marychain said:I thought his first stage win was rancid. He was in the early break, out all day, attacked for points on every Cat 1 finish, bridged from one group to another and still had the power to hold off a fast-approaching GC group on an HC climb. Not only that but he barely looked out of breath, and could even wink at the camera. He looked like a man to me who had absolutely no doubt at all that he was going to win the stage, even from the penultimate summit when he seemed to ease off and let Purito take the mountain points, like he knew he was getting the points at the end.
Then when he attacked the GC group and followed Nibali up the Hautacam I actually started laughing. I reckon Riis was in the ear-piece saying "Slow down Rafal, this is too obvious" or he would have caught Nibali.
I doubt he will get popped because these guys are too clever now, but his performances are blatantly not normal.
As an aside, I loved Rogers' face when Europcar tried to isolate him on Port de Bales. He just bridged over, twice, then led them all up the climb. Too funny...
He winked to the cameras during his 2nd stage win, and he looked like he was about to die when he crossed the line. His 2nd stage win was really funny though.