Tour de France 2011 Stage 7: Le Mans - Châteauroux 218 km

[jobiwan]

Nice of Leopard to push the pace after the crash though.

Shh...no one was supposed to see that!

Although it worries me that we want to see racing, unless it's Leopard who does it. Then we want them to be tarred and feathered. And if anyone races hard if a Leopard (especially the evil Andy Schleck) falls, they're a forum hero.

That's just as hypocritical as Leopard's tactics, IMO.

 

[goggalor]

Nice of Leopard to push the pace after the crash though.

Someone should ask Cancellara or Schleck what happened to "fair play" in the last year.

 

[Galic Ho]

Remember if a Shack rider falls then its “bad luck” and if Contador loses a minute it means he’s “not paying attention nor riding near the front”.

Indeed. So true when the Phil and Paul show are on a roll.

I'm greatful all the guys I think are in good form stood upright. Contador and Evans in particular. I'm liking the way Basso and Kloeden are staying alert and out of trouble, often seeing them at the front. Van den Broeck looks good as well. Not sure about Cunego, I think he's not sure himself but he's safe time wise. Other years he's normally lost two to three plus minutes easily by this time. Sanchez looks likes he's biding his time to. I'm thinking Vino is going for a stage win and possibly going to take yellow. I think if he does, given that Evans or a Schleck will probably grab yellow tomorrow, he will be allowed to do that. Anyone reckon Millar might go for a break? I have a feeling he might, have had all week, just don't think he'll pull it off. I think Garmin want a rest.

The Schlecks? Big question mark! I don't have a clue. Tomorrow will show a lot. The first five guys I mentioned are the ones I think who will do really well. Gesink? At least he was smiling on the podium. Maybe Kreuziger might go for the polka dot. Giro was long and hard.

Wigans was bad. I don't like seeing that, a fall you cannot avoid. Bottle's yesterday was avoidable.

 

[Kwibus]

even if he could recover in time i doubt he can beat those guys anyway

He's got a bigger chance in the Vuelta than the TdF. I think Wiggins showed this Dauphine that his TdF performance wasn't a fluke. Ofcourse the 2009 TdF was perfect for him and if it was raced harder in the mountains he wouldn't have ended on nr.4, but he would still be in the top10.
He's going to lose time in the mountains. He will gain time in a TT though. I don't think he's capable of winning a GT, but in a good year he can certainly end top5 in the Vuelta.

 

[Oldman]

Nice of Leopard to push the pace after the crash though.

Didn't they whine about that some time ago...
Anyway, what a day for improving the lot of some riders: Vino might have a podium shot. Klodi has a full team at his disposal and probably plans to follow Cadel until he cracks (simplifiying his strategy to doing nothing). Gesink should feel a little better. The Schlecks actually will have a shot if they can climb(?) with Contador and the other guys.
All of this and you know some adventurers that are currently written off are going to combine for some grand escapade in the mountains. This could be fun.

 

[luckyboy]

And another one just makes up facts because he's a fanboy

Mario:57 stages in GT's
Allesandro 48 stages in GT's (and lost an extra 5 due to Salbutamol)

To be fair, Cavendish is doing a lot better than either of those were at this age (27 years old)..

Cav: 17 Tour stages, 9 Giro stages, 4 Vuelta stages + 1 points jersey, 3 Catalunya stages, 2 Suisse stages, 2 Romandie stages, 1 Tirreno stage, 1 Milano-Sanremo, 3 Scheldeprijs

Cipo: 10 Giro stages + 1 points jersey, 1 Tour stage, 7 Paris-Nice stages, 2 Gent-Wevelgem, 2 Scheldeprijs, 1 E3 Prijs

Ale: 3 Vuelta stages, 1 Paris-Nice stage


Did not realise how late a bloomer Asthma-Jet was.

Here's a text file with all their major wins btw - http://www.mediafire.com/?x0kgi4l713h65q8

 

[Roude Leiw]

Nice of Leopard to push the pace after the crash though.

I would have thought, that they pushed because there was a chance to take advantage of the crosswinds... Field was rather stretched for a few clicks. When it didn't work they fell back and left the work to HTC

 

[Kwibus]

Shh...no one was supposed to see that!

Although it worries me that we want to see racing, unless it's Leopard who does it. Then we want them to be tarred and feathered. And if anyone races hard if a Leopard (especially the evil Andy Schleck) falls, they're a forum hero.

That's just as hypocritical as Leopard's tactics, IMO.

I agree.
Lately the forum is a bit harsh. It would be nice if things returned a bit more civilised level. The fact that it's July doesn't help either.

 

[Tuarts]

Nice of Leopard to push the pace after the crash though.

Did they though? I actually didn't see anything so if some sometime in the future could link to a video of this, very much appreciative.

 

[Kwibus]

I would have thought, that they pushed because there was a chance to take advantage of the crosswinds... Field was rather stretched for a few clicks. When it didn't work they fell back and left the work to HTC

Yeh they tried to take advantage of the crosswinds twice.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

To be fair, Cavendish is doing a lot better than either of those were at this age (26 years old)..

Fixed for you.

 

[Parrulo]

Not sure about Cunego, I think he's not sure himself but he's safe time wise. Other years he's normally lost two to three plus minutes easily by this time

usually in other years by this time cunego would look like this

he will do what he usually does, climb with the best one day and lose 20 minutes the next

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Gesink says he felt like a very old man when getting up, but in the finale it "wasn't that bad."
He's glad the mountains are coming, hates the stress on the flat stages

 

[Kwibus]

Gesink said today was as much crap as it was yesterday btw.

So he's not feeling any better.

 

[theyoungest]

Gesink says he felt like a very old man when getting up, but in the finale it "wasn't that bad."
He's glad the mountains are coming, hates the stress on the flat stages

Plus on Rabosport he says that he wasn't feeling much better than yesterday, and he hopes he can hang on tomorrow.

The white jersey might be a good goal for him, for that he probably has to end up somewhere between 10th and 15th, and that might just be possible.

 

[Galic Ho]

Okay, I guess I have no right to feel an tiny ounce of empathy for a guy who lost big time today. My apologies.

This isn't personal, but given you chose above all things a ridiculous gay cowboy avatar pick of one of the most disliked guys on these forums it comes as zero shock you have sympathy for Levi. Your choice, but by now you should be well aware the man is not everyone's cup of tea. People benefitting for doing squat and who then get saved by a misguided rule that prevents them losing big time are looked upon as leeches by a lot of cycling fans. Profiting off others blood, sweat and tears.

When the universe balances things out, some see it as natural order. Karma, reaping what you sow. naturally when people like you think have a certain attachment, a fondness or affinity for said rider then you believe that it's time to roll out the Kleenex for them. As I said, what happened to Wigans and Horner blows, Levi...different boat. I gave a distinction between two separate cases, aka, I look at the whole picture. But do by all means exercise your right to feel sympathetic for him. Just saying, cause it is a forum, that I don't and see no reason to mimic your sympathy.

 

[luckyboy]

Fixed for you.

Ah well in that case it would look like this..

Cav: 17 Tour stages, 9 Giro stages, 4 Vuelta stages + 1 points jersey, 3 Catalunya stages, 2 Suisse stages, 2 Romandie stages, 1 Tirreno stage, 1 Milano-Sanremo, 3 Scheldeprijs

Cipo: 10 Giro stages + 1 points jersey, 1 Tour stage, 5 Paris-Nice stages, 2 Gent-Wevelgem, 2 Scheldeprijs, 1 E3 Prijs

Ale: 2 Vuelta stages


Cav should overtake them as long as he keeps going to the Giro + Vuelta as well.

 

[Parrulo]

He's got a bigger chance in the Vuelta than the TdF. I think Wiggins showed this Dauphine that his TdF performance wasn't a fluke. Ofcourse the 2009 TdF was perfect for him and if it was raced harder in the mountains he wouldn't have ended on nr.4, but he would still be in the top10.
He's going to lose time in the mountains. He will gain time in a TT though. I don't think he's capable of winning a GT, but in a good year he can certainly end top5 in the Vuelta.

he has a chance at the top 10 top 5 is also too much. the vuelta has the angliru this year, just too steep for wigins i would say. he would lose too much time there. besides this year the vueta will have: nibles, anton, purito, menchov and scarponi that haven't ridden the tour+ samu, gesink, evans, and frank schleck that have ridden the tour.

 

[H2OUUP2]

Remember if a Shack rider falls then its “bad luck” and if Contador loses a minute it means he’s “not paying attention nor riding near the front”.

That's exactly what I've been thinking the last couple days watching the versus feed. Or this one, "the team is just not riding for him and taking care of him."

 

[jobiwan]

This isn't personal, but given you chose above all things a ridiculous gay cowboy avatar pick of one of the most disliked guys on these forums it comes as zero shock you have sympathy for Levi. Your choice, but by now you should be well aware the man is not everyone's cup of tea. People benefitting for doing squat and who then get saved by a misguided rule that prevents them losing big time are looked upon as leeches by a lot of cycling fans. Profiting off others blood, sweat and tears.

When the universe balances things out, some see it as natural order. Karma, reaping what you sow. naturally when people like you think have a certain attachment, a fondness or affinity for said rider then you believe that it's time to roll out the Kleenex for them. As I said, what happened to Wigans and Horner blows, Levi...different boat. I gave a distinction between two separate cases, aka, I look at the whole picture. But do by all means exercise your right to feel sympathetic for him. Just saying, cause it is a forum, that I don't and see no reason to mimic your sympathy.

Let me clarify, I think Bottle has the personality of a brick, and I have never wanted him to do well. But if you think it's okay to laugh at a guy losing time, no matter who it is, that's a little sad IMO.

That said, I think we can agree to disagree.

 

[meandmygitane]

I wonder if we'll see what EBH can do in mountains now. He did well in the Dauphine, would be nice to see what he can do riding his own pace instead of killing himself for Brad. Sooner or later he'll have to find out what kind of rider he wats to be.

Nice, it almost seems that you are pleased to see that Wiggins crashed. I'm not sure that I like the attitude that a team mate's tragedy is a "good" thing if it is to your favourite rider's advantage.

Perhaps you didn't mean it that way, but it sure comes across harsh when you don't express with even a word regret that Wiggins crashed. (Perhaps I react this way after reading Ryo's "Sky's truckload of failure"-thread)

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Plus on Rabosport he says that he wasn't feeling much better than yesterday, and he hopes he can hang on tomorrow.

The white jersey might be a good goal for him, for that he probably has to end up somewhere between 10th and 15th, and that might just be possible.

Podium is out of the question yeah, but white should be possible. Certainly now Uran lost an extra 3 minutes

He does seem to fear tomorrows stage with this condition

 

[Franklin]

Cav should overtake them as long as he keeps going to the Giro + Vuelta as well.

Could...

We really do not know yet. For sure he's a prodigy, the best sprinter of his generation and certainly age-wise unique.

But some riders fade, some get better... the yardstick is palmares. He's on a course to smash every record, but that is still a ways off (Darrigade's record would fall first if he keeps this up).

 

[Galic Ho]

bla bla bla Karma..bla bla bla. So much bs I can't take it anymore. Because he is a wheelsucker he got what he deserved? Riiiiight.
I'm not a fan of the guy, because of his wheelsucking, but this is too much bs.

Yeah, that's why Europcar and Sky were pulling the second group back. Sky, who dropped four minutes waiting for Wigans. Where was Levi the entire time? At the back letting them do the work. He does not act like a leader. Why then should anyone consider him of a quality to be given the respect of a leader? He was no better than any other guy on the road in the dropped group. Did they get sympathy? No so take your bias and apply sympathy to EVERY rider.

Not a fan...then why don't you give sympathy to everyone who fell? You don't and thus disagree with me because you still see him as a GC guy. Deserving of sympathy simply because, he's a GC candidate. A title is nothing. You have to earn it. If Levi is to be talked about like a leader then he has to act like one. Meaning he needed to at the front pulling given the time he's lost. But he isn't, just doing the same old wheel sucking antics that earnt him his nickname. If you don't get that well.

No more Bottle talk. Wigans is the one who deserves sympathy. I should know. I'm one of his biggest critics on these forums.

 

[c&cfan]

Could...

We really do not know yet. For sure he's a prodigy, the best sprinter of his generation and certainly age-wise unique.

But some riders fade, some get better... the yardstick is palmares. He's on a course to smash every record, but that is still a ways off (Darrigade's record would fall first if he keeps this up).

NO.

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