Official thread TdF Stage 14 Colmar - Besançon - 199 km

[benpounder]

This race is getting too Astana-centered and they r not even hiding it. Its destroying the fun, all that calculating, giving up jerseys and cheering...

Yeah... much better during Indurain's reign... and soo much different.

 

[Kennf1]

Zabriskie's twitt:

"Pawns in their game..."

Leave it to Z to be enigmatic.

 

[lean mean &green]

What glory is there in wearing yellow if it's been handed to you on a platter?

I like Hincapie but this has gotten ridiculous.

 

[Animal]

I did like Thor's attitude though. He's just going to keep giving it full gas. If he keeps the green all the way, good on him.

He quickly got over that Milram guy taking points off him on the line yesterday saying "we've all got numbers on our backs". Cav could do with some rough edges knocking off, and he needs to learn from people likeThor.

 

[lean mean &green]

I did like Thor's attitude though. He's just going to keep giving it full gas. If he keeps the green all the way, good on him.

He quickly got over that Milram guy taking points off him on the line yesterday saying "we've all got numbers on our backs". Cav could do with some rough edges knocking off, and he needs to learn from people likeThor.

A lot of guys could learn from Thor.

 

[rickibobbi]

Hincapie should have gunned it

I agree, not sure why he simply didn't TT it to the finish, notwithstanding the disreputable Garmin tactics, as if pro bike racing is reputable to begin with. And to be clear, Astana just road at the front to keep the time gap to a manageable point, anytime it got within a minute or two of what GH needed, they backed off. Boy, I hope the damn tour gets interesting starting tomorrow, (with the promise of a really hard week, I hope it becomes a reality), otherwise, what a snore. This whole last week seemed like a waste of band width and glycogen.

 

[klodifan]

This race is getting too Astana-centered and they r not even hiding it. Its destroying the fun, all that calculating, giving up jerseys and cheering up LA and JB. Anyone else has a feeling it would be much, much, much.....much more fun with no Astana, and AC in Caisse, no TTT and proper mountains. Schlecks, Evans, Sastre, AC and others clash in the mountains, attacks, bonks. No 'going by the plan' and bs like that. Ehhh....

Without LA, yes.

 

[Mr.DNA]

Just last week Hincapie was p|$$ed off that the other teams weren't pulling. Now they pull and he's still angry. You just can't please some people...

But seriously... I didn't start doing it intentionally, but I've found myself mentally cataloguing the bad things that have happened to George since the day he sucked Pereiro's wheel all the way up Pla D'Adet. This one is up right there with the Schumacher incident at Benelux and the broken steerer tube.

 

[frizzlefry]

@matkearns why we pulled so hard? When we started it was 6:00. When we stopped it was 8:40. Those are the facts...
Twitter from the Uniballer.

Well, I guess he doesn't realize that there is taped evidence that he is lying. They were stringing the peloton out when they took up the chase. They did back off, but there was a point where it was under 5 minutes (after having gone out to over 6) and guess who was pulling?

OK, who is lying? The text comments from cyclingnews seem to match what LA said.

15:00 CEST 99km/100km
The riders are rolling through nicely. Astana remains at the head of the bunch. The roads are not too technical so that helps with the safety aspect.
The gap is 5'26, so Hincapie is hovering in the virtual race lead
15:12 CEST
The gap has now gone out to just over six minutes...

15:22 CEST
Columbia's Brian Holm has said that he expects Astana to keep the break within shouting distance, and that the sprinters' teams to chase later on. He said that he expects the twelve riders to dispute the stage win between him, though, and Nocentini to keep the race lead.

15:31 CEST 79km/120km
With just under 80 kilometres to go, they are 6'54 clear

15:38 CEST
Contador has a chat, then heads back to the team car. Doesn't look like there's any problems.
15:49 CEST 67km/132km
The gap is now reading 7'51",

16:03 CEST
The peloton is 8'20 back, tackling a steep ramp out of the saddle. It's once again a relatively uncomplicated day. although the Astana team has done a lot of riding. They were tapping through for a long time but now there is a sense of urgency.
16:19 CEST 45km/154km
With the lead still 8'18", Hincapie knows that yellow is within reach. If the bunch speeds up and takes three minutes back, it'll be gone; otherwise, he'll be in the running.

16:22 CEST
As expected, the Ag2r La Mondiale team are now chasing. They want to keep Nocentini in yellow for one more day.
The race has been getting progressively faster in the second half of the stage.
16:27 CEST 40km/159km
Sure enough, the gap is coming down under Ag2r La Mondiale's impetus. It's now 7'40". The break is pedalling along a wide river.
16:33 CEST
Behind, Ag2r are ramping up the speed for what is almost certainly Nocentini's final podium appearance as maillot jaune.

16:45 CEST 28km/171km
The break is looking a bit more disjointed now, with the riders trying to get Roche to start working. His team are chasing behind to ensure Nocentini keeps yellow, so he won't contribute. It doesn't make any sense for him to do so, as it would counteract the Ag2r efforts.
16:49 CEST
Nocentini is now 6'29" back, so the Ag2r team are getting close to the 5'25" that Hincapie needs to take yellow. Will he do it?
17:26 CEST
Ag2r are no longer chasing...it's Silence Lotto at the front, with Evans sitting second in line.

 

[klodifan]

Zabriskie's twitt:

"Pawns in their game..."

Leave it to Z to be enigmatic.

Actually, I think he is being quite clear

 

[goober]

@matkearns why we pulled so hard? When we started it was 6:00. When we stopped it was 8:40. Those are the facts...
Twitter from the Uniballer.

Well, I guess he doesn't realize that there is taped evidence that he is lying. They were stringing the peloton out when they took up the chase. They did back off, but there was a point where it was under 5 minutes (after having gone out to over 6) and guess who was pulling?

Again, they decided to try to manage a gap that was of their choosing, and they screwed up by not allowing a bigger gap. They didn't block. They maintained, and they did a piss poor job if their wish was to see Hincapie in yellow. Why didn't they "block" until the finish if that was their game?

lol. You are such a 'reverse fanboy'.

 

[Kennf1]

One thing that may be overlooked is that Maaskant (Garmin) pulled hard in the break, thereby helping GH. I think all of this is a joke, given the time margins. If anyone in the main pack had pulled just a little easier for 1 mile, GH would be in yellow. By the same token, if the break had gone just a little harder, GH would be in yellow. And no one would be piling on Garmin.

 

[lean mean &green]

Vaughters tweet explaining Garmin strategy:

"That had nothing to do with George or Columbia. Wiggo almost lost 15 seconds the other day due to a split. We can't have that happen again."

I think Astana is in the clear.

What JV says makes sense, not sure if I believe him, not sure if I care about this cat fight anymore.

 

[Amsterhammer]

Has anyone considered how likely George would have taken the yellow if there had been no radios today?

I think he would have been a dead cert.

Edit - since there is actually plenty to talk about for tomorrow, how about someone else starts up the stage thread? I don't want to look like I'm hogging it.

 

[Anonymous]

Obviously not going to change your mind, but it honestly seems as if you don't know much about professional cycling and team tactics. As soon as the route headed into the alps, Astana was responsible for controlling the race and setting the "tempo". AG2R stopped trying to set the pace. Astana was told that AG2R would not chase down the break. Garmin had no reason to chase. Astana set a "tempo" that would allow a finish of 8 or 9 minutes. They certainly weren't going to let the break go up to 15 minutes.

I'm not sure if you understand this, or how this will negatively impact Garmin the rest of the tour?

3 posts in and this newbie has determined the extent of my knowledge of cycling. I honestly wonder whether there is some official Astana/Uniballer press kit they send out before allowing people like this to post?

 

[Anonymous]

OK, who is lying? The text comments from cyclingnews seem to match what LA said.

15:00 CEST 99km/100km
The riders are rolling through nicely. Astana remains at the head of the bunch. The roads are not too technical so that helps with the safety aspect.
The gap is 5'26, so Hincapie is hovering in the virtual race lead
15:12 CEST

Oh, its all on tape, I watched it. I didn't even need to follow the live ticker. Heck, Phil and Paul even commented on it. I guess that is what I get for actually watching the race? Sorry, but there was actually a race prior to the post you started with, and at one point Astana dropped the lead to under 5 minutes and were stringing the peloton out. Now, as I SAID, they soon called it off, but not the management of the gap. And they did a poor job of managing the gap if what they wanted was for George to get yellow. They are as much to blame as anyone.

 

[frizzlefry]

Oh, its all on tape, I watched it. I didn't even need to follow the live ticker. Heck, Phil and Paul even commented on it. I guess that is what I get for actually watching the race? Sorry, but there was actually a race prior to the post you started with, and at one point Astana dropped the lead to under 5 minutes and were stringing the peloton out. Now, as I SAID, they soon called it off, but not the management of the gap. And they did a poor job of managing the gap if what they wanted was for George to get yellow. They are as much to blame as anyone.

Ohhh, so now you swear by what Phil and Paul have to say? How convenient.

Why is it Astana's responsibility to manage the gap to put George in yellow? They are on different teams.

 

[Anonymous]

Ohhh, so now you swear by what Phil and Paul have to say? How convenient.

Why is it Astana's responsibility to manage the gap to put George in yellow? They are on different teams.

1. No, I was watching what was happening, unlike you obviously.

2. That is my question. The gap or catch should have been AG2R's job, but Astana chose to manage the gap and put George in yellow. That is straight from the Uniballer's mouth.

 

[frizzlefry]

1. No, I was watching what was happening, unlike you obviously.

2. That is my question. The gap or catch should have been AG2R's job, but Astana chose to manage the gap and put George in yellow. That is straight from the Uniballer's mouth.

I still cant find "your time gap"?????? Certainly the cyclingnews guys would have commented on it had it happened?

Sorry, but there was actually a race prior to the post you started with, and at one point Astana dropped the lead to under 5 minutes and were stringing the peloton out. .

13:47 CEST 147km/52km

The lead has gone up again, rising to 46" now. One Quick Step rider tries to chase but it's a big gap by yourself. What's more likely is that he is trying to entice the peloton to chase.


13:59 CEST 139km/60km

This could well be the break of the day; the peloton is headed by the Saxo Bank and Lampre riders behind, who are blocking. The gap goes up to 2'23". Roche sits on the back in his distinctive Irish champion's jersey; he has no obligation to chase as his team-mate is leading the race.

14:05 CEST 133km/66km

Voigt is not a happy camper...he's rolling, and giving out to the camera. He's decided that he can't get back up to the break, which is now 4'07" clear. That's unfortunate for the affable German.


14:17 CEST 126km/73km

The rain is coming down heavier now. Voigt is back in the main bunch, which is being lead by the Astana team. Ag2r don't have to chase with Roche up the road. The gap is 5'50" now. Astana won't be particularly focussed on bringing this back, but rather on maintaining a decent pace behind.

14:54 CEST

The bunch now crosses the top of the climb, 5'30 after Willems took the points ahead of Timmer, Ivanov and Ciolek.

Moreau attacks again...more family up the road, or is he just feeling antsy? He's got the boost of a one year deal with Caisse d'Epargne for 2010. He had originally been expected to retire.

Ah, he went ahead to greet his fan club. He's soaking it up, smiliing broadly and waving.

15:00 CEST 99km/100km

The riders are rolling through nicely. Astana remains at the head of the bunch. The roads are not too technical so that helps with the safety aspect.

The gap is 5'26, so Hincapie is hovering in the virtual race lead.

 

[Padeiro]

From Eurosport, pretty interesting...

Thanks to some chasing help from the Garmin team, AG2R were able to keep Nocentini in the yellow jersey as they raced over the finish 5:36 behind Ivanov.

"We spoke with the Garmin team and asked them to help us in the chase," added Nocentini.

"They put riders at the front in the final 10, 15km and that gave us a bit of freshness."

 

[frizzlefry]

From Eurosport, pretty interesting...

Thanks to some chasing help from the Garmin team, AG2R were able to keep Nocentini in the yellow jersey as they raced over the finish 5:36 behind Ivanov.

"We spoke with the Garmin team and asked them to help us in the chase," added Nocentini.

"They put riders at the front in the final 10, 15km and that gave us a bit of freshness."

No way, dont believe that crap, its Astana's/LA's fault. They got it in for George.

 

[Anonymous]

I still cant find "your time gap"?????? Certainly the cyclingnews guys would have commented on it had it happened?

Sorry, I guess you need to get up earlier tomorrow so you don't miss something.

What I can tell you is that it was around 8:45 am here, and maybe I am trolling a bit with the insinuation because the stringing out of the peloton didn't last long, but it did happen. And unless the time gaps quoted by Phil and Paul were wrong, the gap came down during that time, and then Astana backed off. In fact, if you read Lance's commentary, he even says that once they found out Hincapie was in the break, they shut it down a bit. But for a short time, they were chasing hard.

 

[Anonymous]

From Eurosport, pretty interesting...

Thanks to some chasing help from the Garmin team, AG2R were able to keep Nocentini in the yellow jersey as they raced over the finish 5:36 behind Ivanov.

"We spoke with the Garmin team and asked them to help us in the chase," added Nocentini.

"They put riders at the front in the final 10, 15km and that gave us a bit of freshness."

Funny, I just read a quote on Velonews from someone with AG2R that said they didn't know why Garmin was there.

Here:Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale), race leader: “We had our guys riding at the front and then we saw Garmin put riders on the front. I don’t know why they did it. I didn’t speak to any of them, so I don’t know their reasons. But we didn’t mind at all. It helped me stay in yellow.”

 

[Padeiro]

LOL it's become a friggin' soap opera

Funny, I just read a quote on Velonews from someone with AG2R that said they didn't know why Garmin was there.

Here:Rinaldo Nocentini (Ag2r-La Mondiale), race leader: “We had our guys riding at the front and then we saw Garmin put riders on the front. I don’t know why they did it. I didn’t speak to any of them, so I don’t know their reasons. But we didn’t mind at all. It helped me stay in yellow.”

 

[Anonymous]

LOL it's become a friggin' soap opera

That it is. In fact, it is sad that the most talked about things in this tour have been soap opera crap. The Uniballer likes the drama, so he for sure is loving handing out quotes and tweets like water.