Pais Vasco Stage 2: Zumarraga - Lekunberri 163km

[Ryo Hazuki]

By the way, Duarte is a former u23 world champion who is having little to no trouble adapting to Europe and who's already shown a couple of glimpses of his climbing talent this season. For him, attacking on a not very tough climb and staying away for a short while is an interesting performance, but not amazing by any stretch of the imagination. As has been noted repeatedly today, he's not Ardila.

it was amazing when you know he had crashed yesterdya and had barely slept this past night and after he was taken back he could follow with ease the leading riders and he stayd in front.

 

[Jamsque]

it was amazing when you know he had crashed yesterdya and had barely slept this past night and after he was taken back he could follow with ease the leading riders and he stayd in front.

Ryo, you think it's amazing every time a Colombian rider shows his face at the front of the peloton, so excuse us if we take it with a pinch of salt.

 

[meandmygitane]

Lovkvist is having a shocker, even by his modest standards. I'm surprised that his form has fallen away so much since Tirreno.

If Sweden had some sport journalists (and/or media) who cared about cycling we might actually know something about Löfkvists form.
If his form really sucks then Team Sky ought to mention it so maybe he is soft pedaling?


Spirited ride by Uran on the other hand, the main hope for the Ardennes?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Spirited ride by Uran on the other hand, the main hope for the Ardennes?

You would hope so, a guy with a podium at Lombardia certainly ought to be a default go-to guy considering the rest of Sky's roster. Gerrans and Lövkvist are decent hilly classics riders, but not that kind of pedigree.

 

[Christian]

5 Movistar riders in the front group today... that's a motivated team.

Asserting castillian dominance in the basque country!

 

[boomcie]

Nah, Boomcie, me as commentator would mean I'd end up in an endless discussion with my co-commentator over how much Fränk Schleck sucks, while we totally miss the final.

I actually have it on good authority

Kiriyenka wins in front of Horner and I want to kill Backstedt and Harmon for saying Ardila everytime Duarte went

Wuyts is a moron, someone please kill him

Kill tchopp, murder him

I hate the ****ing peloton, can somebody please kill those idiots

Or...

"Christ, what am I doing watching two gay buddies hug eachother after a hard mountain stage, not even caring one betrayed the other when his chain dropped. I want to murder an innocent animal now."

And also:

I'm going to kill myself

 

[maltiv]

If Sweden had some sport journalists (and/or media) who cared about cycling we might actually know something about Löfkvists form.
If his form really sucks then Team Sky ought to mention it so maybe he is soft pedaling?


Spirited ride by Uran on the other hand, the main hope for the Ardennes?

They wouldn't mention anything if he's just in bad form, but surely they should mention it if he were ill. It's kinda dumb, in Norway we get various interviews with the Norwegian riders after almost every race but I guess Sweden just isn't that in to cycling. After T-A I thought that Löfkvist would finally start improving but now I'm not so sure.

Surely Uran should be their leader for the Ardennes, Simon Gerrans has been completely invisible on every climb since he joined Sky. But I think that in the ardennes Uran should try to play it a bit defensively because he has a fairly strong sprint. Nordhaug could perhaps even join some attacks in the finale with the consistent form he's been showing lately, but he should mainly support Uran of course.

 

[Kwibus]

DT Quotes

This is hilarious

 

[The Hitch]

Spirited ride by Uran on the other hand, the main hope for the Ardennes?

S.Gerrans.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Asserting castillian dominance in the basque country!

It's worth mentioning that Abarcá Sports (i.e. Team Movistar) are run by Eusebio Unzué (who is Nafarroan, from Orcoyen), previously with José Miguel Echavarrí (another Nafarroan, from Abárzuza, but with a Basque name). Both have a level of Basque roots. They are affiliated to the Navarrese, but clearly Basque-named Lizarte amateur team (where Jesús Herrada and Javier Iriarte - another Basque name). The team is based in Egüés, a town in northern Navarre very close to the border with the province of País Vasco.

In the absence of a pro-level Vuelta a Navarra, and given the high Basque influence in the history of the team (you can add Indurain to the list!), they probably see this as their home race, and both nationally-minded Castilians and Basques would claim the team's home as their own.

 

[maltiv]

S.Gerrans.

Simon Gerrans has been dropped every time the road has gone slightly uphill since he joined Sky. Uran is about as strong in the sprint and much stronger on the climbs. Anyway Nordhaug said in an interview that Uran would be their leader for the ardennes.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

This is hilarious

Yeah in hindsight he is right, it would end in a total blood bath

 

[Christian]

DT quotes

He's really got the mafia lingo down

 

[hatcher]

Not worried about Lofkvist in the slightest. He has been riding really well all year. There is just no way in hell he is at 100% (for whatever reason).

Gerrans, on the other hand, is concerning. If he doesn't improve dramatically this week then Nordhaug and Cummings should be given more freedom than he is in Fleche and LBL.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Yet, for all my orders to kill, the Dutch Mafia members executed these orders poorly This makes us look weak

 

[Cobblestoned]

After Klöden crossed finishline, AFLD immediately sent out some masked people across green border to Baskenland, to kidnap Andreas and suck some liters of blood and pee out of him in an effective moment.

Mööööööööh, Määäääääääääh, Mähähähähähäää

 

[El Pistolero]

Yet, for all my orders to kill, the Dutch Mafia members executed these orders poorly This makes us look weak

Especially when the Belgian maffia made sure Cancellara didn't get any drinks from his own and other teams

 

[ingsve]

They wouldn't mention anything if he's just in bad form, but surely they should mention it if he were ill. It's kinda dumb, in Norway we get various interviews with the Norwegian riders after almost every race but I guess Sweden just isn't that in to cycling. After T-A I thought that Löfkvist would finally start improving but now I'm not so sure.

Well, the situation in Sweden and Norway are completely different at the moment. Norway has had Hushovd and Arvesen who's success over many years have buildt the interest that now exists in Norway and with all the sucess there is also a lot of licensed riders which means cycling is a very big sport even compared to other sports in Norway..

In Sweden we haven't had any real huge success since the 80s. There has been a few results here and there with Bäckstedt winning a Tour stage in 98 and Roubaix in 2004 but it hasn't been enough to build a steady media interest. Another thing that has caused the current disinterest in cycling among sports journalists in Sweden is the doping case of Niklas Axelsson and all other doping cases in cycling. 90% of the time cycling is mentioned in mainstream media it's a doping story.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Gesink: "Basque country turns out to be a great training for the Ardennes classics. And I'm still in the front of the GC"

 

[meandmygitane]

Well, the situation in Sweden and Norway are completely different at the moment. Norway has had Hushovd and Arvesen who's success over many years have buildt the interest that now exists in Norway and with all the sucess there is also a lot of licensed riders which means cycling is a very big sport even compared to other sports in Norway..

In Sweden we haven't had any real huge success since the 80s. There has been a few results here and there with Bäckstedt winning a Tour stage in 98 and Roubaix in 2004 but it hasn't been enough to build a steady media interest. Another thing that has caused the current disinterest in cycling among sports journalists in Sweden is the doping case of Niklas Axelsson and all other doping cases in cycling. 90% of the time cycling is mentioned in mainstream media it's a doping story.

When was the last time the Tour was on swedish (not Eurosport) television?
But there isn't even a specialized site or media outlet who actively follows the pro circuit like feltet.dk or procycling.no - hence no interviews with the few swedish pros out there, which in turn gives even smaller chances of swedish riders to profile themselves. And the only thing in swedish newspapers is Armstrong in conjunction with the Tour or doping, pretty bleak outlook for the future ...


Maltiv, you are right - but it's also like then hen and the egg, no media coverage means greatly diminished interest which, of course, means that no body is interested in covering it. Sweden is Germany x 2.

Sorry for derailing this thread.

 

[ingsve]

When was the last time the Tour was on swedish (not Eurosport) television?
But there isn't even a specialized site or media outlet who actively follows the pro circuit like feltet.dk or procycling.no - hence no interviews with the few swedish pros out there, which in turn gives even smaller chances of swedish riders to profile themselves. And the only thing in swedish newspapers is Armstrong in conjunction with the Tour or doping, pretty bleak outlook for the future ...

There has not been any coverage of the tour as long as I remember. Perhaps there was something in the 80s but I doubt it.

The only swedish sites that cover cycling are http://www.proffsklungan.nu and http://www.cyclesport.se but they mainly just do articles that repeat what has been said on other sites rather than having any regular material of their own. There is also http://cykelsnack.eurosport.se/ which is a site run by the swedish commentators for Eurosport. They can sometimes have updates about the swedish riders on their blogs but it's not a regular thing. They are probably the ones that have the most contact with the swedish pros out of any media personalities.

 

[hrotha]

it was amazing when you know he had crashed yesterdya and had barely slept this past night and after he was taken back he could follow with ease the leading riders and he stayd in front.

Nope, sorry, that's par of the course for a pro rider.

 

[Faserr]

Gesink: "Basque country turns out to be a great training for the Ardennes classics. And I'm still in the front of the GC"

I could have told him before, that his is great training for the Ardennes classics

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I could have told him before, that his is great training for the Ardennes classics

Well he used to target Basque country as a real goal (to win or do well). Now it's a preparation race.

 

[The Hitch]

There has not been any coverage of the tour as long as I remember. Perhaps there was something in the 80s but I doubt it.

The only swedish sites that cover cycling are http://www.proffsklungan.nu and http://www.cyclesport.se but they mainly just do articles that repeat what has been said on other sites rather than having any regular material of their own. There is also http://cykelsnack.eurosport.se/ which is a site run by the swedish commentators for Eurosport. They can sometimes have updates about the swedish riders on their blogs but it's not a regular thing. They are probably the ones that have the most contact with the swedish pros out of any media personalities.

I remember someone posted a quote from GEL during the last Tour where he said that everytime he goes past a turn he sees a Euskatel rider on the floor.

Wasnt that on Sweedish tv?