Teams & Riders Froome Talk Only

[thehog]

Re:

Brailsford comments at todays press conference. This one particularly jumped out at me and is predictable.


“I think it’s pretty important what Chris did at the end of last year when he went into the lab and put himself up for testing independently of the team, and I think the numbers told a significant story,” Brailsford said. “People certainly aren’t asking the same questions as they have done in the past. It’s difficult to ask for VAM and power data if you’re going downhill and dropping everybody.”


I believe that the downhill attack was designed to try and explain away performance in a non doping related manner. I thought at the time that the attack was illogical and dangerous especially when you consider how dominant Froome has been in the meantime. Although it was a brave move, he simply didn't need to take unnecessary risks by attacking to gain a handful of seconds. It was another device to explain away his dominance. Read similar for the attack from 10km out on the day before Ventoux. GC riders don't normally get involved in big efforts like that for scant reward considering the bigger battles that lie ahead. They have to conserve energy when the opportunity is there. Froome however has been practically full gas from day one with no dips in form.

I do agree with Brailsford though that the questions are not as incessant this year for some reason. I don't think it has got anything to do with the ''independent'' testing he done with Swart though.

The difference this year is the of the two MTFs, one was nullified by a headwind and rain the second on Ventoux was a right off. In 2015 there was a rest day post PSM where they released the pretend data due to the uproar. Additionally the 2013 video with power data had been released.

 

[Benotti69]

That x-ray tent does not look like it would prevent the electromagnetic radiation getting through it.

As for PR at the tour. Who needs it when Pravda do it compliments of Walsh & Co.

 

[kwikki]

@BYOP

Agreed.

I seem to recall Froome making an early stage downhill attack in a previous Tour (can't remember which one). It didn't work that time, and I remember viewing it as a stupid and naive move. This time it doesn't look so stupid. Mountain attacks are high risk, and Froome doesn't have to make any now.

Whatever one thinks of Froome and Sky, you have to acknowledge that they get their tactics right.

 

[Mr.38%]

Re:

@BYOP

Agreed.

I seem to recall Froome making an early stage downhill attack in a previous Tour (can't remember which one). It didn't work that time, and I remember viewing it as a stupid and naive move. This time it doesn't look so stupid. Mountain attacks are high risk, and Froome doesn't have to make any now.

Whatever one thinks of Froome and Sky, you have to acknowledge that they get their tactics right.

If I race cat3, it will surely always look as if I got my tactic right.

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

@BYOP

Agreed.

I seem to recall Froome making an early stage downhill attack in a previous Tour (can't remember which one). It didn't work that time, and I remember viewing it as a stupid and naive move. This time it doesn't look so stupid. Mountain attacks are high risk, and Froome doesn't have to make any now.

Whatever one thinks of Froome and Sky, you have to acknowledge that they get their tactics right.

If I race cat3, it will surely always look as if I got my tactic right.

If you do it in sandshoes, Dave Brailsford is looking for you

 

[thehog]

Re:

@BYOP

Agreed.

I seem to recall Froome making an early stage downhill attack in a previous Tour (can't remember which one). It didn't work that time, and I remember viewing it as a stupid and naive move. This time it doesn't look so stupid. Mountain attacks are high risk, and Froome doesn't have to make any now.

Whatever one thinks of Froome and Sky, you have to acknowledge that they get their tactics right.

Tactics is one thing but what they have got right is they have a higher threshold on their power numbers over the other riders and teams. Both on the flat and up mountains.

That is their tactic. Period.

 

[kwikki]

Re:

As for PR at the tour. Who needs it when Pravda do it compliments of Walsh & Co.

The sentiment behind this, I assume, is that Walsh is no longer an independent journalist with an interest in anti-doping, but the go-to man for pro-Sky journalistic output.

Well, it certainly looks like it, and the eulogies he pens are in sharp contrast to what he had to say about the last serial TdF winner.

I suppose Walsh has the UK market covered. I'm not aware that he has any coverage in the rest of the world.

 

[ontheroad]

Re:

It all depends on Froome's edge, an unknown. All we know is that it easily surpasses that of every contender in each of his 3 Tour wins, with most doubt as to who will win removed quickly and permanently after the first few key stages.

Froome may well have a big enough edge that finding ways to gain time in non-suspicious ways is every much part of the race strategy

That would be my argument. So dominant has Froome been physically during each of his tour wins, that he can afford to explore other methods of getting the victory in order to mask this physical advantage somewhat. From the point of view of winning the tour in a non suspicious manner (as far as that is possible!) this has been a dream tour for sky so far. He hasn't had to blow away the main GC contenders away on a mountain yet to get his big advantage. The closest he came was on Ventoux when the stage descended into farce. The downside of his tour victory is that it has been robotic, predictable and dull.

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

I seem to recall Froome making an early stage downhill attack in a previous Tour (can't remember which one)

Corsica.

 

[ontheroad]

Re:

@BYOP

Agreed.

I seem to recall Froome making an early stage downhill attack in a previous Tour (can't remember which one). It didn't work that time, and I remember viewing it as a stupid and naive move. This time it doesn't look so stupid. Mountain attacks are high risk, and Froome doesn't have to make any now.

Whatever one thinks of Froome and Sky, you have to acknowledge that they get their tactics right.

Tactics right? I don't buy that one at all. If you don't have the physical power that Froome (and the train) has, then all the tactics in the world aren't worth a ball of blue.

It's like people criticising Quintana for not attacking Froome. Well we seen what happened there on Ventoux. It's a futile exercise attacking when you don't have the physical capabilities to back it up.

 

[kwikki]

Re: Re:

@BYOP

Agreed.

I seem to recall Froome making an early stage downhill attack in a previous Tour (can't remember which one). It didn't work that time, and I remember viewing it as a stupid and naive move. This time it doesn't look so stupid. Mountain attacks are high risk, and Froome doesn't have to make any now.

Whatever one thinks of Froome and Sky, you have to acknowledge that they get their tactics right.

Tactics is one thing but what they have got right is they have a higher threshold on their power numbers over the other riders and teams. Both on the flat and up mountains.

That is their tactic. Period.

We need another Ventoux 2013 attack.

So far Froome's actual advantage has come from the ITT, and a handful of seconds from those two other things. For sure, Sky are controlling the race on the ascents, but as somebody else said earlier the main contenders are (mostly) still with them.

 

[kwikki]

Re: Re:

@BYOP

Agreed.

I seem to recall Froome making an early stage downhill attack in a previous Tour (can't remember which one). It didn't work that time, and I remember viewing it as a stupid and naive move. This time it doesn't look so stupid. Mountain attacks are high risk, and Froome doesn't have to make any now.

Whatever one thinks of Froome and Sky, you have to acknowledge that they get their tactics right.

Tactics right? I don't buy that one at all. If you don't have the physical power that Froome (and the train) has, then all the tactics in the world aren't worth a ball of blue.

It's like people criticising Quintana for not attacking Froome. Well we seen what happened there on Ventoux. It's a futile exercise attacking when you don't have the physical capabilities to back it up.

I don't think tactics without condition would ever have that much of an effect, would they?
There are a number of things going on in this race, not the least of which is the strongest team making the most of their strengths

 

[Benotti69]

Re: Re:

As for PR at the tour. Who needs it when Pravda do it compliments of Walsh & Co.

The sentiment behind this, I assume, is that Walsh is no longer an independent journalist with an interest in anti-doping, but the go-to man for pro-Sky journalistic output.

Well, it certainly looks like it, and the eulogies he pens are in sharp contrast to what he had to say about the last serial TdF winner.

I suppose Walsh has the UK market covered. I'm not aware that he has any coverage in the rest of the world.

I dont suppose Rupe owns other media outlets in his Pravda empire.

 

[kwikki]

Well I don't really know if Walsh is widely known in other bike mad countries

 

[fmk_RoI]

Re:

Well I don't really know if Walsh is widely known in other bike mad countries

He's not. He's barely known in the UK, except for his role in the LA thing. The Sunday Times sells less that 0.5m copies and online is hidden behind a paywall. Rarely is anything he says deemed sufficiently worthwhile for other media outlets to report it. In fact, I struggle to recall the last thing he wrote that went mainstream. Perhaps those who contend he is a major influencer of opinion on Sky could find it for me.

 

[Benotti69]

I guess some people think Rupe doesn't have other drones to write for his other media outlets. Oh well.

 

[Benotti69]

Only 5 riders have ever worn more yellow jerseys than Froome : Anquetil, Merckx, Hinault, Indurain and Armstrong. Good company.

 

[ontheroad]

The power of Rupert and News Corp in the UK, Collymore has lost his job recently.

http://7500toholte.sbnation.com/2016/7/13/12171786/collymore-s-sacking-is-yet-another-symptom-of-the-festering-wound-of-news-corp

 

[samhocking]

Re: Re:

I don't think that's the xray machine unless they've taken it out of the black box trailer is was originally in. That's probably where the computer equipment is and the other testing equipment i'd imagine.

I think thats the xray machine, I thats it has the radioactive caution sign outside

Riders have tweeted pictures of their bikes in the xray machine. It's mobile and in a black box trailer that looks like this.

 

[samhocking]

The white and green cables you see coming out the trailer, go to the brown tent and is operated from there just like at a dentist, where you operate from another room or behind xray protection screen.

 

[Microchip]

Re: Re:

Good pics. So the bike is x-rayed in the trailer, with some equipment wired to what's inside the brown tent...and the brown tent has some sort of controls then...

Riders have tweeted pictures of their bikes in the xray machine. It's mobile and in a black box trailer that looks like this.

 

[SeriousSam]

Re: Re:

It all depends on Froome's edge, an unknown. All we know is that it easily surpasses that of every contender in each of his 3 Tour wins, with most doubt as to who will win removed quickly and permanently after the first few key stages.

Froome may well have a big enough edge that finding ways to gain time in non-suspicious ways is every much part of the race strategy

That would be my argument. So dominant has Froome been physically during each of his tour wins, that he can afford to explore other methods of getting the victory in order to mask this physical advantage somewhat. From the point of view of winning the tour in a non suspicious manner (as far as that is possible!) this has been a dream tour for sky so far. He hasn't had to blow away the main GC contenders away on a mountain yet to get his big advantage. The closest he came was on Ventoux when the stage descended into farce. The downside of his tour victory is that it has been robotic, predictable and dull.

I just hope Froome somehow falls behind. If only something were to happen that makes him lose 4 minutes.

I think we would then be provided with startling new information concerning his supposed 3rd week fading.

 

[gooner]

Re: Re:

Well I don't really know if Walsh is widely known in other bike mad countries

He's not. He's barely known in the UK, except for his role in the LA thing. The Sunday Times sells less that 0.5m copies and online is hidden behind a paywall. Rarely is anything he says deemed sufficiently worthwhile for other media outlets to report it. In fact, I struggle to recall the last thing he wrote that went mainstream. Perhaps those who contend he is a major influencer of opinion on Sky could find it for me.

That's true. The ST is far from a popular paper.

Said it before, too much is made of him being the story on Sky. He rarely writes on cycling. 2013 was the exception when he followed the team around. Since then it's basically the Tour and nothing else.

The ST rely more on their Insight team over the years.

 

[samhocking]

Re: Re:

Good pics. So the bike is x-rayed in the trailer, with some equipment wired to what's inside the brown tent...and the brown tent has some sort of controls then...

Yes. Xray equipment is heavy. Probably 3-400kg, so needs to be mounted onto a trailer to get it from stage to stage.

 

[Cannibal72]

Re: Re:

Well I don't really know if Walsh is widely known in other bike mad countries

He's not. He's barely known in the UK, except for his role in the LA thing. The Sunday Times sells less that 0.5m copies and online is hidden behind a paywall. Rarely is anything he says deemed sufficiently worthwhile for other media outlets to report it. In fact, I struggle to recall the last thing he wrote that went mainstream. Perhaps those who contend he is a major influencer of opinion on Sky could find it for me.

That's true. The ST is far from a popular paper.

Said it before, too much is made of him being the story on Sky. He rarely writes on cycling. 2013 was the exception when he followed the team around. Since then it's basically the Tour and nothing else.

The ST rely more on their Insight team over the years.

ST is a sad imitation of what it once was. Its politics coverage can be good, but it's gone relentlessly downhill recently. A lot of its readers will be buying it for the politics, not the sport. Walsh is pretty much an unknown.