Have Columbia imploded...?

[slcbiker]

This. Really not much more to be said.

Not exactly. Look at MSR this year. Cav didn't really have a leadout train there, and in fact, had to chase someone down.
I'm still not sure he can be successful enough all the way through the TdF to get the Green, but he's a bit less one-dimensional than you seem to think.

 

[BikeCentric]

Not exactly. Look at MSR this year. Cav didn't really have a leadout train there, and in fact, had to chase someone down.
I'm still not sure he can be successful enough all the way through the TdF to get the Green, but he's a bit less one-dimensional than you seem to think.

I agree with you that he made some great moves (by himself) to win that race but winning MSR does not a climber make. Those are short hills in MSR that actually favor a powerfull rider.

 

[auscyclefan94]

i don't think Columbia has the strength in the mountains to do much and cav's team will be very tired after the first week of doing all the chasing for sprints ad going up mountains. Some of the older guys will beat him because they don't need a team to lead them out. Cav will struggle with positioning in the sprints without team mates.

 

[DalyPeleton]

I know that George is getting older, but it still is hard to find a better support rider in the Tour. Also, George and Lance are really good friends on and off their bikes, but both of them are far too professional to pull the kind of amateur stunt the media might have tried to dramatically suggest. Finally, a pure sprinter usually does not have the endurance to make it over the Alps and the Pyrenees until their late twenties. If Mark Cavendish wants to make it to Paris, then I think that he needs to conserve his energy. Thus, as he has said, winning the green jersey in Paris is not a very realistic goal.

 

[Bainreese]

Not exactly. Look at MSR this year. Cav didn't really have a leadout train there, and in fact, had to chase someone down.
I'm still not sure he can be successful enough all the way through the TdF to get the Green, but he's a bit less one-dimensional than you seem to think.

In response to the original question of 'Is Columbia Imploding?' I think the poster I quoted answered adequately. There is no implosion to speak of going on. Zabel, Cipollini, et al never took every flat stage there was and therefore with the last two days not being taken by Cav, it hardly signals the end for them.

As for needing his lead out train, even when Cipollini and other great sprinters were at their best they could always use someone else's men and/or others going for the sprint as leadouts. I certainly wasn't attempting to imply he was one dimensional.

 

[runninboy]

… its all gone wrong for Columbia.

OMG!!! it HAS all gone wrong for Columbia

lets see,
twice as many stage wins as any other team
they are leading the Points classification
they are leading the Best Young rider classification
they are within one minute of yellow, 3 riders in the top 12 GC
3rd in the Team Classsification
5th in the King of the Mountains classification

Pity poor poor Columbia it has been an absolutely dreadful tour

 

[runninboy]

now Rabobank is on the other hand is DOMINATING
7th place in the points competition
stage wins 0
riders in top 60 GC 0
best young rider 0
KOM 22nd
team GC 15th

but it is Columbia that is falling apart

 

[Buninyong Bunny]

IMHO, this whole idea about Cavendish not being able to make it over the hills is quite silly. He will he able to get over today easily - with it realistical only being one climb. He then has one more danger days until the Alps, by which time he will be dominating the Green competition once again. So it really be a case of geting him over the two really big stages in the Alps, which so much require stamina as effort.

 

[Pietro]

Cav hanging onto green by the skin of his teeth and now losing stages LRC, Rogers down and out by 13 minutes, Hincapie tipping off selected riders from other teams of dodgy attacks, Cav mouthing off at his opponents/behaving in a completely arrogant manner when winning and finally the rest of the peloton refusing to help them in any way… its all gone wrong for Columbia.

It appears they forgot the rule of keeping friends in the peloton as you might need them one day. Scoolboy antics may cost them a shot at green or any jersey.

The Tour is 3 weeks long and you can't afford to make enemies in the first week. They have a lot to learn.

Discuss.

They are riding like juniors!
Cav's input.

 

[The_Z_man]

Is it just me or was Tony Martin, current holder of the Maillot Blanc, in the Cadel Evans group? I realize that this thread was started yesterday, but having your top GC guy in the group with all of the other GC contenders doesn't seem like an implosion to me.

They might save the Train Blanc act for the flats and Cav, but they seem to be far from toast to me.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Is it just me or was Tony Martin, current holder of the Maillot Blanc, in the Cadel Evans group? I realize that this thread was started yesterday, but having your top GC guy in the group with all of the other GC contenders doesn't seem like an implosion to me.

They might save the Train Blanc act for the flats and Cav, but they seem to be far from toast to me.

ColHTC bottomed out today. Rogers 40+ minutes behind. Even Cav beat him to the finish line. So much for the top 10 finish... hey aussies, I can't hear you !!! Scoreboard, scoreboard !

 

[elapid]

ColHTC bottomed out today. Rogers 40+ minutes behind. Even Cav beat him to the finish line. So much for the top 10 finish... hey aussies, I can't hear you !!! Scoreboard, scoreboard !

As any good Aussie would do, I'll point you towards the most important scoreboard at the moment and try to ignore the effects of the TTT on Cadel's chances, Roger's crash, and McEwen not racing in the TdF (let alone Wiggins's fine showing today): first Ashes test, Aussies are up 44 runs with 5 wickets in hand in the first innings. Oi, Oi, Oi!

 

[runninboy]

ColHTC bottomed out today. QUOTE]





Columbia still hold two of the four jerseys, are within a minute of the yellow jersey and sit in 3rd place in the team classification.
Oh yeah still twice as many stage wins as any other team to date
I guess because Muravyev is now over 7 minutes down on Rogers ASTANA should pack it in.
Astana now in total meltdown!!!!!!!!!

 

[craig1985]

I'm not surprised Rogers is suffering, he did have a nasty crash in the run into Barcelona.

 

[Cobblestones]

ColHTC bottomed out today. Rogers 40+ minutes behind.

You did see him crash yesterday? He's probably happy he can hang in there.

 

[whiteboytrash]

Oh dear..... oh dear....... Cav out of green.... this is like watching a slow motion car accident.... if only all the stages could be flat and with sidewinds.... its all gone wrong.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Tin-foil hatter, here.

The reason for the speculation about a tip-off off the Columbia split is b/c, when it happened, wasn't Armstrong not only at the front but OFF of it? I thought he was riding outside of the peloton, next to the third man from the front in Columbia's train.

Why would he do that? Really? And are all the other GC contenders just that bad at tactics and what not that they missed the obvious split?

Remember, shady dealings like this have been par for the course in the peloton for years, and there was a very real reward for Armstrong making this move and putting time into the other Astanas: probable yellow after the TTT.

 

[0091paddy]

Some people on here really know very little about competitive cycling, and only follow the Tour de France because they're bored of playing golf at the moment.

As for 'Columbia imploding' as a topic, I can only presume that this is through ones ignorance, and lack of understanding of the rigures of professional racing.

Bad luck has played a part, sure. Mick Rogers crashing wasn't good for them, but **** happens, they deal with it, so should you.

Mark Cavendish never intended to get the Green Jersey either, they went there with stage win ambitions, of which they have achieved, with only more to come.

Cavendish is only as good as he is through the natural talent he possesses, not through having a team 'wrap him in cotton wool' and only 'let him loose when he's bound to win'.

Or would you prefer them to win every stage? that way you could add another topic to the ever growing 'doping' section.


Think about it.

 

[mr. tibbs]

Oops, forgot to add my thoughts about Columbia earlier--sorry for the post flood.

I think Columbia has had a great Tour so far. I can't stand Cavendish, but they have won a lot of stages with him, their train has been dominant in most of the sprints, Tony Martin is hanging tough (for now), and they placed respectably in the TTT.

Stage 3 was...interesting, but I don't think it changes the fact that they could probably pack up and call it a Tour right now and be satisfied with their performance.

 

[whiteboytrash]

That's two stages for BBox just as many as Columbia.

ColHTC have dropped their bundle. So much for the superteam tag.

 

[Baggins27]

That's two stages for BBox just as many as Columbia.

ColHTC have dropped their bundle. So much for the superteam tag.

Who gave them a superteam tag?

They've had a successful season, that cannot be denied. They are doing ok in the Tour so far and there are still two weeks to go.

 

[runninboy]

ColHTC have dropped their bundle. So much for the superteam tag.

Hmmmmm seems to me You are the first to mention them as a superteam

That Oxycontin has really messed whats left o yo brain whiteboy
let me make this easy for you

so far NO ONE has more stage wins in this tour than COL/HTC
and as of today they have been awarded THIRTEEN JERSEYS
how many Jerseys have Astana captured?
waiting...
waiting...
I'll make it easy for you
zero.
It must kill you that with all your hating towards COL not only have they NOT imploded that they have done quite well.
can you name a team that has done better so far?
waiting...
waiting...

 

[autologous]

still waiting, waiting, eh runninboy

surprised to see this thread so far down. I would have thought whiteboyasswipe would have posted an update yesterday, unless he'd prefer to see his incompetence buried where no one can see. Guess he won't be posting an update today, either.

whiteboytrash - how's that implosion going, you dumb cnt?

 

[Amsterhammer]

still waiting, waiting, eh runninboy

surprised to see this thread so far down. I would have thought whiteboyasswipe would have posted an update yesterday, unless he'd prefer to see his incompetence buried where no one can see. Guess he won't be posting an update today, either.

whiteboytrash - how's that implosion going, you dumb cnt?

+1

Four stage wins, two jerseys, not bad for an imploded team.

 

[Pharazon]

if this is an implosion, i'd like to see what it's like when they're doing well