Team Ineos (Formerly the Sky thread)

[hrotha]

Has he? I honestly don't think Evans is any better than he was in 2007/2008. He completely cracked under pressure in 2008, but physicially, he was great in those years, good enough to win the Tour. In 2009 and 2010 he saw a big drop in performance in GT's, I guess the peloton suddenly got very dirty in GT's those years, and in 2011 he was back to his 2007/2008 form.

In 2009 and 2010 he just sucked at the Tour. It happens: botched preparations (in the non-Clinic sense), mistimed peaks, fatigue, etc. If it had anything to do with the peloton getting dirtier, he would still have been up there (like in 2005) instead of being the twenty-somethingth and a complete non-factor. Also, he podiumed the 2009 Vuelta.

 

[Frosty]

In 2010 Evans only came 5th in the Giro but this was almost entirely down to him losing contact with Basso, Scarponi and Nibali on the Mortirolo and no-one helping him chase while the three in front steamed off. The Mortirolo is steeper than any tour climb of comparable length so its difficult to judge his performance there against performances in the tour. In that GT he did very well in the hard stages early on, well enough to win the points jersey by the way, maybe trying too hard? In the tour he got the yellow jersey but suffered after a crash. I dont really see a drop in performance in 2010 due to physical ability. The 2009 tour was a bit weird, i dont know if he just got worked up over team issues.

 

[Lanark]

Ok, I should really work on improving in getting my sarcasm across. I don't seriously think that the whole peloton suddenly got dirtier in 2009 and 2010. The only thing I'm saying is that nothing in Evans' results show him getting better the 'last few years', he's been on a pretty steady physical level since 2007 (with some crashes in psychological breaks in between). Evans his results can't be used to show that the peloton got cleaner the last couple of years.

 

[usedtobefast]

Sure Gilbert looked so normal last year, so did Boonen this spring oh and Sky well they look totally normal!

Di Luca he used to look normal too.hahaha!

 

[9000ft]

Haven't been paying much attention to the Clinic lately. Wow, is it possible you ladies in the hen house have finally tired of gossiping non stop about Armstrong?

Who'd of thunk?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

In 2010 Evans only came 5th in the Giro but this was almost entirely down to him losing contact with Basso, Scarponi and Nibali on the Mortirolo and no-one helping him chase while the three in front steamed off. The Mortirolo is steeper than any tour climb of comparable length so its difficult to judge his performance there against performances in the tour. In that GT he did very well in the hard stages early on, well enough to win the points jersey by the way, maybe trying too hard? In the tour he got the yellow jersey but suffered after a crash. I dont really see a drop in performance in 2010 due to physical ability. The 2009 tour was a bit weird, i dont know if he just got worked up over team issues.

2010 Giro he simply ran out of form. Because BMC were almost totally reliant on him for invites (especially when they had to take Ballan off the road due to Mantova - they were even thrown out of Dwars door Vlaanderen for sending such a weak team the organisers thought it better to replace them with Xacobeo-Galicía) Evans had been peaking for the Ardennes and trying to hold for the Giro. So he won Flèche Wallonne and went to the Giro in top form. In the first half of the race he and Vino were way stronger than most of the other contenders, but as the race reached its conclusion they didn't have the gas in the tank, while the Liquigas duo and Scarponi peaked later with less pressure on them pre-Giro, so timed their best form for the decisive final week. They also had much stronger teams around them to save energy before the end - see Evans chasing on in the Middelburg stage and also stage 13 with the brief split in the péloton with Evans taking long turns to pull his group back while the other contenders were sat conserving energy in the front group. That was compounded by Evans doing on Mortirolo what he had previously done on Zoncolán, and going way into the red to stay with the others, so that when he was broken he lost a lot of time fast (Scarponi was dislodged way before Evans on Zoncolán, but Scarponi nearly caught him). You could see he'd pushed it too far even from his descending. Arroyo made him look like a complete fool. Arroyo is a superb descender who was absolutely flying in a career-defining moment there, and he was making pretty much everybody in sight look stupid and most of those that weren't in sight, but Cadel is no mug downhill; his technique was simply deserting him.

Then, Evans had had no race days from then until the Grand Départ, when he showed up again as team leader and again with next to no help. Even without the injury, expecting him to compete was optimistic.

 

[blackcat]

2007 was all for the London Prologue, was it not?

was the year Cav tossed his bike in the white high road cost ooom. I am thinking 08 Ferm.

 

[blackcat]

Ferm u were right. It was 07. He had targeted that. But Cancellara would ahve had about 5 secs on him jkust handling his bike around the chicane and turns.

Fabian,
Klodi
Hincapie
then Wiggo

 

[blackcat]

2007 was all for the London Prologue, was it not?

oh, and he was at High Road or Telekom Tmobile at the start before they rebranded. not Cofidis then

 

[Libertine Seguros]

oh, and he was at High Road or Telekom Tmobile at the start before they rebranded. not Cofidis then

He was still at Cofidis at the 2007 Tour. Spent 2008 at Team High Road/Team Columbia, but apart from the Tour of Britain didn't ride anything on the road after the Giro, for Olympics prep.

 

[blackcat]

He was still at Cofidis at the 2007 Tour. Spent 2008 at Team High Road/Team Columbia, but apart from the Tour of Britain didn't ride anything on the road after the Giro, for Olympics prep.

thanks for the correction LS. How many errors did I make in this thread already

fast losing any credibility I had. But dont think the double negative = a postive, in the cycling credibility game eh?

I remember him losing the 20 sex tho. But I reckon Fabian got about 5 atleast, thru the accleration and cornering. It was absolutely brilliant. Mcewen like. Savoldelli like. (his handling)

but Cavs tantrum was hilarious, and before Cav had won San Remo, Mcewens win in stage 1, was my number 1 sprint win. And Cav throwing the bike, was better than any Millar bike throws. What is it about Brits and bike throwing. They might get it confused with dwarfs methinks.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Sky's Brian Holm on Wiggins:

“He is a living computer who knows exactly what he is doing,”

Reminds me of Mr Logic:

Similar kind of aerodynamic nose too!

 

[DirtyWorks]

Spanner in the Works!

Spanner in the works boys! No Andy Schleck for 2012 TdF.

We've got one Schleck left on a weak team and Evans and then a bunch of climbing specialists. No doubt I've forgotten some other GC contenders.

Unless the Sky Train blows the GC contenders out the back I think we're going to see a Sky Train even if they haven't bought/breached the Biopassport doping safety net.

[LATE UPDATE]
-Based on the USADA letter, Celaya is the Tandy/Trek team "doctor" and now infamous. I have to wonder if the only Schleck left has had time to charge for the TdF.

-Pepe Marti was employed by Astana until sometime this year according to the USADA letter. Perhaps Astana too will suffer from inadequate preparation?

The non-Sky doping doctors have reached a new level of infamy. It seems to me Sky's got this one bought and paid for.

I will boldly predict a 2 minute or more lead by the last stage of the TdF for someone at Team Sky.

 

[taiwan]

Sky's Brian Holm on Wiggins:

Reminds me of Mr Logic:

Similar kind of aerodynamic nose too!

lol

characters

 

[ellenbrook2001]

yes correct i agree with you something very fishy the guy hes so strong he never ever last year display too be so strong he was always struggling in the mountain but now hes make a tempo so fast all have problems too follow then WEGGINGS look so easy even talk too hes team hahahaha common at that speed you almost out of puff

 

[Escarabajo]

Here you go Mr. Wiggins, natural behavior during the Giro 2009 (anemia) versus fishy behavior during the Tour (LOL), at least that's what it looks like:

OK... as requested by Escarabajo. Once again, normal ranges shaded blue. The values were "estimated" from the graphs posted earlier (and on the website I quoted), so they will not be 100% accurate. (but they will be close! )

http://forum.cyclingnews.com/showthread.php?t=2599&page=7

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anemia

 

[TechnicalDescent]

Vaughter's said it was done by a different machine at a different time of day. I think it was this experience, and the criticism Wiggins received, that made him more cautious about speaking out on doping. If you're the victim of false attacks on doping, it really isn't something you forget very easily.

However, Wiggins will be pleased he likely now made the podium that year!

 

[Escarabajo]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sky-meeting-with-aso-is-routine-team-says

Routine meeting according to Sky. I hope so, because it came at the most strange of times.

 

[Benotti69]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sky-meeting-with-aso-is-routine-team-says

Routine meeting according to Sky. I hope so, because it came at the most strange of times.

It says they have been doing this for a while. I wonder do they come bearing gifts to the ASO.

Imagine presenting your blood values to a race organiser WTF? It is like ASO are the head of the sport and not the UCI? Yet Sky would not let one of their main sponsors most eminent journalist do a fly on the wall of the team during the TdF.

 

[Normandy]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/sky-meeting-with-aso-is-routine-team-says

Routine meeting according to Sky. I hope so, because it came at the most strange of times.

Sky also say in the article

''On the record, I can categorically and 100 percent deny that Team Sky has ever made any form of donation to any organisation involved with the running of the sport, nor would we ever do so.”

That will be a first for any Murdoch owned organisation.

 

[DirtyWorks]

It is like ASO are the head of the sport and not the UCI?

Because they are the head of the sport. They've got the premier events, they've got the television production equipment that other race organizers use. They are making and spending way more money than the UCI.

What's the UCI got? A bunch of rules and a steady supply of riders. Their WCP uses ASO production gear.

Love the article. Yeah, nothing funny about presenting blood profiles.

 

[The Hitch]

Sean Yates hopes to win stage 1 of the Tour which finishes on 2km at 5%


with Cav

Even the sprinters are going to be tearing it up uphill

Sean Yates: "It’s lumpy and in Belgium and Tom Boonen is the man there. Omega-Quick-Step could be in yellow with Tony Martin after the prologue and will want to protect that and bring it to a sprint. That would play into our hands for Cav."

 

[Escarabajo]

Vaughter's said it was done by a different machine at a different time of day. I think it was this experience, and the criticism Wiggins received, that made him more cautious about speaking out on doping. If you're the victim of false attacks on doping, it really isn't something you forget very easily.

However, Wiggins will be pleased he likely now made the podium that year!

I deleted the blood profiles. It was too controversial. We don't want to add wood to the fire now.

 

[Benotti69]

Because they are the head of the sport. They've got the premier events, they've got the television production equipment that other race organizers use. They are making and spending way more money than the UCI.

What's the UCI got? A bunch of rules and a steady supply of riders. Their WCP uses ASO production gear.

Love the article. Yeah, nothing funny about presenting blood profiles.

Yeah they are the unofficial head of the sport, but do it without UCI involvement is so blatantly getting into bed with ASO. But then that is so Murdoch.

Wonder did they present a new jaguar or bentley to ASO

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Wiggo == Cadel II

http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2012/jun/19/bradley-wiggins-tour-de-france

Brad talks Cad(el)

"I see myself as a very similar rider," said Wiggins. "What he did was inspirational; the way he won it inspired me to do it for myself. Cadel isn't the best climber but he can climb with the best. I found the manner in which he won the Tour last year to be inspirational. He had a wobbly moment on Col du Télégraphe on the stage that finished on top of the Galibier but fought back to win the yellow jersey in the time trial.

"I saw it as the way I could win the Tour some day. It's not about being the best time triallist or climber but about getting all the tools to be a great all-rounder."

something Freudian?