Lets Call The Whole Thing Off......

[mrbadog]

The plot thickens:

"If you see someone with a bike looking like this – they may also be wearing a red and white polka dot hat and carrying a large green cardboard hand with the letters PMU on it – please let us, Team Saxo Bank, or possibly better still the Belgian or French police know as soon as possible. Far-fetched as it sound, this could even have been a planned heist. Andy Schleck mentioned that there was something like oil on the road which caused the riders to crash more then once in a very short distance. We've not heard of this ever happening at a race like the Tour de France, but we have heard of thieves targeting races before."
From road.cc*

Chip

 

[Thee_chisa]

You got it all figured out, in spite of nearly all of these guys with ripped hips and forearms, and a few motos with cameras off the road too.

What was going on was exceptional. They couldn't even go in a straight line without the bikes slipping out.

why didn't they slow down and take it easy? just as going up a hill people will get dropped from lack of ability, the same thing happens on descents. but, when you go over you natural ability on descents, instead of just blowing, you fall off.

 

[scribe]

Im gutted, Ive got cash on Menchov, he managed to get through and then Fab/Riise slows it all down

This just might be a Russian mafia plot to heist bikes!

 

[richwagmn]

descending too fast and beyond your ability is something you can control. imagine if thor began sprinting up an alp and blew and expected people to wait for him until he had recovered. same thing, bike handling is a skill as is descending. if you can't do it well you shouldn't go above your limit and crash and then expect everyone to wait for you.

they should have taken it easy on the descent and then made the time up to the better descenders on the climbs, if you are not a good descender, you don't go down hills when it is raining full-pelt, fall off, then expect sympathy.

How do you know how fast they were going?

Sounds like a motorbike crashed and spilled something on the road. Everyone was describing the descent as crazy slick. Dangerous as they say.

Don't assume what you don't know.

 

[Thee_chisa]

How do you know how fast they were going?

i was watching it.

 

[bobs nob]

Gamesmanship rather than tactics.

Benders for trying it that way (rather than Canc pulling them back to the bunch) and benders to everyone else for not attacking them.

Like Saxo will hang around if anyone falls off tomorrow.

The harder GC contenders who were still on their bikes could have made Schlecklet suffer and lose some reasonable time today - he wont wait for them on the Tourmalet, descending in ****ty conditions is as much a part of bike racing as going up big mountains, or at least I thought it was...

And that was the point I made in the stage 2 thread. Astana should have pressed the front assuming they had a couple guys who could and got the same deal for AC that the Schlecks got today if he crashes tomorrow. It's stupid. But that's the way it is being played.

 

[scribe]

How do you know how fast they were going?

Sounds like a motorbike crashed and spilled something on the road. Everyone was describing the descent as crazy slick. Dangerous as they say.

Don't assume what you don't know.

He's up in the stage thread describing how he has it figured out what Cancellara was telling the race director, since he saw footage on the tube.

 

[bobs nob]

You got it all figured out, in spite of nearly all of these guys with ripped hips and forearms, and a few motos with cameras off the road too.

What was going on was exceptional. They couldn't even go in a straight line without the bikes slipping out.

It WAS exceptional, but what about after they all got under way again and past the oil slick? Yes, a lot of guys were scraped up pretty good, but what is the correct number before you decide to do what was done?

My only point is it got out of hand.

 

[boardhanger]

why didn't they slow down and take it easy? just as going up a hill people will get dropped from lack of ability, the same thing happens on descents. but, when you go over you natural ability on descents, instead of just blowing, you fall off.

I posted a predicted rain for the first week of the tour post with link http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=8328 last Friday and was laugh at because of weather probablity etc....y'know the armchair know-alls around here. Its proven correct. Point why didn't the pro's let down their tyre pressureaccordingly if they felt threatened on the downhills. Look, it was a ploy. I didn't see Saxo hold up for Vandenfeld etc....once Stank Schleck was onboard.

 

[MacRoadie]

In the live coverage, you could see a team mechanic (Garmin I think), running up to a rider at the side of the road. As he reaches him, he tries to slow down, starts sliding, and nearly ends up on his wallet.

I'm guessing, with that heavy tree canopy, there was a lot of slime on the road. Dead leaves, bird droppings, and that fine pollen a lot of trees seem to drop around them. Add water and it becomes slick as ice.

 

[Cerberus]

I posted a predicted rain for the first week of the tour post with link http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=8328 last Friday and was laugh at because of weather probablity etc....y'know the armchair know-alls around here. Its proven correct. Point why didn't the pro's let down their tyre pressureaccordingly if they felt threatened on the downhills. Look, it was a ploy. I didn't see Saxo hold up for Vandenfeld etc....once Stank Schleck was onboard.

You mean Christian Vande Velde? On todays stage? You need new glasses then, the stage was neutralised all the way to the finish. VdV was apparently so smashed up he finished 10 minutes down on the peleton even then. To bad for him and for the race but hardly Saxo Banks fault.

 

[scribe]

It WAS exceptional, but what about after they all got under way again and past the oil slick? Yes, a lot of guys were scraped up pretty good, but what is the correct number before you decide to do what was done?

My only point is it got out of hand.

I'd like to see a list of teams that might have benefited from drilling the split, after having gotten past the carnage. I don't think many, and worse yet, I am not sure these guys really knew what else was up ahead either.

But I think the yellow jersey was given away under this condition and that shouldn't be discounted. I don't see a good reason for Cancellara to wait for the Schlecklets or other as he was expected to stay in the jersey until the alps. I just think there were several forces at work here in shutting the stage down.

 

[Thee_chisa]

He's up in the stage thread describing how he has it figured out what Cancellara was telling the race director, since he saw footage on the tube.

...and it was later reported in l'equipe and other cycling news sites

 

[MacRoadie]

I'd like to see a list of teams that might have benefited from drilling the split, after having gotten past the carnage. I don't think many, and worse yet, I am not sure these guys really knew what else was up ahead either.

But I think the yellow jersey was given away under this condition and that shouldn't be discounted. I don't see a good reason for Cancellara to wait for the Schlecklets or other as he was expected to stay in the jersey until the alps. I just think there were several forces at work here in shutting the stage down.

The worst part was the Leipheimer quote after the finale when he said "The team directors lost TV so they didn't know what was going on".

That's what it all boils down to. They can't race effectively anymore without radios and live TV in the team cars.

 

[bobs nob]

I'd like to see a list of teams that might have benefited from drilling the split, after having gotten past the carnage. I don't think many, and worse yet, I am not sure these guys really knew what else was up ahead either.

But I think the yellow jersey was given away under this condition and that shouldn't be discounted. I don't see a good reason for Cancellara to wait for the Schlecklets or other as he was expected to stay in the jersey until the alps. I just think there were several forces at work here in shutting the stage down.

fair enough, i think such an unsatisfying two opening stages has me rather grumpy. cervelo was hitting it pretty hard and then they shut it off, i am sitting watching going, what the he-- just happened?

 

[Highlander]

I think that the "big" boys have forgotten where they came from and can only remember their paycheques. Everyone in bike racing has been involved in a crazy situation because of weather, terrain, the tactics of other racers, or a combination of everything. When I hear comments like Levi Leipheimer's saying how chaotic it was because of the conditions and the fact that the directors lost t.v. coverage in their cars so riders like Levi didn't know what was happening, it makes me think that maybe Levi (and others) need to realize that what is happening is the Tour de France and most riders in the pro ranks would give everything for the opportunity to compete in this event. And the last time I checked, the race is three weeks long so there will probably be some difficulties along the way. Otherwise I hear randonneur events are quite popular.

I found that to be a ridiculous comment that Levi made. We don't know how far away anyone else is, so we'll just give up trying to catch them. Maybe they thought that Chavanel should have just stopped and waited for the peloton to catch up to him so that they could have ridden into Spa in a united protest.

 

[richwagmn]

i was watching it.

Here's the story. Try reading before you post anything more.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010...after-the-tour-de-frances-second-stage_125976

 

[boardhanger]

You mean Christian Vande Velde? On todays stage? You need new glasses then, the stage was neutralised all the way to the finish. VdV was apparently so smashed up he finished 10 minutes down on the peleton even then. To bad for him and for the race but hardly Saxo Banks fault.

Your a SaxoBank supporter. Enough said.

 

[Thee_chisa]

The worst part was the Leipheimer quote after the finale when he said "The team directors lost TV so they didn't know what was going on".

That's what it all boils down to. They can't race effectively anymore without radios and live TV in the team cars.

yeah, they need to get rid of the radios and the TV. ride like real riders.

 

[Thee_chisa]

Here's the story. Try reading before you post anything more.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010...after-the-tour-de-frances-second-stage_125976

i am not relying on an american site for decent cycling news, thank you very much

 

[Cerberus]

Your a SaxoBank supporter. Enough said.

I am, and if that's the best argument you can come up with then enough said indeed.

 

[saganftw]

cancellara did great job for his team

on the other hand,if RS started to ride on the front to gain time on schlecks you would see at least 10 threads about dirty LA tactics

 

[Punter]

Im gutted, Ive got cash on Menchov, he managed to get through and then Fab/Riise slows it all down

Geez I know how you feel as I took 5/1 Hushovd for Green and cannot believe what happened.

Waiting for the GC riders from the various teams was one thing but the go slow at the end was pathetic.

What really puzzles me is how they can say that Chavanal's points for the stage win count to the Green Jersey but that those behind him get no points.

The reality is that he is unlikely to be a factor in this classification but what if that had been Hushovd himself up the road as the stage winner - would the same rules have applied?

I have lost alot of respect for Cancellara after todays stage and even more for the organisers who allowed themselves to be bullied.

 

[bobs nob]

cancellara did great job for his team

on the other hand,if RS started to ride on the front to gain time on schlecks you would see at least 10 threads about dirty LA tactics

I can't stand LA, but that's a tough one to disagree with! Except that it would be closer to 30 than 10. These boards are crackling this afternoon WITHOUT any malfeasance by Darth PhArmstrong.

 

[Cerberus]

Geez I know how you feel as I took 5/1 Hushovd for Green and cannot believe what happened.

Waiting for the GC riders from the various teams was one thing but the go slow at the end was pathetic.

What really puzzles me is how they can say that Chavanal's points for the stage win count to the Green Jersey but that those behind him get no points.

The reality is that he is unlikely to be a factor in this classification but what if that had been Hushovd himself up the road as the stage winner - would the same rules have applied?

Probably not, those kind of things are and should be a case-by-case evaluation. I agree that the sprint shouldn't have been neutralized though, no need to punish Hushovd for the crash or reward Cavendish.