Tour de France Stage 2 Brussels - Spa, 192 km Monday, July 5 2010

[Thee_chisa]

A Belgian newspaper (HLN) seems to know that Farrar has retired with a broken elbow, but I haven't read any confirmation of that. Gesink has fractured ulna, but he'll start tomorrow.

i think farrar did some damage to his face too.

 

[Barrus]

i have found out what happened.

Heey, I already made that joke several pages back, but Roland Rat is right. I'm only really bad at photoshop

 

[Clemson Cycling]

This was the photo from espn (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2010/news/story?id=5355868)

No facial damage but his elbow is a mess. Brutal day for Garmin

Thor and everyone got screwed due to a freak thing along with rain on a somewhat dangerous course. I don't feel bad for him. If you should feel bad for someone its Garmin, since they lost any hope of doing something at this tour after today.

 

[Christian]

I only saw part of the stage and then a short recap.

Does anyone know why Fabian and some other riders were sarcastically applauding when they crossed the finish line?

Was it to another rider or just to ASO in general?

 

[Desperate Moments]

Velonews just put up a good story. Sounded insane after the motobike spilled oil. Many riders were saying they couldn't control their bike.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2010...after-the-tour-de-frances-second-stage_125976

If it was indeed oil spilled by the moto that made the road so slick, what caused Gavazzi to crash? The moto that allegedly spilled the oil nearly ran over Gavazzi and veered off the road to avoid hitting him. My point being that the road was just as likely made slick as slime by virtue of being a poorly surfaced road in the Ardennes, shaded by trees dripping water much of the year, and that the riders could have reasonably expected to encounter treacherous conditions.

Still...after seeing the extent of the injuries, I have mixed emotions about the decision taken to neutralize the stage.

 

[Thee_chisa]

This was the photo from espn

No facial damage but his elbow is a mess. Brutal day for Garmin

must have been VdV who i say getting something done to his eye then, looked nasty.


anyhow, here is l'equipe's take on it

les frères Schleck ont bénéficié d'une décision collective du peloton et du sacrifice de Fabian Cancellara qui a accepté de ne pas défendre son Maillot Jaune derrière Sylvain Chavanel pour attendre notamment les deux Luxembourgeois : «Ils sont nos leaders je voulais être solidaire, respectueux et loyal envers eux et envers le Tour même si j'ai perdu le maillot», a commenté le coureur suisse. Indirectement, le Maillot Jaune a aussi eu une influence sur l'attribution du maillot vert en obtenant que le sprint ne soit pas disputé dans le peloton et que seul Chavanel marque des points.

 

[High Cotton]

I only saw part of the stage and then a short recap.

Does anyone know why Fabian and some other riders were sarcastically applauding when they crossed the finish line?

Was it to another rider or just to ASO in general?

It was directed at Maxime Bouet, who surged forward just at the line.

 

[richwagmn]

This was the photo from espn (http://sports.espn.go.com/oly/tdf2010/news/story?id=5355868)

No facial damage but his elbow is a mess. Brutal day for Garmin

Thor and everyone got screwed due to a freak thing along with rain on a somewhat dangerous course. I don't feel bad for him. If you should feel bad for someone its Garmin, since they lost any hope of doing something at this tour after today.

Ouch. What a shame.

 

[Thee_chisa]

I only saw part of the stage and then a short recap.

Does anyone know why Fabian and some other riders were sarcastically applauding when they crossed the finish line?

Was it to another rider or just to ASO in general?

voeckler was sarcastically (i think) applauding at the rear, he is the kinda guy who could have done something today

 

[Barrus]

must have been VdV who i say getting something done to his eye then, looked nasty.


anyhow, here is l'equipe's take on it

les frères Schleck ont bénéficié d'une décision collective du peloton et du sacrifice de Fabian Cancellara qui a accepté de ne pas défendre son Maillot Jaune derrière Sylvain Chavanel pour attendre notamment les deux Luxembourgeois : «Ils sont nos leaders je voulais être solidaire, respectueux et loyal envers eux et envers le Tour même si j'ai perdu le maillot», a commenté le coureur suisse. Indirectement, le Maillot Jaune a aussi eu une influence sur l'attribution du maillot vert en obtenant que le sprint ne soit pas disputé dans le peloton et que seul Chavanel marque des points.

does L'equipe say how it happened, the crash I mean

 

[jrolaf]

Narrow descents on slippery roads is nothing new in cycling. These guys know that. What about oil from the tarmac when temperatures get high? That's what brought Beloki down in 2003. Some riders are better than others at handling their bikes, and coping with these kind of conditions, why should they not be able to capitalize on this. It's as much a part of bike racing as any other skill. It's no coincidence that Hushovd, Cancellara, Evans etc stayed on their bikes, they are skilled at this. Neutralizing this skill makes no sense to me. It's a race! Get your race faces on!!

 

[Roland Rat]

It's a shame for Farrar, he had a good chance of green this year.

Although most of us loved the unpredictability of the Giro, there is an argument that the Tour should stick to its formula. The green jersey in the Tour is much more prestigous than the Giro's points competition and it seems unfair on the sprinters that their most important competition of the year is screwed around with.

 

[Clemson Cycling]

Narrow descents on slippery roads is nothing new in cycling. These guys know that. What about oil from the tarmac when temperatures get high? That's what brought Beloki down in 2003. Some riders are better than others at handling their bikes, and coping with these kind of conditions, why should they not be able to capitalize on this. It's as much a part of bike racing as any other skill. It's no coincidence that Hushovd, Cancellara, Evans etc stayed on their bikes, they are skilled at this. Neutralizing this skill makes no sense to me. It's a race! Get your race faces on!!

When 90% of the riders go down atleast once that tells you that there was something wrong with the coarse

 

[Mellow Velo]

Evans said. “Sorry to the public for not racing. But it would not have been fair to the many who were injured.”

So, ACF will now change his tune.
Prepare to be bored into submission if you disagree.

When 90% of the riders go down atleast once that tells you that there was something wrong with the coarse

Also, there was probably something wrong with the course, too.

 

[Thee_chisa]

does L'equipe say how it happened, the crash I mean

same story as velonews (very the same, in fact! wonder if they read l'equipe!?!) anyhow mostly that a moto crashed following the initial crash of that italian rider and that it spilled oil.

good quotes though, riis said "C'était glissant comme du savon" = it was slippery like soap.

and the reported called it "mer d'huile" sea of oil

 

[Clemson Cycling]

Also, there was probably something wrong with the course, too.

yeah that too

 

[stephens]

I'm totally fine with this because I believe decisions on how to run the sport should be in the hands of the athletes as much as possible. Certainly not left to those who wish to make money off of them or up to guys sitting at home on their sofa watching and wanting to be entertained.

 

[Christian]

Where were the Liquigas riders at? In the second peloton with Lance and Alberto or at the front with Cancellara?

They could have gained the most if all their leaders were at the front, so probs to them if they decided not to ride, despite the good situation for their leaders.

Same with Sky - where was Wiggins?

 

[High Cotton]

voeckler was sarcastically (i think) applauding at the rear, he is the kinda guy who could have done something today

It was directed about the AG2R rider on the left, Maxime Bouet, for breaking the line surging forward for second place on the stage.

Not sure where Voeckler figures given the question that was asked.

 

[Clemson Cycling]

same story as velonews (very the same, in fact! wonder if they read l'equipe!?!) anyhow mostly that a moto crashed following the initial crash of that italian rider and that it spilled oil.

good quotes though, riis said "C'était glissant comme du savon" = it was slippery like soap.

and the reported called it "mer d'huile" sea of oil

Does BP have an oil rig on the side of that mountain by any chance? Gulf Coasting it

 

[Thee_chisa]

Where were the Liquigas riders at? In the second peloton with Lance and Alberto or at the front with Cancellara?

They could have gained the most if all their leaders were at the front, so probs to them if they decided not to ride, despite the good situation for their leaders.

Same with Sky - where was Wiggins?

wiggins came down with barry, i think basso may have fallen too

 

[Barrus]

same story as velonews (very the same, in fact! wonder if they read l'equipe!?!) anyhow mostly that a moto crashed following the initial crash of that italian rider and that it spilled oil.

good quotes though, riis said "C'était glissant comme du savon" = it was slippery like soap.

and the reported called it "mer d'huile" sea of oil

actually that last one stems from a comment from Fuglsang, but a good article none the less. I just asked you for it, because for me to translate french takes way to long

Also @ Christian, Liqui wouldn't ride had they been in the front group (they were in the second btw, with Kreuziger who crashed and Basso caught up behind the crash), this was shown in the manner in which they rode in the giro, where they waited everytime something happened to a GC contender, like a crash or something

 

[Thee_chisa]

actually that last one stems from a comment from Fuglsang, but a good article none the less. I just asked you for it, because for me to translate french takes way to long

yeah it was fuglesang, but it was the title of the article too, how histrionic cyclists get! god forbid if they ever had to do something like get a spider out of the bath or pick up a worm.

 

[tgsgirl]

Where were the Liquigas riders at?
Same with Sky - where was Wiggins?

Kreuziger crashed, Wiggins crashed.
If you don't know, the most likely option is "crashed".

 

[kurtinsc]

Versus never really gave me a good idea of who was in what group after the crashes.

I know you had a few riders up the road, then a chase group with Cancelera in it.

The next group contained Lance, the one after that had Contador, then some distance back was the Saxo group.

I think Contador may have dropped back for a bike change though, as the TV did show him reconnect with lance's group.

My big question... who was in that first chase group with Spartacus? Were there any GC guys there at all?