Good ride by Martinez and for EF a boost. Interesting early season climbing form - Giro guys versus TdF guys. Bernal & Sosa will be a handfull at the Giro.
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I'm sorry, weren't you the one claiming they were "equals" as GC riders? Pretty sure that was you. "Especially" when it comes to 1 week races? No need to act coy.*** the quick said:I don't wear glasses and I don't have to. Bernal didn't ride for Kwiatkowski, and Kwiatkowski didn't ride for Bernal, as none of them has been a clear and sole Sky's GC rider until the very end of Turini climb. Now Bernal was clearly better when it came to a real MTF finish, he's the race leader now and Kwiatkowski should work for him tomorrow as much as possible. That's very logic. Logic is my friend. Is it yours?
Nah he will. Bernal will stick in the wheel and that will be that.KZD said:Tomorrow Quintana should use Anacona and Soler to attack Bernal but probably he won't do much.
Logic-is-your-friend said:I'm sorry, weren't you the one claiming they were "equals" as GC riders? Pretty sure that was you. "Especially" when it comes to 1 week races? No need to act coy.*** the quick said:I don't wear glasses and I don't have to. Bernal didn't ride for Kwiatkowski, and Kwiatkowski didn't ride for Bernal, as none of them has been a clear and sole Sky's GC rider until the very end of Turini climb. Now Bernal was clearly better when it came to a real MTF finish, he's the race leader now and Kwiatkowski should work for him tomorrow as much as possible. That's very logic. Logic is my friend. Is it yours?
*** the quick said:Logic-is-your-friend said:I'm sorry, weren't you the one claiming they were "equals" as GC riders? Pretty sure that was you. "Especially" when it comes to 1 week races? No need to act coy.*** the quick said:I don't wear glasses and I don't have to. Bernal didn't ride for Kwiatkowski, and Kwiatkowski didn't ride for Bernal, as none of them has been a clear and sole Sky's GC rider until the very end of Turini climb. Now Bernal was clearly better when it came to a real MTF finish, he's the race leader now and Kwiatkowski should work for him tomorrow as much as possible. That's very logic. Logic is my friend. Is it yours?
Yes, that was me. Even more, I still claim they are "equals" as GC riders, not "especially", but ONLY when it comes to one week races. I can easily imagine Bernal winning Dauphine, Suisse or Catalunya - while I can't see Kwiatkowski really competing in these kind of races. On the other hand, I can see (or saw) Kwiatkowski winning Poland or Binckbank - and I really can't see Bernal coming close to win these ones. And I can see both of them winning the races like P-N, T-A, California, maybe also Itzulia or Romandie. Not to mention a number of non-WT one week stage races where both of them could deliver (or already have delivered).
Really, there is no reason to put one of them above another "in advance" in one week races, just because one of them is younger (or older), more (or less) liked or so. Personally, I cheer both of them and I wish them both luck wherever they go. And I am quite happy with my attitude.
At that point it was clear that Quintana couldn't attack Bernal and just help make some pulls. But who cares about that at that point of the race!!Zinoviev Letter said:DNP-Old said:He was taking turns with him. What race are some of y'all watching?Zinoviev Letter said:Nairo sitting on Bernal’s wheel the whole way up and then sprinting past him for 12th or something. Lol.
When was he taking turns with him? When he was sitting on Sky wheels with Sosa in front? Or when he was sitting on Egan’s wheel for the last km?
Escarabajo said:Tomorrow Sky will control the race and that will be it!
who said he was?Red Rick said:Because of the sheer hilarity of the idea that he was Skys primary concern*** the quick said:Red Rick said:Show me more footage of Kwiatkowski failing
Why, exactly?
isn't that what they should do?Escarabajo said:Tomorrow Sky will control the race and that will be it!
Red Rick said:Show me more footage of Kwiatkowski failing
It probably won't matter what Sky do. Bernal will win anyway.Escarabajo said:Tomorrow Sky will control the race and that will be it!
Krokro said:Red Rick said:Show me more footage of Kwiatkowski failing
What has Kwiatek done to you Red Rick?
Nothing personal.Krokro said:Red Rick said:Show me more footage of Kwiatkowski failing
What has Kwiatek done to you Red Rick?
Sssshhhhhshshshgregrowlerson said:Krokro said:Red Rick said:Show me more footage of Kwiatkowski failing
What has Kwiatek done to you Red Rick?
I don't think that it's anything personal. It is just that one cannot ever be considered a pure climber, unless Spanish is their native tongue. Red Rick explained this all thoroughly in his book, "Mi Lucha".
Reading between the lines, it appears that Red may want to attack Poland, but his main target here appears to be Britain
Red Rick said:Nothing personal.Krokro said:Red Rick said:Show me more footage of Kwiatkowski failing
What has Kwiatek done to you Red Rick?
In fact, he once famously saved the world from Gerrans in rainbows.
But I had been saying riding for the GC of Kwiat was a really dumb idea and I like to be proven right
Red Rick said:Nothing personal.Krokro said:Red Rick said:Show me more footage of Kwiatkowski failing
What has Kwiatek done to you Red Rick?
In fact, he once famously saved the world from Gerrans in rainbows.
But I had been saying riding for the GC of Kwiat was a really dumb idea and I like to be proven right
At 110 kilometres and featuring six climbs, the 8th stage of Paris-Nice is going to be an explosive race. Following the last climb, Col des Quatre Chemins, the finale is a descent of 9 kilometres to the line on the Promenade des Anglais in Nice.
The route is a copy of last year’s final stage, which turned out to be a thriller of a race. David de la Cruz took the day hounours and Marc Soler won the GC 4 seconds ahead of Simon Yates.
The race begins with a false flat to Saint-Martin-du-Var before the Côte de Levens is tackled. Following this 6.2 kilometres climb at 5.5% the route moves through the village Levens. A downhill leads to the foot of the Côte de Chateauneuf, which is a 5.4 kilometres climb at 4.4%. Back in the valley the Col de Calaïson appears – 6.3 kilometes at 4.4%.
The riders are now halfway. A 10 kilometres drop – gentle and steady – leads to the Côte De Peille. The ascent is 6.6 kilometres and the average slope 6.8%, so this is arguably the toughest task of the day. Another long descent takes the riders to the village Èze, at the foot of the famous climb with the same name.
Climbing from Nice, the Col d’Èze is 7.7 kilometres at 5.5%, but if you hit the col from this side it is a punchy 1.6 kilometres drag at 8.1%. After cresting the riders drop down to Nice before they turn back to the mountains for one last time.
The Col des Quatre Chemins is an ascent of 5.5 kilometres at 5.5%, while the finale is a 9 kilometres descent into Nice. The finish is on the Promenade des Anglais overlooking the Mediterranean.
The finales in the last three editions of Paris-Nice were breathtaking. In 2016 and 2017 the now retired Alberto Contador missed out on the win by a few seconds, while Simon Yates lost last year’s race because of time bonuses to Marc Soler.
The first three riders on the line take time bonuses of 10, 6 and 4 seconds, while the two intermediate sprints (at kilometre 24 and at kilometre 78.5) come with 3, 2 and 1 seconds.
The 8th stage of Paris-Nice starts at 13:45 and the expected finish is around 16:50 – both are local times.
gregrowlerson said:Red Rick said:Nothing personal.Krokro said:Red Rick said:Show me more footage of Kwiatkowski failing
What has Kwiatek done to you Red Rick?
In fact, he once famously saved the world from Gerrans in rainbows.
But I had been saying riding for the GC of Kwiat was a really dumb idea and I like to be proven right
A little more seriously, I'm a Kwia fan, and I think that I and some others were more so talking up his chances before the ITT. So you were right, but I wasn't expecting him to only gain 4 seconds against the clock. If he had gained 30 seconds, then riding for Kwia wouldn't have been totally illogical as it turned out, considering that:
He lost a lot of time on the MTF, but still showed that he is quite a decent climber. He lost about 1:20 in the end, which on a 15 km climb, is a reasonable effort. And apparently - I didn't watch the stage - only lost most of this in the last couple of kms.
The biggest fear for Kwia was a totally blowing up of the stage early on the climb, in particular via a Quintana attack (yes, this has happened before ). However, this did not happen. It may seem that the extra pressure that was put on the race wasn't from Quintana, but from a scenario that wasn't foreseen (Gilbert being in the break and being rather strong). If Phillipe hadn't been a factor, then Kwia may have finished a lot closer to Bernal, and Sky may as well try to keep it as a 1-2 finish rather than (as it turned out) a 1-4. Obviously you do not want to jeopardise the number 1 finish under any circumstances, so questions could be raised as to how Gilbert is now only 45 seconds behind Bernal, and whether the juggling act of trying to keep a 1-2 put the overall win under threat? As in, could Sky have been certain that Gilbert was going to lose the necessary time at the end of the climb? Or were Sky even holding Bernal back? Perhaps he didn't have too much left in the tank today?