tour de france rest day 2 round up

[The Hitch]

Look at it this way without the 'favorites" playing cat and mouse, the other would not have had a chance to shine as they did. Samu and now Voekler have managed to entertain us and still remain a danger to the "favorites"

Basso and Contador are a danger to the "favourites" too.

I know it seems a bit pedantic, but whenever i have asked for a definition of favourites, i notice that the definition given also excludes Basso and Contador from being "favourites".

 

[Dedelou]

I also hate to sound like one of those guys who complain that nothing is like it used to be way back in the day...that really is tiring....

BUT... out of the few years I have watched, this is by far the least interesting eclipsed perhaps only by '05.

No one seems to trust themselves or believe in themselves. The only guy who does is tired because he completely animated the Giro. And these same blowhards criticized that race because it was a runaway because of his dominance there. They really need to amuse themselves with some other pasttime that fills them with something approaching joy, if such a thing exists.

I don't know what other people expect from the TDF but I stopped long ago trying to enjoy it by comparing it to other races. This tour is the one I watch and each day I cut my morning ride short to rush and see what happen. Now I get the feeling again that some people watch with their mind.. (baseball fans do that all the time at the statium, running statistics in their head , eating and drinking beer and don't watch the players until the instant replay tell them what has happened ) but if you look at each stage, each day something thrilling went on. I call it thrilling when Roy was fighting to stay up front with Thor heading for his own victory behind him. I shouted support when the break try to make it to the end. For the GC guys the Tour has to be an smartly constructed management of 21 stages and their cat and mouse is part of attempting to build a victory based on using their strength without showing their weaknesses day to day. I don't like Andy, but I respected he tried , in the wind , to make a couple of attacks on the Plateau. He would have been a fool to do more than that and wipe out. The others' response was excellent and Samu's effort was a reminder he is here to win something. I do look forward to the last week. My only disappointment about this Tour de France is that I am not able to be over there for that week this year.

 

[Dedelou]

Basso and Contador are a danger to the "favourites" too.

I know it seems a bit pedantic, but whenever i have asked for a definition of favourites, i notice that the definition given also excludes Basso and Contador from being "favourites".

not with this man here.. Basso and Contador are two of my most exciting fovorites

 

[El Pistolero]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chYEEMVLn4w

Haha, funny.

 

[Dedelou]

dont think alberto would want to team up with the schlecks.

not sure what "team up " means on the course but I am sure Alberto would do what it takes to win. He came to the Tour for that reason. Now if by "team up" they mean he will give them his wheel when they flatten or a bike change when they drop the chain , I don't think so .. But isn't there a constant flux at the front where each in turn use each others effort against somebody else. team up with Evans when Frank attack , chase with basso when Andy goes , etc?

 

[The Hitch]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=chYEEMVLn4w

Haha, funny.

Care to translate?

 

[L'arriviste]

Care to translate?

He just says, 'Hey, how about a bit of respect here, I'm not about to eat the microphone!'

 

[Dedelou]

I've enjoyed the Tour so far. Sure there were boring stages, but there always are. I think for most people complaining it's just that their favourite riders are underperforming (Contador for example) or that they are used to cheering on their compatriots and there aren't many this year (Americans). I think it's one of the better TdFs in recent memory actually.

who says Alberto is underperforming? Let me have their name and addresses. (smile).. The dude went from something like 82nd on GC in the first stage, to 7 overall, and in just 2 weeks. Watch what will happen if "they allow him " another week to race.. Wait! I just heard from the organizers at ASO: by public demand they have added a third week to this Tour.. Must be all about Voekler

 

[the chicken from T]

team roundup

Very entertaining first week.
Very boring 2nd week

POSITIVE :

HTC-Columbia - Did exactly what they came for.
Garmin - Great Tour so far (3 stages and 6 days yellow).
OPL - Most entertaining team (gilbert = revelation in GT).
Europcar - Suprisingly strong team.
Vacansoleil - Great performance regarding their budget.
Euskaltel - Thanks to Sammu.

NEGATIVE :

Saur Sojasun - Haven't seen anyone of their riders once.
Rabobank - Despite LL Sanchez win deception, I still do not
understand why they sacked Menchov (gesink is not
for leadership).
Katusha - Same story as Saur + Drugs.
Quickstep - Need a new Team.
Astana - Without Vino they can't do nothing
Radioshack - very unlucky.

AVERAGE :

Leopard - Are only here to win the Tour, if not = Negative
BMC - Same as above.
Saxo - Same.
Liquigas. - Same. basso suprisingly strong, would have liked to see
Sagan tough.
Sky - Lost their leader EBH and Thomas riding as expected.
Movistar - Rojas still in race for green,

 

[Dedelou]

The final climb isn't too steep, but the stage as a whole is very tough, with 22km of climbing at over 2000m of altitude.

What is the total climbing for that stage? I know it is huge. Also i can't imagine changing the arrival location to be as easy as rerouting the course to avoid a snowed in col. But wasn't that something that happened the year Riis won?

 

[El Pistolero]

Care to translate?

"Have a little respect, uh no? I'm not going to eat your micro eh"

 

[spalco]

who says Alberto is underperforming? Let me have their name and addresses. (smile).. The dude went from something like 82nd on GC in the first stage, to 7 overall, and in just 2 weeks. Watch what will happen if "they allow him " another week to race.. Wait! I just heard from the organizers at ASO: by public demand they have added a third week to this Tour.. Must be all about Voekler

Yeah, you are right of course, but fact is that Contador is not (yet) the semi-invincible 'Hulk smash!' superhero we are used to and it seemed to me, that many of his fans in this forum are sort of down about it.

 

[Dedelou]

lol the schlecks and alberto do not need to team up against evans they are much better natural climbers but the schlecks are scared.

Like ACF i do not agree that contador will improve by a lot in the third week. Though his knee will get better, like many others said the fatigue from the giro will hit him hard in the 3rd week.

The Giro was over 7 weeks ago.. Contador performance at this point is about "recovering from the crashes" IMO. If indeed his knee is feeling better , they can all be prepared for some attacks. What we hear anyway is hype for the press hounds. The man is staying with the top guys and we are suposed to "think" he is doing badly. His biggest lost in two weeks was the TTT and what did he really loose there? 20 seconds at most on some. He goes around telling who wants to hear it that his knee affected his pedaling style. Probably true but if i was one of the other riders competing with him I might have to take that statement as insulting.. "What! . we cannot drop him and he is telling us he is only pedaling with one leg? " Even an injury can be hyped to one's own benefit

 

[No_Balls]

“I’ll try to win this race but this is not the biggest fight of my career”, the Saxo Bank-SunGard rider said. “I’m easy in my mind because I’ve already delivered great results this year.”

Contador admitted that winning the Giro d'Italia has affected his physical potential at the Tour de France. “I’m not as fresh as I was at the Giro,” he said. “I’m not at the same level as I was at the Giro, and the Tour de France is also a different race. The Giro was a very exciting race with many possibilities to attack. At the Tour, there are many kilometres between the climbs. It reduces the possibilities to attack.”

But Contador was prompt to remind that his crashes have affected him more than riding the Giro. “As my right knee was hurt, I was forced to compensate with the other leg and it wasn’t my natural pedalling style,” he explained. “However, I’m feeling better and better. I’m confident that I’ll go better in the Alps than in the Pyrenees.”

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-confident-to-be-better-in-the-alps-than-the-pyrenees

The Giro was over 7 weeks ago.. Contador performance at this point is about "recovering from the crashes" IMO. If indeed his knee is feeling better , they can all be prepared for some attacks. What we hear anyway is hype for the press hounds. The man is staying with the top guys and we are suposed to "think" he is doing badly. His biggest lost in two weeks was the TTT and what did he really loose there? 20 seconds at most on some. He goes around telling who wants to hear it that his knee affected his pedaling style. Probably true but if i was one of the other riders competing with him I might have to take that statement as insulting.. "What! . we can drop him and he is telling us he only pedaling with one leg? " Even an injury can be hyped to one's own benefit

 

[LaFlorecita]

Yeah, you are right of course, but fact is that Contador is not (yet) the semi-invincible 'Hulk smash!' superhero we are used to and it seemed to me, that many of his fans in this forum are sort of down about it.

Of course, we are used to nothing but winning.

 

[No_Balls]

Of course, we are used to nothing but winning.

I just talk for myself here but winning, to me, is not necessary. But a non-attacking Alberto is IMO a much less entertaining race.

His powerful, yet fluid style, is missing me dearly.

 

[LaFlorecita]

I just talk for myself here but winning, to me, is not necessary. But a non-attacking Alberto is IMO a much less entertaining race.

His powerful, yet fluid style, is missing me dearly.

Same here...
Still, not winning is a big disappointment. Bad Berto! is what I think when he lets me down.

OK, on a more serious note, he wins so often that it becomes natural. If he doesn't win, I know something must have gone wrong. And I want him to win as much as possible, with the possibility of him out for 2 years.

 

[sublimit]

Same here...
Still, not winning is a big disappointment. Bad Berto! is what I think when he lets me down.

You sound like a slave driver..
Contador is doing well considering the efforts from the Giro. I dont think any of the other Giro riders have done anything.

 

[LaFlorecita]

QUOTE=LaFlorecita;608198 Same here...
Still, not winning is a big disappointment. Bad Berto! is what I think when he lets me down.

You sound like a slave driver..
Contador is doing well considering the efforts from the Giro. I dont think any of the other Giro riders have done anything.

You make me look bad You must quote the serious part as well. But secretly, I am a slave driver.

Edit: But Contador is on a higher level than the other Giro riders, so it is not surprising he does (a lot) better.

 

[No_Balls]

Same here...
Still, not winning is a big disappointment. Bad Berto! is what I think when he lets me down.

OK, on a more serious note, he wins so often that it becomes natural. If he doesn't win, I know something must have gone wrong. And I want him to win as much as possible, with the possibility of him out for 2 years.

Yes, we have been spoiled.

But seriously i think this isn´t over. We still might see some attacks when the others are caught off guard. I reject the idea that he should work with Schlecks.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Did any of our lazy TdF competitors bother to spend their day responding to a gracious invitation to cycle round Scotland - with Lance?

No they did not - what wasters!

 

[Jeanne]

Did any of our lazy TdF competitors bother to spend their day responding to a gracious invitation to cycle round Scotland - with Lance?

No they did not - what wasters!

how can they not, everyone should be dying to follow this invitation.

 

[taiwan]

Stages 16 and 17 also look good for Cunego. If he's already had his off-day then he could have a good Tour after all, although he can expect to lose a couple of placings in the TT.

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Riis and Kim Andersen talk about an (unholy) alliance between Bertie and the Schlecks in order to crack Evans.

http://www.sporten.dk/cykling/contador-i-seng-med-fjenden
(in Danish)

This is the most stupid thing Schlecks can do. the main goal for Andy is to win TDF. second one is to put Frank at the second or third place in paris. This is why he didn't attack seriously on Saturday. If he want to crack Evans he also can drop Frank. I supose he (Andy) cannot beat Alberto in the mountains and in tt also.
It is a kind of stealmate - if he wants to win the Tour he can't be the brother of his brother. They have a problem cause the monment of climbing fireworks was on Saturday. In the Alps there will be no time for show - everyone has to spare his forces on tt. So where and how do they want to crack Evans?

pffff. I think it would be hilarious if all their worrying about Cadel and not being concerned about Tommy V comes up and bites them in their collective glutious maximus as Tommy cruises onto Victory in Paris.

 

[The Hitch]

Whats the press been like in France today.

Has Voeckler been on the front of Lequip and on tv and generally getting talked up?