Official thread - Stage 12 • Tonnerre - Vittel • 211,5 km

[Escarabajo]

Heck!!! Missed a chute for Leipheimer and Evans!
Must be inside the last 3kms. Evans is still smiling.

Good conclusion.

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

Great win for Niki. Great for Saxo. At least someone other than Cav won in a field sprint.

Still, 12 stages through, and only the TTT made any real difference on GC. Yes, the KOM seems to be the only jersey being fought for right now.

 

[TRDean]

Great win for Niki. Great for Saxo. At least someone other than Cav won in a field sprint.

Still, 12 stages through, and only the TTT made any real difference on GC. Yes, the KOM seems to be the only jersey being fought for right now.

Green is still pretty tight...and for Cav saying it isn't a priority for him he sure did go for the intermediate sprint today...gonna be fun.

 

[andrew_s]

Cav said he wasn't going to jeopardise the chance of stage wins by going for intermediate sprints. I reckon he'd been told that Eisel, Grabsch and the train had got the day off, and that the breakaway would probably stay clear

 

[Bala Verde]

I am expecting/hoping for a Riis plan tomorrow... Will he send Voigt and Larsson ahead, so that the Schlecks can try and attack the fantastic four on the Cat 1 climb? Will Evans send van de Broeck? Will Sastre have a pawn in the break away? Will the contenders who've lost time so far finally see tomorrow as an opportunity, and hopefully work together?

Let's hope the GC contenders have somthing up their sleeve...

I like Pellizotti's style this TdF. Menchov could learn a bit from him

 

[Mellow Velo]

They can do it, when Armstrong has a puncture.
He had the 4 domestiques, waiting on him, today, plus Kloden hanging off the back of the peloton, to take him back to the front.
Lucky Berto didn't have a problem with only Levi as his "boy".
Overkill or what?

In stark contrast. Andy Schleck punctured again and got Larsson.

For once, I'm praying for the forecast rain to arrive, to stir them out of the lethargy.

 

[rhubroma]

The Dane's moove looked like Shleck's at Liege this year, with all the obvious course differences.

Pelizzotti's riding is not surprising in light of his fine Giro performances, still, at his first Tour, I was not expecting him to be so ferocious. The Alpes will determine how noteworthy his race is gonna be. Hope he gets the KOM points jersey.

It is clear that for JB, LA is a more advantageous Tour victor than AC, in pure economic terms, in regards to finding new team sponsorship next year. Since economic concerns in the corporate sponsorship world always prevail over the purely human relationship issues, AC, who is in this sense because of his age, pedigree and actual physical superiority, the one Astana should be supporting: may very well be sacrificed to the corporate cause. Which is a shame. Of course LA has to demonstrate he has the legs to do it.

In any case, what if the LA/AC due mutually cancel each other from the title, because of JB playing the double spy game, and have third party member (AS?) steal the show? In that case, we shouldn't expect to see JB's disgraced face till about 2015.