Tour de France 2017 Stage 14 : Blagnac > Rodez 181.5 km

[Irondan]

Aru was already isolated far from the finish. He had to do everything alone. So he had no chance here.

Do you really believe an isloated Froome/Contador would lose 25 secs on such a finish?
Any GC rider with enough experience would've known that.
He didn't have the legs today

To be fair I did spot a split in the group at about 1.8km to go and Aru was in the 2nd group.

True.

But that's because Aru was riding near the back of the peloton. Something you would never see Froome or Contador doing, even if they're legs were tired.

 

[Forever The Best]

Aru was already isolated far from the finish. He had to do everything alone. So he had no chance here.

Do you really believe an isloated Froome/Contador would lose 25 secs on such a finish?
Any GC rider with enough experience would've known that.
He didn't have the legs today

An isolated Contador lost just 4 seconds less today

Yes, because Contador of today is the same with old Contador. Oh, wait...

 

[cantpedal]

Re: Re:

Matthews oozes arrogance...

I don't know why I dislike this guy so much, but I do.

A guy who self titles "Bling", arrogance?
What a shock

The nickname was invented by someone else...

https://cyclingtips.com/2012/02/a-chat-with-michael-matthews/

Which he perpetuated, obviously.

Doesn't matter that someone else gave it to him, he ran with it.

In my experie :lol: nce the more you fight against a nickname the more your friends will make sure it sticks

 

[France_En_Marche]

Froome could attack Landa again in tomorrows finale.

 

[Poursuivant]

Re:

Pretty dominant win by Matthews in the end.

Very.

 

[Irondan]

Re: Re:

Matthews oozes arrogance...

I don't know why I dislike this guy so much, but I do.

A guy who self titles "Bling", arrogance?
What a shock

The nickname was invented by someone else...

https://cyclingtips.com/2012/02/a-chat-with-michael-matthews/

Which he perpetuated, obviously.

Doesn't matter that someone else gave it to him, he ran with it.

In my experie :lol: nce the more you fight against a nickname the more your friends will make sure it sticks

Okay, I'll give you that one.

Friends can make things worse sometimes...

 

[Irondan]

Re:

Froome could attack Landa again in tomorrows finale.

Yeah, because that's what he did today...

 

[ice&fire]

Aru has said to RAI it has been a positioning error

 

[Arked]

Super light Aru simply lucks raw power for those super fast flat run-ins. Without larger team mate assistance time loss like today was just a matter of time.

 

[Irondan]

Re:

Aru has said to RAI it has been a positioning error

Which is what a few of us have been saying.

Lack of experience in the Tour is showing through.

 

[movingtarget]

Easy win by Matthews, perfectly positioned behind Gilbert and GVA.

 

[Oude Geuze]

Re: Re:

i think edvald could have come close, had he not started in a bad posistion

story of his career

He had a perfect lead out and positioned in 3rd or 4th wheel. Can't ask for more. Just wasn't strong enough.

Froome has such a cool head, strong understanding of GT racing, really well executed today.

 

[arvc40]

Re:

Aru has said to RAI it has been a positioning error

Certainly was !. He was out of position k's out !

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Aru was already isolated far from the finish. He had to do everything alone. So he had no chance here.

Do you really believe an isloated Froome/Contador would lose 25 secs on such a finish?
Any GC rider with enough experience would've known that.
He didn't have the legs today

Contador no. Froome might lose that amount of time if isolated.

I don't agree with you on all accounts. Especially in this type of stage a team is crucial in placement

 

[Screecher]

Matthews celebrated way too early. If Avermaet had more strength, he wouldn´t have been able to get back to speed in time and would look like a fool.

 

[Frankschleck]

Re: Re:

i think edvald could have come close, had he not started in a bad posistion

story of his career

He had a perfect lead out and positioned in 3rd or 4th wheel. Can't ask for more. Just wasn't strong enough.

Froome has such a cool head, strong understanding of GT racing, really well executed today.

i feel like a lost out because he was behind stybar who made a gap, but yeah story of his life.

 

[Brullnux]

Aru was already isolated far from the finish. He had to do everything alone. So he had no chance here.

Do you really believe an isloated Froome/Contador would lose 25 secs on such a finish?
Any GC rider with enough experience would've known that.
He didn't have the legs today

Contador no. Froome might lose that amount of time if isolated.

I don't agree with you on all accounts. Especially in this type of stage a team is crucial in placement

I think the Contador of recent years could definitely lose 25 seconds on a finish like this if isolated.

 

[arvc40]

I can see how Aru might mess his positioning up, not as if this finish was important lol. Every man and his dog would know that you need to be at front here.

 

[Poursuivant]

Re:

I can't believe Aru gave away 25 seconds on a stage like this. Those seconds will be so hard to come by from here on in.

It's not far what he gained on PDBF.

 

[Strawberry_Jams]

Re:

Froome gained time on most his rivals today.

Froome +1
Martin +1
Uran +1

Landa +15

Quintana +22
Contador +22

Aru +25

Take out Contador and put Bardet & Yates in then

 

[arvc40]

Despite epic bad position Aru didn't look to strong there anyways.

 

[Finn84]

Re: Re:

Sunweb having quite the Grand Tour season.

This. They are really punching above their weight. Great, great year for the team.

They aren't punching above their weight. They are just executing their long term plan.

Began as the laughing stock in the TDF with Van Hummel. Then they came with Kittel and Degenkolb in GT stage wins. Then Degenkolb with classic wins (MSR, PR), then Dumoulin and Barguil in time trials, climbs and stage races. And now in GT's with those guys. Matthews being the replacement of Degenkolb obviously.
They've become better each season. I rate them just below Sky/Quick Step/Movistar/BMC now (or the 'big budget' teams)

For me that history makes the team much more likeable than the ones which have been founded straight to the top level like Sky.

 

[tobydawq]

Matthews celebrated way too early. If Avermaet had more strength, he wouldn´t have been able to get back to speed in time and would look like a fool.

Yeah, because it's usual for riders to suddenly be able to produce a mighty acceleration after just having been out-sprinted, going all-out up-hill.

 

[Finn84]

Re: Re:

Froome gained time on most his rivals today.

Froome +1
Martin +1
Uran +1

Landa +15

Quintana +22
Contador +22

Aru +25

Take out Contador and put Bardet & Yates in then

Bardet and Yates were both +5.

 

[Irondan]

Valgren replied to a question about losing the yellow jersey with "good".

Trouble in paradise?

Astana has some issues to deal with apparently...