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

[Galic Ho]

I sure hope he can motivate himself for the Vuelta. Anglo riders usually don't have much interest besides the TdF, but finishing on the podium of the Vuelta would be a GREAT performance for Wiggins.

Given he was reportedly wishing his team good luck, then he isn't in too bad a mental state. I think top 10 at the Tour was his best hope, Vuelta...upgrade it to a top 5.

 

[Winterfold]

He should have stayed in front. Lots to learn.

I realise now this was a joke - and of a kind I made a few weeks ago and got a hard time for.

Humble apologies - was a bit cross Wiggo was out and I lost my sense of humour.

**** happens.

Sky should score a fistful of stage wins now.

Gesink was going to get that white jersey at some point anyway, as long as he doesnt succumb to his own bad luck/injuries.

 

[Kwibus]

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.

Pffffffff. For real?
And then you come with that karma crap again. Karma is bs. Life isn't fair and if karma existed life would be fair.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

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.

He's past half way inside his 4th year of GT stage winning, so I'd say so. His wins are also, frankly, of a higher quality than stockpiling 9 wins a year in your home tour. He may make it look easy, but he's beating the best in France, which isn't always the case in Italy & Spain.

 

[Parrulo]

Given he was reportedly wishing his team good luck, then he isn't in too bad a mental state. I think top 10 at the Tour was his best hope, Vuelta...upgrade it to a top 5.

read my post above. you really think wiggins can top 5 on that field? with the angliru and just 1 itt? + several punchy stages

 

[Kwibus]

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.

Impressed that you can stay this civilised while replying to a comment full of bs

 

[Parrulo]

He's past half way inside his 4th year of GT stage winning, so I'd say so. His wins are also, frankly, of a higher quality than stockpiling 9 wins a year in your home tour. He may make it look easy, but he's beating the best in France, which isn't always the case in Italy & Spain.

he will have a hard time getting the worlds tho. he doesn't has the team cippo had for him.

 

[Motion]

So I think it will be between Conta & Andy

Old guys - Klodi, Vino, Evans
will fight for podium

 

[Kwibus]

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.

Yes you should know. Bye.

 

[lilyprotector]

i just read that poor chris horner was unconscious after the crash. he came in last today. johan said it's unlikely he'll be able to start tomorrow. such a bummer.

 

[Waterloo Sunrise]

he will have a hard time getting the worlds tho. he doesn't has the team cippo had for him.

C'est la vie, I was just going on GT stages - he's on 30 already, and could easily hit 35 or more by the end of his 4th winning year. And as mentioned, the quality of those wins is higher.



EDIT - apologies, just realised that the figures someone posted above include TTT, which I struggle to justify, so make that 27. Broader point stands.

 

[pedaling squares]

you were rude and unfair.

I was? When? Not my intent.

Well spotted sir! Nice.

Looks like Cav reviewed the video of his last finish in this town. Good catch!

This isn't personal, but given you chose above all things a ridiculous gay cowboy avatar ...

Uh Galic.... your avatar is a nearly-shirtless muscular cartoon dude with two big boy guns. Probably not your best line of attack....

 

[patrick767]

I do not like a rider so I'm glad he got screwed by a crash.

Fixed. That sums up your last several bloated posts. Wanting a rider's placing to be decided by anything but their performance against the competition is pathetic. Grow up.

 

[Galic Ho]

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.

I wasn't laughing at him. I just think it's played out bad for the guy who should have been team leader from day 1, Kloeden. Levi has a reluctance to work even at the best of times. Now Horner and Levi are definitely domestiques. Levi did that role appropriately in 2008's Vuelta.

Since then? I don't think so. I've seen him shirk any real work often and then when he has a bad day and his team mate usurps him it can be noticed hin his demeanor. He didn't like Horner beating him in the ToC. I think it's a mental thing. He's somehow convinced that even if he did put his face in the wind, he'd lose out. I'd rather he tried, failed miserably than sat back and dreamt of it. I'd much prefer Brajkovic to be there slugging his guts out for Kloeden because I know he'd do it without question. Put it this way, I don't think he's going to drop back and get bottles and food for anyone. He'll do as little as he can and hope to scrape time back. Kloeden in 2009 sacrificed a podium spot for LA. Big contrast.

Ultimately this all falls back on team management. They've let this stuff go on for years. Playing guys off against one another. It's stupid.

I'd just like to see guys stop falling and people losing out through no fault of their own.

 

[patrick767]

i just read that poor chris horner was unconscious after the crash. he came in last today. johan said it's unlikely he'll be able to start tomorrow. such a bummer.

That's terrible. He deserves better.

 

[patrick767]

Bruyneel on Horner, quoted on the Team Radioshack site:

"When I got there, he was lying in a ditch and was very shaken. It was obvious he’d hit very hard. He finished the stage and I think basically he’s ok physically. He has a few bruises and swelling. But we’re taking him to the hospital to have a scan. He doesn’t really know where he is right now or what happened. We’ll see what the results are but I fear the worst. Obviously it’s been three difficult days for us with Jani crashing out, yesterday Levi crashing and again today, and now maybe losing Chris. We’ll see what the damage is tonight and tomorrow morning and then we’ll go on.”

 

[mewmewmew13]

I saw the finish and last crashes today but it was on VS and I wasn't sure what happened to Horner??
..saw him with the team car but did he get hurt badly or unconscious as I see he lost a huge amount of time..

I'm not a Wig fan but sorry to see him crash and be injured.
This has been a wild first few days of the tour...nasty carnage and real team shakeups.

 

[mewmewmew13]

sorry...just saw a simul-post re Horner..thanks

 

[kjetilraknerud]

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)

Well. You totally misread my post, and I fond your reply quite harsh. I think it's terrible that Wiggins crashed out, please show me where I said otherwise.

 

[Galic Ho]

Pffffffff. For real?
And then you come with that karma crap again. Karma is bs. Life isn't fair and if karma existed life would be fair.

*** happens. Some people deal with it. Life is both fair and unfair. Depends on your perception, perspective and mental state at any given time. As Carlos Sastre said the other day, he didn't understand the time rulings on day 1. Lots of guys here didn't like it that stage 1 was deemed a sprint stage hence the 3km safety rule. Levi didn't hop on his bike and ride. He soft pedalled. AC and others flogged themselves. Realistically without the rule Levi would have lost two minutes. Same with Hesjedal, he got a time reduction that CVV and Danielson didn't. Anyone found out why yet? Both guys have now lost time. Some thinks that is the world balancing itself out. Cause and effect.

You do something, a cost is attributed. Shirk the cost one day, pay it back later. Karma, reaping what you sow. It's been round since before the pyramids and accepted by numerous world cultures. I'm guessing your short time on earth trumps thousands of years of civilization? Oh well...your opinion, kudos to you, but that outlook will leave you disappointed.

At the end of the day, if the peloton is blocked on the road there is little on can do. Only 10% of riders can be at the front and relatively safe. Someone has to be at the back or in the middle. It's a physical fact. When it gets windy *** can happen. It has been happening all week. The evidence is that some guys go down far too often...that's revealing in itself. Shack have had it happen left right and centre, except for the guy I thought would be on form. Ask yourself why that is. It's attitude, one that I also remarked Wigans can transfer to the Vuelta. Keep your momentum going. Or you can sit back and let others do the work. Catching on yet? It's as I said, about looking at all the angles...the whole picture.

 

[Galic Ho]

Uh Galic.... your avatar is a nearly-shirtless muscular cartoon dude with two big boy guns. Probably not your best line of attack....

Dude it is clearly Duke Nukem? Never heard of him?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N66Wza1Ka-w

You clearly don't get it. It's about attitude. You put someone with his attitude on a bike and you will have a raging hurricane of hurt punishing anyone near him whilst looking good. Seriously? Ok, I will change my pic to Andy Schleck in dress up if you want.

 

[thehog]

Well. You totally misread my post, and I fond your reply quite harsh. I think it's terrible that Wiggins crashed out, please show me where I said otherwise.

Its Karma for calling Floyd an alcoholic.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Personal take on it:

I like: Leipheimer and Horner losing time and not being part of the GC battle anymore

I don't like: how it happened.

 

[lilyprotector]

i would love to see klodi get a shot at the podium, and hope that there will be enough of a team to help make that happen.

i am soooooo bummed about horner. i hope he's okay.

 

[Galic Ho]

Fixed. That sums up your last several bloated posts. Wanting a rider's placing to be decided by anything but their performance against the competition is pathetic. Grow up.

How about you get an education! English your first language? Clearly a forum newbie. Do the time champ and get back to me. This is tame what I have described. You should see the real hatred. This is calling it as I see it. If you've been around you'd know I thought Levi would win the 2009 Giro...you don't get it.

I clearly stated in simple English that I believe quite strongly a riders placing should be decided by their performance against the competition. Hence why I said Levi deserved to lose time. He caused his crash yesterday and lost time by himself and if he wanted to mitigate time today then he needed to actually help set pace. As I said, not the actions of a prospective GC leader. Good to see you ignored my question though, like why you regard him as a leader and why he alone deserves any more sympathy than the 100 plus riders who lost time today? Every GC rider I mentioned pages back would have worked in the same situation. Take last years Giro. Nibali and Basso. Crashed. Did they work to get time back? Hell yeah, they never stopped. How about you watch cycling and pay attention.

There is 100% certainty your boy won't work. Yet you get upset...jokes on you. You sound like another LA nut hugger who transferred their dreams to Levi. Sucks to be you. Before you and others take the convoluted line of logic, I never wished him physical harm. As I said, he loses big time in every recent GC through his own fault. That's commenting, nothing more. Duh!