Official Thread: TdF Stage 10, Limoges - Issoudun 194.5 km

[BroDeal]

Bastille Day. No radios. It's game on.

 

[issoisso]

French riders trying to win desperately.

Bunch sprint at the end (hey, the stage is dead flat, did you expect anything else?)

 

[auscyclefan94]

The french are no chance in today's stage but their endeavour is never doubted!

 

[craig1985]

I think every French team will have a man in the break today, but I think it will be a sprint finish, providing they haven't forgotten about anybody up the road.

 

[BroDeal]

French riders trying to win desperately.

Bunch sprint at the end (hey, the stage is dead flat, did you expect anything else?)

 

[Animal]

Looks like a tough stage really. Well for mere mortals it would be tough. I hate those up-down-up-down-up-down rides more than big mountains.

I think a break might do it today.

 

[Amsterhammer]

It'll be interesting to see if the eventual escape group is so big that Cavendish and Thor will have nothing to fight about in the sprints, unless one or both are actually in the escape group.

Bruyneel said last night that he expected complete madness during the first hour, but that he also didn't think a French escapee would win.

 

[Animal]

Neither team would allow Cav or Thor to escape.

 

[Amsterhammer]

Neither team would allow Cav or Thor to escape.

Not alone, but if they were both in the group.......

 

[msjett]

The profile looks like a stock market graph....I imagine a break away will be successfull and a french rider will win, all the faves will stay in the pac and we will have to entertain each other on the forum....Gawd, I hope I am wrong....

 

[rolfrae]

AG2R and Astana are only going to work hard if there's someone in the break that threatens GC, otherwise Columbia are going to have a hard time controlling the breaks. Maybe Quick Step could help out, given that Boonen's done sod all this Tour so far apart from fall off.

 

[MTBRaider]

Looks like a tough stage really. Well for mere mortals it would be tough. I hate those up-down-up-down-up-down rides more than big mountains.

I think a break might do it today.

All Cat 4s today...not too difficult unless you count the uncat climbs...cat 5s and 6s. I always like these type of rides above straight flat roads, but not more than the big mountains...climb for the descent.

I think a break can stay away today...another French victory on Bastille Day. Oh, and a serious crash sometime in the stage.

 

[The Barb]

I suspect a break might stay away today, due to the combination of an undulating course, high motivation on Bastille Day, no radios and the lack of teams willing to chase other than Columbia.

Sylvain Chavanel (20-1) is the most obvious candidate. There doesn't seem to have been much movement in the betting markets for anyone but some money around for Serguei Ivanov at around 60-1.

I'm on Jerome Pineau at 70-1. He got into a Bastille Day breakaway two years ago. Maybe he goes again.

Really a lottery though ....

 

[The Barb]

Before someone corrects me ... after checking, Pineau didn't get in a Bastille break previously. Must've imagined it. Oh well, 70-1 still ok.

 

[Hotbrakes]

Is there any wind? If so what direction? The wind has been better than the mountain stages.

 

[S2Sturges]

Radios versus safety issues

I think, as no doubt many others, who either raced or followed racing in the days of no radios, no helmets and one rest day in a three week tour, that the no radios thing is being hyped up beyond belief. The DS's are wetting them selves cause they can't control the race via the televisions in the cars, this crap about safety issues, is so bogus... that's why there were race bibles, not to mention the hundreds of police that control crowds and poiunt out potential hazrds to the riders. The Limoges stage looks lumpy but most likely will have virtually every French rider in it, July 14th.. everyone else will be on cruise anyways. The organisers knew it would be a benign stage, so virtually no chance for a change to overall.
Imagine say a stage like the Tourmalet without the DS's being able to know what was going on,well, if you step back ten years, it would be normal.
Personally, I'd like to see both radios gone and televisions in cars gone, so the riders can get back some spontaneity and liveliness to racing, I just fall asleep now.

 

[El Imbatido]

Bastille Day. No radios. It's game on.

And nice tags for this thread BroDeal.

"Bruyneel sucks"

Thats gold

 

[karlboss]

One gc contender in every break and force astana to chase hard all day. Its all I want

 

[craig1985]

SITUATION

Thierry Hupond (Skil-Shimano), Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), Benoit Vaurengard (FdJ) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis)

Peloton at 3:40

Live Rider Stats - Updated: 13:11 CEST

* Johannes Froehlinger - Milram
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 0km/h, Power: -1watts, Cadence: -1rpm
* Bert Grabsch - Columbia-HTC
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 0km/h, Power: -1watts, Cadence: -1rpm
* Brian Vandborg - Liquigas
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 0km/h, Power: -1watts, Cadence: -1rpm
* Chris Sorensen - Saxo Bank
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 0km/h, Power: -1watts, Cadence: -1rpm
* Nicki Sorensen - Saxo Bank
o Distance: 0km, Speed: 0km/h, Power: -1watts, Cadence: -1rpm

 

[ak-zaaf]

SITUATION

Thierry Hupond (Skil-Shimano), Mikhail Ignatiev (Katusha), Benoit Vaurengard (FdJ) and Samuel Dumoulin (Cofidis)

Peloton at 3:40

man, only two french teams in the first real break attempt (?) and they let them go.

what a rip-off

 

[The Barb]

man, only two french teams in the first real break attempt (?) and they let them go.

what a rip-off

Agree ... what a soft start to the stage. I thought there would be stacks of teams preventing early breaks if they weren't represented but instead the first real attempt makes it away with only four in it. Disappointing.

 

[Cobber]

I am pretty sure the whole peloton is going to slowly pedal the course and finish as a group, given how dangerous it'll be without radios.

 

[craig1985]

The riders do have radios but can only communicate with the race commissionaires, not with their team cars (from the live coverage).

 

[Mellow Velo]

I am pretty sure the whole peloton is going to slowly pedal the course and finish as a group, given how dangerous it'll be without radios.

Certainly started that way. 38kms in the first hour and the break only 2 and a half minutes up the road.......

 

[craig1985]

In 2007 they rode a stage (the one where Cancellara TT'd off the front in the final 500m and won) and only averaged 35km/h.