Teams & Riders Chris Froome Discussion Thread.

[del1962]

Why are stems even allowed? What benefit does cycling get from them?
GPS are for safety reasons..i get it...but stems?

A cycling should be able to calculate his effort without a powermeter

Yep lets make them ride without the handlebars attached

 

[SeriousSam]

Richie said of Froome, prior to the Tour, that he knows exactly what wattage he can hold for how long. That must certainly be useful for a rider to pace himself. You'd never go out too quick in a time trial if you knew that.

 

[Walkman]

Richie said of Froome, prior to the Tour, that he knows exactly what wattage he can hold for how long. That must certainly be useful for a rider to pace himself. You'd never go out too quick in a time trial if you knew that.

That's only to any use if you are at a certain form. Lose form and you will have to re-calibrate.

 

[No_Balls]

Oh that explains it, or does it?

Cataldo explained that his radio wasn't working well and he didn't hear Froome asking him to slow down. "It saved him to climb at his own pace", said the Italian. "When he passed me, he showed me that he was happy with my job. He's still in contention!"

I see a habit of "marginal gains" seriously lacking in the technical departement. Same old story in the Team time trial, most certainly at stage 9, and back in 2012 when they attacked Valverde being caught in echelons.

 

[Piz Buin]

Yep lets make them ride without the handlebars attached

I meant powermeters

 

[icefire]

Why are stems even allowed? What benefit does cycling get from them?
GPS are for safety reasons..i get it...but stems?

A cycling should be able to calculate his effort without a powermeter

Should cyclists also be able to repair their mechanicals without external assistance?

Procycling is a show window for manufacturers to promote and advertise their products, whether it is power-meters, high-profile carbon frames and wheels, electronic gears with push-button shifters, high-tech clothing equipment, fast absortion energy bars, gels or drinks. What benefit gets cycling from all of this? Neither I know nor I care, but all those innovations are here to stay.

 

[Angliru]

Once again Froome shows that he is a gutsy rider, once again Sky shows they are tactically weak and generally win only because they have the strongest rider. The only reason Froome came to the front was because he recovered on the climb and the pace was up and down after Sky stopped drilling it. That was probably a mistake as well as it probably cost him the few seconds he lost at the finish. The biggest losers were Contador and Valverde who should have attacked hard when Froome was hanging around the back of the group for a long time. I think they missed a good opportunity to put bigger time into Froome but they waited too long and few seconds could have been a minute if they attacked earlier. The only explanation is that they were were struggling with Sky's pace as well, or did not know Froome was struggling which is hard to believe with race radios.

If Gesink can break for quite a while surely Contador had enough left ? At the end of the stage Froome was the real winner as far as GC is concerned especially if he can improve. If Froome was on his absolute limit yesterday then Contador is going to make life very hard for him and the others.

I think he came to the front because he knew the throng of fans made the road narrower as the climb continued and should any attacks begin he would have no room on the road to respond. He'd have been stuck behind slower riders, having to wait until the road opened up again, leaving an insurmoutable gap.

 

[Angliru]

Once again Froome shows that he is a gutsy rider, once again Sky shows they are tactically weak and generally win only because they have the strongest rider. The only reason Froome came to the front was because he recovered on the climb and the pace was up and down after Sky stopped drilling it. That was probably a mistake as well as it probably cost him the few seconds he lost at the finish. The biggest losers were Contador and Valverde who should have attacked hard when Froome was hanging around the back of the group for a long time. I think they missed a good opportunity to put bigger time into Froome but they waited too long and few seconds could have been a minute if they attacked earlier. The only explanation is that they were were struggling with Sky's pace as well, or did not know Froome was struggling which is hard to believe with race radios.

If Gesink can break for quite a while surely Contador had enough left ? At the end of the stage Froome was the real winner as far as GC is concerned especially if he can improve. If Froome was on his absolute limit yesterday then Contador is going to make life very hard for him and the others.

If they knew Froome was dropping off the back, they maybe figured that the tempo that put him in the red wasn't going to slacken and he would, under normal circumstances, continue to lose time. That is what one would expect and also that the tempo would increase the closer they were to the finish, further distancing Froome...as is the norm. Obviously yesterday was an exception to the rule for whatever reason. It reminds me of Carlos Sastre who would seemingly drop off the pace when the attacks begin early on a final climb, only to reappear having dropped everyone else who had gone into the red and fallen off of the pace and ended up not losing what one would have thought he would. Froome took that to another level yesterday.

 

[movingtarget]

If they knew Froome was dropping off the back, they maybe figured that the tempo that put him in the red wasn't going to slacken and he would, under normal circumstances, continue to lose time. That is what one would expect and also that the tempo would increase the closer they were to the finish, further distancing Froome...as is the norm. Obviously yesterday was an exception to the rule for whatever reason. It reminds me of Carlos Sastre who would seemingly drop off the pace when the attacks begin early on a final climb, only to reappear having dropped everyone else who had gone into the red and fallen off of the pace and ended up not losing what one would have thought he would. Froome took that to another level yesterday.

Yes Sastre was good to watch on the climbs. You would think he was gone but he would always reappear later not far from the front. One of those riders who had to find his own rhythm. Menchov and Evans were similar but I think Evans cost himself sometimes by trying to stay with Contador and co then paying for it later. Leipheimer was also similar. They were all diesels although Sastre's win on the Alpe in 2008 was more about CSC working over Evans who could not follow every attack by the CSC and by the time he realized he had let the wrong attack go it was too late. I still think that CSC planned for one of the Schlecks to win the Tour but they did not foresee what would happen with their rivals. Definitely one of Sastre's best wins.

You are right about the narrow roads but it was good to see the fans behaving themselves. The Spanish fans seem to be more mature and you don't see as much running beside the riders and as many idiots as you do at the Tour and the Giro. They go crazy in their own way and don't interfere with the riders. One thing I hate is fans handling the riders.

 

[TANK91]

I meant powermeters

Riding like that is a skill in itself they all have one not just Froome. What next go back to no helmets?

 

[trevim]

Why don't you take your own advice...Toussuire and yesterday are fairly unique examples of a GT contender getting dropped on a climb and then finishing with the main group, hence the "alien" qualification.

Those aren't unique or alien performances: just remember Samu on Alpe d' Huez 2008. Nobody sees him at first, he shows up halfway on the climb and then even attacks with Andy. It's common to see riders going their own pace instead of following a group. Another good example is the way Sastre used to ride.

 

[icefire]

Those aren't unique or alien performances: just remember Samu on Alpe d' Huez 2008. Nobody sees him at first, he shows up halfway on the climb and then even attacks with Andy. It's common to see riders going their own pace instead of following a group. Another good example is the way Sastre used to ride.

Then there's Zubeldia, who was recognized by the Belkin boys as the wheel to follow in the last TdF

 

[MatParker117]

Credit to him again, he not only got back on he gained time!

 

[TANK91]

What a hero could Froome be coming into some huge shape? He msutbe to do that.

 

[TANK91]

Also i know Froome has been dropped in La Vuelta before this stage but lets be honest he is the only guy who as blown 2 great climbers up that are in his wheel he done it to Nairo and he did it to Contador what a fighter.

 

[SeriousSam]

The best climber in the world is riding himself into form, apparently.

 

[BYOP88]

Loving the charity that Froome is showing the other guys. Instead of riding away from them at the start, he's dropping back giving them some space then rides back and then past them. That must be the #2014Marginalgains

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

We make alot of fun of him for being tacticaly inept. In this Vuelta on the other hand noone has been riding better than him energy wise. Kudos Froomey

 

[Pentacycle]

We make alot of fun of him for being tacticaly inept. In this Vuelta on the other hand noone has been riding better than him energy wise. Kudos Froomey

And he proves that on such climbs the power meter is your guide, I think Aru did the same. The Spaniards all cracked because of their changes in rythm.

 

[Vino attacks everyone]

And he proves that on such climbs the power meter is your guide, I think Aru did the same. The Spaniards all cracked because of their changes in rythm.

stupid spaniards

 

[roundabout]

And he proves that on such climbs the power meter is your guide, I think Aru did the same. The Spaniards all cracked because of their changes in rythm.

He is not the only one with the power meter, so he just rode smarter.

 

[cineteq]

Radioactivity levels back to normal!

 

[sir fly]

The man keeps impressing.
As already mentioned, Sky's measured scientific approach has payed off today.
I've never believed the Spanish climbers would miscalculate their efforts on such a climb.

.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Radioactivity levels back to normal!

First time this year CF dropped AC?

 

[SeriousSam]

The man keeps impressing.
As already mentioned, Sky's measured scientific approach has payed off today.
I've never believed the Spanish climbers would miscalculate their efforts on such a climb.

.

Sky's measured scientific result resulted in their team leader almost dropping the other day. Don't mis-attribute Froome's individual quality and awesome WATTS to Sky's idiotic approach to all things cycling. Dawg himself wouldn't want you to, as he indicates in his first autobiography.