Tour de France Stage 3 Wanze - Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, 207km

[VeloCity]

Hesjedal only 46 secs back on GC. With Garmin's GC hopes pretty much dashed, I hope they let him take a shot at yellow over the next few days.

 

[seldon71]

1st of all, Popovych had been pulling Lance already BEFORE the flat and the guy tv cameras showed slowing down was indeed Popo. The missing bandage showed it not to be Lance. So, Yaroslav was there RIGHT away and could have probably (given how strongly he rode on pavé sections) finished with Vino/Wiggo -group if captain didn't ask for his help...

2ndly, all that post-flat work by Popo AND Lance's "impressive" return to the group ahead gained a "massive" 17 seconds!!!

Yeah, the other big group (which included Popovych and few other RadioShack'ers) came in just 17 seconds behind Lance. So, ACTUALLY it probably would have better strategy for Lance and Popo to wait for that group and then team relay to close gaps.

Seldom, has so much effort and so much tv time given for something so useless efforted in back groups...

 

[Dominar]

No - there are no real stages left to make a selection, and the bunch will not allow LA get in a break.

As for today - a split was caused by F Schleck and LA was ahead (time gap was saying 40s to AC) but suddenly AC was back in LA group when LA punctured (while riding in the gutter!)
LA had no-one around him but Popo arrived pretty quick - LA did work hard and on his own for a while, but everyone was working hard and going full gas so it equals out.

Thanks for the clarification. Still a long way to go until Paris. As much as I hate for the TDF to be decided by punctures (or dogs running into the road or oil spills, etc.), if nothing else this stage will perhaps accomplish what the organizers wanted -- more aggressive riding and risk-taking in the days to come? Anything would be better than last year's snooze-fest.

 

[perico]

160 riders listed as finished according to the CN page... no sign of Cunego

 

[Ferminal]

Hesjedal only 46 secs back on GC. With Garmin's GC hopes pretty much dashed, I hope they let him take a shot at yellow over the next few days.

He could be this year's CVV/Wiggins

 

[rolfrae]

Revenge of sorts for Hushovd over yesterday's no sprint debacle - gets green and stage.
Great ride by Thomas, second on stage, second overall and white jersey.
Great ride by Evans putting time into Contador.
Bad day for Chavanel, although he did get to try out lots of Merckx bikes.
Good day for Fabian who forgets to bring the engine to drop everyone with but still gets yellow.
Good day for Andy Schleck as he takes some time out of AC and gets rid of that ligger brother of his
Not bad day for AC as he copes pretty well with The Shack's plan to drop him.
Not so good day for The Shack as they give time to AC instead of taking it.
Not bad day for Wiggo as he gains some time back on AC and doesn't lose too much to Andy Schleck.
Bad day for Basso - he's going to have to attack on day one in the Alps.

 

[labratty]

Jacob Fuglsang!

Yeah my bad knew I missed somebody, just makes them even stronger doesn't it. Ultimately it is going to depend if Andy has the legs to match Bertie tho, but he will have the opportunity served up on a silver platter.

 

[Barrus]

How is gesink going to survive after another crash?

He'll probably be riding in a cart behind Boom by the time they come to the end of the tour

 

[seldon71]

160 riders listed as finished according to the CN page... no sign of Cunego

Cunego finished. 17 minutes down in the last group. His young Lampre-mate Adriano Malori came in additional 5 minutes arrears.

 

[Pharazon]

160 riders listed as finished according to the CN page... no sign of Cunego

he crashed into a hedge before the 1st cobbles didn't he?

 

[Big GMaC]

He could be this year's CVV/Wiggins

I thought it was DZ turn?

 

[Galic Ho]

I think the best ride was Contador. He held tough like a true champion he is. Good on him. He was superb. Astana will have some big questions that need to be answered in there camp

AC flatted in the last 1.2km in a breakaway. He only lost 20 seconds. His gesture was at the race directors car. They did not call his team car or the neutral service in for him. But they did allow Lance to piggyback behind the team cars when his tyre blew. Conspiracy? No...just unfairness. Contador is still in the box seat. 20 seconds are nice to have but he can afford them, especially given the time Andy Schleck was behind after the prologue.

Biggest loser. Frank Schleck. Biggest winner. Evans and then AS. Contador is also a winner and so to Menchov and Wigans. The later two had sub par prologues, which have pretty much been nullified. Funny how the recipients of Franck's crash were his two team mates. Oh well.

Liquigas and Rabo are one step closer to confirming who their true GC men are. Right now they look like the two boys I backed, Kreuziger and Menchov. Biggest dud team was ironically RadioShack. What a way to choke. Only Armstrong and Popovych achieved anything of merit. Where the hell were Kloden, Horner and Leipheimer? Idiots.

 

[hrotha]

I hope more than one rider found an unexpected new appreciation for the cobbles. Hesjedal looked like he was thinking "Hey this is actually kind of cool! Let's give it a go".

(Yes I know he's raced Gent-Wevelgem and what not before, please don't take this away from me)

Fantastic stage. I was going to whine about Evans not taking pulls but it's apparent he was waiting for the cobbled sectors to finish before giving his all. In my opinion he was the big winner today.

Aside from Hushovd. He's pretty big.

 

[auscyclefan94]

AC flatted in the last 1.2km in a breakaway. He only lost 20 seconds. His gesture was at the race directors car. They did not call his team car or the neutral service in for him. But they did allow Lance to piggyback behind the team cars when his tyre blew. Conspiracy? No...just unfairness. Contador is still in the box seat. 20 seconds are nice to have but he can afford them, especially given the time Andy Schleck was behind after the prologue.

Biggest loser. Frank Schleck. Biggest winner. Evans and then AS. Contador is also a winner and so to Menchov and Wigans. The later two had sub par prologues, which have pretty much been nullified. Funny how the recipients of Franck's crash were his two team mates. Oh well.

Liquigas and Rabo are one step closer to confirming who their true GC men are. Right now they look like the two boys I backed, Kreuziger and Menchov. Biggest dud team was ironically RadioShack. What a way to choke. Only Armstrong and Popovych achieved anything of merit. Where the hell were Kloden, Horner and Leipheimer? Idiots.

Pretty much somes up my thoughts but I am very excited!

 

[Dominar]

From the tour rules:

"In the event that a rider or riders suffer a
fall, puncture or mechanical incident in
the last 3 kilometres and such an incident
is duly recognised, the rider or riders involved
are credited with the same finishing
time of the rider or riders they were with at
the time of the incident. They are attributed
this ranking only upon crossing the finish
line. If after a fall, it is impossible for a rider
to cross the finish line, he is given the ranking
of last in the stage."

That would leave Contador and Andy with pretty much the same time. I think it would be nice if someone could inform on this matter, it is probably quite important for the next stages and the strategies in the Alps.

Could it be that, like AC said, the problem originated much earlier than 3kms out?

 

[Barrus]

@ Galic: Klöden already had a flat just before the first real stretch of pave, never was able to get back up to the front I guess

 

[Thee_chisa]

I hope more than one rider found an unexpected new appreciation for the cobbles. Hesjedal looked like he was thinking "Hey this is actually kind of cool! Let's give it a go".

(Yes I know he's raced Gent-Wevelgem and what not before, please don't take this away from me)

Fantastic stage. I was going to whine about Evans not taking pulls but it's apparent he was waiting for the cobbled sectors to finish before giving his all. In my opinion he was the big winner today.

Aside from Hushovd. He's pretty big.

yeah, i think cadel could do well in the cobbles. he has a build like pvp, short and stocky

 

[Dr. Maserati]

Is this pic in the gutter?

http://tweetphoto.com/31131474

At any rate, my broader opinion remains: Cobbles are for classics.

Is that rock on the 'crown' or the 'wheeltrack'??

As I said earlier:
On cobbles it is best to ride on the crown - as most (but not all) of the damaged cobbles are from tractor wheeltracks, the sides are full of stones.

Im not a huge fan of cobbles deciding a GC - but it was an exciting stage.

 

[perico]

Garmin-Transitions team manager Jonathan Vaughters agreed. "The cobblestones make the race interesting, they add an element to it," he told Cyclingnews. "They're a hurdle you have to overcome in the race, just like the rain or the crosswinds or the mountains."

But recent suspicion concerning hidden motors in bicycles made the International Cycling Union (UCI) add another difficulty in the already torturous stage. In the race finale, teams would normally have posted their assistants with spare bikes at the roadside to provide for quick bike changes if their leaders suffer a mechanical. This is what is usually done in Paris-Roubaix, but to exclude any possibility of electrical treachery, complete bike changes are now possible only from team cars.

"I don't like that decision," Vaughters said. "If someone breaks a bike, and the cars are two kilometres behind... Normally, we would have a person with a bike at every cobblestone sector, just waiting there. But now, the bike has to come off the roof of a team car."

In order to maintain everybody's chances, the race organiser has decided to determine specific zones of technical assistance after the last four cobbled sections, where teams will be allowed to provide spare wheels and other mechanical help.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/race-director-defends-tours-stage-three-pave-finish

That little late addition looks like it could come under some criticism.

 

[Cobblestones]

...

After today, I'd hope Thor to go on a classics-style all out win.

Quoting myself here; the fourth post in this thread.

And yes, I'm feeling quite smug.

 

[hrotha]

Also, Footon's Arkaitz Durán was 16th today. Take that, haters.

 

[Weapons of @ss Destruction]

No, they weren't - the Contador group caught the Armstrong group, then almost immediately Armstrong punctured.

Armstrong panicked realizing that his big day wasn't happening after Contador bridged up, and chose a poor line in desparation to gain some time that caused his flat. Nobody but himself to blame. His bad luck was precipitated by his own panic. He definitely has a lot to learn.

 

[Thee_chisa]

Also, Footon's Arkaitz Durán was 16th today. Take that, haters.

he must have borrowed canc's bike

 

[Anonymous]

Huh? Did Jens crash on a descent because of a mechanical?

Uh, no, he fell because of a big bump in the road...so it is your contention that Jens can't handle a bike? That would be a new accusation. Plus, we were talking about Frank for the most part, not the Uniballer's tire troubles. The point is that your point is erroneous because today's stage introduced dangers, but not even the worst dangers the riders face. Sorry, but your argument rings hollow.

 

[DamonAlbarn]

Absolutely, well made point

Yeah my bad knew I missed somebody, just makes them even stronger doesn't it. Ultimately it is going to depend if Andy has the legs to match Bertie tho, but he will have the opportunity served up on a silver platter.

It'll certainly be interesting to see if Fuglsang is going to sit with the big ones or pull like Chris Anker sorensen