How important is it to stay in the front?

[roundabout]

Was AC really that much in the back yesterday? The crash started on the 6th row or something...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx943lSrrKs&feature=player_detailpage#t=49s

Iglinsky has already lost balance. You can count the number of people ahead of him in the group. I'd say it was about 50. Over 70 got through.

Contador was too far back.

 

[richwagmn]

Just ask Bert. Once again Contadud doesn't learn and gets caught in the back.

You're very clever. Can't wait to read more of your posts.

 

[zapata]

Its a lot easier for fans of riders who have proper domestiques to talk about how you should stay at the front.

Absolutely. Of course it's important to be near the front, but since everybody wants to, and per definition everybody can't, it's hard. I certainly don't think contador or sanchez were being lazy or inattentive.

 

[Publicus]

Did you watch the race yesterday, paying attention to the front of the peloton? EVERYBODY wanted to be in front. The road was wide, and guys were nervous. I saw Contador tuck in behind a few Leopard-Trek riders, with a clear space to the right front. But guys kept passing on both sides and moving to the front. One guy described it as an accordion. Everyone knows the safe place is the front, and 22 teams want to be there. Not a big deal, it happens. It gave Andy Schleck a chance to tell the world he's clever, and that may never happen again. Alberto said his legs felt really good yesterday. If he's the gifted athlete some of us believe he is, he'll be in better shape right now than he was at the Giro, when he did whatever he wanted. Meanwhile in the real world Schlecklet should continue to see the bib numbers of older American riders when the road points up.

I think this comment completely flew under most people's radar as they were trying to decided if his chances were now slim or none. There are a lot of mountains to gain time on and even a few hills. As I said in my first post in this thread, we are about to see what AC is really made of (and I hope someone passed along Andy's little quote to boot).

 

[ElChingon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx943lSrrKs&feature=player_detailpage#t=49s

Iglinsky has already lost balance. You can count the number of people ahead of him in the group. I'd say it was about 50. Over 70 got through.

Contador was too far back.

The FDJ rider did a nice save! At 2:00 MoviStar push Greiple over a bit, no DQ I mean you can't touch another rider, right?

Its easier to say "Stay at the Front" than to do it for the entire race. Sure you try to be up front but at times the peleton gets engulfed from the sides and if you're in the middle you end up back from where you were, its constantly changing. Then the effort to stay at the front or near the front is greater than to hang out in the latter half of the pack. Sure you can get caught out as Contador was but we've also seen the front of the pack go down with only a handful not going down. No one can plan a crash or I hope they can't.

 

[Irish2009]

Crashes happen thats a given, but nobody has explained Saxo-Banks lack of support for Contador after he was delayed by the crash. 2 riders made an effort (Porte & Sorensen?) this means there were 6 riders that were not awake or able to do thier job when required. Where were they??

 

[ElChingon]

All were behind him, so they couldn't get there, I'm sure they tired. Riis would of been yelling as loud as he could to get them there but they're weren't going to wait and lose more time.

 

[FlyingPortagee]

It wasn't laziness. I could point you to a discussion I had on another website after the Spinish TT championships. I said AC would be concerned with his form. Another poster said it was three weeks before the mountains. I countered that you don't want to be searching for form in the first week of the Tour as you are at risk from crashes etc if you can't get up the front.

And as I said, Contador is someone who usually gets in the front.

Laziness shouldn't come into it. GC riders know what they have to do to avoid crashes.

I'm sticking to my theory that it was laziness. If he is that bad at this point of the year, no way he wins the tour.

 

[FlyingPortagee]

Given what happened a few minutes earlier with AC, what is AS's excuse for getting caught behind the second crash?

Good point, he certainly might have relaxed when the first crash happened thinking he was ok being with the front group. He might have also been thinking about the 3k mark. Not sure exactly where the crash took place, was it at the 3k or 2k mark. I saw it was just beyond one of them but not sure which one. Either way, Contidud should have been with the top 20 or 30 riders imo, and he wasn't even close to that.

 

[FlyingPortagee]

You're very clever. Can't wait to read more of your posts.

You are very clever for pointing it out. I certainly can't wait to read more of your posts.

 

[Fowsto Cope-E]

I'm sticking to my theory that it was laziness. If he is that bad at this point of the year, no way he wins the tour.

The thing is, it is nearly impossible for riders to stay at the front for the entire ~200k stage. Considering that he was still definitley in the top half of the peloton, I imagine that he had just lost his spot near the front and starting to work his way back up when the crash happened. Stuff happens; that's racing.

 

[FlyingPortagee]

The thing is, it is nearly impossible for riders to stay at the front for the entire ~200k stage. Considering that he was still definitley in the top half of the peloton, I imagine that he had just lost his spot near the front and starting to work his way back up when the crash happened. Stuff happens; that's racing.

I'm certainly not saying he should have been at the front for the entire stage, but the last 20-30k yes, he needs to be up there.

 

[Fowsto Cope-E]

I'm certainly not saying he should have been at the front for the entire stage, but the last 20-30k yes, he needs to be up there.

If it's so easy, then why don't you do it. Stuff happens and you find yourself too far back just like that. Especially at the end of the race it's very difficult to maintain position in the pack.

 

[FlyingPortagee]

If it's so easy, then why don't you do it. Stuff happens and you find yourself too far back just like that. Especially at the end of the race it's very difficult to maintain position in the pack.

This is an EPIC response for sure!!

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Absolutely. Of course it's important to be near the front, but since everybody wants to, and per definition everybody can't, it's hard. I certainly don't think contador or sanchez were being lazy or inattentive.

For sure. That's why it's important for a rider to be good at fighting for and holding position, or having a domestique they can follow who's good at that. Like a big bodied George Hincapie type, which Cadel has.

 

[Midnightfright]

For sure. That's why it's important for a rider to be good at fighting for and holding position, or having a domestique they can follow who's good at that. Like a big bodied George Hincapie type, which Cadel has.

I actually felt sorry for the poor katusha getting barged out the way by Christian Knees on stage 1. He didn't stand a chance poor guy.

 

[greenedge]

It's very important. Cancellara and Hincapie are great pilot fish throughout the peloton.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

I actually felt sorry for the poor katusha getting barged out the way by Christian Knees on stage 1. He didn't stand a chance poor guy.

Yeah, at 1.94m and about 80kg Knees fits the bill. That'll work for Wiggans.

 

[ElChingon]

Add, stay in the front and away from the edges, today Doumolin was hit by fan elbows on the rails while near the front. I'll also add stay away from the kamakaze sprinters or buffer with teammates on each side also, front and back. That should minimize it

 

[Angliru]

Just ask Bert. Once again Contadud doesn't learn and gets caught in the back. Actually, prob more like the middle but obviously not in the top 50 riders. I clearly saw Evans and Schleck in about the top 20 when they showed the frontal views of the Peloton. Then to top it all off the guy seems to have given up in the last kilometer almost as if he was thinking that he was going to get the 3 Kilo rule. It was difficult to tell exactly where he was during both crashes, but you would think he would show a little more urgency in that last kilometer. I wouldn't be surprised to see him totally explode tomorrow similar to Delgado exploding in his TTT after losing tons of time on the first day. Maybe Contadud was trying to conserve his energy for tomorrow, but clearly the guy doesn't seem to show the attention to details that he should and its going to cost him dearly one day.

Technically he wasn't in the "back". At the point of the crash he was positioned at the very front of where the crash took place. With the way the peloton constantly shifts with a bit of luck he could've been on the other side of the crash. Only 40 riders were spared from being delayed. So 80% of the peloton was caught up.

 

[Angliru]

Given what happened a few minutes earlier with AC, what is AS's excuse for getting caught behind the second crash?

You know you weren't supposed to bring that up!

 

[Angliru]

While that may be true in the case of Contador that's not really an excuse. If you have one of the biggest budgets in cycling there is no excuse not to have a true domestique for the number 1 GT cyclist in the world.

While I can admit it might very well not be Contador's fault I think Riis has to take at least part of the blame for not making sure there is someone to guide Contador through the peleton.

Matteo Tosatto and Benjamin Noval are the riders I believe with that responsibility.

 

[Angliru]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zx943lSrrKs&feature=player_detailpage#t=49s

Iglinsky has already lost balance. You can count the number of people ahead of him in the group. I'd say it was about 50. Over 70 got through.

Contador was too far back.

40 got through from what I understand, not 70.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

While that may be true in the case of Contador that's not really an excuse. If you have one of the biggest budgets in cycling there is no excuse not to have a true domestique for the number 1 GT cyclist in the world.

While I can admit it might very well not be Contador's fault I think Riis has to take at least part of the blame for not making sure there is someone to guide Contador through the peleton.

in fact saxo have one of the lower budgets in the PT.
Considering they had to acquire AC, it would not have been that easy to acquire the necessary domestiques. Especially with a lot of riders angry at AC at the time. Also consider the schlecks weren't on a massive salary with saxo, so it isn't like their departure freed the budget all that much.

 

[Angliru]

Good point, he certainly might have relaxed when the first crash happened thinking he was ok being with the front group. He might have also been thinking about the 3k mark. Not sure exactly where the crash took place, was it at the 3k or 2k mark. I saw it was just beyond one of them but not sure which one. Either way, Contidud should have been with the top 20 or 30 riders imo, and he wasn't even close to that.

So Andy was fine with losing time to Cadel Evans because they were within the 3k mark and this explains how he was caught up in that crash? Yet you don't give that same latitude when explaining your analysis of Contador's position at the time of the crash.