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

[movingtarget]

Bout time the forum had a wheelsucking thread for the people actually interested. There are no fanboys or fangirls just fans. Why complicate things ? Of course transfans are a separate category.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

What is Gesink doing? Supposedly he was dropped and is fighting to get back on. I am sorry but it is clear that this injury ain't getting better. Pull out son and rebuild for la vuelta.

Gesink is long back in the peloton already.

He hopes to get to the rest day and then re-evaluate next week

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

So, him dropping everyone riding at too strong a pass is not enough. He has to attack out of the saddle. I guess Basso also never attacks either (2006 notwithstanding), yet he dropped everyone on most of last year's Giro climbs. Evans simply is not the explosive type to make a flamboyant attack. At least he tries at times, unlike Bottle.

basso can't attack but he goes full force and doesn't look back. evans makes tempo but always looks back for others to take over, constantly in fear of wasting more than others, including montalcino stage which was the most aggressive evans I've ever seen and that's saying a lot, but vino worked more and like I said was the rider who first pulled through and only a few where in the wheels

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

And the big question - answered

Garmin driving the main group

how hard are they pacing? or just controlling?

 

[Publicus]

Coyot just vomited at the back of the peloton. Rough day in the peloton indeed.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Txurruka DNF.

After Intxausti yesterday and now this, the Tour is dead to me.

Sportzchick, maybe he was called a wheelsucker because for years he wasted chances to create the palmarès fitting of his ability because of an unwillingness to attack when it needed to happen. He did attack from time to time, but seldom with any conviction, and usually when he really needed it he didn't have the wherewithal, tactical sense, confidence or legs, or any combination of the above, to do so. He's thrown off his wheelsucker tag in the last two years, but he had it before then for a reason.

You just admitted that he didn't attack in the because of legs. Why on earth would you attack if you don't have the legs if you are just going to blow up even further? That's just silly...

FFS, when you don't have the legs you don't attack. A 10 year old cyclist understands that..

2008 - Every MTF he was on the limit or he simply didn't need to attack. It was amazing that he finished 2nd.
2007 - He did have a go a few times but on the stage to Plateau de Beille he was simply on limit
2006 - The stage to Morzine and Alpe d'Huez he was on the limit from the start.

Silly hypothesis.

 

[oncehadhair]

Evans to take yellow tonight. The last 1.6km climb will see him get the seconds he needs over Thor. Then again, I thought the same on Satge 4 and Stage 8 so what do I know?

Its hard to see Evans chasing the yellow. It suits him to be sittting where he is. All care but no responsibility. If he gets yellow tonight it will more likely be a result of him keeping pace with contador and schleck to maintain his lead over them.
Would be good to see Hoshovd in yellow tonight.

 

[just some guy]

how hard are they pacing? or just controlling?

Leading yo yoing a bit 3.30 to 4 min but the pace must be pretty good

as Coyot just threw up at the back of the group.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

You just admitted that he didn't attack in the because of legs. Why on earth would you attack if you don't have the legs if you are just going to blow up even further? That's just silly...

FFS, when you don't have the legs you don't attack. A 10 year old cyclist understands that..

2008 - Every MTF he was on the limit or he simply didn't need to attack. It was amazing that he finished 2nd.
2007 - He did have a go a few times but on the stage to Plateau de Beille he was simply on limit
2006 - The stage to Morzine and Alpe d'Huez he was on the limit from the start.

Silly hypothesis.

vino did all the time and he even won races by it'he's said numerous times in interviews that when he feels tired and exhausted he tried to attack to get himself motivated again.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

Leading yo yoing a bit 3.30 to 4 min but the pace must be pretty good

as Coyot just threw up at the back of the group.

the gap is increasing so garmin aren't riding so hard

 

[just some guy]

the gap is increasing so garmin aren't riding so hard

Coming down again now

 

[superconfex]

4 minutes for the esapees

 

[The Hitch]

Eurosport seem to think its a certainty that podium will consist of Schleck Contador and Evans.

The 3rd guy (not Backsted or Richardson) then neglects to mention the Vuelta when asked to explain who Peter Velits is

 

[movingtarget]

basso can't attack but he goes full force and doesn't look back. evans makes tempo but always looks back for others to take over, constantly in fear of wasting more than others, including montalcino stage which was the most aggressive evans I've ever seen and that's saying a lot, but vino worked more and like I said was the rider who first pulled through and only a few where in the wheels

That's a load of BS. Evans did as much work as Vino, led out the sprint and rode Cunego and Vino off his wheel. They had no excuses that day.

 

[mulletCobra]

Is Van Garderen the first American to actually wear the KOM Jersey? I know Greg LeMond lead the competition for a single day in 86, but he wore the yellow jersey.

 

[hrotha]

vino did all the time and he even won races by it'he's said numerous times in interviews that when he feels tired and exhausted he tried to attack to get himself motivated again.

Adding to this, Riblon attacked several times yesterday at exactly the right times. He wasn't the strongest at all, but had Van Garderen been a bit less eager and Rui Costa a tad weaker, it could have worked.

That said, I don't think Evans's reputation is fair. At least back in 2005 he struck me as a rider who would often attack even if the odds weren't that good, but of course there's a lot less pressure doing that when you're riding for a top 10 than when you're actually contending the overall win. Anyway, I don't have anything bad to say about his style.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

This stage is set up nicely now. I think we'll see some counter attacks on the climbing section in the middle with riders trying to get across from the peloton. Vino might as well have another crack

 

[LaFleur]

vino did all the time and he even won races by it'he's said numerous times in interviews that when he feels tired and exhausted he tried to attack to get himself motivated again.

That's why Vino has never won the yellow and never will, Evans on the contrary wants to

 

[superconfex]

Eurosport seem to think its a certainty that podium will consist of Schleck Contador and Evans.

The 3rd guy (not Backsted or Richardson) then neglects to mention the Vuelta when asked to explain who Peter Velits is

Malcom Elliot isn't??

 

[Jamsque]

So Gesink made the start today, do we think he'll finish? He looked really demoralised this year. It's a damn shame, I was thinking that with an on-form Gesink and perhaps even an on-form Wiggins this year we might see some new faces on the Tour de France podium.

Also very pleased to see that Sky have responded to Wiggo's departure by putting men in the breakaway two days in a row.

 

[Kwibus]

People. Stop getting into stupid discussions like "He's a wheelsucker" "NO he is not!". It's pointless.
Evans was a wheelsucker back in the days. Last few years he has shown us a lot more than wheelsucking. Besides that 95% of the peloton are wheelsuckers if you look at it from a Ryo perspective.

 

[Ryo Hazuki]

That's why Vino has never won the yellow and never will, Evans on the contrary wants to

vino on the other hand has won a gt, something evans will never do.

 

[Zoncolan]

basso can't attack but he goes full force and doesn't look back. evans makes tempo but always looks back for others to take over, constantly in fear of wasting more than others, including montalcino stage which was the most aggressive evans I've ever seen and that's saying a lot, but vino worked more and like I said was the rider who first pulled through and only a few where in the wheels

Well, comparing anyone to Vino in terms of attacking riding is plain unfair. Evans came up a lot in my eyes over the past 2 years. IMHO, he can no longer be called a wheelsucker.

 

[Kwibus]

So Gesink made the start today, do we think he'll finish? He looked really demoralised this year. It's a damn shame, I was thinking that with an on-form Gesink and perhaps even an on-form Wiggins this year we might see some new faces on the Tour de France podium.

Also very pleased to see that Sky have responded to Wiggo's departure by putting men in the breakaway two days in a row.

Same, but I don't think Gesink will recover in time. He's likely to lose more time today. I wonder what he will do once he realises his GC is messed up. Will he leave the TdF or go for a stage win? I suggest he leaves the Tour to focus on the Vuelta. Since he hasn't lost time yet today let's hope for the best.

 

[Zoncolan]

Same, but I don't think Gesink will recover in time. He's likely to lose more time today. I wonder what he will do once he realises his GC is messed up. Will he leave the TdF or go for a stage win? I suggest he leaves the Tour to focus on the Vuelta. Since he hasn't lost time yet today let's hope for the best.

I feel for Gesink. We never got to see just how good he really is. I think he had a decent chance of a podium here. Could have outclimbed anyone bar AS and AC. On a par with Sammy Sanchez IMHO.