Le Tour 2018 stage 16:Carcassonne - Bagnères-de-Luchon 218km

[loge1884]

+ We will have to go carefully +

seems like the mission statement of Movistar in the last 5 or so editions of Tour de France .....

 

[Koronin]

Re:

Landa's interview:

Mikel Landa: “Hoy ya tenía mejores sensaciones. Nunca se sabe cuándo puede puede ser el día y, aunque el último puerto no era suficientemente duro, queríamos probarlo y anticipar el descenso para ver cómo respondían las piernas. Sky, un día más, han demostrado ser muy fuertes y correr muy bien. Mañana habrá que saber gestionar las fuerzas. 65 km parecen pocos pero será un esfuerzo largo y ‘muy máximo’. Habrá que ir con tiento porque cualquier exceso se puede pagar al final. Habrá que confiar y ser muy bien guiados por nuestros directores, además de hablar mucho entre nosotros. No creo, en cualquier caso, que el sistema de parrilla vaya a variar mucho el planteamiento de carrera. Es un día importante a nivel individual pero también tenemos otros objetivos que perseguir: estamos luchando por la clasificación por equipos, Nairo y yo estamos entre los 10 primeros y Alejandro está muy cerca”.

Not what I wanted to hear. He sounds like resigned. Looking for 2-3 top ten spot places and the team classification???

http://www.revistamundociclistico.com/ruta/25884-tour-de-francia-era-mejor-guardarlo-todo-para-manana-en-esa-etapa-tengo-puesta-toda-la-esperanza-nairo-quintana.html

They may have managed to throw away the team competition as well. As of right now, literally the ONLY thing they are coming away from this Tour with is the combative away that Valverde won last week. I'd classify this as a big of a disaster as last year.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

Landa's interview:

Mikel Landa: “Hoy ya tenía mejores sensaciones. Nunca se sabe cuándo puede puede ser el día y, aunque el último puerto no era suficientemente duro, queríamos probarlo y anticipar el descenso para ver cómo respondían las piernas. Sky, un día más, han demostrado ser muy fuertes y correr muy bien. Mañana habrá que saber gestionar las fuerzas. 65 km parecen pocos pero será un esfuerzo largo y ‘muy máximo’. Habrá que ir con tiento porque cualquier exceso se puede pagar al final. Habrá que confiar y ser muy bien guiados por nuestros directores, además de hablar mucho entre nosotros. No creo, en cualquier caso, que el sistema de parrilla vaya a variar mucho el planteamiento de carrera. Es un día importante a nivel individual pero también tenemos otros objetivos que perseguir: estamos luchando por la clasificación por equipos, Nairo y yo estamos entre los 10 primeros y Alejandro está muy cerca”.

Not what I wanted to hear. He sounds like resigned. Looking for 2-3 top ten spot places and the team classification???

http://www.revistamundociclistico.com/ruta/25884-tour-de-francia-era-mejor-guardarlo-todo-para-manana-en-esa-etapa-tengo-puesta-toda-la-esperanza-nairo-quintana.html

Why, what does he say?

Pretty much what I have in bolded.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re: Re:

Gran Bornand last climb was hard! So the descend was too easy?
We are splitting hairs here.

Grand Bornand stage was screwed up by a head wind

I forgot to put head wind in the action killers.

The thing is that without a strong team a head wind would be considered less or ignored than when you have a dominant team. IMO. In this case I don't think that things would have change much without the head wind.

 

[jmdirt]

Shameful that the GC guys took the name literally and toured around France today. "Do you want to win the TdF?" "Yeh, kinda, but I don't want to race too much." "What about you?" "Nah, I'll just follow these guys around and get 10th."

 

[Ataraxus]

Too bad Nibali and Porte weren't able to continue.
Things would have been different with them in the race.
Bring on the next stage thread now.

 

[rick james]

Re:

Too bad Nibali and Porte weren't able to continue.
Things would have been different with them in the race.
Bring on the next stage thread now.

if you say it enough you start believing it

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I doubt anything would be different with Porte and Nibali in a stage such as todays. But that's the usual myth when a certain rider is not there.

"IF only..."

If only my aunt had balls she would be my uncle

 

[Valv.Piti]

Those riders wouldnt have changed a thing today.

 

[Ataraxus]

Re:

I doubt anything would be different with Porte and Nibali in a stage such as todays. But that's the usual myth when a certain rider is not there.

"IF only..."

If only my aunt had balls she would be my uncle

Different in terms of GC action.
Nibali probably would have started fireworks in the descent today.
And Porte with last year legs would have triggered attacks in the MTFs.

 

[Escarabajo]

Re:

I doubt anything would be different with Porte and Nibali in a stage such as todays. But that's the usual myth when a certain rider is not there.

"IF only..."

If only my aunt had balls she would be my uncle

Agree!

 

[Alexandre B.]

What about Rigoberto Uran?

He would've made a difference, I'm sure!

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re:

What about Rigoberto Uran?

He would've made a difference, I'm sure!

Indeed, and we all know by now that Thibaut Pinot would've had this sealed up

 

[loge1884]

Aru would have pulverized the GC ..... and I am not even talking Louis Meintjes ....

 

[DNP-Old]

Re:

I doubt anything would be different with Porte and Nibali in a stage such as todays. But that's the usual myth when a certain rider is not there.

"IF only..."

If only my aunt had balls she would be my uncle

There is a weird tendency about riders, or athletes in general... the more they are absent, the better they get.

 

[Lequack]

We need an Alberto Contador.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Aru would have pulverized the GC ..... and I am not even talking by Louis Meintjes ....

Damn I miss being incredibly mad at Louis Meintjens this Tour.

 

[Koronin]

Re:

We need an Alberto Contador.

This.

 

[Leinster]

Whatever about whether they would have attacked today or not, I think it’s fair to say that were Porte, Nibali, and Uran (assuming similar form to last year) all in the race still, there would at the very least be 3 more guys that Sky would have to keep an eye on. They’d be 3 more guys who conceivably could have survived Bernal’s pull on Alpe d’Huez, and maybe Sky would have had to make a harder choice sooner on Froome v Thomas, rather than deferring it as late as possible the way they have been.

 

[jmdirt]

Re: Re:

I doubt anything would be different with Porte and Nibali in a stage such as todays. But that's the usual myth when a certain rider is not there.

"IF only..."

If only my aunt had balls she would be my uncle

Agree!

You agree that his aunt has balls? :lol:

 

[Red Rick]

Re: Re:

We need an Alberto Contador.

This.

Let him enjoy retirement.

I'd settle Mythical Healthy Nibali

 

[Lequack]

Re: Re:

We need an Alberto Contador.

This.

Let him enjoy retirement.

I think he's actually commentating for Eurosport. I wonder what he thinks of all this.

 

[JosephK]

Re: Re:

We need an Alberto Contador.

This.

Let him enjoy retirement.

I'd settle Mythical Healthy Nibali

These young whippersnappers! If Haimar Zubeldia was here, Sky would be begging for mercy!!!

 

[Lequack]

Re: Re:

We need an Alberto Contador.

This.

Let him enjoy retirement.

I'd settle Mythical Healthy Nibali

These young whippersnappers! If Haimar Zubeldia was here, Sky would be begging for mercy!!!

Or Lance with his Postal boys. I wonder how that would go down.

 

[JosephK]

Re: Re:

We need an Alberto Contador.

This.

Let him enjoy retirement.

I'd settle Mythical Healthy Nibali

These young whippersnappers! If Haimar Zubeldia was here, Sky would be begging for mercy!!!

Or Lance with his Postal boys. I wonder how that would go down.

Oh my. Now THAT would be a nuclear show! Even better . . . If the 2009 Astana TDF team were here, with guest star Andy Schleck.