Tour de France 2011 Stage 9: Issoire - Saint-Flour 208 km

[thirteen]

We might all be Cuddles fanboys by the end of this.

(thanks for making me laugh on this awful, awful day!)

 

[sublimit]

Cadel Evens still has a chance, I hope so because I cant stick the Leopard team.

If a Schleck came off today you can bet your life Canc would of neutralized it.

 

[Carl0880]

unfortunately from what i've seen today in the finish,alberto suffered a lot.i don't think he will finish this tour either.
andy has no real rival in this right moment.i'm sorry but that's the truth unfortunately.

What we really need is a guy on a mountain stage to go in a breakaway on the climb before the final one, maybe Schleck's team apppreshensive to chase, and gain for 6-7 minutes and hopeful he hangs on.

 

[rides like a girl]

We might all be Cuddles fanboys by the end of this.

looking at the list, thinking the same thing. I'd be left with Lu Lu and Cadel. Hope a miracle happens that a Samu could gain time enough to make third.

 

[Gingerale]

If AC doesn't make like Clark Kent on the rest day and come out next week with a Superman cape on, I am afraid to say he would be fortunate to podium at all. He just looks very tired to me.

it's true he has been more human-like than superman so far.

but there is time for him to find his cape.

none of these commentators i've listened to the past couple years will shut up unless we have a mt. etna performance from conatador soon. and yet, he could even get criticized for that. dang pickle, i say. and the way that contador handled the giro was admirable.

this TdF would be less fun without contador. imo, of course.

 

[Sebastian]

I think Contador may be in one of the following situations right now:

1-The Giro was hard, he is tired, he will not get better
2-He rested a lot after the Giro planing to have another peak at the end of the Tour, hence he will get better
3-He is hiding the consequences of the accidents he had till now, specially in his knee. He will get better.

Right now I think number 2 is very possible. I was shocked to see that he was taking 2 weeks off after the Giro, doing very little. For me number 1 looks unlikely because they gave theirselves time to evaluate if Contador was going to the Tour. But of course we need to wait till stage 12, and probably even to the Alps.

I actually belive it is a combination of all those three options.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

this TdF would be less fun without contador. imo, of course.

This TdF would be more fun if it could actually be decided by bike racing rather than pinball.

 

[Arnout]

Still have hopes for Samuel Sanchez and Basso. And you never know, Andy may crash too and I hope and think Hushovd will personally set a frantic pace when that happens.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Interesting tweet by Burghardt:

"Sometimes its our own fall if we crash, like today.in that situation it was absolutly."

 

[ggusta]

Riis is saying Contador said his break lever was ensnared by Karpets seat. Dont make this some kind of Zapruder conspiracy incident.

We're actually running a Zapruder deficit at this point. Without a couple more angles, it's all a bunch of conjecture and another unfortunate rider ensnared in this incredible spell that Alberto has over the entire entire peloton and perhaps all of professional cycling. At least that is the diabolical sinister dark world that Bob Roll has uncovered.

Karpets is lucky he is not in the hospital like the rest of the people that AC has put the whammy on. Or Worse. And you think the driver of the car that hit Hoogerland and Flecha had any control over it?

Alberto and Damien from the Omen have never been seen in the same place together. Coincidence you say? Wake up you fools! Hear me now.

Sherwen and Roll have been onto AC's demonic plot to win every GT race he enters or destroy anyone who stands in his way ever since he sent Lance skidding across the asphalt like the Sunday paper and now the Beast is becoming revealed. His predilection for dining on rotting roadkill has been his undoing! Lance, the decent honorable and squeaky clean bastion of good sportsmanship who wanted nothing more than to love, be loved and sire as many children as possible out of wedlock with various starlets with his one remaining nut, was no match for this olive skinned black haired Spaniard.

The Schlecks have no idea what awaits them.

 

[Dedelou]

there's a fine line between humor and incoherent rambling

a line so thin at time that it takes more than just language to perceive it. But don't loose sleep over it, it is a free-speech forum however if you plan to analyse and react to the rambling level of the threads, you might miss the bike racing

 

[Bavarianrider]

 

[Damiano Machiavelli]

looking at the list, thinking the same thing. I'd be left with Lu Lu and Cadel. Hope a miracle happens that a Samu could gain time enough to make third.

Do not forget Tommy D. This could finally be his year.

 

[Arnout]

Interesting tweet by Burghardt:

"Sometimes its our own fall if we crash, like today.in that situation it was absolutly."

Quite happy with this, lately everything was blaimed except for the riders themselves. In my opinion there are simply too many riders who think they need to be in the front. Come on, Kevin de Weert thinks he is a Gc contender. Why not just hang back and safe yourself, noone cares about top 30 anyway.

 

[ggusta]

a line so thin at time that it takes more than just language to perceive it. But don't loose sleep over it, it is a free-speech forum however if you plan to analyse and react to the rambling level of the threads, you might miss the bike racing

Is the stage still on? It's over on my TV.

 

[peacefultribe]

Oy, what a terrible day. If Contador has a knee injury, and isn't 100%, I may not be able to follow the rest of this Tour. The only GC contenders left are the ones that I don't care for.

The French have made a mess of this year's race, from the fans to the officiating. Booing Contador set the tone. If you like him or not, he is a rider who races 100%, and makes the sport interesting. He doesn't trash talk, and he seems to respect everybody, whether they are celebrities or not.

I stopped watching 'Tool Time' with Phil, Paul and Bob long ago. I remember Phil and Paul in their glory days, and it makes me sad to see them now. I remember as an athlete, having Phil commentate at a race I was in. Having him talk about me was an honor. This was in the 90s....way back. This sport is becoming too much of a soap opera, and I'm afraid it will not recover.

 

[ansimi]

Terrible day really. I'm glad Tommy V got the jersey to bring some happiness. I got to see him on the podium but not Gesink or Hoogerland who I also wanted to see. I hope I can find footage of Hoogerland later. Is Gesink looking better?

 

[No_Balls]

AC confirms his knee-injury. He describes it as a "discomfort" rather then outright pain.

http://www.marca.com/2011/07/10/ciclismo/tour_francia/1310314630.html

 

[Sebastian]

If Contador abandons, then only Cadel can rescue this Tour from the disgrace of a Schleck victory.

I agree, even if I dont belive Cadel can handle the bigger mountains. But from this day on I am supporting Cadel even if I dont like him.

 

[ggusta]

Oy, what a terrible day. If Contador has a knee injury, and isn't 100%, I may not be able to follow the rest of this Tour. The only GC contenders left are the ones that I don't care for.

The French have made a mess of this year's race, from the fans to the officiating. Booing Contador set the tone. If you like him or not, he is a rider who races 100%, and makes the sport interesting. He doesn't trash talk, and he seems to respect everybody, whether they are celebrities or not.

I stopped watching 'Tool Time' with Phil, Paul and Bob long ago. I remember Phil and Paul in their glory days, and it makes me sad to see them now. I remember as an athlete, having Phil commentate at a race I was in. Having him talk about me was an honor. This was in the 90s....way back. This sport is becoming too much of a soap opera, and I'm afraid it will not recover.

Love him or hate him, he is the Tiger Woods of cycling. And cycling's inability to clean its act up prior to his arrival puts itself in the predicament of having to ban their Tiger Woods for a while or make themselves even more irrelevant. Which is possible despite being hard to imagine at the moment.

 

[Gavia Pass]

Oy, what a terrible day. If Contador has a knee injury, and isn't 100%, I may not be able to follow the rest of this Tour. The only GC contenders left are the ones that I don't care for.

The French have made a mess of this year's race, from the fans to the officiating. Booing Contador set the tone. If you like him or not, he is a rider who races 100%, and makes the sport interesting. He doesn't trash talk, and he seems to respect everybody, whether they are celebrities or not.

I stopped watching 'Tool Time' with Phil, Paul and Bob long ago. I remember Phil and Paul in their glory days, and it makes me sad to see them now. I remember as an athlete, having Phil commentate at a race I was in. Having him talk about me was an honor. This was in the 90s....way back. This sport is becoming too much of a soap opera, and I'm afraid it will not recover.

So you stopped watching them "a long time ago" but what they are doing now makes you "sad". Exactly how do you know what they are doing now if you haven't watched them in "a long time". That makes ZERO sense.

 

[ggusta]

So you stopped watching them "a long time ago" but what they are doing now makes you "sad". Exactly how do you know what they are doing now if you haven't watched them in "a long time". That makes ZERO sense.

Hey, welcome back, 1st post in 2 years and 2nd post ever. See you in 2013!

 

[Gingerale]

AC confirms his knee-injury. He describes it as a "discomfort" rather then outright pain.

http://www.marca.com/2011/07/10/ciclismo/tour_francia/1310314630.html

if you have time, could you sum that up? my spanish is worse than my dutch!

thanks.

 

[Sebastian]

What would the concequences have been if that car had hit Voeckler? I think thats an very interesting question.

 

[Desperate Moments]

VINO!!!!


The Tour is over for me.

But I WILL stop watching if AC abandons. From what I've read, he is a really sweet guy, who wants to be liked; if so, he must really be bummed by the cold shoulder he seems to be getting from the peloton.