Tour de France 2017 Stage 16: Le Puy to Romans-sur-Isère

[dgodave]

I'm hoping for lots of pretty hill towns.

 

[Robert5091]

Barguil to go in the break ... breakaway gets caught ... sprint finish - "The Jolly Green Giant" makes it 6. Sky to get booed again

 

[glassmoon]

UCI DH German Ch.

 

[frisenfruitig]

I'm going with Thomas De Gendt. He said he's feeling better and better and we all know what happens when he has one of those days!

 

[Hugo Koblet]

I can't imagine a break winning this. Sunweb, Trek, Katusha etc. will ride a hard race to try and gap Kittel and win the stage. And if that doesn't succeed, they will race hard to try and finish second. There's also the possibility of wind today which will make the peloton nervous and make sure the pace is high.

 

[wirral]

Re:

I can't imagine a break winning this. Sunweb, Trek, Katusha etc. will ride a hard race to try and gap Kittel and win the stage. And if that doesn't succeed, they will race hard to try and finish second. There's also the possibility of wind today which will make the peloton nervous and make sure the pace is high.

Of course, you have discounted the possibility of the break containing, say, Matthews and Degenkolb along with 25 other non-GC riders, and suddenly the chasing manpower is much diminished.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re: Re:

I can't imagine a break winning this. Sunweb, Trek, Katusha etc. will ride a hard race to try and gap Kittel and win the stage. And if that doesn't succeed, they will race hard to try and finish second. There's also the possibility of wind today which will make the peloton nervous and make sure the pace is high.

Of course, you have discounted the possibility of the break containing, say, Matthews and Degenkolb along with 25 other non-GC riders, and suddenly the chasing manpower is much diminished.

That's a possibility but it doesn't seem very likely.

 

[veji11]

gusts of wind of 60/70kph in the valley... The last 60ks look like they could be fantastically stressful...

 

[glassmoon]

Re:

gusts of wind of 60/70kph in the valley... The last 60ks look like they could be fantastically stressful...

one can only hope

 

[veji11]

Re: Re:

gusts of wind of 60/70kph in the valley... The last 60ks look like they could be fantastically stressful...

one can only hope

I am not saying there will necessarily be echelons, but stress there will be and lots of it.

 

[Jagartrott]

Re:

I'm going with Thomas De Gendt. He said he's feeling better and better and we all know what happens when he has one of those days!

I hope he saves himself for tomorrow - with the wind, there's less chance of a breakaway win.

 

[Bicycle tramp]

Barguil doesn't need the KOM points, so Sunweb could use him to pull Mathews over the lump and at least take the intermediate sprint points.

 

[wouterkaas]

DNS Philippe Gilbert
https://twitter.com/quickstepteam/status/887231951542857728

 

[PremierAndrew]

Re:

DNS Philippe Gilbert
https://twitter.com/quickstepteam/status/887231951542857728

Potentially a big loss for Kittel in today's crosswinds

 

[search]

Re: Re:

if Kittel wins this I might cry.

If Kittel gets over the early lumps on this and somehow wins the stage, it'll be well deserved. It'll kill Bling's last chance of making some sort of contest out of the green jersey, but then, that will be well deserved too at this stage.

it's only a 30 points stage though, so he'd basically need to win both this one and the one on Friday from a breakaway to still stand a chance. Can't really see it happen

I thought this was a 50 point stage. Difficult to say for certainty because ASO have neglected to provide a link for the rules and regs this year but this link https://www.lequipe.fr/Cyclisme-sur...que-dit-le-reglement-du-tour-de-france/813791 for example says stage 16 is a flat/easy stage

http://netstorage.lequipe.fr/ASO/cy...lement/TDF17-Reglement-INTERIEUR_FR-UK-BD.pdf has all the regulations in French and English (scroll down to page 11 for English version).

I asked ASO for clarification as they mention full points in their stage preview (they sent out per mail) as well - and I indeed got the confirmation that 50+20 points are available today. So apparently the official rulebook is wrong...

 

[Bicycle tramp]

Re: Re:

I asked ASO for clarification as they mention full points in their stage preview (they sent out per mail) as well - and I indeed got the confirmation that 50+20 points are available today. So apparently the official rulebook is wrong...

So Mathews could be in green tonight!

 

[JetSet]

Matthews needs to win the next 3 intermediate sprints, which is doable and a very high placing today to have a realistic chance of winning the green jersey. However, that still leaves 2 flat stages to be contested. Of course, Matthews best chance is if Kittel is OTL on one of the 2 mountain stages.

Pete

 

[nilfen]

So, if the peleton breaks - who will QS protect, Martin or Kittel?

 

[Bicycle tramp]

Re:

Matthews needs to win the next 3 intermediate sprints, which is doable and a very high placing today to have a realistic chance of winning the green jersey. However, that still leaves 2 flat stages to be contested. Of course, Matthews best chance is if Kittel is OTL on one of the 2 mountain stages.

Pete

Silly me; 294 + 70 = 364; 364 < 373.

 

[alexix7]

If Sunweb really wants green yersey, i think they must risk today and go to breakaway with Matthews and two more guys like Geschke, Barguil or Arndt. QS won´t be able to bring them back on the hilly part of the stage if the don´t want to drop Marcel from the peloton. I suspect, in the breakaway would be guys like GVA, Oli Naesen and Cummings. In peloton, i can´t imagine Cofidis or Katusha to chase the break if Marcel is in peloton. Matthews need to win sprint and also the stage and need to Kittel score max 10 points today. It would be really hard, but in my opinion, this is the only chance.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

So, if the peleton breaks - who will QS protect, Martin or Kittel?

Martin, Kittel has already won 5 stages. Don't want to throw away 2 weeks of work in 1 stage.

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

If Sunweb really wants green yersey, i think they must risk today and go to breakaway with Matthews and two more guys like Geschke, Barguil or Arndt. QS won´t be able to bring them back on the hilly part of the stage if the don´t want to drop Marcel from the peloton. I suspect, in the breakaway would be guys like GVA, Oli Naesen and Cummings. In peloton, i can´t imagine Cofidis or Katusha to chase the break if Marcel is in peloton. Matthews need to win sprint and also the stage and need to Kittel score max 10 points today. It would be really hard, but in my opinion, this is the only chance.

He's AG2R best element on the flat and they already won a stage, so he'll be on duties for Bardet - even more on a crosswinds stage.

 

[veji11]

Re:

If Sunweb really wants green yersey, i think they must risk today and go to breakaway with Matthews and two more guys like Geschke, Barguil or Arndt. QS won´t be able to bring them back on the hilly part of the stage if the don´t want to drop Marcel from the peloton. I suspect, in the breakaway would be guys like GVA, Oli Naesen and Cummings. In peloton, i can´t imagine Cofidis or Katusha to chase the break if Marcel is in peloton. Matthews need to win sprint and also the stage and need to Kittel score max 10 points today. It would be really hard, but in my opinion, this is the only chance.

Cofidis or Katusha have been playing the Bouhanni and Kristoff cards since the beginning, I don't see why they wouldn't play them again today. They will do their best to get rid of Kittel and ensure a mass sprint without him. Will it work is another question, but they will try.

 

[SafeBet]

If this is the day for echelons, Aru can lose and lose big.

 

[liamito]

I fear the Alps won't even matter after today