Did Lance betray George?

[The Colnago Kid]

The Breaks of a Breakaway

Chris Carmichael gives a level-headed perspective on the day's events:

" ... it's important to remember there are 20 teams in the Tour de France and every one of them is obligated to put its own interests first.

"So, while George may have every right to be pi55ed off tonight, I don't really know who he has the right to be pi55ed off at. And to be honest, I don't think anyone really knows."

You can read the entire article here: http://tinyurl.com/nw76e7

 

[The Colnago Kid]

If someone put figs in my fruit salad I'd probably be crying too. Disgusting.

Bill Stapleton and his Columbia boyz prefer to use their figs to make FIGJAM ... they rarely have any left over to go in to their fruit salad.

 

[rhubroma]

Chris Carmichael gives a level-headed perspective on the day's events:

" ... it's important to remember there are 20 teams in the Tour de France and every one of them is obligated to put its own interests first.

"So, while George may have every right to be pi55ed off tonight, I don't really know who he has the right to be pi55ed off at. And to be honest, I don't think anyone really knows."

You can read the entire article here: http://tinyurl.com/nw76e7

Has Carmichael become the Cumaean Sibyl?

 

[Reynolds Boy]

" ... it's important to remember there are 20 teams in the Tour de France and every one of them is obligated to put its own interests first.

The way some people talk about the race, you'd think they must believe it is like a big music show, with a headlining act or two, and all the rest are just undercards there to ignore and/or occasionally talk **** about.

 

[The Colnago Kid]

Stage 8

Forgive my ignorance, but what happened on Stage 8?

More info on the Stage 8 shenanigans here: http://tinyurl.com/mk6cq3

 

[rhubroma]

I was just so relieved "Noce" ("Walnut"), an obvious play in italian on the Yellow Jersey's last name, got to keep his mantel.

 

[The Colnago Kid]

Yawn

Has Carmichael become the Cumaean Sibyl?

Not a lot of insightful analysis there.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

I've watched this stage 3 times now and it is obvious that Astana did NOT try to keep the yellow jersey from George. Phil Liggett should be ashamed of his comments at the end of the stage. By his own words when Astana was on the front (at 41 to 56 min's into Versus coverage) he says they have "definitely eased off", are "setting false tempo", and are "letting the gap run."
Astana let the gap rise from 7:00 to a high of 12:15. They did bring it back from 12:00 to 9:00. At which point they stopped riding in front. AG2R took over, and with NO help from Astana, brought the gap down to 6:30 but couldn't bring it down anymore...until Garmin decided to ruin George's day and sent their riders to the front to pull hard.

That's what I saw too.

 

[slowroleur]

let's not think too hard here. George was in virtual yellow. Ag2r was not closing the gap. Then Garmin came to the front and drove the pace. If they did that just to keep Hincapie out of yellow, that's crappy.

And Lance, Stapleton, stage 8, Vaughters, Cav, and anyone else is beside the point. If that's why Garmin came to the front, that's crappy.

 

[ianmud]

Cycling can be cruel

George clearly believed at the end of the stage that Astana had ridden to keep him out of the yellow. I think when he goes back and reviews the stage he will learn that that wasn't really the case.

BUT, cycling can be cruel. Many forget that George got his TDF stage win in the mountains in large part because he was able to sit on for an entire breakaway and only expend real effort in the last couple of kilometers. This was the case because he had the luxury of Lance in yellow, which allowed him to participate in the breakaway, but not drive it. Imagine the disappointment that the lone surviving breakaway mate felt that day when he had done so much work. Probably not unlike the way George felt today.

George, however, has earned the right to be highly disappointed. Virtually the entire cycling nation gasped in horror as George's best shot at winning Paris Robaix disappeared with an exploding stem and a broken collarbone.

I love watching George and was so sad to see him lose the shot at the jersey. I think, however, that his initial reaction was emotional and based upon imperfect information. As he gains information, he will likely soften his position.

 

[runninboy]

Equally, which train was on the front cranking the speed up in the last 2 kilometres, yep: Columbia. That's about five seconds there, Bob. Bob? Yep. That's right, Bob. Karma's a b1tch.

Um you might want to check the coverage again at 2 km the chase was spread out completely across the road, Col was blocking more than driving
then Silence Drilled it between 2km & 1km with 2 riders on the front followed by Garmin & AG2R, Col never got closer to the front than 5th wheel.
At 1km Col went around spread out and slowed forcing the field across the road. Col held off sprinting until the last possible second.
Far from "cranking the speed up in the last 2km"
despite silence & Garmin efforts the last 2 km took over 2minutes & 15 seconds to complete. Far from fast for a professional peloton in a bunch sprint.

 

[blackcat]

they could have forced a split in the pack, at where Nocentini was. Put their 5 or 6 members back there, and then just let the wheels go, so there was a one second gap. Not exactly kosher and protocol, but worse behaviour happens all the time.

 

[Blakeslee]

I'm a fan of George at it was disappointing seeing him get so close to getting the yellow jersey without taking it. However, he mostly had himself to blame when it came to not getting the jersey. When Ivanov attacked Hincapie chose to sit back and gamble for the stage win, if he had instead gone to the front and chased hard he would have definitely lost the stage but probably would have ended up with the yellow jersey.

The accusations of Garmin trying to take the jersey away from Hincapie are overblown as well. Garmin only had two riders at the front for a very brief period of time near the end of the stage. At the time the peloton was spread wide across the road as Columbia was trying to slow down the finish, there was certainly the potential for a crash there and Vaughter's explanation of keeping his GC riders out of trouble was a credible one.

 

[blackcat]

let's not think too hard here. George was in virtual yellow. Ag2r was not closing the gap. Then Garmin came to the front and drove the pace. If they did that just to keep Hincapie out of yellow, that's crappy.

And Lance, Stapleton, stage 8, Vaughters, Cav, and anyone else is beside the point. If that's why Garmin came to the front, that's crappy.

how many times has Cav potted Garmin. He should keep his mouth shut if he wants friends in the peloton.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

George clearly believed at the end of the stage that Astana had ridden to keep him out of the yellow. I think when he goes back and reviews the stage he will learn that that wasn't really the case.

BUT, cycling can be cruel. Many forget that George got his TDF stage win in the mountains in large part because he was able to sit on for an entire breakaway and only expend real effort in the last couple of kilometers. This was the case because he had the luxury of Lance in yellow, which allowed him to participate in the breakaway, but not drive it. Imagine the disappointment that the lone surviving breakaway mate felt that day when he had done so much work. Probably not unlike the way George felt today.

George, however, has earned the right to be highly disappointed. Virtually the entire cycling nation gasped in horror as George's best shot at winning Paris Robaix disappeared with an exploding stem and a broken collarbone.

I love watching George and was so sad to see him lose the shot at the jersey. I think, however, that his initial reaction was emotional and based upon imperfect information. As he gains information, he will likely soften his position.

Great post. I agree entirely. Good memory - I had forgotten the detail about his stage win.

 

[Ninety5rpm]

Um you might want to check the coverage again at 2 km the chase was spread out completely across the road, Col was blocking more than driving
then Silence Drilled it between 2km & 1km with 2 riders on the front followed by Garmin & AG2R, Col never got closer to the front than 5th wheel.
At 1km Col went around spread out and slowed forcing the field across the road. Col held off sprinting until the last possible second.
Far from "cranking the speed up in the last 2km"
despite silence & Garmin efforts the last 2 km took over 2minutes & 15 seconds to complete. Far from fast for a professional peloton in a bunch sprint.

Another good post. That's exactly right.

 

[RightWingNutJob]

I'm finding it difficult to comprehend how anybody could betray someone who isn't on the same team.

 

[Hugh Januss]

+2

The rant by Stapleton is a prime example of the sort of American-centric dicksizing nonsense that is employed so regularly by Armstrong on Twitter and his other outlets. Unfortunately, the results have shown to be immediate and tremendously successful (atleast if you are a regular reader anywhere on the internet or of the American press..) A few tweets & he's got the multifaceted fanboy attack into top gear in short order

This is the sort of stuff that makes any longtime fan of the sport ill.. the supposed bigboys, playing out the blamegame for such a tiny faction of the viewing public.. because in the end it results in $$ in their pockets. the total derision of the pride & the integrity between members of the peleton... (even the omerta can lay claim to being a tremendous measure of interpersonal respect!)

George should have been able to put in the work if he wanted the jersey.. Ivanov obviously had himself no regrets at the end of the stage.

Too bad fanboys!

Wow Stapleton complains about something and that is LA's fault too? You f&%k#rs are making me into a Lance fan in spite of myself! Today Ivanov ruled, everyone else sucked hind teat, end of story.

 

[ak-zaaf]

oh man

i'm gonna hang out in the stage threads again

 

[Hugh Januss]

George clearly believed at the end of the stage that Astana had ridden to keep him out of the yellow. I think when he goes back and reviews the stage he will learn that that wasn't really the case.

BUT, cycling can be cruel. Many forget that George got his TDF stage win in the mountains in large part because he was able to sit on for an entire breakaway and only expend real effort in the last couple of kilometers. This was the case because he had the luxury of Lance in yellow, which allowed him to participate in the breakaway, but not drive it. Imagine the disappointment that the lone surviving breakaway mate felt that day when he had done so much work. Probably not unlike the way George felt today.

George, however, has earned the right to be highly disappointed. Virtually the entire cycling nation gasped in horror as George's best shot at winning Paris Robaix disappeared with an exploding stem and a broken collarbone.

I love watching George and was so sad to see him lose the shot at the jersey. I think, however, that his initial reaction was emotional and based upon imperfect information. As he gains information, he will likely soften his position.

That's OK, that breakaway partner got to win a TDF that he didn't earn.

 

[rhubroma]

Not a lot of insightful analysis there.

How does one analyze a nonsensical and cryptic statement, other than alluding to it as sibyline? Or has my irony escaped you?

 

[The Colnago Kid]

Um you might want to check the coverage again at 2 km the chase was spread out completely across the road, Col was blocking more than driving
then Silence Drilled it between 2km & 1km with 2 riders on the front followed by Garmin & AG2R, Col never got closer to the front than 5th wheel.
At 1km Col went around spread out and slowed forcing the field across the road. Col held off sprinting until the last possible second.
Far from "cranking the speed up in the last 2km"
despite silence & Garmin efforts the last 2 km took over 2minutes & 15 seconds to complete. Far from fast for a professional peloton in a bunch sprint.

You make a fair point about the speed not being up where it normally is but given it's Stage 14 after a mid-mountain stage the day before, that's no surprise.

Having just watched the final 4km a couple of times this is what I saw:

4km to go: 3 Garmins and 3 AG2R on the front pushing hard.

3km to go: Columbia are on the front in a single line - other than the rider who had peeled off from doing a turn. If this was blocking they weren't doing a very good job of it.

2km to go: Evans and a team mate drove hard to the front and pushed until 1km to go followed by 1 Garmin and then the Columbia train (a single line again). And then the rest of the chasers were spread out.

1 km to go: Columbia still in a single line. Cofidis came left and Cervelo on the right. Then there was the argy bargy of the sprint finish.

Yes. Columbia should have been attempting to block but their effort was incredibly poor. And if they are strung out in a single line (the train in its usual formation) and the bunch is strung out behind them, then regardless of the speed they are traveling they were pushing to the line and in effect contributing to Hincapie's eventual anguish.

 

[horseman]

I like Hincapie and would have liked to see him in Yellow, but the reason he's not wearing it is that on the day he didn't go fast enough.

 

[7starz]

One final thing, what in the hell gives Astana the idea that they get to determine who gets the yellow anyway? (If you read comments by the Uniballer and The Hog, that is what they say they were doing.) If they wanted yellow, they could have gotten it by now. They haven't and it wasn't their's to give away. AG2R have it and if they wanted to keep it, then they had every right to ride for it regardless of what Lance says they told him. Garmin helped and well, if Astana had the jersey and wanted to give it away, then I am sure that would not have happened.

Totally agree - this is THE definitive comment. And Lance should remember his own words: pas de cadeaux!!

 

[Anonymous]

i think they should all stop moaning.. if teams want to chase they can chase, if they dont they dont have to, but however much i would have loved to havev seen george in yellow, this isnt the wwf where everything is staged and the guy gets the title as a reward as a result of his dedication to the company.. its a sport a competition...