Tour de France - Stage 8, 195km - Castres / Ax 3 Domaines, July 6th

[Froome_Beast]

Just dropping in for my 2 cents...

Thanks, Quintana for this great attack! What a pleasure to watch him climb, pure poetry

Great ride by Valverde - who would have thought? I certainly didn't expect him to hang on that well and beat all the other non-Sky riders!

Also big respect to Mollema and ten Dam - this could be their Tour! They did the climb at their own pace, didn't get nervous and in the end got great results to show for it. I hope they can continue like this!

Great race also by Riblon, I was amazed to see how long he could hang on out front.

Froome and Porte, what more is there to say...

How about they were fecking awesome and that was one of the best tour stages for years?


For a start...

 

[papafrog]

Sky is proof that Armstrong and co were stupid to go the nefarious route in the past. They could have all just got swimming coaches and did altitude training in Tenerife

From Cyclingnews Live report today ...


"16:40:40 CEST

Froome comes through to the front and grinds away from Porte and Quintana. The two Sky riders seem to be on another planet to the rest of the race, not unlike Heras and Armstrong in the Pyrenees in 2002."

 

[Fight.The.Power]

Sky is proof that Armstrong and co were stupid to go the nefarious route in the past. They could have all just got swimming coaches and did altitude training in Tenerife

Wow. Great point

 

[richard_91]

I'd just like to say a big well done to ITV who put an advert break right as Porte went to the front and came back to Froome having a 30 second lead...welll worth avoiding the result all day....

Anyone else see Portes interview? Said Quintana must have been reading the papers too much to do an attack from that far out.
As harsh as it is, in todays cycling it is 100% true, especially without a team mate out in front who could have maybe led him down the desent and kept his advantage, at a minimum that would have used up Kennaugh quicker.

 

[blaxland]

Wow that was epic..Froome,porte where on another level to everyone else.Quintana,valverde,molema and Ten Dam also had great rides.But WTF happened with Alberto,Evans,Van Garderen,Pinot?I guess its a change of the gaurd is happening and a new generation of Stage racers are here"Looking forward to tomorrows stage?

 

[delbified]

Wow that was epic..Froome,porte where on another level to everyone else.Quintana,valverde,molema and Ten Dam also had great rides.But WTF happened with Alberto,Evans,Van Garderen,Pinot?I guess its a change of the gaurd is happening and a new generation of Stage racers are here"Looking forward to tomorrows stage?

van garderen must be a bit upset at going from new to old guard so quickly..

 

[willbick]

Wow that was epic..Froome,porte where on another level to everyone else.Quintana,valverde,molema and Ten Dam also had great rides.But WTF happened with Alberto,Evans,Van Garderen,Pinot?I guess its a change of the gaurd is happening and a new generation of Stage racers are here"Looking forward to tomorrows stage?

i dunno why u were expecting so much from those guys considering they were struggling to get near to froome all season

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

very good job by Porte

everybody fussing about Froome with clinic issues... and you don't notice who's third on stage and GC...

Exactly. I almost forgot to see the obvious after all the talk on Frome. Thanks.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

Lovin the seething from all the Sky haters! Another great day for team sky and clean cycling!, clean contador looking very human this year....

Agree. Chapeau.

 

[blaxland]

i dunno why u were expecting so much from those guys considering they were struggling to get near to froome all season

More hoping than anything i guess...but i think the real question to be asked is"How long before Porte leaves Sky to become a team leader in the Tour De France?yes i know he signed for another 2 years but then what?or is he happy to just come second for the next few years?

 

[TANK91]

All I know is it is well out of order to accuse Froome, don't blame Froome for Alberto not coming into form I mean he cant even beat Ten Dam and Mollema. The competition is weak when Mollema and Ten Dam do this well is it really so bad to take 1 min plus on them guys, 1'45" to Contador who had to be paced the whole way is hardly suprising, no. The thing that annoys me is we all know if Contador had beat Froome today by a few seconds this forum would be saying ha ha take that Froomey, Alberto is back etc. It just amazes me why people are so nasty about him and when Alberto who has a far more darker past is still loved lol. (And no im not having a dig at Contador im just comparing the situation with why Froome gets hate when he attacked and shown strength).

I may go through the threads and check out Contador's Etna performance, do we have it that far back I wonder if people accuse Contador like they accuse Froome. You no you cant win when La Flo says Froome disrespects Alberto, what do you suggest La Flo miss out on another chance to win a GT. You could see on stage 3 he is itching to go so he decided to gap is rivals, is that disrespectful? Every damn interview he was saying Contador is a GT winner etc. How can anyone not like him he attacked If it was Alberto then my god the orum would have went nuts. Accuse Sky of being boring setting tempo for a timetrialist but when they attack its still not good enough. One thing for sure no Froome and Porte today then what a great stage it would have been lol It would have been Valverde, Mollema and Ten Dam top 3, you see how funny that looks.

 

[delbified]

who do people rate as the strongest last night? i think it's interesting that as amazing as his performance was, it's unclear Froome is stronger than Porte.

 

[TANK91]

who do people rate as the strongest last night? i think it's interesting that as amazing as his performance was, it's unclear Froome is stronger than Porte.

Porte done like 2.5 kms on the front so, id say all being equal about 30 seconds would be the gap so Froome was stronger for me.

 

[auscyclefan94]

Is there list of power output and times for this climb from previous editions of riders like Armstrong?

 

[The Hitch]

All I know is it is well out of order to accuse Froome, don't blame Froome for Alberto not coming into form I mean he cant even beat Ten Dam and Mollema. The competition is weak when Mollema and Ten Dam

If you think it's normal for froome to make massive jumps in performance then why are you not allowing ten dam and mollema the same courtesy? Aren't they also allowed to improve as climbers (in mollemas case wouldnt even be by much cos he was always a very good climber). Or are only froome and Wiggins and Porte allowed to improve and everyone else must remain static in ability.

The thing that annoys me is we all know if Contador had beat Froome today by a few seconds this forum would be saying ha ha take that Froomey, Alberto is back etc. It just amazes me why people are so nasty about him and when Alberto who has a far more darker past is still loved lol. (And no im not having a dig at Contador im just comparing the situation with why Froome gets hate when he attacked and shown strength).

I may go through the threads and check out Contador's Etna performance, do we have it that far back I wonder if people accuse Contador like they accuse Froome. You no you cant win when La Flo says Froome disrespects Alberto, what do you suggest La Flo miss out on another chance to win a GT. You could see on stage 3 he is itching to go so he decided to gap is rivals, is that disrespectful? Every damn interview he was saying Contador is a GT winner etc. How can anyone not like him he attacked If it was Alberto then my god the orum would have went nuts. Accuse Sky of being boring setting tempo for a timetrialist but when they attack its still not good enough. One thing for sure no Froome and Porte today then what a great stage it would have been lol It would have been Valverde, Mollema and Ten Dam top 3, you see how funny that looks.

you do have a point. A lot of posters here are a bit hypocritical.

Difference is Contador and Riis did not go into the 2011 giro claiming they were doing it in the name of clean cycling and telling everyone else in the peloton that they are the only team that knows how to train hard.

Naturally that infuriates people more than just being suspicious of a rider.

also a certain Richie Porte who was then riding as contadors domestique did not come 2nd in the stage. Or 3rd or 30th. Don't know he was even in the top 100.

but yes you are right that many here are not consistant in their views. Both on the leeway they give to Contador and on the complaints that sky are boring.

 

[Cyivel]

Is there list of power output and times for this climb from previous editions of riders like Armstrong?

http://climbing-records.blogspot.co.uk/

 

[auscyclefan94]

http://climbing-records.blogspot.co.uk/

Thanks a lot.

 

[whittashau]

Wow, it never ceases to amaze me how blinded people can be by their fandom. I literally feel sorry for a lot of you.

 

[FoxxyBrown1111]

All I know is it is well out of order to accuse Froome, don't blame Froome for Alberto not coming into form I mean he cant even beat Ten Dam and Mollema. The competition is weak when Mollema and Ten Dam do this well is it really so bad to take 1 min plus on them guys, 1'45" to Contador who had to be paced the whole way is hardly suprising, no. The thing that annoys me is we all know if Contador had beat Froome today by a few seconds this forum would be saying ha ha take that Froomey, Alberto is back etc. It just amazes me why people are so nasty about him and when Alberto who has a far more darker past is still loved lol. (And no im not having a dig at Contador im just comparing the situation with why Froome gets hate when he attacked and shown strength).

I may go through the threads and check out Contador's Etna performance, do we have it that far back I wonder if people accuse Contador like they accuse Froome. You no you cant win when La Flo says Froome disrespects Alberto, what do you suggest La Flo miss out on another chance to win a GT. You could see on stage 3 he is itching to go so he decided to gap is rivals, is that disrespectful? Every damn interview he was saying Contador is a GT winner etc. How can anyone not like him he attacked If it was Alberto then my god the orum would have went nuts. Accuse Sky of being boring setting tempo for a timetrialist but when they attack its still not good enough. One thing for sure no Froome and Porte today then what a great stage it would have been lol It would have been Valverde, Mollema and Ten Dam top 3, you see how funny that looks.

1+ nice summary

 

[GuyIncognito]

Thanks a lot.

Top 2 times: tailwind

 

[jaylew]

I am very serious. Havent you seen how the whole internet has exploded with clinic talk? It probably isnt so bad on co.uk sites but otherwise things are going mental.

I know. Most of my cycling friends are just laughing about it on facebook. It's all rather depressing.

 

[autologous]

The thing that annoys me is we all know if Contador had beat Froome today by a few seconds this forum would be saying ha ha take that Froomey, Alberto is back etc.

You're just making sh*t up.

"we all know"?? How dare you presume to speak for everyone, you ****. You sure as hell don't speak for me.

If Contador had gone head to head with Froome, and they both ended up with the same time as today - 3rd best on the all time list for the climb, 6.5 W/kg, at the level of Armstrong at his peak, or if Contador had achieved those results solo, he would be getting roasted here.

Your straw man is disingenuous BS. With the number of people that now have the ability to analyze times and come up with reasonable approximations of power levels in relation to what is possible doped vs non-doped, there is no way Contador beating Froome by a few seconds on this climb would generate dis-proportionate levels of outrage.

Go to the clinic and address the facts and numbers as they stand.
Mods note that I am not introducing clinic accusations here, just pointing out Tank's BS that a performance from Contador similar to Froome's today would be treated differently.

And of course FoxyBrown calls your tripe a "good summary".

 

[airstream]

I am very serious. Havent you seen how the whole internet has exploded with clinic talk? It probably isnt so bad on co.uk sites but otherwise things are going mental.

Who cares about offended fans of other riders? Many people warned about Froome and said that the beast would be released from the cell for the 1st time and he will fire. What did people reply? They refused to acknowledge Froome's power that prefered hide behind stupid improper 'train' argument while they didn't believe in it themselves. It was entirely logical win.

Naturally, in my view 1 45' doesn't illustrate a precise difference between climber Froome and climber Contador. However, when one's prepared superb and the other one is prepared in a mediocre way, we are doomed to get such a picture. When Contador smashed all at Etna, many of you even didn't think about saying Nibali had a bad day or something, because you handled those 50' sec like a natural state of things. So take yesterday's result like natural outcome too.

The competition is weak when Mollema and Ten Dam do this well is it really so bad to take 1 min plus on them guys,

I'd rather say it's not a weak competition, it's a new competition. Probably Mollema is ready to fight for top 5 which is a big surprise.

Or are only froome and Wiggins and Porte allowed to improve and everyone else must remain static in ability.

Contador is a product of the same (a bit lesser, though) but HUUUGE sensation of 2007, so you just try to justify your dislike\



Honestl like TANK91 I'm shocked too. To like your rider sooooo much in order not to admit all the others. It's definetely some childish vision. Cycling fans don't do like that. You just like your riders and yourself in love towards your riders. Cycling is secondary for you because you like cycling only when your riders win.

 

[Pricey_sky]

It comes to something when Sky fans are having a dig at me.

I'm just trying to keep a reality check here, there are still 2 long weeks to go and the likes of Contador will improve in week 3, although from what we have seen yesterday that may not be enough. I hope the likes of Ten Dam and Mollema can keep riding well as they have a great chance of at least one Belkin being in the top 5.

Everyone lower than Purito on the GC can now just hope for stage wins as Froome has another 2 tt's to put even more minutes into people.

 

[wwabbit]

You're just making sh*t up.
"we all know"?? How dare you presume to speak for everyone, you ****. You sure as hell don't speak for me.

To be fair, there is precendence for this kind of behaviour. Just check out the Tirreno Adriatico stage 6 thread. It is over-generalising though. I am sure there are other neutrals and supporters of other riders that are respectful of Froome's achievements and I think they are in the silent majority, while it is just a minority that are generating all the hateful posts.