Team Ineos (Formerly the Sky thread)

[webbie146]

False.

Ride for Lance and don't even think about stage wins. I believe Hamilton publicly stated he would try for stage wins while supporting Wonderboy and that ended very badly. And then years later there was another sad display when he ended up in a 3-up break with a team mate. He didn't help his teammate a bit. So, The Shack ends up 2nd and third in a three-up breakaway. Really....

If you are Dave Zabriskie, you get paid as much as a barista for the privilege of serving Wonderboy.

That's what I meant. Lance dealt with it. Ferrari told Lance Hamilton beat his record on some climb, Lance proceeded by taking away his dope in the 01 tdf. It's what i meant lol.

He kept everyone in check. Can't say that about Wiggo, didn't he write in a book that he actually though about quitting the tdf because Froome did a pull ore something haha.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Are Cookson's hands clean? If not, can he publicize anything without implicating himself?

Cookson has protected the UCI for years and years. He's not going to start exposing it to controversy now. It wouldn't make the election any easier for him. Just the opposite really.

He's not clean. How exactly? I don't know. But, this is the UCI we're talking about.

 

[DirtyWorks]

That's what I meant. Lance dealt with it. Ferrari told Lance Hamilton beat his record on some climb, Lance proceeded by taking away his do in the 01 tdf. It's what i meant lol.

Ahhh... I misunderstood. Thanks for the clarification.

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Are Cookson's hands clean? If not, can he publicize anything without implicating himself?

I think there are dirt attached to the guy, but we have a cold war going on at this time. A careful balance. Noone feels good about busting the bubble.

Hein is an old greedy businessman. He will back the likely winner at the right time. I can't imaging Phat would like to see his old buddy in "crime" switching horse in the middle of the show.

Very healthy process.

 

[webbie146]

Ahhh... I misunderstood. Thanks for the clarification.

It's no problem

How do guys think Geraint Thomas is going to perform this tdf?

His climbing in the Dauphine was surprising. Well not really surprising, he rides for sky so I should have known he would find his inner climbing talent

 

[Cyivel]

It's no problem

How do guys think Geraint Thomas is going to perform this tdf?

His climbing in the Dauphine was surprising. Well not really surprising, he rides for sky so I should have known he would find his inner climbing talent

In fairness Thomas has been a decent climber for a bit and should be improved over last year given he has dropped some weight, I expect he will be a bit better than the Dauphine but not as good as Rogers/Porte from last year, but I'd expect him to be there in a fairly reduced bunch.

 

[webbie146]

In fairness Thomas has been a decent climber for a bit and should be improved over last year given he has dropped some weight, I expect he will be a bit better than the Dauphine but not as good as Rogers/Porte from last year, but I'd expect him to be there in a fairly reduced bunch.

He dropped some weight fast, in the spring he was still riding classics..

 

[Ripper]

He dropped some weight fast, in the spring he was still riding classics..

It'll be interesting.

G showed good TT form in the dauphine ... no problem with that. Buuuuut he also seems to have lost weight (and fast) and is climbing quite well.

So G is really just following the Sky 'trend' - miraculously lose weight like your just taking off a shirt but lose no power. Become a combo at great climbing and great TTing. It's really just because only Sky know how to train.

 

[DirtyWorks]

He dropped some weight fast, in the spring he was still riding classics..

Again, how exactly is that possible and maintain power for 4+ weeks without AICAR?

 

[Bernie's eyesore]

I see Sean Yates has a book out soon entitled 'It's all about the bike'. Could he reveal the truth about his career and what happened whilst he was working at Sky?

 

[Benotti69]

I see Sean Yates has a book out soon entitled 'It's all about the bike'. Could he reveal the truth about his career and what happened whilst he was working at Sky?

I very much doubt it.

 

[Wiggo Warrior]

It'll be interesting.

G showed good TT form in the dauphine ... no problem with that. Buuuuut he also seems to have lost weight (and fast) and is climbing quite well.

So G is really just following the Sky 'trend' - miraculously lose weight like your just taking off a shirt but lose no power. Become a combo at great climbing and great TTing. It's really just because only Sky know how to train.

He climbed pretty well on stage 2 of the TDU as well, even though he'd only shifted some of his track weight at that point. It doesn't look so miraculous over six-seven months of dieting, road training and no track gym work.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Hard to take the TDU as much of a guide of anything though, as firstly the climbs aren't anything that's really indicative of real GT or major stage race capabilities and certainly aren't out of the range of many decent classics specialists (though Old Willunga Hill is now a hilltop finish, we must remember that in the past the Willunga stage has been won by such Grand Tour contending luminaries as Allan Davis and Fran Ventoso, and secondly the TDU is so far removed from most riders' season goals that it's hard to treat as a form guide. Not to mention that on that Old Willunga Hill finish Thomas did finish behind people like José Joaquín Rojas and lost 28" to the stage winner, so while he was pretty decent on the Stirling stage the TDU is still hard to justify as we quite simply cannot judge form in early January.

 

[martinvickers]

I see Sean Yates has a book out soon entitled 'It's all about the bike'. Could he reveal the truth about his career and what happened whilst he was working at Sky?

Is this for real ? If it were, the title is pretty clearly a direct dig at Armstrong (as in "it's not about the bike", and makes one a bit more curious what's in the book...

Or it could be Bernie's pulling my leg. and i just don't have the energy to look it up!

Lazy saturdays.

 

[Ripper]

He climbed pretty well on stage 2 of the TDU as well, even though he'd only shifted some of his track weight at that point. It doesn't look so miraculous over six-seven months of dieting, road training and no track gym work.

As LS notes

Hard to take the TDU as much of a guide of anything though ...

The TdU climbs are not a comparator. Also, G was focusing on the northern classics earlier ... the training for which can support good TT form, but not really the weight loss necessary for climbing big cols a la Dauphine.

 

[Wiggo Warrior]

As LS notes The TdU climbs are not a comparator. Also, G was focusing on the northern classics earlier ... the training for which can support good TT form, but not really the weight loss necessary for climbing big cols a la Dauphine.

I am not arguing with that per se, nor attempting to compare TDU climbs with Dauphine ones, but his weight loss and subsequent specific training loads are not as 'miraculous' taken over six-seven months surely, and the TDU was never a target except of opportunity for him anyway, just part of his 'Classics' training. He just happened to have some form at the right time to win the second stage, but not the endurance to carry it through to the Willunga Hill stage or for the overall.

If climbing ability is truly a simple product of watts/kilogram as Sky seem to believe then doing the Stage 2 climb as he did while still relatively track heavy just proves he had the watts to do it better (or for longer) when he lost some more unnecessary upper body weight.

I don't think he'll ever be in the Wiggo/Froome anorexic category as he seems to have problems getting down to their crazy fat levels due to different body type but I don't see any problem with him climbing at the level he showed in the Dauphine where he never managed the full final climb, dropping off the back when he was done (although on a couple of stages I think he paced himself to the top after dropping off to protect the team GC). If he starts finishing stages on long MTF this year with Froome and Porte I will be truly amazed (and deeply suspicious).

 

[spetsa]

The Sky boys better be clean for this TdF. Not good, when the boss man is pi$$ing off those whom can make one test positive.

 

[the sceptic]

The Sky boys better be clean for this TdF. Not good, when the boss man is pi$$ing off those whom can make one test positive.

The problem is, if Froome is gonna race clean then he will look even more ridiculous than he is now. What will people say if he is struggling to hang on on the flat and getting dropped on every climb?

Then it will become even more obvious what Dawg has been up to since 2011. So better keep going and hope for no positive.

 

[thehog]

The problem is, if Froome is gonna race clean then he will look even more ridiculous than he is now. What will people say if he is struggling to hang on on the flat and getting dropped on every climb?

Then it will become even more obvious what Dawg has been up to since 2011. So better keep going and hope for no positive.

The Dawg might do a Sagan and get a 3 minute lead on a MTF and zig zag the last 1km!

What a show that would be! Full zig zagging and still win!

 

[blackcat]

Greipel wins KOM at TDU over Willunga Hill. it is no climbing.

 

[spetsa]

Greipel wins KOM at TDU over Willunga Hill. it is no climbing.

In all fairness, Greipel is quite the talent. I am sure that Sky could make him a GT contender.

 

[kingjr]

In all fairness, Greipel is quite the talent. I am sure that Sky could make him a GT contender.

He won some sort of Mountain race in Germany in his Junior years!

 

[Ferminal]

The problem is, if Froome is gonna race clean then he will look even more ridiculous than he is now. What will people say if he is struggling to hang on on the flat and getting dropped on every climb?

Then it will become even more obvious what Dawg has been up to since 2011. So better keep going and hope for no positive.

He could just catch a virus.

 

[Granville57]

He could just catch a virus.

If that virus is going uphill, it won't stand a chance.

 

[Bumeington]

He won some sort of Mountain race in Germany in his Junior years!

Hill climb. Typically in Britain these are anywhere from 1:30 to 5 minutes long, so I suspect Mountain race is inaccurate