Tour de France 2017 Stage 19:Embrun-Salon-de-Provence 222.5K

[Velolover2]

I have enjoyed this year's edition. One of the best editions in years.

A close race with a very human Froome.

 

[Netserk]

Re:

This race seems similar to me In many ways to the 2014 Tour. I think I rated that 5 out of 10 (compared to the average I'm a generous marker) Crashes took out 2 of the top 3 GC favourites fairly early, so after the Vosges there was basically no GC action (the situation was slightly different, since Nibali was way ahead of everybody else, rather than 3 riders "holding hands" - not literally, but the similar capabilities of the favourites, the strength of Sky and the parcours have led to that). The 2014 Tour had some decent breakaway action in the mountains (the best stage was the stage to Pla D'Adet, where Katusha chased down an early break on the flat to get JRod into the break on the first climb, where the race just went mental). 2014 is of course memorable for the cobble stage, but it was downhill from there. This year the Jura stages and the second Pyrenean were good and at least it's not 100% clear who will win this year. The second half of the race in 2014 was a minor battle to be a distant second.

While the GC was over since Contador crashed out, there was at least plenty of real racing. Nibali didn't ride behind a train and the others attacked (mostly each other) as well.

 

[Tank Engine]

Re: Re:

This race seems similar to me In many ways to the 2014 Tour. I think I rated that 5 out of 10 (compared to the average I'm a generous marker) Crashes took out 2 of the top 3 GC favourites fairly early, so after the Vosges there was basically no GC action (the situation was slightly different, since Nibali was way ahead of everybody else, rather than 3 riders "holding hands" - not literally, but the similar capabilities of the favourites, the strength of Sky and the parcours have led to that). The 2014 Tour had some decent breakaway action in the mountains (the best stage was the stage to Pla D'Adet, where Katusha chased down an early break on the flat to get JRod into the break on the first climb, where the race just went mental). 2014 is of course memorable for the cobble stage, but it was downhill from there. This year the Jura stages and the second Pyrenean were good and at least it's not 100% clear who will win this year. The second half of the race in 2014 was a minor battle to be a distant second.

While the GC was over since Contador crashed out, there was at least plenty of real racing. Nibali didn't ride behind a train and the others attacked (mostly each other) as well.

True. The Astana squad wasn't that strong and I certainly remember an agressive Bardet. To be honest, I only watch the end of sprint stages, so that probably gives me a biased view of the race as a whole. The flat stages this year would have been particularly dire, even with Sagan and Cav. Due to work commitments, I pick my stages and inevitably pick mountain stages. Of those the first pyrenean stage was dreadful (apart from the last 200 metres) and the Alps were not great (apart from the climb of the Izoard - those stages should have been the other way round). Sky were just too strong, although AG2R have certainly strengthened their squad. I really enjoyed the Jura stages (particularly the first) and the second pyrenean stage. I don't think it's a coincidence that in those two stages Sky used different tactics from the standard Sky train stranglehold approach.

 

[bob.a.feet]

Re: Re:

This race seems similar to me In many ways to the 2014 Tour. I think I rated that 5 out of 10 (compared to the average I'm a generous marker) Crashes took out 2 of the top 3 GC favourites fairly early, so after the Vosges there was basically no GC action (the situation was slightly different, since Nibali was way ahead of everybody else, rather than 3 riders "holding hands" - not literally, but the similar capabilities of the favourites, the strength of Sky and the parcours have led to that). The 2014 Tour had some decent breakaway action in the mountains (the best stage was the stage to Pla D'Adet, where Katusha chased down an early break on the flat to get JRod into the break on the first climb, where the race just went mental). 2014 is of course memorable for the cobble stage, but it was downhill from there. This year the Jura stages and the second Pyrenean were good and at least it's not 100% clear who will win this year. The second half of the race in 2014 was a minor battle to be a distant second.

While the GC was over since Contador crashed out, there was at least plenty of real racing. Nibali didn't ride behind a train and the others attacked (mostly each other) as well.

Nibali basically attacked at the start of the final climb and left all the other riders to battle it out between them while Nibali just did his own thing.

Also for me the 2016 Tour still had some good breakaway action such as the rivalry in the mountains between Alaphillipe and Pantano. Stage 20 was sh*t from a GC perspective but I really enjoyed Alaphillipe and Pantano battling it out on the Joux Plane.