Tour de France 2017. stage 1: Düsseldorf, 14 km itt

[Pricey_sky]

Re:

I'm clutching at straws here, but maybe Froome knows his form isn't what it's been and he felt he had to take seconds anywhere he could????

Possibly, but the impression I get is that he is just a naturally aggressive racer, especially now over time and with little to prove. He took risks last year and they paid off. He tried it on the final stage of the Dauphine, attacking more than any other GC rider, but that didn't pay off.

I'm sure I read an interview with Thomas last week where he said sometimes his Sky teammates have to stop Froome attacking and play it safe as he wants to be aggressive, yesterday was just another instance of that.

EDIT: found the interview with Thomas:
“That’s the thing with Froome, we always have to hold him back. He always wants to attack anywhere, in the crosswinds, in the downhill, or on the first climb of the day. It’s about managing that, being aggressive when it counts and not being carried away.”

 

[SKSemtex]

I did not like Froome too much, but last year he prooved me I was wrong. He is just great. I wish he ride for anorher team and beat the Sky, so everybody knows who is the greatest.
True is that if organizers build the Tour like they used to build before (with long ITTs) nobody have a chance to come even close.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Yeah, I think thats a common misconception. Froome is naturally a quite aggressive racer actually - the guy will even attack his teammate, he doesn't care!

 

[Pricey_sky]

Re:

Yeah, I think thats a common misconception. Froome is naturally a quite aggressive racer actually - the guy will even attack his teammate, he doesn't care!

As it was Wiggins he should be let off

 

[LaFlorecita]

The problem isn't that Froome is boring, it's his dominance that makes the race a borefest.

 

[Brullnux]

Re: Re:

Latour will be the revelation of this Tour.
And Aru will win it.

I hope you're not joking because I don't want to be the only one that thinks Aru might win it

Well, I WANT Aru to win it. I'll be cheering him on, and I picked him in the "Who Will Win the TdF" thread. So that's 3 of us...

As for the stage, CF clearly wants this one, and his ride showed it. Hardly a conservative ride.

He's got a nice cushion that will force the other contenders to attack him. And Sky look even stronger with Valverde's mishap. Also, nice job Taylor Phinney!

Yes Froome showed intent well done to him. But Aru finished way down, worse than a timid Porte. Not a good early sign.

Yeah but Aru can't TT, so it really isn't a sign at all.

 

[Vasilis]

Re: Re:

Latour will be the revelation of this Tour.
And Aru will win it.

I hope you're not joking because I don't want to be the only one that thinks Aru might win it

Well, I WANT Aru to win it. I'll be cheering him on, and I picked him in the "Who Will Win the TdF" thread. So that's 3 of us...

As for the stage, CF clearly wants this one, and his ride showed it. Hardly a conservative ride.

He's got a nice cushion that will force the other contenders to attack him. And Sky look even stronger with Valverde's mishap. Also, nice job Taylor Phinney!

Yes Froome showed intent well done to him. But Aru finished way down, worse than a timid Porte. Not a good early sign.

Yeah but Aru can't TT, so it really isn't a sign at all.

Well, Aru isn't that bad at TT'ing, in the Vuelta he won I think he was the first GC rider behind Dumoulin, so although it's not a strength, he can hold his own. However, it still doesn't say much that he finished behind Porte, and maybe a longer TT would have suited him more.
Besides, Porte didn't do that badly, he's 3rd of the GC riders right now behind Froome and Yates.

 

[Brullnux]

He finished behind Valverde and Quintana, and almost 2 minutes behind Dumoulin. And that's his best ever performance in one. He isn't tragically bad, but he isn't good at all. Last year at the Tour he lost more than four minutes to Dumoulin, and three to Froome; earlier this year at the Dauphine he lost 1:20 to Porte. So yeah, losing 40 seconds to Froome doesn't say anything about Aru's form at all really.

Porte didn't do badly if you ignore his pedigree and ability in time trials. If you had told him that on stage two he'd be 35 seconds behind Froome a week ago he would not have taken it, and would have been very disappointed. He has the form and the ability to put time into Froome, or at least finish within 10 seconds of him.

 

[cantpedal]

Re: Re:

Anyone else noticed that no rider from UAE and Bahrein were shown on TV coverage? Also Wanty, but at least Meintjes and Ion deserved some mention.

The coverage and timing was disappointing. Even Thomas the stage winner was not shown until the finish.

Early in yesterdays broadcast it was mentioned that the rain had played havoc with some of the connections making full coverage difficult

 

[Alexandre B.]

 

[valentius borealis]

Re:

Yeah, I think thats a common misconception. Froome is naturally a quite aggressive racer actually - the guy will even attack his teammate, he doesn't care!

I remember when he attacked Wigans on LPdBF in 2012.

 

[yaco]

Waiting to see Froome in the mountains. He's been uninspiring in 2017.

 

[jmdirt]

I was just clicking through the photo gallery from the TT, and among all of the cool aero stuff the things that stuck out to me were: Froome's chainrings, lots of guys running BIG rings, lots of guys using Lightweight's disc. The last one also got me thinking: if you aren't a TT guy/non GC guy why not just run your sponsors disc?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Is there anything to be made of this: Tension building up over Team Sky's time trial jerseys?
Main elements:

Tension was building up around Team Sky after two days on the Tour de France as rival teams complained that the jerseys they used for the opening time trial had been designed to illegally boost aerodynamics. Little bubble pads were seen on the upper arms on the jerseys of several Team Sky riders, including that of defending champion Chris Froome.

International Cycling Union (UCI) regulations state: “Garments must not be adapted in any way such that they diverge from their use purely as clothing. The addition of any non-essential element or device to clothing is prohibited.”“It is an actual part of the jersey, it was not added,” race jury president Philippe Marien told Reuters on Sunday. At least two rival teams had complained about the Team Sky jerseys ahead of Sunday’s 203.5-km ride to Liege.

"It's enhanced aerodynamics and the regulations forbid it," said Frederic Grappe, performance director at the FDJ team.

"According to studies, the estimated gain is about four to seven percent. It's huge."

While some believe Team Sky are bending the rules, their sports director Nicolas Portal said they were 'working' them. “There are other teams who have been using it. Other big teams have been using it. It's legal. Everybody knows the rules. It does not give you a big advantage but it's those little things... so why not use them? "Everything has been validated. We abide by the rules."

I suspect it amounts to sour grapes and that nothing will happen, while DSes are desperately ringing their clothing partners wondering what they can knock up before stage 20.

Sky trampling all over that line without there being evidence of crossing it (that blue line on their backs really ought to have footprints all over it)

Can dimples on the upper arm really be worth 7%?

 

[LaFlorecita]

FDJ have nothing to gain out of this, so it's interesting that they're most vocal. Certainly not "sour grapes". Or... another case of French jealousy?

 

[deValtos]

Armstrong had a few choice words for FDJ's Madiot and Grappe on his latest podcast. :lol:

Basically said they are the most whiniest people in the whole of the cycling.

 

[rick james]

Re:

Armstrong had a few choice words for FDJ's Madiot and Grappe on his latest podcast. :lol:

Basically said they are the most whiniest people in the whole of the cycling.

thats lies...Bertie fans are

 

[cantpedal]

Re:

The problem isn't that Froome is boring, it's his dominance that makes the race a borefest.

Thank God the forum didnt exist in the Merckx days. Eddie be the most hated man on the planet :surprised:

 

[Escarabajo]

I just saw the replay of this stage. I cannot see the big difference that the experts are referring to when they talk about the separation of the boundary layer on the arms "surface roughness". I understand the effect that it has on the golf ball when the geometry is round. Is crucial for the ball to have those holes in order to make the flow as turbulent as fast as possible so it can have the less drag. The small eddies from from the turbulent flow kind of help push the ball further. But I cannot see the big difference on the arms. I will make the speculation that the effect will have to be bigger on the helmet and on the back of their bodies where the bigger surface is available. But I did not see that. BTW what happened to those holes on the helmets (to resemble the golf ball) that many riders had a while back?

It looked to me like the shirt that Rohan Dennis used in the prologue of the Tour De Suisse was worse. Maybe UCI should look into making these uniforms more standard for everyone. Not that it matters that much but to make everyone happy.

What Sky did was just add an additional variable to their silly "marginal gains". IMHO.

 

[adamfo]

Movistar have used suits with more boundary layer separation in the past. Check the height of the arrow heads on the back of the arm
https://www.flickr.com/photos/149764128@N08/shares/X9XP26

 

[Escarabajo]

That's right. Now that we pay attention to it I don't understand what the fuss was about the Sky uniforms.