Le Tour de France 2011 STAGE 8 - Aigurande-Super-Besse Sancy 189 km

[Cimber]

Yeah me too.

Contador did look a bit laboured in following Evans' acceleration in the Eurosport video on Steephill. Whether fatigue or injury that's not a good sign. Evans continues to look excellent, and Andy seems to have come out of hibernation finally.

Ye the Giro and the crashes might have caught up with Bertie, but then again we will have to w8 till the real mountains before judging. My bet is that Evans will be dropped by both Bertie and Andrew. But I dunno who of those will be the strongest though.

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Nice ride by Hushovd, I'm not his biggest fan but today was impressive

 

[Lucky1]

I really hope that the eventual winner of the Tour actually does something to earn it.

That is all.

Agreed - crumbs what dull defensive riding from the GC contenders (as I don't count Vino as a GC contender). And Evans not even able to take 1 second off Thor... If they keep this up - Wiggo really would have been in with a shout in Paris.

 

[BYOP88]

Just wondering about chat concerning Contador on forums; if he doesn't attack it's cos he's tired, if he attacks but only gets a small gap it again means he's tired and finally if he attacks and gains a fair chunk of time it's cos he's on the sauce. Am I on the right page now?

As for Thor still being in yellow pretty cool, although I'm guesing Garmin/JV would rather he lost it today.

 

[Parrulo]

Just wondering about chat concerning Contador on forums; if he doesn't attack it's cos he's tired, if he attacks but only gets a small gap it again means he's tired and finally if he attacks and gains a fair chunk of time it's cos he's on the sauce. Am I on the right page now?

As for Thor still being in yellow pretty cool, although I'm guesing Garmin/JV would rather he lost it today.

ya you got it fairly well now

 

[BYOP88]

ya you got it fairly well now

Excellent, I've finally arrived

 

[Karl Max]

I think the new communication system in Garmin is the reason Hushovd is still in yellow. Obviously Hushovd found a back up system for the radio communication with Vaughters, as this photo shows. Whenever he is in trouble he just pick up the hotline to JV and get some good advice about how to keep the yellow jersey.
Unfortunatly I was not able to see the final of to days stage as I was at work, but was pretty surprised to see Thor was still in yellow.
Nice to see a breakaway making it all the way to the end, and nice to see Rui Costa hitting back after last years preformance in the tour.

 

[BYOP88]

I think the new communication system in Garmin is the reason Hushovd is still in yellow. Obviously Hushovd found a back up system for the radio communication with Vaughters, as this photo shows. Whenever he is in trouble he just pick up the hotline to JV and get some good advice about how to keep the yellow jersey.
Unfortunatly I was not able to see the final of to days stage as I was at work, but was pretty surprised to see Thor was still in yellow.
Nice to see a breakaway making it all the way to the end, and nice to see Rui Costa hitting back after last years preformance in the tour.

Nah, Barredo was nowhere near him today!

 

[Gingerale]

we all have the tendancy to see what we want to see each day. Some of us even try to project the final outcome based on "our own" perception of today's stage . But the Tour, is made of dealing with each of the 21 days of racing. One could make the argument , and some did , that AC strategy for stage 1 was not very smart or successful . Those people are now "obligated" to admit by their own criteria that his strategy for stage 6 and 7 was "genial" in term of eliminating the 4 prong beast (AKA : Retirement Shack) meant to crush him on week 3. (humor me -one more paragraph) So then what was today's strategy for AC? First possibility: Not loosing time on any important competitors? check. Second, gaining time on those ahead of him in GC. I give him a half check for that since he manage to pass 15 competitors, who were ahead on time yesterday. So he went from 35 to 20. That is 45 down since stage one with only 20 to go and two week to do it. Now tell me one rider in this year Tour who has progressed that much in one week? And according to my (of course skewed ) perception without pushing to hard or killing his team to defend a yellow jersey or to gain 1 second. Today BMC left a lot of juice on the road and what did they gain for it? not even one second.. Ditto for Astana, they worked hard.. HTC had hopes to for Tjay ( me too by the way ) and he lost the stage

good points about personal perception. i lack experience watching cycling but the previous 2 years i was right about contador winning. now, a friend of mine, who has no interest to watch thinks i'm an expert picking.

relative to him, i suppose i am.

however, what i've seen, heard, or read has not convinced me contador won't win. the difference between this year and last is: i have a shred of doubt. and not because his competition appears clearly better but because of contador, issues surrounding him, and maybe his form. = basically, the same doubts until mt. etna during the giro.

can't believe i almost cried when tejay pulled on dots.

if i had to pick a TDF podium from my skewed perception today:
contador
evans
schleck, andy ( his TT in ToC and TdS, jeez )

 

[BYOP88]

good points about personal perception. i lack experience watching cycling but the previous 2 years i was right about contador winning. now, a friend of mine, who has no interest to watch thinks i'm an expert picking.

relative to him, i suppose i am.

however, what i've seen, heard, or read has not convinced me contador won't win. the difference between this year and last is: i have a shred of doubt. and not because his competition appears clearly better but because of contador, issues surrounding him, and maybe his form. = basically, the same doubts until mt. etna during the giro.

can't believe i almost cried when tejay pulled on dots.

if i had to pick a TDF podium from my skewed perception today:
contador
evans
schleck, andy ( his TT in ToC and TdS, jeez )

As I said several pages back, don't worry about Andy in the ITT he'll pull a Rasmussen 2007 TdF ITT out of the bag.

 

[zapata]

I thought it was a great stage to watch. Anyone saying it was boring, must have been expecting the GC-favourites to come out to play? This wasn't a decisive stage in the GC, but very watchable nonetheless, with the breakaway constantly trying to kill each other, Flecha and Txurruka chasing, Vino in virtual yellow and then cracking, Rui Costa just holding on for a glorious win, Hushovd hanging on to the yellow coat* by a hair..



*http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dwPd_q9Fz6g

 

[zapata]

What walks on two feet, and looks like a goat? That crazy thor hushovd, in a bright yellow coat.

 

[powderpuff]

Ok, lets compare Andy, Evans and Conta in 2009 and 2010 TDF last ITT.

in 2010

35 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:05:43
44 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:06:14
166 Cadel Evans (Aus) BMC Racing Team 0:10:57

You can see that Conta only won Andy with 31 seconds.

in 2009

1 Alberto Contador Velasco (Spa) Astana 0:48:31
12 Cadel Evans (Aus) Silence - Lotto 0:01:14
21 Andy Schleck (Lux) Team Saxo Bank 0:01:44

In 2009 Andy lost 30 seconds to Evans and 1:44 to Conta.

Like i've said in few last posts Andy have improved his ITT position alot in the last winter. And other thing i've said Andy probably loose 90 to Evans in 42km ITT if they were both totally fresh but 2 weeks in the mountains changes alot. Andy is known to be great recover and its even fysiological thing. 34-old rider wont recover as fast as 26-year therefore Andy wont loose more than 30 seconds to Evans in the last ITT.

Stupid to compare Cadel's ITT time of 2009 & 2010, last year he had an injury and in 2009(forget about the reasons) he only raced hard after the first timecheck; where if you look at the results I think he was pretty close to the fastest person over the last two time-checks.

If AS is in yellow he will be damn hard to beat no matter the time difference and vice versa.

 

[Gingerale]

As I said several pages back, don't worry about Andy in the ITT he'll pull a Rasmussen 2007 TdF ITT out of the bag.

i did watch parts of TDF 2007. enough to be thoroughly impressed with contador climbing. i missed the ITT.

andy riding a super TT in grenoble would also be impressive. have to admit i'd be surprised. happily surprised. if he doesn't win this year, he's only 26. it's not like he's missed his last chance.

evans winning would be big! he's not a personal fave but i'd be happy for him and BMC.

if they ride well and display skills, even if not who i wanted most to win, by the time the rider steps on the podium it strikes me what he accomplished. a lot of times there's a mother happy. : )

speaking of podiums wondering about white jersey gesink. in dutch are they saying he retired from TdF? looking for information.

 

[Dutchsmurf]

speaking of podiums wondering about white jersey gesink. in dutch are they saying he retired from TdF? looking for information.

He is confirmed to start tomorrow.

 

[Gingerale]

He is confirmed to start tomorrow.

thanks. wouldn't have been a shocker if his injury was bad enough to stop. after that bad fall, i couldn't believe how he was doubling over in pain one minute, on the bike and down the road the next.

thor. i thought he'd keep yellow.

now time to get something else done with the day.

 

[mewmewmew13]

Nice ride by Hushovd, I'm not his biggest fan but today was impressive

Thor has gone above and beyond this tour!

 

[BYOP88]

i did watch parts of TDF 2007. enough to be thoroughly impressed with contador climbing. i missed the ITT.

andy riding a super TT in grenoble would also be impressive. have to admit i'd be surprised. happily surprised. if he doesn't win this year, he's only 26. it's not like he's missed his last chance.

evans winning would be big! he's not a personal fave but i'd be happy for him and BMC.

if they ride well and display skills, even if not who i wanted most to win, by the time the rider steps on the podium it strikes me what he accomplished. a lot of times there's a mother happy. : )

speaking of podiums wondering about white jersey gesink. in dutch are they saying he retired from TdF? looking for information.

Ok first of all check out Rasmussen's ITT stage 20 in the TdF 2005(comedy gold)then check out the one in 2007, if I remember it was at the end of the 1st week/start of week 2.

 

[benpounder]

I wish some Schleck fans would get a grip on reality. It's better to just accept how good Contador is and move on, instead of trying to belittle him.

It makes the rest of us Schleck fans look bad!

A number of forum members belittle any rider who did better than their favorite. Look at how many people are belittling BMC for riding strong - what are the odds that they are the same folks that were hoping for a Vino win. And it is frustrating not just to the fas base, but for cycling enthusiasts in general.

 

[ManInFull]

A number of forum members belittle any rider who did better than their favorite. Look at how many people are belittling BMC for riding strong - what are the odds that they are the same folks that were hoping for a Vino win. And it is frustrating not just to the fas base, but for cycling enthusiasts in general.

Believe me, the typical cycling fan doesn't even hear about these types of discussions. They would not want to listen for long anyway.

 

[benpounder]

As for Thor still being in yellow pretty cool, although I'm guesing Garmin/JV would rather he lost it today.

Why? Irrespective of yellow, Garmin is going to ride hard to Tyler mid-week anyway. And having more days where cameras are focusing upon "World Champion and Race Leader Thor Hushovd of Garmin/Cervelo" has got to have the sponsors dancing jigs.

 

[BYOP88]

Why? Irrespective of yellow, Garmin is going to ride hard to Tyler mid-week anyway. And having more days where cameras are focusing upon "World Champion and Race Leader Thor Hushovd of Garmin/Cervelo" has got to have the sponsors dancing jigs.

Doesn't the World Champion get coverage anyway? Also if you're not in yellow you don't have to work the entire stage.

 

[benpounder]

Doesn't the World Champion get coverage anyway?

Yes, but not nearly as much. Also, there are only a handful of daily stage presentations, and the world champ isnt one of them.

Also if you're not in yellow you don't have to work the entire stage.

Not necessarily. As BMC Team manager John Lelangue explains:

Asked why his riders had decided to control the peloton, the Belgian explained they “had to do that” because of Cadel Evans's second position overall, one second behind Thor Hushovd. “We knew Garmin-Cervélo was not going to do that work, as there were a very small possibility that Hushovd would save his jersey. So it was our responsibility to ride.”

I'm not saying that there isn't a downside to holding on to Yellow, just that the upsides are more significant.

 

[Gingerale]

Rasmussen

Ok first of all check out Rasmussen's ITT stage 20 in the TdF 2005(comedy gold)then check out the one in 2007, if I remember it was at the end of the 1st week/start of week 2.

okay, i did what i could. found 2005 TT. disaster! poor guy.

but for some reason couldn't find the the whole TT for michael rasmussen 2007. just highlights. learned a lot of other detail about that TdF and got the idea about his TT.

yeah. seriously hope andy has a great TT.

 

[terri@canberra]

When will the Leopard Trek do some work?

They're getting it easy at the moment. I thought it was 'arrogant' and dumb of BMC to do all the work. Schlecks must be feeling good!
Hushovd, the 'man'. Found myself barracking for him for the last half hour of the stage, Terri