Team Ineos (Formerly the Sky thread)

[Pantani_lives]

So are there any plans to publish the results of this investigation into Henao's blood profile? He's currently Froome's strongest helper in the Tour. Have the media forgotten about this?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sergio-henaos-independent-blood-profile-review-remains-unpublished/

 

[doperhopper]

Re:

So are there any plans to publish the results of this investigation into Henao's blood profile? He's currently Froome's strongest helper in the Tour. Have the media forgotten about this?
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sergio-henaos-independent-blood-profile-review-remains-unpublished/

well, their interest was clearly to produce a "scientific paper", not just release raw data... sooooo, maybe there was not enough science in Henao's blood?

 

[Pantani Attacks]

Poels could have rode up that climb on one wheel and he'd still have pulled back Aru, Valverde et. al. It's becoming more and more a joke.

 

[El Pistolero]

Poels is such a big joke lol.

 

[BYOP88]

Re:

Poels could have rode up that climb on one wheel and he'd still have pulled back Aru, Valverde et. al. It's becoming more and more a joke.

The guy was drinking and had no trouble pulling in Bardet.

 

[Saint Unix]

Thomas, Landa and Henao have terrible days? Never mind, Poels and Nieve will do the work of eight men.

Funny how many of their climbers can look human on every other stage, but Froome NEVER has one of those days. He might drop his token seconds, but you never see him completely slam face-first into The Wall like Henao did today.

 

[Rollthedice]

I will just leave this here, 2012 version of Sky train:

Can you talk, for example, about the day to Morzine in the Dauphiné? It was billed as what could have been an absolutely fantastic stage but really you guys tapped out such a tempo that it killed off any chance of attacks. There were some guys who were only just able to hold on while going up the climb… but at the top Cadel went on the attack. What do you make of that tactic?

Michael Rogers: “Obviously our idea was to put the pressure on going up the Joux Plane. I think Boasson Hagen put everyone on the ropes with his effort – he set a really, really high tempo for the first half of the climb and then Richie took over. We could see that [Jurgen] van den Broeck really had plans to attack but with the tempo that Richie was setting, I don’t think he was able to – everyone was on the limit. There was only four or five guys left at the top…”

Did you have your SRM on the bike that day?

Michael Rogers: “Yeah.”

Going up the climb, what sort of power were you generating?

Michael Rogers: “We did [the Joux Plane climb] in 34:50, I think, and I averaged 440 Watts. That was one of my highest every power reports.”

 

[Valv.Piti]

Better than 2012? I think they were stronger in 2012 relative to their competition, but I have a hard time seeing 2012 outtrain 2016. We will know more in 1 weeks time, probably the most interesting aspect of the Tour so far

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

Better than 2012? I think they were stronger in 2012 relative to their competition, but I have a hard time seeing 2012 outtrain 2016. We will know more in 1 weeks time, probably the most interesting aspect of the Tour so far

So looking at the train:

2012: Froome, Porte, Rogers, EBH
2016: Nieve, Henao, Poels, Landa, Thomas

Sky's train this year has a lot more depth to it, but in terms of quality, the 2012 train was definitely better

 

[Saint Unix]

Re: Re:

Better than 2012? I think they were stronger in 2012 relative to their competition, but I have a hard time seeing 2012 outtrain 2016. We will know more in 1 weeks time, probably the most interesting aspect of the Tour so far

So looking at the train:

2012: Froome, Porte, Rogers, EBH
2016: Nieve, Henao, Poels, Landa

Sky's train this year has a lot more depth to it, but in terms of quality, the 2012 train was definitely better

Forgot Thomas. Rowe and Stannard were doing their fair share of train work today too.

 

[Red Rick]

The problem is that they have 5 guy's that can do that. FIVE. If one of them has a bad day, the other crashes, and god forbid another is hungover, it still doesn't matter. They're good enough to reel in #8's and the likes attacking, but it's also shown often enough that they can be cracked if only somebody is strong enough. I'd hoped somebody would be able to do it.

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

The problem is that they have 5 guy's that can do that. FIVE. If one of them has a bad day, the other crashes, and god forbid another is hungover, it still doesn't matter. They're good enough to reel in #8's and the likes attacking, but it's also shown often enough that they can be cracked if only somebody is strong enough. I'd hoped somebody would be able to do it.

But in 2012 Porte Froome and Rogers didn't have bad days

 

[Alpe d'Huez]

I realize I said I'd only make one Clinic post this year, but you know, there's something a bit peculiar, to say the least, when one team has domestiques that ride epic mountain stages day after day so fast that the world's best climbers not only can't attack them, but some get dropped themselves.

 

[Benotti69]

Re:

I realize I said I'd only make one Clinic post this year, but you know, there's something a bit peculiar, to say the least, when one team has domestiques that ride epic mountain stages day after day so fast that the world's best climbers not only can't attack them, but some get dropped themselves.

Nothing peculiar. It is obvious.

The times and numbers are nuclear!

 

[BYOP88]

Re: Re:

I realize I said I'd only make one Clinic post this year, but you know, there's something a bit peculiar, to say the least, when one team has domestiques that ride epic mountain stages day after day so fast that the world's best climbers not only can't attack them, but some get dropped themselves.

Nothing peculiar. It is obvious.

The times and numbers are nuclear!

Froome has said 'I'm surprised by the lack of attacks'.

 

[capuldemetal]

''The Team Sky train raced all the three big climbs at around 6 w/kg average. It's logical that you can't drop them at such a pace. #TDF2016'' from fausto coppi's twitter.so if u need to beat them..one have to be real mutant!

 

[peloton]

Re:

I realize I said I'd only make one Clinic post this year, but you know, there's something a bit peculiar, to say the least, when one team has domestiques that ride epic mountain stages day after day so fast that the world's best climbers not only can't attack them, but some get dropped themselves.

Marginal gains like washing hands. Nothing to see here

 

[Rollthedice]

Re: Re:

I realize I said I'd only make one Clinic post this year, but you know, there's something a bit peculiar, to say the least, when one team has domestiques that ride epic mountain stages day after day so fast that the world's best climbers not only can't attack them, but some get dropped themselves.

Nothing peculiar. It is obvious.

The times and numbers are nuclear!

Froome has said 'I'm surprised by the lack of attacks'.

He clearly thinks he's untouchable, confident and superior. I bet they all make jokes in the bus about the other loosers.

 

[el chava]

Re:

Poels could have rode up that climb on one wheel and he'd still have pulled back Aru, Valverde et. al. It's becoming more and more a joke.

Still the favorites are very equal in strength. Until now the most impressive Sky/Froome has been humilitating the other teams (downhill attack/Sagan attack) and taking 40s on Mollema in the ITT.

Don't get me wrong, I despise Sky (except Nieve), but until now this not out of this world.

 

[Robert5091]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-agrees-that-skys-strength-must-be-demoralising-for-people/
"You mentioned Wout Poels. He’s not just any other rider. He won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, one of the biggest classics in the world."
Isn't LBL a one day race, whilst TdF is 3 weeks long with things like the Alps?

 

[Benotti69]

The speed on Ventoux wasn't an incident. This is the fastest peloton uphill of the last decade in the Tour.

Has to be cleans, everyone now using marginal gains. Of course they are!!!

 

[Saint Unix]

Re:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-agrees-that-skys-strength-must-be-demoralising-for-people/
"You mentioned Wout Poels. He’s not just any other rider. He won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, one of the biggest classics in the world."

Watch out for Simon Gerrans in the mountains next year!

 

[BYOP88]

Re:

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/froome-agrees-that-skys-strength-must-be-demoralising-for-people/
"You mentioned Wout Poels. He’s not just any other rider. He won Liège-Bastogne-Liège, one of the biggest classics in the world."
Isn't LBL a one day race, whilst TdF is 3 weeks long with things like the Alps?

Pretty sure until April of this year, Walsh said that Sky were clean because they sucked in the classics.

 

[Pantani Attacks]

https://twitter.com/faustocoppi60/status/754761216300646404

If a known doper like Valverde says that, a guy who hit his peak well into his 30s, and has some of the craziest performances in history to his name (the batshit crazy sprints he does every now and again) then you know sh*t is f*cked up. This is Postal and Lance times 10 tbh. Disgusting

 

[Red Rick]

Climbing speeds don't seem that outrageous to me. Probably said everyone's on the limit. Mostly because all the guys that could actually do better, either *** up preparation, rode the Giro, or crashed. Still it makes Contador frying the train on the Col du Noyer in the Dauphine look all the more impressive