Him and his teammate beating up on some Continental ridersRed Rick said:And a big one it was.
I doubt Froome will show much, in the last 2 years he also missed T-A cause he was "ill", and now he's had an even bigger break so I guess he will be bad.Catalunya is were we'll learn more if the weather permits it
Red Rick said:sir fly said:I can agree with this.cantpedal said:after todays Paris Nice stage his year is looking a lot less complicated.
Froome's domestiques responded to Contador's accelerations with far less stress than one could expect considering the reputation.
No matter how Catalunya unfolds, another Froome - Quintana battle should be the highlight of July.
And they still got gapped on the one steep section.
Red Rick said:sir fly said:I can agree with this.cantpedal said:after todays Paris Nice stage his year is looking a lot less complicated.
Froome's domestiques responded to Contador's accelerations with far less stress than one could expect considering the reputation.
No matter how Catalunya unfolds, another Froome - Quintana battle should be the highlight of July.
The thing is they werent stressed before the attacks began, thats all due to the climb and the way Majka was pulling. And they still got gapped on the one steep section. Froome will have the better team, but we already knew that
Let's wait and see how Landa recovers.damian13ster said:Wasnt Landa supposed to ride as well?
My bet would be on
Froome- Thomas- Poels- Landa- Henao- Kwiatkowski- Roche -Stannard- Rowe.
Can't really see a stronger combo than that at the moment. Maybe Kennaugh or Nieve instead of Roche
damian13ster said:Wasnt Landa supposed to ride as well?
My bet would be on
Froome- Thomas- Poels- Landa- Henao- Kwiatkowski- Roche -Stannard- Rowe.
Can't really see a stronger combo than that at the moment. Maybe Kennaugh or Nieve instead of Roche
Campervan man said:damian13ster said:Wasnt Landa supposed to ride as well?
My bet would be on
Froome- Thomas- Poels- Landa- Henao- Kwiatkowski- Roche -Stannard- Rowe.
Can't really see a stronger combo than that at the moment. Maybe Kennaugh or Nieve instead of Roche
You know what's scary is that potentially Thomas, Poels, Landa, Henao and maybe Kwiatkowski could be there when the group is reduced to 15. Now that's just not good for this sport, plus Roche, Nieve and Rowe can be there on a given day. Sure by week 3 they'll not all be there but that is a ridiculous talent pool. Even a Contador attack like Sunday would be pulled back. The only way to beat that Sky line up is to form alliances with rivals and then slugging it out later in the Tour. Froome can be beat in week 3 but it's that superb train that needs smashing to bit day in day out by spectacular and vicious attacks. The Tour needs it.
Campervan man said:damian13ster said:Wasnt Landa supposed to ride as well?
My bet would be on
Froome- Thomas- Poels- Landa- Henao- Kwiatkowski- Roche -Stannard- Rowe.
Can't really see a stronger combo than that at the moment. Maybe Kennaugh or Nieve instead of Roche
You know what's scary is that potentially Thomas, Poels, Landa, Henao and maybe Kwiatkowski could be there when the group is reduced to 15. Now that's just not good for this sport, plus Roche, Nieve and Rowe can be there on a given day. Sure by week 3 they'll not all be there but that is a ridiculous talent pool. Even a Contador attack like Sunday would be pulled back. The only way to beat that Sky line up is to form alliances with rivals and then slugging it out later in the Tour. Froome can be beat in week 3 but it's that superb train that needs smashing to bit day in day out by spectacular and vicious attacks. The Tour needs it.
TMP402 said:Can I make a non-facetious suggestion? How about people who want to discuss Sky's lineup for race X or race Y make a thread dedicated to doing so? I don't happen to mind it, but other people freak out when it's done in a thread whose purpose is not Sky's teamsheet.
hayzer114 said:Any thoughts on Froomes potential tour team. Procyclingstats have already half of the roster. 1-Froome 2 - Thomas - 3 Poels - 4 - Kwiatowski 5 - Nieve.
Problem is in the history of the tdf no one has beat froome on the first mountain stage. In 13 and 15 when he was team leader he put more than 1 minute into every one except froome. I would be hugely surprised to see Alberto within 1 min of froome after the Pyrenees. Plus the tt were he will lose another 2 min and we are looking at a 3-5 min deficit to make up. Against a team like sky that's impossible if froome finishes the tt with +2 min advantage the tour is as good as over.BlurryVII said:Campervan man said:damian13ster said:Wasnt Landa supposed to ride as well?
My bet would be on
Froome- Thomas- Poels- Landa- Henao- Kwiatkowski- Roche -Stannard- Rowe.
Can't really see a stronger combo than that at the moment. Maybe Kennaugh or Nieve instead of Roche
You know what's scary is that potentially Thomas, Poels, Landa, Henao and maybe Kwiatkowski could be there when the group is reduced to 15. Now that's just not good for this sport, plus Roche, Nieve and Rowe can be there on a given day. Sure by week 3 they'll not all be there but that is a ridiculous talent pool. Even a Contador attack like Sunday would be pulled back. The only way to beat that Sky line up is to form alliances with rivals and then slugging it out later in the Tour. Froome can be beat in week 3 but it's that superb train that needs smashing to bit day in day out by spectacular and vicious attacks. The Tour needs it.
Well, come the first MTF at the Tour, we can assume Contador and Froome are roughly the same in GC. So AC can perfectly just wait for him to make the first attack and follow him. And if he has the form, counter him. I don't see why AC would attack first against the whole Sky train if he's well positioned in GC for example.
hayzer114 said:Any thoughts on Froomes potential tour team. Procyclingstats have already half of the roster. 1-Froome 2 - Thomas - 3 Poels - 4 - Kwiatowski 5 - Nieve. I would imagine that Roche, Stannard, Rowe and maybe Henao as an explosive option to cause a bit of damage in the mountains would make up the team although Kennaugh may be there or there abouts even though he didnt have the best time last year and perhaps Intauxti if he doesnt recover on time to do the Giro.
pink_jersey said:hayzer114 said:Any thoughts on Froomes potential tour team. Procyclingstats have already half of the roster. 1-Froome 2 - Thomas - 3 Poels - 4 - Kwiatowski 5 - Nieve. I would imagine that Roche, Stannard, Rowe and maybe Henao as an explosive option to cause a bit of damage in the mountains would make up the team although Kennaugh may be there or there abouts even though he didnt have the best time last year and perhaps Intauxti if he doesnt recover on time to do the Giro.
Froome, Thomas, Poels, Nieve, Kennaugh, Roche, Kwiatkowski, Stannard, Rowe. More or less. Maybe Intxausti(he will skip the Giro) in and Nieve out(to replace Intxausti in Giro). Or maybe Henao will ride this.
I think Thomas will be a liability to Froome. He isn't as good as Porte was. In fact, I think he's worse than other domestiques like Majka. Or he isn't at the level of Valverde and Nibali(second bests in theirs teams). Poels is inconsistent.
pink_jersey said:hayzer114 said:Any thoughts on Froomes potential tour team. Procyclingstats have already half of the roster. 1-Froome 2 - Thomas - 3 Poels - 4 - Kwiatowski 5 - Nieve. I would imagine that Roche, Stannard, Rowe and maybe Henao as an explosive option to cause a bit of damage in the mountains would make up the team although Kennaugh may be there or there abouts even though he didnt have the best time last year and perhaps Intauxti if he doesnt recover on time to do the Giro.
Froome, Thomas, Poels, Nieve, Kennaugh, Roche, Kwiatkowski, Stannard, Rowe. More or less. Maybe Intxausti(he will skip the Giro) in and Nieve out(to replace Intxausti in Giro). Or maybe Henao will ride this.
I think Thomas will be a liability to Froome. He isn't as good as Porte was. In fact, I think he's worse than other domestiques like Majka. Or he isn't at the level of Valverde and Nibali(second bests in theirs teams). Poels is inconsistent.
TMP402 said:hayzer114 said:Any thoughts on Froomes potential tour team. Procyclingstats have already half of the roster. 1-Froome 2 - Thomas - 3 Poels - 4 - Kwiatowski 5 - Nieve.
Maybe Nieve is ill like other Spanish cyclists, but he looked pretty poor at P-N. Yes, he was in the group of the final 25 or so but he was struggling at the back.
Brullnux said:pink_jersey said:hayzer114 said:Any thoughts on Froomes potential tour team. Procyclingstats have already half of the roster. 1-Froome 2 - Thomas - 3 Poels - 4 - Kwiatowski 5 - Nieve. I would imagine that Roche, Stannard, Rowe and maybe Henao as an explosive option to cause a bit of damage in the mountains would make up the team although Kennaugh may be there or there abouts even though he didnt have the best time last year and perhaps Intauxti if he doesnt recover on time to do the Giro.
Froome, Thomas, Poels, Nieve, Kennaugh, Roche, Kwiatkowski, Stannard, Rowe. More or less. Maybe Intxausti(he will skip the Giro) in and Nieve out(to replace Intxausti in Giro). Or maybe Henao will ride this.
I think Thomas will be a liability to Froome. He isn't as good as Porte was. In fact, I think he's worse than other domestiques like Majka. Or he isn't at the level of Valverde and Nibali(second bests in theirs teams). Poels is inconsistent.
This Thomas is more consistent than Porte ever was. Maybe he isn't as good a climber in high mountains, but he has a very strong engine. Nibali is not second best on his team, yet.
Brullnux said:pink_jersey said:hayzer114 said:Any thoughts on Froomes potential tour team. Procyclingstats have already half of the roster. 1-Froome 2 - Thomas - 3 Poels - 4 - Kwiatowski 5 - Nieve. I would imagine that Roche, Stannard, Rowe and maybe Henao as an explosive option to cause a bit of damage in the mountains would make up the team although Kennaugh may be there or there abouts even though he didnt have the best time last year and perhaps Intauxti if he doesnt recover on time to do the Giro.
Froome, Thomas, Poels, Nieve, Kennaugh, Roche, Kwiatkowski, Stannard, Rowe. More or less. Maybe Intxausti(he will skip the Giro) in and Nieve out(to replace Intxausti in Giro). Or maybe Henao will ride this.
I think Thomas will be a liability to Froome. He isn't as good as Porte was. In fact, I think he's worse than other domestiques like Majka. Or he isn't at the level of Valverde and Nibali(second bests in theirs teams). Poels is inconsistent.
This Thomas is more consistent than Porte ever was. Maybe he isn't as good a climber in high mountains, but he has a very strong engine. Nibali is not second best on his team, yet.
Ramon Koran said:Problem is in the history of the tdf no one has beat froome on the first mountain stage. In 13 and 15 when he was team leader he put more than 1 minute into every one except froome. I would be hugely surprised to see Alberto within 1 min of froome after the Pyrenees. Plus the tt were he will lose another 2 min and we are looking at a 3-5 min deficit to make up. Against a team like sky that's impossible if froome finishes the tt with +2 min advantage the tour is as good as over.BlurryVII said:Campervan man said:damian13ster said:Wasnt Landa supposed to ride as well?
My bet would be on
Froome- Thomas- Poels- Landa- Henao- Kwiatkowski- Roche -Stannard- Rowe.
Can't really see a stronger combo than that at the moment. Maybe Kennaugh or Nieve instead of Roche
You know what's scary is that potentially Thomas, Poels, Landa, Henao and maybe Kwiatkowski could be there when the group is reduced to 15. Now that's just not good for this sport, plus Roche, Nieve and Rowe can be there on a given day. Sure by week 3 they'll not all be there but that is a ridiculous talent pool. Even a Contador attack like Sunday would be pulled back. The only way to beat that Sky line up is to form alliances with rivals and then slugging it out later in the Tour. Froome can be beat in week 3 but it's that superb train that needs smashing to bit day in day out by spectacular and vicious attacks. The Tour needs it.
Well, come the first MTF at the Tour, we can assume Contador and Froome are roughly the same in GC. So AC can perfectly just wait for him to make the first attack and follow him. And if he has the form, counter him. I don't see why AC would attack first against the whole Sky train if he's well positioned in GC for example.
pink_jersey said:Brullnux said:pink_jersey said:hayzer114 said:Any thoughts on Froomes potential tour team. Procyclingstats have already half of the roster. 1-Froome 2 - Thomas - 3 Poels - 4 - Kwiatowski 5 - Nieve. I would imagine that Roche, Stannard, Rowe and maybe Henao as an explosive option to cause a bit of damage in the mountains would make up the team although Kennaugh may be there or there abouts even though he didnt have the best time last year and perhaps Intauxti if he doesnt recover on time to do the Giro.
Froome, Thomas, Poels, Nieve, Kennaugh, Roche, Kwiatkowski, Stannard, Rowe. More or less. Maybe Intxausti(he will skip the Giro) in and Nieve out(to replace Intxausti in Giro). Or maybe Henao will ride this.
I think Thomas will be a liability to Froome. He isn't as good as Porte was. In fact, I think he's worse than other domestiques like Majka. Or he isn't at the level of Valverde and Nibali(second bests in theirs teams). Poels is inconsistent.
This Thomas is more consistent than Porte ever was. Maybe he isn't as good a climber in high mountains, but he has a very strong engine. Nibali is not second best on his team, yet.
In general, of course he's not. But in Tour, Aru will be the leader.
Thomas isn't more consistent than Porte. Remember how bad he faded last year?