Critérium du Dauphiné 2012 stage 4, 53.5km, Villié-Morgon-Bourg-en-Bresse, ITT

[Morbius]

hmm... yeah really I think wiggins was having a free ride today. And he was totally relaxing when he won the TT, must have been really fresh at the finish when he grimaced.

Yeah Im very worried cadel will lose time on the flats!!!

Fair enough - I thought tomorrow was more hilly than it actually is.
I still suspect both of them may have got into a race rather than pacing themselves over the distance

 

[El Pistolero]

We'll know in two months time

Like I said a few days ago when I was discussing Nibali's prologue, and some people said losing 1'30 would be good and top 20. I said you need top 5 to lose only 1'30 in a 50km time trial like this.
Top 20 is more like between 2/3 minutes.

Vandenbroeck did very good. 11th place in a 50km time trial losing 2 minutes is normal.
It's just hard to win back. Definately in the upcoming TDF where there are so few good opportunities.
In this Dauphine it's even downright impossible. Wiggins has won already

Yeah, I don't understand at all why a one week stage race like this has a prologue AND a 53km time trial.

Best VDB2 can do now is third place.

 

[dlwssonic]

Care to remember Wiggins did still better at Tour 2010 than Evans

well the difference is he was healthy.
Cadel crashed and had fractured his elbow.

 

[Trunnions]

The other thing is Evans' team looked lacking today in power. Sky have all the power houses to back up Wiggins and control everything, and the best guy.

The tour could have been effectively decided today.

Hyperbole Sir!

 

[TechnicalDescent]

Schleck after the stage...

 

[Ruby United]

well the difference is he was healthy.
Cadel crashed and had fractured his elbow.

Yeah. And he was in the yellow jersey when he did so

 

[Arnout]

Yeah, I don't understand at all why a one week stage race like this has a prologue AND a 53km time trial.

Best VDB2 can do now is third place.

Simple. There are also many mountains in some stages. I don't understand it either why they almost never use them to race.

That said, I think TTs should be banned. It's not track cycling, it's road cycling. Road cycling is about tactics and strategies in a peloton, not about some mindless riding in the wind.

 

[Trunnions]

And THAT Gentlemen was without his skin-suit!
Be afraid, be very afraid...

 

[dlwssonic]

The other thing is Evans' team looked lacking today in power. Sky have all the power houses to back up Wiggins and control everything, and the best guy.

The tour could have been effectively decided today.

You do realise there is no TTT this year. So BMC's riders TT don't mean ****. They had no reason to ride hard either.
Everyone very well knows that cadel has very strong flat domestiques that protect him well and bring him to the front.
Yeaaaaah the tour was really decided today
I would like to see what you have to say a month and a half from now when wiggins loses the tour.

 

[FellOff]

Strange how all the losers are only using this race for practice. This was the pivotal stage and Wiggo nailed it.

 

[TechnicalDescent]

Hyperbole Sir!

No I think it's a reasonable point to make. Harmon and Brian Smith were talking about it in commentary on Eurosport. Sky's team is looking a lot better and that WILL be important. Froome's going to be right up there with him at the end of mountain stages, and the amount of power riders to control things on the flat is astonishing.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

Nope, this:

http://www.steephill.tv/players/pro...r-de-france/resources/profiles/profile-11.jpg

http://www.steephill.tv/players/pro...r-de-france/resources/profiles/profile-16.jpg

http://www.steephill.tv/players/pro...r-de-france/resources/profiles/profile-17.jpg

If the climbers attack early and not wait till the last 3km that is.

The earlier they attack, the more time they're pushing wind whilst Wiggins sits behind Porte and Froome on a climbs with gradients where drafting makes a major difference (even 10% reduction in required wattage is more than the difference between Wiggins and the best climber).

 

[The Hitch]

Care to remember Wiggins did still better at Tour 2010 than Evans

Day in yellow > 24th on gc

 

[dlwssonic]

Yeah. And he was in the yellow jersey when he did so

No actually I think he crashed the stage before when chavanel was in the jersey.

 

[Ruby United]

You do realise there is no TTT this year. So BMC's riders TT don't mean ****. They had no reason to ride hard either.
Everyone very well knows that cadel has very strong flat domestiques that protect him well and bring him to the front.
Yeaaaaah the tour was really decided today
I would like to see what you have to say a month and a half from now when wiggins loses the tour.

Don't take offense but your opinion is quite biased

are you from america, switzerland or australia?

(and yes, i am from britian)

 

[Arnout]

And THAT Gentlemen was without his skin-suit!
Be afraid, be very afraid...

 

[Arnout]

The earlier they attack, the more time they're pushing wind whilst Wiggins sits behind Porte and Froome on a climbs with gradients where drafting makes a major difference (even 10% reduction in required wattage is more than the difference between Wiggins and the best climber).

That's why they should attack together, use their teams. Again and again. Wiggins has never proved he can climb well over multiple mountains, he can't. He can time trial over one mountain, sure, but he can't over multiple mountains. Let him feel it.

If the other riders don't, well, shame on them.

 

[Trunnions]

No I think it's a reasonable point to make. Harmon and Brian Smith were talking about it in commentary on Eurosport. Sky's team is looking a lot better and that WILL be important. Froome's going to be right up there with him at the end of mountain stages, and the amount of power riders to control things on the flat is astonishing.

If you asked Wiggo, I suspect his reply would be briefer than mine, and less polite.

 

[dlwssonic]

The earlier they attack, the more time they're pushing wind whilst Wiggins sits behind Porte and Froome on a climbs with gradients where drafting makes a major difference (even 10% reduction in required wattage is more than the difference between Wiggins and the best climber).

You really think porte will be there when they get into the real mountains.
Hell, very few leaders will have any domestiques by then.
Froome is the only one strong enough maybe.

 

[Ferminal]

Don't take offense but your opinion is quite biased

are you from america, switzerland or australia?

(and yes, i am from britian)

Singapore...

And yes, in 2010 Evans crashed on the stage to Avoriaz, the stage before he struggled in Yellow on Madeleine.

 

[theyoungest]

The other thing is Evans' team looked lacking today in power. Sky have all the power houses to back up Wiggins and control everything, and the best guy.

The tour could have been effectively decided today.

You could be right...

if it weren't for the fact that riders who are on the top of their game in the Dauphiné, always fail in the Tour. Ask Cadel Evans.

 

[johnnycash]

lol there is no way wiggins will gain so much time on a peaked evans at the tdf.
Especially when the TT are in the 2nd and 3rd week.

You guys make me chuckle:

Wiggins is just a time trialist, there is no way he can win a stage race like the Dauphine (2011).....actually there is no way Wiggins can contest the uphill TT in Paris-Nice.........no wait, actually there is no way Wiggins will beat Tony Martin in a long ITT hmmmm wait actually there is no way Wiggins will gain so much time on a 'peaked' CE at the tour after 2/3 weeks......YES! I CAN STILL SAY THAT.

Evans is older than Wiggins, has a weaker tour team (yes quiet at the back there, its true and you know it) and has just had a major psychological blow put into him by almost being overtaken by Mr Wiggins. Exactly why is CE suddenly going to become invincible in 3 weeks? Sky have been working at this for a long time, they deserve the results.

 

[CasperVg]

Lol even on a good time trial VDB2 still lost more than 2 minutes on Wiggins.

Just what I was thinking. JVDB did well by his standards, but losing more than 2 minutes in the Dauphiné means he'll probably lose around 3.5 to 5 minutes in the Tour, and he'll never manage to take back that much time. Top 5 is the best he can hope for.

Overall though, this was one of the more exciting time-trials I've watched so far

 

[dlwssonic]

Don't take offense but your opinion is quite biased

are you from america, switzerland or australia?

(and yes, i am from britian)

Yes Im a bit biased. But aren't we all??
Im from singapore.

 

[Swifty's Cakes]

As good as Wiggins has been all year in the ITT, it only takes one bad day in the mountains to lose the tour. There are one or two premature inaugurations here today.