Tour 2018 stage 20: St P-S-Nivelle - Espelette 31km ITT

[movingtarget]

Froome didn't look too bothered. Roglic paid for yesterday by the looks of it. Better ride by Bardet but not by Landa.

 

[Red Rick]

I think Thomas tried to gift Froome the stage

 

[rick james]

Re: Re:

Fair play to Thomas for gifting it to Dumoulin, he leaked a lot of time in the last section there.

A lovely tradition by the Team SKY lads started
last year when Froomey gifted Angliru to Bertie.

Lol

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

I think Thomas tried to gift Froome the stage

Serious? It was always a 50/50 with Dumo. I think Thomas went to hard in the start and didnt take risks in the end on the downhills.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re:

I think Thomas tried to gift Froome the stage

No. Thomas already lost 15 s on the final climb alone, that's when they showed the GPS graphics with virtual GC and Dumo was suddenly at 2'00 instead of 2'20

So Thomas blew on the climb and took no risks in the final downhill

 

[rick james]

Re:

I think Thomas tried to gift Froome the stage

Or he sat up and took it easy with no risks

 

[Zoophonic]

Re: Re:

I have to wonder, is this really that surprising? Thomas is beating two riders coming off the Giro-Tour double, something that hasn't been done close to successfully since Pantani. And the number 4 is going to be Roglic, a man who's best GT finish so far is 38.

I'm not saying anyone should have expected this, or that it's not a revelation that Thomas is this good. But honestly the competition is really quite poor.

He is beating a guy who has been on the podium in Paris twice (Bardet), a guy who has won both the Giro and the Vuelta and been second in Paris (Quintana) and strong GT riders such as Landa and Kruijswijk. And people always says, "but they are in such a poor form". Well maybe, just maybe, it is not that easy to be on peak form every GT. And sometimes, you might be in good form, but in the competition if off the chart, it will look like you are in poor shape..

These guys are all being beaten by Roglic. If Contador had not retired and say had finished 6th you could also say he won a multiple GT winner, but it would have meant nothing about the level needed to win this TDF. Again Thomas is very good, but I don't believe his current form would have been enough to win any tour going back to at least the tour Evans won, if not the one won by Pereiro.

And let me be clear I'm not trying to take something away from his victory, he's deserved to win this Tour, he's been the best on every single terrain and is a worthy winner. I'm just saying it's not as amazing a transformation as people are claiming. I'm not so sure he's significantly better then he was in 2016 before he got ill.

It’s an argument you can’t prove. In any case what does it matter. Let’s not take anything away from a worthy winner who would have won the stage as well would it not for him taking it easy.

 

[Big Doopie]

Re:

The total demolition of the climber oriented tour challengers in a Tour de France designed for climbers has been completed. Fun times.

get a grip.

if you knew the traditional history of GT winners you would know that this is the mold.

thomazeau (french cycling expert on cycling podcast) even specifically pointed out that dumo is the prototype of TDF winner.

it is actually traditionally/historically rare for a pure climber to do much more than Bardet did (top ten) with more bad days likely than the real GC riders. pure climbers do not digest the succession of stages as well. especially those first nine flat stages, it wears out their climbing legs much more than the power riders. that is simply a fact.

they should put some mountain stages in the first weekend (as they did in 1977!) and yet an all-rounder (Thevenet) still won. LOL!!

 

[Cance > TheRest]

Re: Re:

I think Thomas tried to gift Froome the stage

No. Thomas already lost 15 s on the final climb alone, that's when they showed the GPS graphics with virtual GC and Dumo was suddenly at 2'00 instead of 2'20

So Thomas blew on the climb and took no risks in the final downhill

This is true. The GPS showing virtual GC displayed that Thomas was only 2.01 ahead of Dumoulin as he was climbing the last hill.

 

[rlntlssly]

Re: Re:

Nice finish for Tom. Well deserved.

Thomas clearly coasted home. Lost 30 seconds in last third.

Thomas got properly tired, he wasn't coasting. His body position was so much worse.

Eh? He clearly sat up, he was freewheeling through corners at the end.

He was rocking all over the place. Did you see his shoulders? Not very sky like at all. He was tired, it happens. He was behind Dumoulin at the top of the climb anyway, only lost two or three seconds in the last 1k

He looked a bit tired (went out too hard, I think) and clearly lost some time to Dumoulin, then he plainly sat up.

 

[movingtarget]

Re:

I think Thomas tried to gift Froome the stage

He was probably getting tired after a very fast start but also switched off towards the finish on the downhills.

 

[rick james]

On itv Tom D looks super happy, first time I’ve seen him like that..

 

[Big Doopie]

Re: Re:

I think Thomas tried to gift Froome the stage

No. Thomas already lost 15 s on the final climb alone, that's when they showed the GPS graphics with virtual GC and Dumo was suddenly at 2'00 instead of 2'20

So Thomas blew on the climb and took no risks in the final downhill

bingo - caught exactly the same graphic and noted it above. thomas was struggling hard on the hill and virtual GC was already showing that dumo had slipped ahead on the stage.

maybe he slowed up when he realized that he would not win the stage...

 

[hfer07]

what a joke........

I bet the time on Froome was deliverily fixed by the organizers to avoid the french wrath during the podium presentation......
This Tour is sooo disgusting

 

[Red Rick]

Re:

On itv Tom D looks super happy, first time I’ve seen him like that..

They apparently lost his TT suit this morning, so he was stresser out of his mind

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Re:

On itv Tom D looks super happy, first time I’ve seen him like that..

Dude beat Froome and Thomas in a time trial after 2 super hard GT's. I think he has right to be happy

 

[woodburn]

Tom just giddy at finish. 180 degrees from his perspective after yesterday.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

The total demolition of the climber oriented tour challengers in a Tour de France designed for climbers has been completed. Fun times.

get a grip.

if you knew the traditional history of GT winners you would know that this is the mold.

thomazeau (french cycling expert on cycling podcast) even specifically pointed out that dumo is the prototype of TDF winner.

it is actually traditionally/historically rare for a pure climber to do much more than Bardet did (top ten) with more bad days likely than the real GC riders. pure climbers do not digest the succession of stages as well. especially those first nine flat stages, it wears out their climbing legs much more than the power riders. that is simply a fact.

they should put some mountain stages in the first weekend (as they did in 1977!) and yet an all-rounder (Thevenet) still won. LOL!!

I mean, it's totally true though? They've constructed Tours with little to no TT km and yet freaking Geraint Thomas wins, followed by three other TTers. The reason big guys won it in the past was because they had 80km of time trials. And is your theory about pure climbers having bad days true? Or just a theory? Quintana when he was good had very few bad days, less than Froome. Nibali at his best didn't have very many. Dumoulin has one or two per GT. Contador didn't have many either, sometimes none at all.

 

[bigcog]

Re:

what a joke........

I bet the time on Froome was deliverily fixed by the organizers to avoid the french wrath during the podium presentation......
This Tour is sooo disgusting

Lol you have to wonder, it was a bit odd ...

 

[Armchair cyclist]

Re:

what a joke........

I bet the time on Froome was deliverily fixed by the organizers to avoid the french wrath during the podium presentation......
This Tour is sooo disgusting

Touch of paranoia here. It is clear to see on the coverage that the on-screen clock for Froome stopped before he reached the line.

 

[Brullnux]

Re:

what a joke........

I bet the time on Froome was deliverily fixed by the organizers to avoid the french wrath during the podium presentation......
This Tour is sooo disgusting

Personally, I did think Froome's time had stopped 10 or 20m before the finish line.

 

[samhocking]

I can list pure climbers on one had that won Tour going back to 70s. Tour de France is not a climbers race whatever the number of TT km.

 

[rlntlssly]

Re:

what a joke........

I bet the time on Froome was deliverily fixed by the organizers to avoid the french wrath during the podium presentation......
This Tour is sooo disgusting

So the timing on a TdF time trial goes awry and this is proof of a pro-Sky conspiracy? Rather than, you know, what happens every single time...

 

[Big Doopie]

Re: Re:

And is your theory about pure climbers having bad days true? Or just a theory?

true. not a theory.

of course there are a few exceptions (e.g. Van Impe in 1976, but he could TT pretty well).

traditionally pure climbers do not have the body type to deal with the succession of wear and tear that a three week GT does. Pure climbers like Fuente, Herrera, Bardet, Martin etc. can often be counted on to have more bad days at some point. but also the reason that they are often not as attacking and sharp in the mountain stages as we expect, because they get worn down by riding big bracket on the flat much more than the power guys.

hinault, merckx, etc... used to take advantage of exactly that and wore them down.

this is not my theory, this is well, well known in pro peleton.

 

[kiszol]

As I see it it's a combination of all of the factors you mentioned:
Thomas went out too hard and paid the price on the hill at the end. When he slipped behind Dumoulin and Portal told him he took it easy and safe. He knew that he won't be able to finish ahead of Tom so why pushing? Overall win was in the pocket anyway.