Le Tour de France 2011 - the big one is coming

[dlwssonic]

with the early mountain stages, this could be the most uneventful Tour in years. expect a real sleeper if Contador has any time on the group the first week.

Then listen as Phil and Paul man love for their great white hope.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

what on earth are you talking about

 

[Boeing]

what on earth are you talking about

I never know post to post but thanks for asking

 

[hughmoore]

with the early mountain stages, this could be the most uneventful Tour in years. expect a real sleeper if Contador has any time on the group the first week.

Then listen as Phil and Paul man love for their great white hope.

zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Who is the great white hope? Gadret?



Hugh

 

[auscyclefan94]

Does anyone know of any good tour de france podcasts? I have listened to ITV podcast the past two years and listening to that **** Rendell makes we want to slice my scrotum open.

 

[Duartista]

Does anyone know of any good tour de france podcasts? I have listened to ITV podcast the past two years and listening to that **** Rendell makes we want to slice my scrotum open.

Why? Rendell is one of the more knowledgeable cycling journalists around.

 

[Midnightfright]

Does anyone know of any good tour de france podcasts? I have listened to ITV podcast the past two years and listening to that **** Rendell makes we want to slice my scrotum open.

Ha ha, nicely put. I would be very interested in a gd podcast also.

 

[BillytheKid]

Does anyone know of any good tour de france podcasts? I have listened to ITV podcast the past two years and listening to that **** Rendell makes we want to slice my scrotum open.

Is Rendell that EuroSport announcer?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Cunego quietly confident ahead of the Tour - main page CN article

What do you think about that? Cunego for a top 10? Or will he fail eventually in one of the MT stages?

 

[just some guy]

Cunego quietly confident ahead of the Tour - main page CN article

What do you think about that? Cunego for a top 10? Or will he fail eventually in one of the MT stages?

On 1 day he will bonk and lose 10 - 15 mins stage 18 my guess

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Cunego quietly confident ahead of the Tour - main page CN article

What do you think about that? Cunego for a top 10? Or will he fail eventually in one of the MT stages?

top 10 is possible.

I think somewhere between 10-15, as I suspect he'll screw up somewhere.
But then at the same time I would be surprised to see him being the 5th or 6th best climber on some of the tougher climbs.

 

[cleverhans]

Overall course profile here

Community service. Here's a homemade overall course profile. Kinda rough but you get the idea...

 

[taiwan]

Good idea. That's another cool thing about the Giro.

 

[icefire]

After being hit twice by ill fate Movistar Team has had to improvise in their Tour roster. Intxausti and Arroyo will be the team leaders.

http://www.marca.com/2011/06/22/ciclismo/1308740440.html

 

[hfer07]

After being hit twice by ill fate Movistar Team has had to improvise in their Tour roster. Intxausti and Arroyo will be the team leaders.

http://www.marca.com/2011/06/22/ciclismo/1308740440.html

what a pity-Movistar should have been a great team haven't this misfortune arrived in such a devastating way- Arroyo and Kiryienka will be toasted after the Giro

 

[auscyclefan94]

Why? Rendell is one of the more knowledgeable cycling journalists around.

He's one of the most biased cycling journalists around who has very single views on issues.

 

[Angliru]

Cunego quietly confident ahead of the Tour - main page CN article

What do you think about that? Cunego for a top 10? Or will he fail eventually in one of the MT stages?

I think with Cunego the dream never dies and the dream being to once again be a grand tour contender. He had publicly given it up but I'm sure privately he still hoped for signs that he was somehow getting back to the form that won him the 2004 Giro. Having such recent success in week long stage races where all of his successes since 2004 have been in single day events must have him feeling fairly confident that he is on the right track.

I personally don't know how all this translates to him being able to endure the 3 weeks of a grand tour without having a day where he gets dropped and loses big minutes. I think by nature he's an attacking/aggressive rider but for him to maintain a decent position in the gc he would have to ride relatively conservatively because IMO he can't climb with the elite riders on a day to day basis without eventually blowing up. Other teams will only give him so much latitude if he were to go on the attack but he's bound to lose major time in the ITT so he must build up a cushion to compensate for that and I can't imagine his rivals' teams allowing that to happen.

I think he would be better served following his natural aggressive instincts and pursue the KOM jersey rather than a high gc placing.

 

[krismtb]

Wow, did you guys see this stage? Amazing.

http://races.strava.com/tour-de-france-2011/stage-14/feet

 

[auscyclefan94]

Link of Stage 1 finish - Google Maps


Doesn't look overly hard. My tip is Goss.

 

[No_Balls]

I have no admiration for Andy Schleck. He comes across as a whiner to me. He can't TT, can't descend well, barely knows how to shift his bike even when it's electronic. He's a great climber though. Almost as good as Matt Busche.

Not to mention that it will be more likely seeing Santa Claus turns up at a cycling race after July than Andy Schleck.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Some of the BMC riders did some training up the Stelvio. It is a scary climb!

 

[Ferminal]

Link of Stage 1 finish - Google Maps


Doesn't look overly hard. My tip is Goss.

No real sharp turns, looks more like the TdS finishes (but tougher). Agreed, a "sprinter" might win it.

 

[auscyclefan94]

No real sharp turns, looks more like the TdS finishes (but tougher). Agreed, a "sprinter" might win it.

Yeah it is a bit tougher. The final km is a bit tougher. The last 4km of the stage is all uphill but the final km is the toughest @5%. The last km just winds around to the top and there isn't particulary a final straight. That will make the positioning in the sprint vital. The last 100m seems to kick up just that extra bit.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Some of the BMC riders did some training up the Stelvio. It is a scary climb!

With all those hairpins I think I'd rather (feel safer) going up than down it!
Passo Stelvio climb from the west in HD - part 2

 

[auscyclefan94]

With all those hairpins I think I'd rather (feel safer) going up than down it!
Passo Stelvio climb from the west in HD - part 2

Stelvio, such an epic climb.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

With all those hairpins I think I'd rather (feel safer) going up than down it!
Passo Stelvio climb from the west in HD - part 2

In which case, just use it as an MTF:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EhLZAuwEISI