Paris-Nice Stage 6: Rognes - Aix-en-Provence (ITT) 27km

[flicker]

Interesting to compare the time gaps at the same point last year.

1. CONTADOR Alberto 31 ASTANA 20h 41' 40"
2. VALVERDE Alejandro 8 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 20h 42' 00" + 00' 20"
3. KREUZIGER Roman 51 LIQUIGAS-DOIMO 20h 42' 05" + 00' 25"
4. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon 1 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 20h 42' 06" + 00' 26"
5. SANCHEZ Samuel 131 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 20h 42' 09" + 00' 29"
6. VOIGT Jens 18 TEAM SAXO BANK 20h 42' 14" + 00' 34"
7. RODRIGUEZ Joaquim 157 KATUSHA TEAM 20h 42' 16" + 00' 36"
8. SAGAN Peter 55 LIQUIGAS-DOIMO 20h 42' 22" + 00' 42"
9. MILLAR David 121 GARMIN - TRANSITIONS 20h 42' 42" + 01' 02"
10. TAARAMAE Reine 188 COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 20h 42' 46" + 01' 06"
11. PERAUD Jean-Christophe 76 OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO 20h 42' 55" + 01' 15"
12. COPPEL Jérôme 202 SAUR-SOJASUN 20h 42' 56" + 01' 16"

Taaramae and Peraud side by side again and virtually identical times!.

Is the course harder, or is the longer TT the difference, between last year and this?

 

[TeoSheva]

1-2minute range!

But yesterday's result kind of made it irrelevant. i.e. I was wrong about the climbing result, not so much the ITT one.

I said 1-2 minutes range, you said that there are not always 30sec between martin and lulu... anyway, Martin is climbing really well too... much better of I was suppossing at the beginning of the year...but the season is just started.. we will see later on...
I hope Martin will partecipate at the Vuelta al Pais Vasco

 

[Escarabajo]

tommmorows stage will be won by a breakaway group while the gc contenders all watch each other and take it easy..

breakaway will have De Gendt and Uran in it.

Sunday will be the day they try to attack Martin.

Uran will be by Wiggins side all the way to the finish. Just saying.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Interesting stage. I hope there will be some serious attacks for the overall classification in the next two stages.




Where did you get that info from?

He was 57 kg few years ago and now usually weights around 61 kg.

where did you get yours from??

 

[Ferminal]

I said 1-2 minutes range

...yes, which is why I mentioned it. Obviously if you told me Martin was going to convincingly outclimb LLS I never would have made such a prediction. If Martin keeps climbing like this he should be able to win many stage races. He would though have to compromise his TT to be competitive in GTs.

 

[Winterfold]

so 1,2,4 on the stage now 1,2,3 on gc.

PLeased for brad but not overly convinced stage races should be decided by tt's

Why?

They earned their right to be there by NOT getting dropped by the climbers yesterday - Wiggo, Rogers and Martin finished ahead of a lot of riders who are more natural climbers yesterday and there were plenty of hills and a proper steep climb at the end with not enough of a run-in to catch-up.

If the TT guys can keep in touch on hilly stages then they deserve to be up there.

 

[Anonymous]

Uran will be by Wiggins side all the way to the finish. Just saying.

Info I have is that Uran has a free role to go for a stage win either yesterday or tommorow.

Wiggins will have Zandio for support.

 

[MajorTom]

where did you get yours from??

From Jani

 

[El Pistolero]

Frankie boy loses a minute and a half in this TT. Seems like the Schlecks will once again get slaughtered in the Tour time trial.

Very weak by VDB2. He's going to have to improve his TT or he can forget his top 5(in the Tour).

 

[Winterfold]

Uran will be by Wiggins side all the way to the finish. Just saying.

+1 Uran will be where he needs to be for the next few days - anyone can have a bad day in yellow and if tomorrow or Sunday is Martin's bad day then Uran will be needed. There is not much between Martin, Kloden and Wiggins as climbers.

Maybe they will send Uran up the road so he is there to help on Sunday, but he knows what his job is, and did it pretty well yesterday.

A great addition to the team and a very wise signing.

 

[Winterfold]

Info I have is that Uran has a free role to go for a stage win either yesterday or tommorow.

Wiggins will have Zandio for support.

Dim was Wiggo 3rd on GC when you got that tip?

If Martin has a bad day, Uran will be joined to Brad at the hip. It would be crazy to do anything else, it would be a huuuuuuge win. Keeping 3rd would be a pretty good result as it is.

It's been said quite a bit before on here - quality week stage races with a prologue or TT seem very well suited to Wiggo. If armchair sports fans havent heard of them, then it is withing the power of SKY to make them better known.

I would have thought Sunday was the better day for URan. Tomorrow is a Sanchez day.

 

[Kvinto]

I don't think Wiggins will need Rigoberto so much tomorrow, all the categorized climbs are far from the finish, although I think Uran's time should be at Catalunya

 

[Mellow Velo]

Wiggins will be more than happy to take 3rd and Kloden 2nd in the overall.
For both, this would be a great result, at this point in their respective seasons.
I don't see either squad taking many risks, rather conserving what they've already banked.
My money is on Cofidis stirring things up for Taaramae.

Other than that, this race is now about stage victories.

 

[theyoungest]

Wiggins will be more than happy to take 3rd and Kloden 2nd in the overall.
For both, this would be a great result, at this point in their respective seasons.
I don't see either squad taking many risks, rather conserving what they've already banked.
My money is on Cofidis stirring things up for Taaramae.

Other than that, this race is now about stage victories.

Beware of TGBM, now that he'll be let off the Lulu leash.

 

[*Falze*]

A great addition to the team and a very wise signing.

Agreed x10.

With him and also micky rogers (not quite up to full speed yet me thinks) It should really make for a stronger squad. If were talking brad for Grand Tours, that is.

 

[Christian]

Just got back from the course. Me and my buddy were standing at the 100 m sign, it was a pretty good place to see the riders. I would have preferred to be on the climb, but it would have been difficult to get there.

Couple of things ... first off, I was disappointed with the turnout and the ambiance. There weren't very many people at all, and the ambiance was close to zero. The only ones firing up the riders were the local schoolchildren, and once it was 4 o'clock and they got to go home, it was almost no one. Daniel Mangeas ("la voix du Tour") was doing his one-man-show pretty good as always.

However the area behind the finish was really open and available to anyone so that was nice, we hung out there for a while. After the stage it was easy to get close to the podium (as opposed to the TdF), and so I had all the distinct maillots walking right by me. Also Wiggins walked by me, he was accompanied by a chaperone, so I assume it was for d***ing-control.

Sadly, the teams did not have their buses in Puyricard, I assume they drove the riders right back to Rognes if it was clear that they did not need to attend the final ceremony.

Congrats to Tony Martin, he seems like a really nice guy, took pictures with little children and everything. Also congrats to Wiggins, who passed the 3 or 4 riders who started ahead of him, and nice final sprint between Voeckler, Schleck and Leipheimer, which Levi won.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Info I have is that Uran has a free role to go for a stage win either yesterday or tommorow.

Wiggins will have Zandio for support.

let's hope so because I hate to see uran being pressed in a role within sky that doesn't suit him, they should just keep working on his itt and sprint and uran will race and show how strong and talented he is

 

[Anonymous]

Dim was Wiggo 3rd on GC when you got that tip?

it was before

Simon Gerrans is also desperate for a stage this race, so maybe he will pop out tommorow. Whatever, I think sky will have a rider in the break. But like you say, 3rd place on gc might effect their thinking. I do hope not.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

From Jani

ok well his website and every other website has him listed as 58 kg and he seems way thinner than contador, who is 177 and 61 kg

 

[jens_attacks]

what a perfect machine.awesome time trial by panzerwagen.reminded me of one of those legends riding with the german flag on the back suffering like an animal,mouth wide open.it was an absolutely astonishing performance.

i'd like klodi to get it but no chance.on col d'eze no chance.tony martin won 2011 paris-nice.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Well, looks like Tony Martin is going to be one of those "I don't actually remember him being in the race, but he won the TT, and therefore, the GC" guys.

Actually, that's a bit unfair. He has shown himself in this race. But I see him winning a lot of races very easily in this manner; if the mountain stages were genuinely selective I don't think the TT would be a problem, but I just don't see where the likes of Tondó or Sánchez have any chance of getting a minute back unless Martin has a Contador '09 moment.

I fear that, actually, because the flat portion of the race exceeded expectations thanks mostly to Thomas de Gendt, the rest of the race is going to be a big letdown. Yesterday's stage was quite good but ultimately the finish meant it was always going to be groups on the same time at the finish, then today's TT was just too long without a finish like Mende last year or the Montagne de la Lure in '09 to balance it out. I'm not saying they needed a Ventoux finish or anything... but they needed a more selective climbing stage than the ones they have.

Congratulations to Martin on his win. I just don't think Paris-Nice should be one of those races that can be won just by doing a good TT (though you could possibly point out that Contador won last year just by doing a good MTF, and I accept that. I think they need to strike a balance so more than one stage is decisive).

 

[kurtinsc]

Interesting to compare the time gaps at the same point last year.

1. CONTADOR Alberto 31 ASTANA 20h 41' 40"
2. VALVERDE Alejandro 8 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 20h 42' 00" + 00' 20"
3. KREUZIGER Roman 51 LIQUIGAS-DOIMO 20h 42' 05" + 00' 25"
4. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon 1 CAISSE D’EPARGNE 20h 42' 06" + 00' 26"
5. SANCHEZ Samuel 131 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 20h 42' 09" + 00' 29"
6. VOIGT Jens 18 TEAM SAXO BANK 20h 42' 14" + 00' 34"
7. RODRIGUEZ Joaquim 157 KATUSHA TEAM 20h 42' 16" + 00' 36"
8. SAGAN Peter 55 LIQUIGAS-DOIMO 20h 42' 22" + 00' 42"
9. MILLAR David 121 GARMIN - TRANSITIONS 20h 42' 42" + 01' 02"
10. TAARAMAE Reine 188 COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 20h 42' 46" + 01' 06"
11. PERAUD Jean-Christophe 76 OMEGA PHARMA - LOTTO 20h 42' 55" + 01' 15"
12. COPPEL Jérôme 202 SAUR-SOJASUN 20h 42' 56" + 01' 16"

Taaramae and Peraud side by side again and virtually identical times!.

So the big difference is just Martin, right?

Without him, we have:

2. KLÖDEN Andréas 85 TEAM RADIOSHACK 25h 00' 23"
3. WIGGINS Bradley 31 SKY PROCYCLING 25h 00' 26" + 00' 03"
4. TAARAMAE Rein 147 COFIDIS LE CREDIT EN LIGNE 25h 00' 57" + 00' 34"
5. PERAUD Jean-Christophe 46 AG2R LA MONDIALE 25h 01' 01" + 00' 38"
6. LEIPHEIMER Levi 86 TEAM RADIOSHACK 25h 01' 16" + 00' 53"
7. BRAJKOVIC Janez 81 TEAM RADIOSHACK 25h 01' 19" + 00' 56"
8. SANCHEZ Samuel 191 EUSKALTEL - EUSKADI 25h 01' 24" + 01' 01"
9. TONDO Xavier 58 MOVISTAR TEAM 25h 01' 38" + 01' 15"
10. MOLLEMA Bauke 3 RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 25h 01' 44" + 01' 21"
11. SANCHEZ Luis-Leon 1 RABOBANK CYCLING TEAM 25h 01' 45" + 01' 22"
12. PORTE Richie 121 SAXO BANK SUNGARD 25h 01' 52" + 01' 29"

We have two elite ITT riders in cycling... if one of them handles the climbs with the lead group, they're going to open gaps that are hard to close in the ITT, be there 15, 20, 25 or 30km.

 

[hrotha]

We need more people like Martin who can blow everyone away in the ITTs and can potentially hang on in the mountains so that the climbers are forced to attack every now and then at the Tour. And we need more ITT kms.

 

[kurtinsc]

what a perfect machine.awesome time trial by panzerwagen.reminded me of one of those legends riding with the german flag on the back suffering like an animal,mouth wide open.it was an absolutely astonishing performance.

i'd like klodi to get it but no chance.on col d'eze no chance.tony martin won 2011 paris-nice.

I think Kloden could win... but I think he'd have to risk his podium spot to do so. I still feel like Kloden is a better climber then Martin... I'm still kind of shocked he was able to do what he did yesterday. RS has guys to push a hard pace on the last two climbs if they wanted... but I think they'd rather try to hold 2nd/6th/7th rather then attempt to win but have Levi and Brajkovic outside of the top 10.

 

[maltiv]

We need more people like Martin who can blow everyone away in the ITTs and can potentially hang on in the mountains so that the climbers are forced to attack every now and then at the Tour. And we need more ITT kms.

Generally I agree but particularly in this race there might be to many people who would rather defend than to risk losing their top 10 position. There are no typical attackers in the top 10. Perhaps Samuel Sanchez and Tondo will have a go but I fear the rest will just ride defensively.