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

[Ruby United]

Re: Re:

Kittel is such a one tricky pony. What a farce would be seeing kittel win the green jersey

Suppose Cavendish was a shame as well?

Green jersey will always be for sprinters/puncheurs, same way the Polka dots is for climbers/escape artists. True, Sagan would probably have won it again as he's so good in both kinds of finishes - but sprinting wise Kittel is bounds ahead of everyone else in this TDF. With how dominant he's been in sprints it's ridiculous not to recognize his worth, even if you don't like him.

He can't follow a peloton in a one km climb with 5%. Cav is much more versatile than kittel. Cav is a milan san remo's winner

And Kittel is a 5-time Scheldeplrijs winner, and a world TTT champion. There are a lot of great sprinters in the peloton at the moment, who in any other era nobody would blink twice at them getting the green jersey, but because we're so used to seeing Sagan light up the transition stages, we expect his replacement to do the same.

I'm a Sagan/Kelly/Jaja fan who likes to see my green jersey go to all-rounders, but you have to respect a guy who can win as many stages as Kittel has, the way Kittel has won them. And at the same time you have to respect how Matthews has gone about picking up points on days when Kittel can't.

I partially agree and partially disagree with you.
It is simply a fact that Kittel is one of least versatile sprinters in the peleton. Cav is much more versatile and adapts to different races better.
Kittel is pure power and nothing else. Of course, he does also have good positioning which also isn't so easy.
Having said that, Kittel's dominance in the sprints at this Tour is such that it would be a farce if he doesn't win the green jersey, a bit like Cav not winning in 2009-2011. Though it is nice to see a more interesting rider win green, he certainly deserves green.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Re:

Bye bye kittel. What is the time limit today?

Why do you even ask? He's only 2 minutes behind the peloton.

 

[Eagle]

Contador bike change

 

[Vroome.exe]

Re:

Bye bye kittel. What is the time limit today?

Kittel could break his leg and would still finish inside that time limit.

 

[rick james]

cheating bertie

 

[alspacka]

Re: Re:

Kittel is such a one tricky pony. What a farce would be seeing kittel win the green jersey

Suppose Cavendish was a shame as well?

Green jersey will always be for sprinters/puncheurs, same way the Polka dots is for climbers/escape artists. True, Sagan would probably have won it again as he's so good in both kinds of finishes - but sprinting wise Kittel is bounds ahead of everyone else in this TDF. With how dominant he's been in sprints it's ridiculous not to recognize his worth, even if you don't like him.

He can't follow a peloton in a one km climb with 5%. Cav is much more versatile than kittel. Cav is a milan san remo's winner

And Kittel is a 5-time Scheldeplrijs winner, and a world TTT champion. There are a lot of great sprinters in the peloton at the moment, who in any other era nobody would blink twice at them getting the green jersey, but because we're so used to seeing Sagan light up the transition stages, we expect his replacement to do the same.

I'm a Sagan/Kelly/Jaja fan who likes to see my green jersey go to all-rounders, but you have to respect a guy who can win as many stages as Kittel has, the way Kittel has won them. And at the same time you have to respect how Matthews has gone about picking up points on days when Kittel can't.

I partially agree and partially disagree with you.
It is simply a fact that Kittel is one of least versatile sprinters in the peleton. Cav is much more versatile and adapts to different races better.
Kittel is pure power and nothing else. Of course, he does also have good positioning which also isn't so easy.
Having said that, Kittel's dominance in the sprints at this Tour is such that it would be a farce if he doesn't win the green jersey, a bit like Cav not winning in 2009-2011. Though it is nice to see a more interesting rider win green, he certainly deserves green.

I suspect the frustration is more that the route allows such a limited rider to be in this position. People say that his dominance should be rewarded, but it already is with stages.

 

[HelloDolly]

Today is a great day for SKY & Ag2R to isolate a few of the guys with a weak team in cross winds...

 

[frisenfruitig]

I think BMC is going to try to split the peloton in the finale. GVA said in the pre-race interview he wants to try to win this stage and that there are a couple of places where the wind is favorable for echelons.

 

[LaFlorecita]

Re:

Today is a great day for SKY & Ag2R to isolate a few of the guys with a weak team in cross winds...

I fear for poor Aru!

 

[Jelantik]

just tune in. Anything spectacular happen?

 

[Ruby United]

Re:

Today is a great day for SKY & Ag2R to isolate a few of the guys with a weak team in cross winds...

Exactly what I was thinking.
Crosswinds can be more effective than mountain stages.
Remember Froome, Thomas, Bodnar and Sagan?
Remember the stage Cavendish won, where Contador's team went ballistic?

 

[Eagle]

Re:

just tune in. Anything spectacular happen?

Kittel and a few other sprinters dropped on the first climb, Sunweb leading the peloton to keep them out the back

 

[Ruby United]

Re:

just tune in. Anything spectacular happen?

Kittel dropped. Doesn't look like he will make it back in, so Mathews to pick up points and maybe a stage.
Relatively strong crosswinds.

 

[Akuryo]

Re:

just tune in. Anything spectacular happen?

Kittel was dropped.

 

[HelloDolly]

Re: Re:

Today is a great day for SKY & Ag2R to isolate a few of the guys with a weak team in cross winds...

I fear for poor Aru!

I dont..the man is not liked ..not by the peloton and not even by his own team mates

 

[frisenfruitig]

Re: Re:

Today is a great day for SKY & Ag2R to isolate a few of the guys with a weak team in cross winds...

I fear for poor Aru!

I dont..the man is not liked ..not by the peloton and not even by his own team mates

Really? I was not aware of that.

 

[mode747]

Re: Re:

Prudhomme designed this year's route to give a pure sprinter like Kittel/Cav a chance to compete for Green with the more versatile guys like Sagan/Matthews and it is working as planned.

 

[MrTea1976]

Re:

just tune in. Anything spectacular happen?

Cummings is at the front of the race, working for EBH.

 

[portugal11]

Re: Re:

Prudhomme designed this year's route to give a pure sprinter like Kittel/Cav a chance to compete for Green with the more versatile guys like Sagan/Matthews and it is working as planned.

Sagan would have destroyed kittel. He can sprint in flat stages and do top3, matthews isn't capable of doing top10

 

[loge1884]

Re: Re:

Prudhomme designed this year's route to give a pure sprinter like Kittel/Cav a chance to compete for Green with the more versatile guys like Sagan/Matthews and it is working as planned.

worked mostly because Peter was DSQ ... Matthews is no Sagan .... but then again, even Sagan would have had some trouble in defeating Kittel in the end ....

 

[wouterkaas]

1 minute time penalty incoming for Bouhanni for pushing the rider in front of him :lol:

 

[The_Beach]

Re: Re:

Prudhomme designed this year's route to give a pure sprinter like Kittel/Cav a chance to compete for Green with the more versatile guys like Sagan/Matthews and it is working as planned.

Sagan would have destroyed kittel. He can sprint in flat stages and do top3, matthews isn't capable of doing top10

Matthews in flat sprint stages in this years tour:
Liége - 9th (Sagan 10th)
Vittel - 7th
Troyes - 7th
Nuits-Saint-Georges - 3rd
Bergarac - 14th
Pau - 4th
six bunch sprints, five times in the top 10

 

[deValtos]

I wonder if BMC will be the guys to force the move, they already showed intent earlier helping sunweb but GVA still won't beat Greipel/Matthews in a straight bunch finish. I think they'll split it at 37.5km to go.

 

[wouterkaas]

Hats off to Bouhanni though for jumping across.

 

[Strawberry_Jams]

If Matthews had got a top3 in Bergarac, then it might have been close. Kittel Still would have won with Sagan in though, although maybe not if Cav had stayed in.