Tour de France Stage 4: Lorient - Mur de Bretagne - 172.5 km

[Jamsque]

Let's see if Cav can re-gain the points he had taken away from him yesterday.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

cancellara not in yellow, so if (like last year) the DS's make an agreement, the instruction will go through Hushovd.

anyone who actually believes it was cancellara's decision conveniently forgets about the race radio that Riis used to let him know what was happening a kilometres behind him and instructed him to do what he did.

I'm sure you are correct that Cancellara was the mouthpiece rather than the evil genius, but my point wasn't about his cynicism in demanding that the race stop but the stupidity of the other riders (and their teams) in going along with it. I actually admire his cheek (or the cheek of his DS if you prefer).

I've always been fond of Bouet since he nipped in to take second.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

OPL proving that they're just as good as strangling a stage to death as HTC in their glory days

Grim isn't it?

 

[sultanofhyd]

I really hope Contador denies Gilbert the stage win - OPL deserve it for killing off the stage.

 

[YoRUsh]

The breakaway is looking pretty demotivated...

 

[Jamsque]

Killing off the what now? Jesus you guys are pathetic. OPL are riding to win the damn stage, just like every single other team.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

This is boring with a Capital B

Only last 10/5km will be nice

 

[LaFleur]

Taaramäe another puncture :/

 

[sportzchick]

This is boring with a Capital B

Only last 10/5km will be nice

thats sport for you - some times it exciting some times it isnt...

I love its unpredicabiltiy

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Killing off the what now? Jesus you guys are pathetic. OPL are riding to win the damn stage, just like every single other team.

Oh come on. Everyone knows that. But just as nobody liked watching Wimbledon's brutally effective "route one" football, nobody likes watching a team or two teams do the HTC thing. We do after all watch this stuff for hours and hours in the hope of excitement and entertainment and there's nothing particularly exciting about 150 kms of a doomed break being left to dangle off the front.

 

[Benotti69]

anyone want to srm track riders;

Roy, Jeremy [138] FDJ

OSS, Daniel [95] Liquigas

Borghini, Paolo [94] Liquigas

Vandborg, Brian [9] Saxo Bank

Knees, Christian [115] Sky

ElFares, Julien [155] Cofidis

Zingle, Romain [159] Cofidis

Buffaz, Mickael [152] Cofidis

Zeits, Andrey [69] Astana


http://data.srmlive.de/TDF/

 

[Jamsque]

'Do the HTC thing'? Seriously? You guys think that HTC invented the concept of riding to pull back the breakaway?

 

[just some guy]

Killing off the what now? Jesus you guys are pathetic. OPL are riding to win the damn stage, just like every single other team.

Exactly same as a Mountain top finish team rides to get the break back and let the GT guys them ride for the win - it´s how cycling works people

 

[Lanark]

OPL proving that they're just as good as strangling a stage to death as HTC in their glory days

It's like they have to try as hard as they can not to catch them. If they want they can catch them in less than 5km. But hey, only nine days until we're done with stages that are only interesting in the last 5km outside of the occasional crash.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

OPL proving that they're just as good as strangling a stage to death as HTC in their glory days

Part of it is that breakaways are riding a lot more conservatively these days - save plenty for the last 40 km and / or another day

 

[sportzchick]

Oh come on. Everyone knows that. But just as nobody liked watching Wimbledon's brutally effective "route one" football, nobody likes watching a team or two teams do the HTC thing. We do after all watch this stuff for hours and hours in the hope of excitement and entertainment and there's nothing particularly exciting about 150 kms of a doomed break being left to dangle off the front.

well i disagree

if everyone raced/played the same way it would be more boring

and if we contived a result just for making 'general supporters' not be bored out of their brains THEN that would be worse

I appreciate ALL the sport not the bits that suit me

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

'Do the HTC thing'? Seriously? You guys think that HTC invented the concept of riding to pull back the breakaway?

Did someone take a bite out of your lunch or something?

No, nobody thinks that HTC invented the concept of riding to pull back the breakaway. What I do think is that HTC are a team devoted with machine like precision to a particular, very effective, tactic. A tactic which involves letting a small break go away and then holding them, dangling, out in front of the peloton all day. Their whole team strategy is premised on making sure that the break of the day is futile and that late attacks can't be successful either. It's not a tactic they use, they are the incarnation of that tactic. They are very good at it. And as a consequence, most flat stages have about three minutes of excitement apart from an occasional crash.

Believe it or not, knowing in advance that the break of the day is doomed, that they'll be left out there till the last few kms to ensure no further significant breaks and that late attacks will be squelched with a grim efficiency, does not in fact add to the excitement and entertainment a stage provides.

 

[No_Balls]

Looks lite it gonna rain. Whats the weather-predicition for Bretagne?

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Johnny H. takes all the prizes today

 

[sportzchick]

Did someone take a bite out of your lunch or something?

No, nobody thinks that HTC invented the concept of riding to pull back the breakaway. What I do think is that HTC are a team devoted with machine like precision to a particular, very effective, tactic. A tactic which involves letting a small break go away and then holding them, dangling, out in front of the peloton all day. Their whole team strategy is premised on making sure that the break of the day is futile and that late attacks can't be successful either. It's not a tactic they use, they are the incarnation of that tactic. They are very good at it. And as a consequence, most flat stages have about three minutes of excitement apart from an occasional crash.

Believe it or not, knowing in advance that the break of the day is doomed, that they'll be left out there till the last few kms to ensure no further significant breaks and that late attacks will be squelched with a grim efficiency, does not in fact add to the excitement and entertainment a stage provides.

well said!!!!!!!

PS I so want Farrar to win green this year

 

[YoRUsh]

Dont think the other will like Johnny much right now...Taking all the prizes is kind of not-done isnt it?

 

[Jamsque]

Part of it is that breakaways are riding a lot more conservatively these days - save plenty for the last 40 km and / or another day

I sometimes wonder if the posters here have ever watched a bike race before. This is how racing has always been. A break of four/five/six gets away in the first 30km, they ride hard for half an hour to pull out a gap, then they ride easy for the middle part of the stage, then they ride hard at the end once the peloton speeds up.

Behind them, the teams of the race leader and/or the favourites for the stage win ride on the front of the peloton to keep the break close and bring it back at the end. This is not new, this is not 'doing an HTC', this is not 'strangling the life out of the stage', this is bike racing. If you find it boring, don't watch, or at least don't complain every day that races continue to happen in the way they always have.

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Cavendish beaten in the int. sprint by both Farrar and Rojas

 

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Dont think the other will like Johnny much right now...Taking all the prizes is kind of not-done isnt it?

Why? Delage did the same yesterday..

 

[Publicus]

Tyler was actually faster than Cav--who was actually trying so I don't want to hear him say he wasn't later.