How Fast is Farrar?

[carl spackler]

First win was pretty much handed to him, I've never really seen him blow by anyone. Would it be possible for him to win without an ideal lead out? Or is it just that he is faster than everyone except Cavendish so that dictates the team tactics? How many stages would he win if there were no Cavendish?

 

[Jamsque]

Farrar has world class top speed but doesn't have great acceleration, so he benefits a lot from a lead-out, especially when his lead-out is someone like Julian Dean who has a good kick. He's not in his best form this Tour, clearly the lack of racing since dropping out of the Giro is hurting him.

 

[taiwan]

Cav
Petacchi
Farrar <----- this fast
Greipel, others

 

[El Pistolero]

Think Greipel is the second fastest sprinter right now.

 

[Gloin22]

Cav
Greipel
Farrar
Petachi
----------------
Others ( Rojas, Bennati, Hagen )

 

[hrotha]

Think Greipel is the second fastest sprinter right now.

Then why did you think Lotto were idiots to work for a sprint today?

 

[El Pistolero]

Then why did you think Lotto were idiots to work for a sprint today?

Because he's the second fastest.

 

[Jamsque]

Because he's the second fastest.

Getting fed up with this. Cav is the fastest, but that doesn't mean he always wins.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

And if you cast your mind waaaaaaay back, you might even remember this:

 

[El Pistolero]

Getting fed up with this. Cav is the fastest, but that doesn't mean he always wins.

Exhibit A:

Exhibit B:

Exhibit C:

And if you cast your mind waaaaaaay back, you might even remember this:

Obviously they should still lead him out. I'm talking about not contributing to the chase.

And on stages with a hill close to the finish they should try and tire Cav out. But on flat easy stages like this? Just let HTC do all the work. Who cares if the break makes it, less points for Cav and less chance of green in Paris.

 

[Mambo95]

He's pretty damn fast. I thought that, with Petacchi on the decline, he would step up to be the no.1 challenger to the champ. Sadly, he's had a bad year emotionally, so Greipel has taken that mantle now.

He's still up there with Petacchi and Greipel, snapping at Cav's heels.

There are some noobs coming up, though.

 

[woodie]

Obviously they should still lead him out. I'm talking about not contributing to the chase.

And on stages with a hill close to the finish they should try and tire Cav out. But on flat easy stages like this? Just let HTC do all the work. Who cares if the break makes it, less points for Cav and less chance of green in Paris.

Obviously OPL, Garmin, Lampre and Sky all care. I'm sure if Boonen was still in, Quickstep might care.

What your saying is noone can beat him so let's just all give up and hope HTC can't pull it back so we all lose. Great mentality mate. The teams will work for their sprinters because they know that there is some small chance.

Farrar is fast but I doubt he has the best form at the TDF this year

 

[Altitude]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KVkpKjacIZs

About that fast.

 

[El Pistolero]

Obviously OPL, Garmin, Lampre and Sky all care. I'm sure if Boonen was still in, Quickstep might care.

What your saying is noone can beat him so let's just all give up and hope HTC can't pull it back so we all lose. Great mentality mate. The teams will work for their sprinters because they know that there is some small chance.

Farrar is fast but I doubt he has the best form at the TDF this year

That mentality would have gotten them more wins than they have now

Wait till the HTC train crashes and then take the stage under control. If there are any hard obstacles close to the finish make a hellish pace so the HTC train crashes. It's a better tactic than what Lampre did today. Sending 2 man to help HTC and where the **** was Petacchi in the sprint? Useless.

Instead of sending man to help HTC they should even get guys in the breakaway to **** of HTC even more. Now they're just being as idiotic as AS and FS were at LBL. Yes, it's just the same.

 

[Eric8-A]

The fact that he's able to par and beat guys like Cavendish, Greipel, and Pettachi, show how fast he is. But his problem is that he doesn't really time his sprints to succession all the time. Same goes with his leadout. Look at what he said in the interview today. Also, I've seen that he sometimes does execute his sprint too early. I think timing is what he really needs to learn.

 

[Passista]

Greipel is a rider I support, but it's been hard to argue for him being above Farrar. Farrar had the edge last year on the occasions when they met. You might call positioning or the train but that's how it played out. Things have changed now though with Greipel having beaten Cav once in a straight sprint.

 

[greenedge]

Greipels' season as well as Cav's has not been crash hot so far. They have both won stages at the TDF so that is good and makes their season but Greipel is fast but not the fastest. That means he has less chance to win if against a top notch field. Cav is the fastest but is at times maybe too confident/ not motivated in smaller races.

 

[Mambo95]

Greipels' season as well as Cav's has not been crash hot so far.

To be fair, Cav has three Tour stages, two Giro stages and Scheldeprijs. Farrar would give his right arm for a season like that.

 

[Anonymous]

I think I would characterize it as "pretty darn fast, but not the fastest and never will be because Cav clearly takes that prize."

 

[More Strides than Rides]

We also shouldn't forget about his battle with Gilbert last Vuelta on the uphill finish in Stage 19. His tenacity shown there is always in the back of my mind, especially in this Tour's first week of uphill-ish stage sprints.

He did miss out on many racing days in May, but Farrar will always be a contender against Cav, Pettachi, ect. That is a fact. Cav is better, but that doesn't mean he will win everything. Farrar might be second best, but that doesn't mean he will always be second.


I will shout out to Griepel though, he was not touted very highly going into the TDF, but is performing enough to be considered the "rival" of Cav he was when he left HTC.

 

[Oldman]

The fact that he's able to par and beat guys like Cavendish, Greipel, and Pettachi, show how fast he is. But his problem is that he doesn't really time his sprints to succession all the time. Same goes with his leadout. Look at what he said in the interview today. Also, I've seen that he sometimes does execute his sprint too early. I think timing is what he really needs to learn.

I don't think he is nearly quick enough right now to beat Cav head to head as today's free-for-all showed. His first win was a textbook setup and since then he's gotten a little lost in the chaos. Then, so have alot of former GC guys.
I hope he gets himself and his leadout together. Having Dave do a 1km glory pull into the finish today just made it easier for the other sprinters to regain position.

 

[shieh165]

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