TDF 2018 Stage 4 - La Baule - Sarzeau 195 km

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Who will win this stage?

  • Fernando Gaviria

    Votes: 36 40.9%
  • Peter Sagan

    Votes: 13 14.8%
  • Dylan Groenewegen

    Votes: 17 19.3%
  • Marcel Kittel

    Votes: 10 11.4%
  • Arnaud Demare

    Votes: 2 2.3%
  • Sonny Colbrell

    Votes: 3 3.4%
  • Mark Cavendish

    Votes: 3 3.4%
  • Andre Greipel

    Votes: 1 1.1%
  • Alexander Kristoff

    Votes: 1 1.1%
  • Other

    Votes: 2 2.3%

  • Total voters
    88
Re: Re:

skippo12 said:
Eyeballs Out said:
Greipel goes too early not for the first or last time

he had to...bad position and the risk of getting blocked again.
Normally you have to gamble to win a headwind sprint - going early guarantees defeat. He accelerated to get out but there was no need to continue into a full sprint at that point, he could have just moved up alongside Sagan / Gaviria
 
Lequack said:
Screecher said:
What a leadout from QS. Gaviria might honestly win all the flat stages if they continue like this.

Maybe next year the other teams will try a different tactics rather than waiting for a sprint finish and keep losing to Quickstep. But i doubt it.

Why would teams with a fast sprinter swap a reasonable chance of beating Quickstep in a sprint for nearly no chance of winning with “different tactics” on a flat stage with a headwind?

Sagan has already taken one sprint and was close today. Greipel would have won today with better timing. Groenewegen and Kittel know that they are fast enough to win if they position themselves better. At the Giro QS had a dominant sprint team and the most successful sprinter this year but Bora still won three stages with a sprinter. Quickstep have the best sprinter-train combination at this race as they have at most races but they are entirely beatable and are in fact beaten quite often.
 
Re:

Zinoviev Letter said:
It was the same at the Giro and really it’s been the same all year - Quickstep’s sprinter support is a huge advantage for whoever is on the end of their lead out. It’s actually hard to work out where their sprinters rank against their peers because they always have that advantage.
You should give sprinter more credit. Sometimes having a good leadout isnt even good, look at Viviani losing sprints in Giro because of that. Gav is crazy strong to hold everyone behind him like that.
 
Re: Re:

tobydawq said:
Screecher said:
Not a fan of riders that don't bother to learn english. No idea what's Gaviria saying.

He speaks English pretty well.

And very snobbish comment by the way. Why not learn Spanish if you want to understand what Spanish talking people say?
It was the winner's interview. I feel like English should be spoken but that's just me.
 
Re: Re:

Screecher said:
tobydawq said:
Screecher said:
Not a fan of riders that don't bother to learn english. No idea what's Gaviria saying.

He speaks English pretty well.

And very snobbish comment by the way. Why not learn Spanish if you want to understand what Spanish talking people say?
It was the winner's interview. I feel like English should be spoken but that's just me.
Its 100x times better to speak your native language if you dont want to get 2011 Contador or 2004 Basso interviews.
 
Re: Re:

Screecher said:
tobydawq said:
Screecher said:
Not a fan of riders that don't bother to learn english. No idea what's Gaviria saying.

He speaks English pretty well.

And very snobbish comment by the way. Why not learn Spanish if you want to understand what Spanish talking people say?
It was the winner's interview. I feel like English should be spoken but that's just me.
It's in France... Why not in French?
 
Zinoviev Letter said:
Lequack said:
Screecher said:
What a leadout from QS. Gaviria might honestly win all the flat stages if they continue like this.

Maybe next year the other teams will try a different tactics rather than waiting for a sprint finish and keep losing to Quickstep. But i doubt it.

Why would teams with a fast sprinter swap a reasonable chance of beating Quickstep in a sprint for nearly no chance of winning with “different tactics” on a flat stage with a headwind?

Sagan has already taken one sprint and was close today. Greipel would have won today with better timing. Groenewegen and Kittel know that they are fast enough to win if they position themselves better. At the Giro QS had a dominant sprint team and the most successful sprinter this year but Bora still won three stages with a sprinter. Quickstep have the best sprinter-train combination at this race as they have at most races but they are entirely beatable and are in fact beaten quite often.

Well if they're so beatable why don't they beat them.
 
Re: Re:

Screecher said:
tobydawq said:
Screecher said:
Not a fan of riders that don't bother to learn english. No idea what's Gaviria saying.

He speaks English pretty well.

And very snobbish comment by the way. Why not learn Spanish if you want to understand what Spanish talking people say?
It was the winner's interview. I feel like English should be spoken but that's just me.
By a Spanish speaker. In a French race. In Brittany.
 
Re: Re:

Vroome.exe said:
Zinoviev Letter said:
It was the same at the Giro and really it’s been the same all year - Quickstep’s sprinter support is a huge advantage for whoever is on the end of their lead out. It’s actually hard to work out where their sprinters rank against their peers because they always have that advantage.
You should give sprinter more credit. Sometimes having a good leadout isnt even good, look at Viviani losing sprints in Giro because of that. Gav is crazy strong to hold everyone behind him like that.

Why should I give them more credit? Being on the end of the Quickstep lead out is a very big advantage. Saying that isn’t an attack on the sprinters concerned. They still have to be fast. But they wouldn’t win as often without their advantage and because they have that advantage it’s hard to work out where they stand against their rivals judged only on their own merits. I really don’t see how saying that is controversial.
 
Zinoviev Letter said:
Lequack said:
Screecher said:
What a leadout from QS. Gaviria might honestly win all the flat stages if they continue like this.

Maybe next year the other teams will try a different tactics rather than waiting for a sprint finish and keep losing to Quickstep. But i doubt it.

Why would teams with a fast sprinter swap a reasonable chance of beating Quickstep in a sprint for nearly no chance of winning with “different tactics” on a flat stage with a headwind?

Sagan has already taken one sprint and was close today. Greipel would have won today with better timing. Groenewegen and Kittel know that they are fast enough to win if they position themselves better. At the Giro QS had a dominant sprint team and the most successful sprinter this year but Bora still won three stages with a sprinter. Quickstep have the best sprinter-train combination at this race as they have at most races but they are entirely beatable and are in fact beaten quite often.

Very good points
 
Re:

Dekker_Tifosi said:
Pfff, Groenewegen boxed in and too far. Rode by far the fastest sprint but you don't win races like that.

Meanwhile Gaviria gets them at a golden platter with the train
Lol.

Of course you are going faster when coming from behind as opposed to sitting in 2nd wheel that long. Its called aerodynamics.
 
Re: Re:

Screecher said:
tobydawq said:
Screecher said:
Not a fan of riders that don't bother to learn english. No idea what's Gaviria saying.

He speaks English pretty well.

And very snobbish comment by the way. Why not learn Spanish if you want to understand what Spanish talking people say?
It was the winner's interview. I feel like English should be spoken but that's just me.
Is cycling a traditionally English speaking sport? The paradigm may have shifted in recent decades, but 20 years ago I'd bet more cycling fans spoke Spanish as their first language.
 
Re: Re:

Amazinmets87 said:
Screecher said:
tobydawq said:
Screecher said:
Not a fan of riders that don't bother to learn english. No idea what's Gaviria saying.

He speaks English pretty well.

And very snobbish comment by the way. Why not learn Spanish if you want to understand what Spanish talking people say?
It was the winner's interview. I feel like English should be spoken but that's just me.
Is cycling a traditionally English speaking sport? The paradigm may have shifted in recent decades, but 20 years ago I'd bet more cycling fans spoke Spanish as their first language.
I don't mind them using their own language but they should also do interviews in English. One in their own language and one in English.