the same tempo as the group he has been riding in for 2 years in this race. Thats a big coincidence, isn't it?

 

[dirkprovin]

Meintjens capacitiy and limitations seems to have been exact the same tempo as the group he has been riding in for 2 years in this race. Thats a big coincidence, isn't it?

Fair comment; it may not be to everyone's aesthetic taste but I will acknowledge his racing intelligence in knowing what clearly works for him in GTs/gets results. There's just so many times you can see someone launching a "death or glory" ... that will only ever result in "death"/no tangible results (ie KOM points/launch a team mate) before you have to question their acumen.

 

[hrotha]

It's funny when people try to make excuses for Meintjes. It's like they agree that his way of racing is super sad in principle.

 

[yaco]

Simon is a more attacking rider than Adam and therefore can have bigger peaks and troughs - Simon should be suited by the Alps and he should perform well in those stages - Think Adam will be a better stage racer

 

[sir fly]

Twin brothers, wearing the same clothes...
Well done.

 

[Pricey_sky]

Another good performance, white in the bag and job done.

Both brothers now firmly established as top 10 GT riders. Still need to take that extra step to trouble the best but not far away.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Extremely uninspiring like his brother in the same race last year, I must admit.

 

[Climber123]

Re:

Extremely uninspiring like his brother in the same race last year, I must admit.

Just plain boring

 

[SlickMongoose]

It's a shame because in non-tdf races they've been great fun.

Maybe it just reflects the way the tdf is seen by teams in general - unfortunately, a decent GC placing is too important to take a risk.