Tour de France Stage 7: Tournus - Station des Rousses 165.5km

[Publicus]

Its unlikely we will see a gc shakeup because last climb up Côte de Lamoura (14 km, avg grade 5%) isnt selective and the favorites aren't in a desperate situation yet. That said, my prediction is for liquigas to show that they are for real tomorrow in the rain by being the force that animates the 3 cat 2 climbs in the second half of the stage. Jurgen Van Der Broeck for the stage win when he's let up the road by the field.

It's supposed to rain?

 

[Barrus]

English please.

I've asked it nicely more than once, yet he keeps on posting his links

 

[mowie133]

No way any of the sprinters will make the finish of these climbs.

3x cat 2
2x cat 3
1x cat 4

Way too hard. Freire would be a very outside chance.

gerrans disagrees with that..reckons it's a easy climb..an thinks that a few of the sprinters will get over them in the pack.. in saying that i reckon the 2nd last climb will burn alot of

 

[auscyclefan94]

gerrans disagrees with that..reckons it's a easy climb..an thinks that a few of the sprinters will get over them in the pack.. in saying that i reckon the 2nd last climb will burn alot of

It is still 14km at 5% and we have had 5 climbs before that. I think some of the gc guys might try and have a go or try to push the pace. Gerrans would be a good tip. The last climb has quite a few 6 and 7% pitches as the start of climb. The first 6km are at 6.3%. The sprinters will go bye bye and that is after 5 climbs.

 

[flicker]

Wanting yellow is one thing, wanting time is another.

LA needs to get time on AC any chance he can. His fortunes might be better on these gradual gradients than on the really steep Pyrenees stuff. Why not try to turn on the RS gas say 10 km from the finish and give it a go? Maybe nothing will come of it, but it might be worth a try. Wouldn't be surprised if they try something.

"My, they are just flying. Oh! AlbertTOH CantoDOR appears to be in a spot of bother and there goes the man from Texas!"

Sorry aint gonna happen. Shack waits with Contador. Main attacks in week 3. Lance and Contador are the main contenders. The next few days are for the pretenders.

 

[flicker]

levi tommarrow big time. watch!

 

[Roland Rat]

Freire, who hopefully can hang on to the front group of 40 or so that's expected.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

levi tommarrow big time. watch!

you must have one a them california medical marijuana certificates, no?

oh wait. did you mean levi would be the first rider to be shelled off the back on a cat 2?

 

[spanky wanderlust]

this stage is tailor made for vino actually. he is the one that will have a sprint left. a large group of 30-40 riders will be left. freire might still be there. boassen hagen is also a good pick. chavanel? hincapie?

here's my question: if saxo is threatening they won't defend, and let's face it, cav will not finish in the selection, so htc will likely not chase, who controls the break?

does the shack take over? sky? astana? caisse?

it could get confusing. there is a rock solid chance that a break will survive.

 

[sublimit]

Dont know, The shack will possibly try and control it to a certain extent, Sky would like to get Thomas into yellow but does he have the legs.. They may also want to get Hagen up there.

Vino could win or maybe Kolobnev.

 

[theyoungest]

I don't know, Thor is hardly a (pure) sprinter anymore. He's barely done any sprint training this season, what with his collarbone breaking almost immediately after the classics. I think him (and other semi-fast finishers) being there or not is entirely up to the GC guys.

EBH to win from the break.

Hushovd was the last sprinter standing in the final stage of the Tour de Suisse, the one that seemed a bit like an Ardennes classic. Even Freire had been dropped by then, so I'd give him a fair chance.

 

[spanky wanderlust]

Hushovd was the last sprinter standing in the final stage of the Tour de Suisse, the one that seemed a bit like an Ardennes classic. Even Freire had been dropped by then, so I'd give him a fair chance.

that's true. thor could hang here. good point. and he has the motivation. he might not win. i still pick vino or ebh if the break is brought back. but thor might place for points.

 

[Kwibus]

A group of 10 - 20 riders will get away and one of those riders will win this race and one of them will probably take yellow.
There won't be big differences between the GC contenders. Maybe 1 or 2 will try to get some time, but i'm not sure if they can get it since the climb isn't tough enough.

The polka contenders will most certainly be in the breakaway. Also a Cunego or a Gutierrez and Euskatel riders etc will be up there today.

 

[Mellow Velo]

Freire, who hopefully can hang on to the front group of 40 or so that's expected.

Would be my pick if the peloton pussy around. The second half of the final climb is very doable.

Although, I have gone for Evens, out of a more select group.
Hopefully Geraint can hang in there and get to wear yellow, if only for a day.

 

[Sasquatch]

Sanchez has the kick to take the win. But I think this goes to a breakaway. Saxo will send Fuglsang up the road and then won't care if the break doesn't get caught, providing no one threatens Fuglsang for the yellow, the team will keep it.

 

[Lyds97]

Who is with: Taaramae in a breakaway looking for the KOM jersey and with Il Principe Cunego taking the stage victory??? come on ppl! haha

Yeah why not?? We know Cunego wants to do something and Taaramae is exactly the kind of rider who could do well in the KOM competition just by doing what Matty Lloyd did at the Giro.

Would be surprised if Sammy has a go today, he seems to be planning to peak for week 3 and try for a stage win in the Pyrenees.

 

[kukiniloa]

consensus

There seems to be some people who think something really strange will happen tomorrow. Maybe the neophytes don't quite get how formulaic this grand tour riding can be. Given the difficulty of the climb tomorrow we can expect to find that a number or riders feel that they confidently have the legs and will be contentious near the end. This obvious handful and some others.

But it will come down to who that small handful counter, because they will be willing to let some margins expand only so far. So yes, it's a good stage for Vino, of course, but don't forget the early move. Cunego is the #1 pick for the early move, since he has tactically fallen back in GC (how clever of him!). But there are too many riders to count who might try, which means that teams might just defend.

Hopefully we'll see some excitement. We've seen only a few teams doing most of the work in the heat the last few days. Now with them out of the picture, at least most of them - not including Saxo Bank - we'll see other teams trying to show dominance. Just not too much. No reason to take too many risks before the Pyrenees. Play it safe! Bore the fans!

 

[ErmOkk]

The climbs really suit powerhouses. Imo if someone wants to hurt AC, he should do it at today's stage. My prediction is a RS train putting the hammer down so some lighter climbers will fall out. LA won't be able to gain time back on AC though...

 

[superconfex]

I'm going for Gerdemann.......Linus is so far back i think he'll give it a dig

 

[M Sport]

L L Sanchez to win the stage.

Cancellara to lose the yellow, which I guess means Cadel in yellow tonight.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Two riders who are capable of doing something on this stage are Rui Costa and Carlos Barredo. I want to see them in a two-man break together on the final climb. Let the fireworks begin!

 

[The Hitch]

eurosport showing the stage in its entirety i think.

 

[Sasquatch]

Two riders who are capable of doing something on this stage are Rui Costa and Carlos Barredo. I want to see them in a two-man break together on the final climb. Let the fireworks begin!

Hahahahaha!

 

[superconfex]

eurosport showing the stage in its entirety i think.

Just checked......Thanks for that Hitch

 

[theyoungest]

Two riders who are capable of doing something on this stage are Rui Costa and Carlos Barredo. I want to see them in a two-man break together on the final climb. Let the fireworks begin!

And you know what? This stage actually suits their characteristics! So I'm with you.