So what do Evans and Nibs have to do to win this?

[mb2612]

I recall Nibali also said something similar about Contador last year on Zoncolan. He must have some sort of fixation with other riders looking at him.

To be far Contador did mock him. Sat on his wheel the whole way up, attacked, waited for Nibali to crawl back to him, then attacked again.

 

[Hayabusa]

Did you know Michele and Andy are now proud GT winners?

Indeed, so what?

Nibali will never win the tour. He'll never be able to beat Contador or an on-form Schleck, simple as that. He's a jack of all trades, master of none. I'd back Nibali to win one or two classics in a year but never a tour.

 

[Dutchsmurf]

Indeed, so what?

Nibali will never win the tour. He'll never be able to beat Contador or an on-form Schleck, simple as that. He's a jack of all trades, master of none. I'd back Nibali to win one or two classics in a year but never a tour.

Why not exactly? He already won a GC and got podium at another twice. I think it is very likely he will 2 GCs or more the coming years. If one of those will be the Tour depends on the route. One technical downhill finish and he has Schleck beaten already. And something can happen to Contador too. So completely ruling out Nibali ever winning the tour is a bit foolish.

 

[killswitch]

Nibali will never win the tour. He'll never be able to beat Contador or an on-form Schleck, simple as that.

No one predicted/thought/believed he would win the Vuelta too.
Contador and Andy Schleck are the best GC riders by far and below them is a big pool of contenders with little to no difference in their levels. Crashes/illnesses/bans happen which can give anyone of that pool the chance to win a GT. Nibali isn't on paper even in the top 3 of the best of the rest. But he has his strengths and uses them well and a great team, which can't be said for some of his fellow contenders. You can take Gesink who is better in high altitude, multi mountain stages and has better recovery than Nibbles and has underperformed due to Rabo gross mismanagement, average bike handling skills and bad luck. Or Menchov who suffers from bad positioning and switching off at times. Nibali was brought up the right way, being at first domestique for di Luca, then for Basso in 2010 where he got podium in a very hard Giro which was the platform to be the sole leader at the Vuelta.
Of course not everyone likes Nibali, that's understandable, but even his detractors like Dekker-Tifosi respect that he tries to animate and is competitive in almost every race he enters.

 

[Moviefan1203]

If that's the case, Evans won't need to attack. Just suck Wiggins' wheel for the rest of the TDF. But having won once already, I'd think that Evans is at the point of his life where a 2d or 3d place finish isn't a priority. Just my thought.

I disagree. I think after tomorrow Cadel will release that Wiggins won't be beat this year unless he crashes. And then you'll see him start to defend his podium position if it comes under attack. Although I wonder if BMC would be smart enough to put Tejay in a break. Let him do minimal work in the break and be up the road for Cadel. It would probably make Pinot and Taaramae ask their teams to up the tempo as well.

 

[Armanius]

To be far Contador did mock him. Sat on his wheel the whole way up, attacked, waited for Nibali to crawl back to him, then attacked again.

I love it when that's done. Nothing more demoralizing. I'll always remember the "look" that Armstrong gave Ullrich, and then just climbed away from him.

 

[Armanius]

I disagree. I think after tomorrow Cadel will release that Wiggins won't be beat this year unless he crashes. And then you'll see him start to defend his podium position if it comes under attack. Although I wonder if BMC would be smart enough to put Tejay in a break. Let him do minimal work in the break and be up the road for Cadel. It would probably make Pinot and Taaramae ask their teams to up the tempo as well.

Maybe Gilbert will accidentally crash into Wiggins tomorrow.

 

[Moviefan1203]

Maybe Gilbert will accidentally crash into Wiggins tomorrow.

I don't think any of us want that. He's the strongest rider in the race.

 

[killswitch]

I don't think any of us want that. He's the strongest rider in the race.

+1 Gilbert has to be healthy for WC RR and Lombardy.
sarcasm

 

[Moviefan1203]

+1 Gilbert has to be healthy for WC RR and Lombardy.
sarcasm

Nice!

 

[cineteq]

They need to attack at this very moment. Valverde approves!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I don't think any of us want that. He's the strongest rider in the race.

Nah, Gilbert's not the strongest rider in the race...

see what i did there?

 

[greenedge]

I don't think any of us want that. He's the strongest rider in the race.

In the ITT's he is- in the climbs he has done nothing.

By that definition Sagan would be- he has been pumping out the most watts for the longest time.

 

[auscyclefan94]

They don't need to make silly attacks at the end of stages and even if they do, they don't chase each other down but let Wiggins do the work.

 

[Warhawk]

They don't need to make silly attacks at the end of stages and even if they do, they don't chase each other down but let Wiggins do the work.

*ahem*

PAGING CHRIS HORNER...

That is all.

 

[Kender]

They don't need to make silly attacks at the end of stages and even if they do, they don't chase each other down but let Wiggins do the work.

which was what Cuddles did. he let Sky chase Nibali

lets face it though, that stage was never going to yield solid differences for GC. the big climb was too far from the finish. the other reason JVDB got 30 secs was he was already over 5 mins down and they really didn't need to chase him.

next stage is probably the toughest non TT stage of the tour. lets see how this pans out

 

[auscyclefan94]

which was what Cuddles did. he let Sky chase Nibali

lets face it though, that stage was never going to yield solid differences for GC. the big climb was too far from the finish. the other reason JVDB got 30 secs was he was already over 5 mins down and they really didn't need to chase him.

next stage is probably the toughest non TT stage of the tour. lets see how this pans out

Yes but in the final sprint Nibali seemed to be the 1st one to react to Cadel's first attack, not Wiggins.

 

[observer]

Tonight in the alps I'd like to see them interrupt the sky train, then take turns in accelerating away while the train isn't grinding up the hills. They need to use their team mates, but i think the problem is they may not be strong enough.

 

[movingtarget]

which was what Cuddles did. he let Sky chase Nibali

lets face it though, that stage was never going to yield solid differences for GC. the big climb was too far from the finish. the other reason JVDB got 30 secs was he was already over 5 mins down and they really didn't need to chase him.

next stage is probably the toughest non TT stage of the tour. lets see how this pans out

Plus it was windy. Hopefully Nibal, Evans and VDB will try something on the next stage. Only a short stage but should be plenty of action with breakaway opportunities as well. Nibali is Nibali and Sky expected him to attack when he did. Maybe would have been better off saving energy for today. VDB is far enough back on GC not to be chased down but it won't continue I don't think. Sky will chase down everyone or try to unless they are outside top 10.

 

[SHAD0W93]

Yes but in the final sprint Nibali seemed to be the 1st one to react to Cadel's first attack, not Wiggins.

Nibali reacted first, then Menchov reacted and got on Nibai's wheel. Then Wiggins latched onto Menchov.

 

[the asian]

Indeed, so what?

Nibali will never win the tour. He'll never be able to beat Contador or an on-form Schleck, simple as that. He's a jack of all trades, master of none. I'd back Nibali to win one or two classics in a year but never a tour.

At least he has won a Grand Tour . Something Wiggins has failed to do up to now,

 

[Armanius]

Both Nibali and Evans showed guts today. Too bad Evans didn't have the legs. They definitely need to work together if they want to derail the Sky train. The might even have to recruit a third team to help. It was interesting to see Levi Leipheimer try to help Evans a little bit.

 

[orangerider]

It was a good try but what's with the performance of Michael Rogers today ? He hasn't ridden like that on a mountain in years..

 

[Armanius]

It was a good try but what's with the performance of Michael Rogers today ? He hasn't ridden like that on a mountain in years..

Yeah, Rogers and Froome saved the day for Wiggins.

 

[gingerwallaceafro]

I thought Evans and Wiggo both looked knackered this morning. I'd love Wiggo or Froomey to win the Tour but I couldn't help wanting Cuddles to find another reserve of energy from somewhere when he was cracking, the little ******.