Three days of de Panne - 29th to 31st March

[Tuarts]

Lol, Griepel.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Sky weren't organised for the sprint anyway.

Bit weird to bring that many sprinters if you aren't going to bother organising for a sprint! Even if your main aim is the GC. I suspect that they just screwed up their timings at the end of the chase.

Edited to add: No, it looks like you were right, judging by the top finishers.

 

[The Hitch]

So how far down did Wiggo finish?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

I asumme Wiggins finished in the big peloton

 

[Tuarts]

So Feillu won the sprint from the peloton. Renshaw seems to be HTC's sprinter.

 

[hrotha]

Wasn't this stage supposed to leave just 5-10 guys with options in the GC? Oh well, it was pretty interesting.

 

[Sasquatch]

Wiggins would have finished in the peloton.

Point taken to Dekker mentioning Westra and Algarve. Westra, Sagan, Devolder and Wiggins are the main chances.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

1. Greipel
2. de backer +3
3. westra +5
4. ligthart +5s

that's the gc so far, peloton guys at 12s i think

 

[superconfex]

greipel 3 sec on de backer

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Wasn't this stage supposed to leave just 5-10 guys with options in the GC? Oh well, it was pretty interesting.

It might well have done had the various breaks worked together properly, but they were attacking each other all day. And still won, mind you, because the peloton screwed up the chase.

 

[Jamsque]

Westra was only 5 seconds from Tony Martin in Algarve ITT.

I'm not convinced Wiggins is now the major favorite with Westra already having some boni secnds.

TO THE CQ-MOBILE!!

At Paris-Nice, Wiggins took 37 seconds out of Westra over 27km in a course with a significant climb. The ITT here is only 14.7km, but it is pancake flat which probably favours Wiggins ever so slightly. If he rides well I think Bradley ought to be able to take 20 seconds out of Lieuwe on that course, and if no more bonus seconds come in to play he only needs to take 7. It is not a certainty, but I would favour Wiggo over Westra for the GC.

 

[Sasquatch]

It might well have done had the various breaks worked together properly, but they were attacking each other all day. And still won, mind you, because the peloton screwed up the chase.

Technically it has. The only hilly stage kept the major time trialists in the race together rather than have them lose huge chunks of time.

 

[maltiv]

Bit weird to bring that many sprinters if you aren't going to bother organising for a sprint! Even if your main aim is the GC. I suspect that they just screwed up their timings at the end of the chase.

Edited to add: No, it looks like you were right, judging by the top finishers.

To me it looked as if Sky were using some of their sprinters to reel back the breakaway, so they clearly just decided to focus on the GC.

 

[search]

Wiggins would have finished in the peloton.

Point taken to Dekker mentioning Westra and Algarve. Westra, Sagan, Devolder and Wiggins are the main chances.

when did Sagan become a good timetrialist?

he's good in short prologues, but he won't be able to hold the pace of Wiggins or Westra (possibly not even to keep the gap under a minute)

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

TO THE CQ-MOBILE!!

At Paris-Nice, Wiggins took 37 seconds out of Westra over 27km in a course with a significant climb. The ITT here is only 14.7km, but it is pancake flat which probably favours Wiggins ever so slightly. If he rides well I think Bradley ought to be able to take 20 seconds out of Lieuwe on that course, and if no more bonus seconds come in to play he only needs to take 7. It is not a certainty, but I would favour Wiggo over Westra for the GC.

In PN Westra was in the breakaway of the day the whole day, the queen stage. So how can you NOT take that in account?

Fail.

 

[joy118118]

TO THE CQ-MOBILE!!

At Paris-Nice, Wiggins took 37 seconds out of Westra over 27km in a course with a significant climb. The ITT here is only 14.7km, but it is pancake flat which probably favours Wiggins ever so slightly. If he rides well I think Bradley ought to be able to take 20 seconds out of Lieuwe on that course, but it is not a certainty.

But Wiggins lost to Kloedi a few days ago. In Algarve, Westra only behind Tony Martin. he even beated Kloedi.

When Westra is on form, it is hard to tell how good his TT is.

 

[TeoSheva]

In PN Westra was in the breakaway of the day the whole day, the queen stage. So how can you NOT take that in account?

Fail.

it will be hard, but 6 seconds are nothing

 

[theyoungest]

TO THE CQ-MOBILE!!

At Paris-Nice, Wiggins took 37 seconds out of Westra over 27km in a course with a significant climb. The ITT here is only 14.7km, but it is pancake flat which probably favours Wiggins ever so slightly. If he rides well I think Bradley ought to be able to take 20 seconds out of Lieuwe on that course, and if no more bonus seconds come in to play he only needs to take 7. It is not a certainty, but I would favour Wiggo over Westra for the GC.

The time trial being pan flat isn't exactly to Westra's disadvantage. He likes his time trials flat.

 

[Jamsque]

In PN Westra was in the breakaway of the day the whole day, the queen stage. So how can you NOT take that in account?

Fail.

... and he was just in the break all day today as well. Calm down and have a polite conversation for once please.

 

[More Strides than Rides]

Throw this race into the stack supporting a radio ban. 50k of excitement, even if that excitment can also be called confusion and anxiety.

 

[search]

TO THE CQ-MOBILE!!

At Paris-Nice, Wiggins took 37 seconds out of Westra over 27km in a course with a significant climb. The ITT here is only 14.7km, but it is pancake flat which probably favours Wiggins ever so slightly. If he rides well I think Bradley ought to be able to take 20 seconds out of Lieuwe on that course, and if no more bonus seconds come in to play he only needs to take 7. It is not a certainty, but I would favour Wiggo over Westra for the GC.

Vacansoleil had the yellow jersey for a couple of days, Westra had to work for de Gendt, so he might have wasted some energy the days before.

But, okay, it's the same with today's stage, so it might fit again

 

[Sasquatch]

when did Sagan become a good timetrialist?

he's good in short prologues, but he won't be able to hold the pace of Wiggins or Westra (possibly not even to keep the gap under a minute)

Sagan has performed insanely well in 8-9km time trials. Adding a further 5-6km won't make that much difference.

 

[Ferminal]

when did Sagan become a good timetrialist?

he's good in short prologues, but he won't be able to hold the pace of Wiggins or Westra (possibly not even to keep the gap under a minute)

Well, Sagan could possibly get time bonuses on the next three stages which the others can't.

I'd consider Greipel a chance too.

 

[Anonymous]

final 7k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChDguabXQB8

 

[Jamsque]

I'm not writing off Westra's chances, he has a great opportunity to win here. Seven seconds over the pack is a very slender lead, though, and there are plenty of capable ITT riders in that bunch, Wiggins included.