Tour de France - Stage 9, 168.5km - Saint-Girons / Bagnères-de-Bigorre, July 7th

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The Hitch

The Hitch

Jun 14, 2010
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Sasquatch said:
What I'm saying is they tried to do something today, but Froome is on another level that they couldn't dislodge him. They had a go today, and it didn't work because Froome is better than everyone here.

They could have sit back and let this go to a break and the peloton stroll in 10 minutes behind. But they had a go to do something. People should be praising them for trying. Not ripping into them.

Fact is Froome >>>>> Everyone else and they tried to change that, but it proved that Froome is too strong and will not lose this race. But at least they gave it a shot.
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They didnt try to dislodge him at any point. They rode tempo (as if they were the yellow jersey) the whole stage. Basically did Skys job for them giving sky extra strengh for the next week.
 
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Gubby Allen

Jun 22, 2011
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trevim said:
What did he say? I'm worried if even Schleck can spot bad tactics :D
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Paraphrasing as Ned was running along whilst interviewing and Andy didnt want to be there, but they shouldve tried at least one 1-2 and he didnt understand why attacks were not on the climb before last.
 
GroupDK

GroupDK

Sep 7, 2010
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pretty convincing win, none the less..

first in the corner so close to the line, is allways preferable..

but congrats to martin, and come again Jakob.. were cheering for you.. a shame but hopefully it will intend him to take the scene-stage some more in the future.. :rolleyes:
 
trevim

trevim

Oct 26, 2010
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Gubby Allen said:
Paraphrasing as Ned was running along whilst interviewing and Andy didnt want to be there, but they shouldve tried at least one 1-2 and he didnt understand why attacks were not on the climb before last.
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Oh well I've said similar things about the Schlecks in the past :)
 
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sjonnie

Jul 27, 2010
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Libertine Seguros said:
They had a 6 on 1 situation and they didn't even try to take advantage of the numbers. Sorry, but that's just poor tactics. The only time once Saxo pulled Contador back to the group that they tried anything other than just pacing everybody it was Imanol Erviti who rode off a bit, and with the greatest respects to him it would have been silly to expect Froome or one of the top Saxo names to toast themselves chasing him.
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You don't go all in unless you are sure you're going to win. I'm guessing Valverde didn't have the legs for all in today, so they protected their position. I'm pretty sure they'll be happy with 2nd today, and live to fight another day. There're plenty of other mountain top finishes to come.
 
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Sasquatch

Sep 16, 2009
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sjonnie said:
I thought Movistar rode a good race today although I was surprised they kept the 6 men for so long, they were still 4 going into the final climb and 3 made it to the line together. It looked like they wanted to commit men to the attack at one stage and it got called back so I'm guessing Valverede just didn't have the legs. Still, with that many people they could have given Quintana a free reign although assuming Froome follows and Valverde doesn't that just hurts their overall GC. So overall I thought they played it well and secured their top 10 positions.
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Exactly! You are only as strong as your leader and Quintana is unproven over 3 weeks. They have secured a high placing, and they will try again in the third week. At some stage they will let Quintana loose if he has the legs in the Alps. But not on stage 9. It was too early for them to hurt Valverde.

If Quintana was let go, only Froome would have followed him and they probably would have put 2 minutes onto Valverde. At least now they have Quintana 2:02 behind and Valverde 1:25 behind rather than Quintana 2:02 behind and Valverde 3 or 4 minutes behind which would have happened if Quintana maintained his attack. At least they have 2 riders closer to Froome so they have options in the third week to make him panic when Froome gets isolated again.

Fact is they tried to do something, and that is a positive sign for the Alps.
 
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rainman

Jul 5, 2011
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benzwire said:
Dan Martin, please take your prize money and pay for some orthodontic work. Jesus, the guy's a walking stereotype.:D
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Fair point but all todays prize money is going to Pyrenees flood victims.
But more relevant has an islolated yellow jersey ever been gifted with an easier ride. Saxo/Movi must rue this day.
 
Jelantik

Jelantik

Jul 19, 2010
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At least we learned one thing about today. The tour isn't just about one day. Froome still reign supreme today. But his faithful lieutenant toppel so hard in on one swoop. But Paris is still along way. The hardest stage hasn't come yet. Also the revelation of Quintana form. It's just too bad he went too early yesterday..

here's porte comment after dauphine:
"We are not at the top of our game just yet," he said. "I'd be a little worried if I was Contador or Rodríguez. As quiet as they are, I think they're a little bit stressed."

The Dauphiné wasn't an easy race and we were one-two. That's the goal. The other guys say they are chasing form, but I don't see how they can recover from two and a half minutes or whatever they're down in a dead flat 30K time trial. That's a lot of time to pull back in three weeks."

Boy how wrong he was after today. Not only he lost his position, he coughed almost 11 minutes. Top form ey Porte? How come you cough so much time with rider who you called chasing his form?
 
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sjonnie

Jul 27, 2010
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sjonnie said:
You don't go all in unless you are sure you're going to win. I'm guessing Valverde didn't have the legs for all in today, so they protected their position. I'm pretty sure they'll be happy with 2nd today, and live to fight another day. There're plenty of other mountain top finishes to come.
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Brailsford says Froome wasn't worried all day. Gives credit to Moviestar (sic) for riding a good race. Guess Froome is feeling so good he can ride with any team ;-)
 
Libertine Seguros

Libertine Seguros

Feb 20, 2010
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Sasquatch said:
Exactly! You are only as strong as your leader and Quintana is unproven over 3 weeks. They have secured a high placing, and they will try again in the third week. At some stage they will let Quintana loose if he has the legs in the Alps. But not on stage 9. It was too early for them to hurt Valverde.

If Quintana was let go, only Froome would have followed him and they probably would have put 2 minutes onto Valverde. At least now they have Quintana 2:02 behind and Valverde 1:25 behind rather than Quintana 2:02 behind and Valverde 3 or 4 minutes behind which would have happened if Quintana maintained his attack. At least they have 2 riders closer to Froome so they have options in the third week to make him panic when Froome gets isolated again.

Fact is they tried to do something, and that is a positive sign for the Alps.
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2nd and 3rd is a better hand to play tactically than 2nd and 7th.
 
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Sasquatch

Sep 16, 2009
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The Hitch said:
They didnt try to dislodge him at any point. They rode tempo (as if they were the yellow jersey) the whole stage. Basically did Skys job for them giving sky extra strengh for the next week.
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They tried when Quintana attacked but each time Froome responded.

Froome will be isolated again in the Alps, there's no doubt about that. His team is ****, and there are harder stages over consecutive days where they can try to do damage.
 
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