TdF official thread: Stage 3 Marseille-Grand Motte (196.0km)

[Franklin]

What's the problem. Armstrong was the best GC rider up there, so Astana could only gain time on Sastre, the Schlecks und Co.
That's a great deal for Astana, they would've been stupid not to ride.

Errr... so you pull Rogers+Kirchen away from Klodi+AC+Leppy? This is not an easy decision.

 

[Anonymous]

I really really like something about cav, something my GF points out.

He mimicks phoning, while he slowly reveals HTC on his chest, then slightly pushes his chest. Now that is exposure. Very very profesional.

Yea, that was great marketing on his part. I am sure HTC will reward that one.

 

[Amsterhammer]

$100 bucks says Hincape told Lance what they were going to do and Lance didn't tell Contador

Hincape said after the stage that they were pi$$ed off that none of the other sprinter's teams were pulling so they turned the screws in anger. Lance just happened to be there when it happened...............

Did he say that they wanted to practice for tomorrow?

I think your money is safe, sounds like a probable scenario. The Dutch guys were all excited by the idea that Hincapie was in a position to help Lance. (Incidentally, it seems that Hincapie enjoys a lot of respect in the peloton.)

 

[jaylew]

Spartacus will keep yellow-I dont think that Saxo can lose 40s to Astana.

Yeah, Cancellara's almost guaranteed to stay in yellow now. 40 secs is too much for Astana and 33 probably too much for Columbia after what they did today.

 

[Moondance]

This reminds me of when LeMond could no longer keep up with the top men and gained a bunch of time back in breaks......only to lose it all again in the next mountain stage.

I could also pull up when the same happened with Hinault...or Merckx....or most top men.

He's not going to win the Tour.

Oh, i totally agree with you that he isn't going to win. He has shown no evidence so far this year that he can climb with the best.

I didn't say he was the favorite, I said he was leading, which he is, unless you count Cancellara and Martin as GC men.

 

[Franklin]

Yea, that was great marketing on his part. I am sure HTC will reward that one.

Probably studied. Funny thing is my GF saw it immediately(and she isn't much of a follower), I was way to intent on the Astana fun

 

[issoisso]

Oh, i totally agree with you that he isn't going to win. He has shown no evidence so far this year that he can climb with the best.

I didn't say he was the favorite, I said he was leading, which he is, unless you count Cancellara and Martin as GC men.

You're right in that

 

[edward]

lance not working!

the cyclingnews report of stage 3 written by les clarke says that lance took turns at the front of the breakaway. but i don't think so. i never saw him anywhere near the front. his two teammates were integrated into the paceline with columbia and the skil shimano guys. why would his teammates work and not him? either it was ok to ride "against" contador or it wasn't. if so, then all should have worked. if not, then none should have worked. what's up with that?

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Team Highroad will surely suffer tomorrow.
What happend was no big deal. rabobank, Saxo and even astana didn't pull because tehre was no need (letting armstrong have 40 seconds, is no big deal, when they could have wasted themselves ahead of tomorrow's TTT just to get him back)

the only thing that changes from this, is tension in the astana camp will surely increase, probably benefiting the other teams

 

[Publicus]

$100 bucks says Hincape told Lance what they were going to do and Lance didn't tell Contador

Hincape said after the stage that they were pi$$ed off that none of the other sprinter's teams were pulling so they turned the screws in anger. Lance just happened to be there when it happened...............

That very well could have happened. I know Valverde tipped Contador off before he attacked on Ventoux so it's not unheard of. Anyone who asserts Lance's leadership (including Lance) is a fool. He caught the break today, that's it. AC stayed with the GC contenders and given what's coming up, I don't think he needs to panic. When the road goes up, he won't be pacing Lance up the mountain. Maybe Levi will be, but Contador will be just fine.

JB has a lot of cards to play. Hopefully he keeps everyone focused on the prize.

 

[Nevermind]

I dont' think Kirchen and Rogers can be labelled true favorites. Stage 7 will more prove that. After stage 7, the GC should take a more realist shape and we will see the main players for the following two weeks.

 

[MonkeyKnifeFight]

Why did Astana need to pull Conta into taht gorup, apart from Lance there was no real rival for the overall in there... You can give Rogers a 5 min handicap and i still don't think he would win the tour.

good point that no one else was there, but he should not be losing time to even to LA if the team was working as one unit.

 

[Franklin]

the cyclingnews report of stage 3 written by les clarke says that lance took turns at the front of the breakaway. but i don't think so. i never saw him anywhere near the front. his two teammates were integrated into the paceline with columbia and the skil shimano guys. why would his teammates work and not him? either it was ok to ride "against" contador or it wasn't. if so, then all should have worked. if not, then none should have worked. what's up with that?

Lance worked, one or two pulls around click 4 before the end.

 

[didgeridan]

4 in 10 aint a bad place to be...

Johan Bruyneel probably told Lance et al to go ahead and stay up front and contribute because there weren't any favorites up there anyway. Now they have 4 riders in the top 10, all within just over a minute of the leader. Thats a lot of aces to play...

 

[Belokki]

the cyclingnews report of stage 3 written by les clarke says that lance took turns at the front of the breakaway. but i don't think so. i never saw him anywhere near the front. his two teammates were integrated into the paceline with columbia and the skil shimano guys. why would his teammates work and not him? either it was ok to ride "against" contador or it wasn't. if so, then all should have worked. if not, then none should have worked. what's up with that?

Dunno! I saw the stage and Lance wasn't in front for 1cm! Even the commentators said he won't ride and inch in front!

 

[L29205]

Errr... so you pull Rogers+Kirchen away from Klodi+AC+Leppy? This is not an easy decision.

In the great picture the only real time gains was LA on AC. AC in fourth, Klodi and Levi still in the top ten. I think it was a very good day for Astana. It in my opinion it shows that all of the teams think AC is the person to watch. They didn't bother to make that much of an effort to follow LA.

 

[Publicus]

I will say this, the media is about to have a feeding frenzy on the Astana drama.

 

[Anonymous]

Did he say that they wanted to practice for tomorrow?

I think your money is safe, sounds like a probable scenario. The Dutch guys were all excited by the idea that Hincapie was in a position to help Lance. (Incidentally, it seems that Hincapie enjoys a lot of respect in the peloton.)

Every reason they should. He may be onerous to some because of his past affiliations, but the fact is that he is a true professional. He knows where to be and he may not win a lot, but when he puts his HP on the front, he brings pain as well if not better than anyone. Super Domestique has always been his moniker, and I have to say it fits.

 

[Franklin]

letting armstrong have 40 seconds, is no big deal

if you think that you are deluded. This is the seven time TdF winner. losing 40 seconds is a "big deal".

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Errr... so you pull Rogers+Kirchen away from Klodi+AC+Leppy? This is not an easy decision.

lol. asif they fear Rogers and Kirchen. I'll put myself out on a limb here and say neitehr will finish in the top ten, no way!

 

[jaylew]

Errr... so you pull Rogers+Kirchen away from Klodi+AC+Leppy? This is not an easy decision.

Rogers and Kirchen aren't real threats for the top spot. After all of that neither of them even got into the top 10.

 

[Amsterhammer]

if your leader wasnt there you think they would try and get him back

unless lance is the leader and AC is just his puppet

Think! AC had five other Astanas in his group. If they thought that it was vital at this point to bring him back JB would have given different orders.

Just imagine what might have happened if today had been one of the radio-free stages!

 

[Anonymous]

Lance worked, one or two pulls around click 4 before the end.

I never saw it, and the camera rarely left the front of the race and even when it did, it never looked like he was dropping back from a pull. He was near the front, but that again was just protecting his place should another split form or crash happen. He never pulled.

 

[ak-zaaf]

if you think that you are deluded. This is the seven time TdF winner. losing 40 seconds is a "big deal".

he is right.
contador will drop him like a fly on the steeper slopes.

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

if you think that you are deluded. This is the seven time TdF winner. losing 40 seconds is a "big deal".

I meant in comparison to wasting ur team's energy ahead of potentially the most important stage of the tour. What if tehy did waste themselves to peg back LA, and then as a result rode a poor TTT tomorrow, would it been worth it? In reality they'd lose the time to LA all over again and to other contenders. And please, LA is not the top dog here, although i think you can't discount him, he hasn't shown enough signs to suggest he is the top dog.