Critérium du Dauphiné Stage 4

[Susan Westemeyer]

He did last year.

(wrong thread, quick y'all, dummy up before the mods catch us)

Too late......

Susan

 

[Angliru]

sanchez is useless, as i have said before. only rated by the basque fanboys

So a top ten overall in the Tour gc is worth nothing these days???

 

[Angliru]

and as for contador, if he isn't competing why was he chasing brajkovic to the line when he put a dig in?

Sometimes uncontrollable impulses maybe???? Or just having a bit of fun in his prep for the Tour. I get the impression he enjoys the sport and competition and why not test out his form versus the race leader(s)?

 

[Angliru]

he had a shi t TT and made excuses, course he wants to do well, but he is making excuses incase he doens't win, i don't think he is as strong as last year and he is trying to disguise that while riding back into shape

This is really getting to you Chisa...what is the real story?

 

[flicker]

Lance win easily? If you say so
But the FanBoys know the days of Lance winning the Critérium du Dauphiné are History.

Lance won the Dauphiné twice in his run-up to TdF Victory.

But Lance also lost once to Mayo - but still won the TdF that year.
Lance made the comment back then that it "was only June" or something.
FanBoys knew it was true. Can't deny it.
And Lance kicked Mayo's **** when July rolled along.

The Alberto Fans have no need to worry either. Seriously.
Alberto will kick Jani's **** come July. Bang Bang Bang Bang.

I always wondered why Mayo was so inconsistant. Did he have a bad reaction to the EPO? Really one of my favorite riders. Sad to see him go.

 

[Von Mises]

Sometimes uncontrollable impulses maybe???? Or just having a bit of fun in his prep for the Tour. I get the impression he enjoys the sport and competition and why not test out his form versus the race leader(s)?

+1
He is an athlete and competitor. It is almost like reflex. You can take it easy (overall) and still sprint for finish.

 

[offbyone]

I hope Jani can hold onto his lead. I am sure he gets dropped at some point, but he has a good margin to work with. I think he will have lots of wheels to follow even if he gets dropped, because lots of riders are mixing it up in this race, so that might help him.

I have a hard time finding it plausible that contador is "taking it easy" in this race.
First of all, I don't think he took it easy during the time trial. Maybe on the sections that appeared unsafe, but what benefit is there to sit up in a one hour effort? He should be training like that anyways.

Today, he was doing a lot more than just defending his position. If that was all he wanted to do he could have sat on Jani's wheel the whole time, but i saw the opposite. Maybe he is saving some in the tank for tomorrow, but it seems to me like he is racing the dauphine to win.


Menchov is awesome to watch, he rides with so much emotion. I would love for him to be able to contend for the tour win. I am going to be totally bummed if contador makes the tour boring. Hopefully he can at least hold off on his allergy medicine until the last week.

 

[Angliru]

sanchez will never win anything (apart from the olympics) major as he doesn't have the tactical ability. arguably he won the olympics due to chance rather than ability and tactics. he may linger around the top places in the rankings but they don't tell the true story.

You and Ligget are one and the same. That quote ideally matches your posts.

 

[Angliru]

i don't know about that...... Horner's hairy breasts will be two sizes bigger tomorrow..........

I'm trying quite hard to lose that image!!!

 

[Angliru]

Lance win easily? If you say so
But the FanBoys know the days of Lance winning the Critérium du Dauphiné are History.

Lance won the Dauphiné twice in his run-up to TdF Victory.

But Lance also lost once to Mayo - but still won the TdF that year.
Lance made the comment back then that it "was only June" or something.
FanBoys knew it was true. Can't deny it.
And Lance kicked Mayo's **** when July rolled along.

The Alberto Fans have no need to worry either. Seriously.
Alberto will kick Jani's **** come July. Bang Bang Bang Bang.

I always wondered why Mayo was so inconsistant. Did he have a bad reaction to the EPO? Really one of my favorite riders. Sad to see him go.

+1
I always enjoyed his climbing style, similar to Contador's IMO, as Phil Liggett would say he seemed to "dance on the pedals".

 

[offbyone]

Lance win easily? If you say so
But the FanBoys know the days of Lance winning the Critérium du Dauphiné are History.

Lance won the Dauphiné twice in his run-up to TdF Victory.

But Lance also lost once to Mayo - but still won the TdF that year.
Lance made the comment back then that it "was only June" or something.
FanBoys knew it was true. Can't deny it.
And Lance kicked Mayo's **** when July rolled along.

The Alberto Fans have no need to worry either. Seriously.
Alberto will kick Jani's **** come July. Bang Bang Bang Bang.


Bang

Uh, i don't think anyone is thinking jani is even in contention for the TdF. Jani probably won't even make the TdF team.

By the way last year ITT in the Dauphine AC's was only off the lead time by 44 seconds compared to 1:45 this year. I think it is fair for people to question his condition.

 

[hrotha]

For what it's worth, I don't think Samuel Sánchez is a real GC contender. He can do well, of course, but I think he's wasting his talents that way. He's much like what Rebellin might have been like if he had decided to keep trying to be a GC rider instead of focusing on the classics (although with better TTing skills, of course). Samu can't really climb with the best, nor can he TT with the best (and don't compare the Vuelta with the Tour in that regard, please). I honestly don't see him doing much better than 6-10 in the TdF GC.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

For what it's worth, I don't think Samuel Sánchez is a real GC contender. He can do well, of course, but I think he's wasting his talents that way. He's much like what Rebellin might have been like if he had decided to keep trying to be a GC rider instead of focusing on the classics (although with better TTing skills, of course). Samu can't really climb with the best, nor can he TT with the best (and don't compare the Vuelta with the Tour in that regard, please). I honestly don't see him doing much better than 6-10 in the TdF GC.

He was 7th in 2008, and he's a better time triallist and climber now than he was then.

 

[peloton]

I have a hard time finding it plausible that contador is "taking it easy" in this race.
First of all, I don't think he took it easy during the time trial. Maybe on the sections that appeared unsafe, but what benefit is there to sit up in a one hour effort? He should be training like that anyways.

Today, he was doing a lot more than just defending his position. If that was all he wanted to do he could have sat on Jani's wheel the whole time, but i saw the opposite. Maybe he is saving some in the tank for tomorrow, but it seems to me like he is racing the dauphine to win.

Radioshack DS disagrees with you.....

“Let’s put things in perspective — sticking on Alberto’s wheel when he’s 100 percent is not possible. Today, he wasn’t at 100 percent,” said Gallopin. “Today we didn’t see a fully fit Alberto.”
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010...ector-alberto-contador-not-100-percent_120649

 

[hrotha]

He was 7th in 2008, and he's a better time triallist and climber now than he was then.

Yes, I know. When I say "the best" I don't mean the top 10-15 guys, I mean the final selection of 2-3 guys. What I'm saying is he obviously has what it takes to get a very good spot in the GC, but I don't see him taking that final step and being a real contender.

 

[Potomac]

This race is a practice session for the real Tour contenders. Alberto could still win this race, but he won't dig deep to do it.

A rider like JB should be giving 100% in a race like this.

 

[Potomac]

He was 7th in 2008, and he's a better time triallist and climber now than he was then.

Hmmmm.....if we made a list of every rider that made the top 10 in Le Tour the last 10 years it would have lots of names that were never a threat to the GC.

Sanchez, is a pretty strong rider and would be a great helper on a Tour team, but I don't think he can win it.

 

[Publicus]

Radioshack DS disagrees with you.....

“Let’s put things in perspective — sticking on Alberto’s wheel when he’s 100 percent is not possible. Today, he wasn’t at 100 percent,” said Gallopin. “Today we didn’t see a fully fit Alberto.”
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010...ector-alberto-contador-not-100-percent_120649

Yeah, well what does he know? Sure he worked with him for three years, but that doesn't mean he knows as much as offbyone or any of the other forum members here.

 

[offbyone]

Radioshack DS disagrees with you.....

“Let’s put things in perspective — sticking on Alberto’s wheel when he’s 100 percent is not possible. Today, he wasn’t at 100 percent,” said Gallopin. “Today we didn’t see a fully fit Alberto.”
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010...ector-alberto-contador-not-100-percent_120649

I don't disagree but that wasn't my point. He might not have been going 100% up that stage but he was still doing a lot more than defending his position. He certainly wasn't sitting on wheels.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Hmmmm.....if we made a list of every rider that made the top 10 in Le Tour the last 10 years it would have lots of names that were never a threat to the GC.

Sanchez, is a pretty strong rider and would be a great helper on a Tour team, but I don't think he can win it.

No, I don't think he can win it. But we have some people claiming he can't top 10, and others claiming he only belongs in the low end of it. I think he's a more valid shout for a podium than some of the people being bandied about as having a chance at it. He won't win the Tour, but for people like Armstrong, Evans, Wiggins, Fränk Schleck, Menchov et al, he IS a threat. Not for Contador, maybe not for Andy Schleck, but for everybody else fighting for that 3rd place, he is.

 

[Publicus]

I don't disagree but that wasn't my point. He might not have been going 100% up that stage but he was still doing a lot more than defending his position. He certainly wasn't sitting on wheels.

Here's what he says he was doing:

"Today was a good day to give the team some practice riding in the mountains," said Contador. "They are in good shape but they have to be in place. What better test than this. It was a long stage and very hot. On the last climb I watched but no one attacked. Plus there was a lot of wind so it was easy to stay on wheels but hard to be alone. I attacked a couple of times just to test myself but it wasn't planned."

He was testing himself, not going for the win or defending his position.

 

[ferryman]

No, I don't think he can win it. But we have some people claiming he can't top 10, and others claiming he only belongs in the low end of it. I think he's a more valid shout for a podium than some of the people being bandied about as having a chance at it. He won't win the Tour, but for people like Armstrong, Evans, Wiggins, Fränk Schleck, Menchov et al, he IS a threat. Not for Contador, maybe not for Andy Schleck, but for everybody else fighting for that 3rd place, he is.

Exactly. I don't think I've read any post on here from anyone saying they think he can win it. And I don't think I've read anything from him saying he can win it. But he does deserve to be mentioned in the same category of the riders you mention. Further, I believe this is first time he has seriously set the TDF GC as a target so we will shall see soon enough. I like him and really hope he has a good Tour. And there are some crazy descents this year that look just set up for him.

 

[offbyone]

Here's what he says he was doing:



He was testing himself, not going for the win or defending his position.

Well I guess I won't argue with what he said, i was just basing it off what he did.

If he can toy with these guys that easily, we are in store for one boring TdF.

 

[afpm90]

Exactly. I don't think I've read any post on here from anyone saying they think he can win it. And I don't think I've read anything from him saying he can win it. But he does deserve to be mentioned in the same category of the riders you mention. Further, I believe this is first time he has seriously set the TDF GC as a target so we will shall see soon enough. I like him and really hope he has a good Tour. And there are some crazy descents this year that look just set up for him.

In 2008 he also had the Tour has the main focus. So, it's not the first time he's doing it.

 

[ferryman]

In 2008 he also had the Tour has the main focus. So, it's not the first time he's doing it.

OK but let it go man, he is a quality rider. And watch for him on those descents