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Tour de Suisse: Stage 6, Meiringen - La Punt (213.3km)

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Jun 18, 2009
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LA did pretty well today. RS seems a little weak. What's up with LL? Everytime the weather gets bad he rides like this.

Final TT will be telling of LA's fitness. I'm not sure he'll go for it though. Why trash yourself to win this race with the TDF so close?
 
frankly, i am both shocked and not surprised by armstrong's stunning jump in form.

not surprised because i fully expected ferrari to have an effect.

shocked because his jump in form since gila (just a few weeks ago) is absolutely mind-boggling.

since he owns a "get out of jail free" card from the uci -- i fully expect him to be guns blaring @ tour time.

once again ridiculing both the sport and the fans.

what a cancer.
 
May 26, 2009
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hfer07 said:
he looked good "following wheels", but I'm sure we won't see him "attacking" anymore, and that's what counts....He's becoming more like the old Evans

From how it looked it's kinda like last year, he can follow on the climbs if the tempo is steady but the moment attacks come he's dependent on his team or other riders closing it down he doesn't have the legs to go across the gaps alone. If Contador, Baby Schleck and Gesink really attack in the Tour or have their teams set a furious pace on a climb then I think he'll suffer but then again I'm sure in 4 weeks time he'll be climbing and TTing like it's 2001.
 
Apr 20, 2009
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hfer07 said:
he looked good "following wheels", but I'm sure we won't see him "attacking" anymore, and that's what counts....He's becoming more like the old Evans

Riding wheels would work fine...if he could both ride wheels and blow away TT's. However, it appears his climbing is coming into form while his TT is still poor.
 
Nov 17, 2009
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BYOP88 said:
From how it looked it's kinda like last year, he can follow on the climbs if the tempo is steady but the moment attacks come he's dependent on his team or other riders closing it down he doesn't have the legs to go across the gaps alone. If Contador, Baby Schleck and Gesink really attack in the Tour or have thier teams set a furious pace on a climb then I think he'll suffer but then again I'm sure in 4 weeks time he'll be climbing and TTing like it's 2001.

While generally true... he did close down a gap on Grand Bornand himself.

Of course in doing so he brought others over to Contador... which was poor team play.

He also followed F. Schleck's attack attempts on Ventoux... but they were pretty weak attacks.
 
Mar 13, 2009
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Dekker_Tifosi said:
Gesink only did 1 longer TT this year, Basque Tour, which was 15km, and which was after a fall (duh) earlier in the race with some road rash remains.
He finished 15th...And that was one of his lesser TT's.

I'm pretty sure he can do it if he doesn't fall or get sick.
In a similar time trial in the Tirreno 2008 he was 6th. Also 30km over hilly terrain.

Basque TT was around 22 km with a very similar course to the one coming up in Switzerland. I'm confident he'll do fine.

Also Joaquin Rodriguez placed top 10 in that same TT, he could very well podium too.
 
May 26, 2009
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kurtinsc said:
While generally true... he did close down a gap on Grand Bornand himself.

Of course in doing so he brought others over to Contador... which was poor team play.

He also followed F. Schleck's attack attempts on Ventoux... but they were pretty weak attacks.

Well with the "attacks" on Ventoux I'd guess that if Andy wasn't concerned about Frank getting on the podium then I'd guess he'd have attacked Contador on the climb and I'm guessing Lance would have struggled to follow that and maybe that's how Frank could've ended up 3rd.

BTW on a side note are the Shacks plans for this Tour to get the 1-2-3?
 
Nov 17, 2009
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BYOP88 said:
Well with the "attacks" on Ventoux I'd guess that if Andy wasn't concerned about Frank getting on the podium then I'd guess he'd have attacked Contador on the climb and I'm guessing Lance would have struggled to follow that and maybe that's how Frank could've ended up 3rd.

BTW on a side note are the Shacks plans for this Tour to get the 1-2-3?

No way Lance could have gone with Andy... but at that point he didn't have to.

I feel comfortable in saying Lance couldn't go with attacks from Andy or Contador last year... or Frank when he was "on".

But I think he was capable of following an attack by pretty much anyone else in the race last year... as long as he didn't kill himself trying to go with Andy or Alberto beforehand (and failing... like he did on Verbier).

There will be more top contenders this year though... so there may be more he can't follow. But I think he does have a shot at another 3rd place finish if things go well and he doesn't try to go with Alberto or Andy too much.
 
BYOP88 said:
Well with the "attacks" on Ventoux I'd guess that if Andy wasn't concerned about Frank getting on the podium then I'd guess he'd have attacked Contador on the climb and I'm guessing Lance would have struggled to follow that and maybe that's how Frank could've ended up 3rd.

BTW on a side note are the Shacks plans for this Tour to get the 1-2-3?

considering jb wasnt able to manage that when he had this radioshack team + contador i very much doubt they think they can manage it without him.
 
kurtinsc said:
While generally true... he did close down a gap on Grand Bornand himself.

Of course in doing so he brought others over to Contador... which was poor team play.

He also followed F. Schleck's attack attempts on Ventoux... but they were pretty weak attacks.

He actually didn't close down a gap on Grand Bornand. Remember Kloden had popped. The Brothers Schleck and Contador basically held their advantage at the top of the climb to the finish. But he did rocket away from Wiggans once he popped.
 
Oct 6, 2009
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hfer07 said:
he looked good "following wheels", but I'm sure we won't see him "attacking" anymore, and that's what counts....He's becoming more like the old Evans

ACF will now either develop a huge crush on LA or be furious that you have blasphemed her true god by likening him to that false savior. :p :D :eek:
 
Nov 17, 2009
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Publicus said:
He actually didn't close down a gap on Grand Bornand. Remember Kloden had popped. The Brothers Schleck and Contador basically held their advantage at the top of the climb to the finish. But he did rocket away from Wiggans once he popped.

No, he actually did earlier in the stage.

Before the lead group of 4 got away, Frank attacked and Armstrong tried to cover... then Andy attacked and Contador went with him. Armstrong was dropped with Wiggins and Frank was yo-yoing off the back.

Armstrong towed Wiggins back, along with Frank once he passed him until they caught Kloden, Contador and Andy.

Then a couple of minutes later, Andy attacks and Contador and Kloden followed. A minute later Frank bridges over to create the 4 man group at the front.

Lance's pulling the others back basically eliminated a possible 2 on 1 with Kloden, Andy and Contador in the front.

instead, it was a 2 on 2 with the later action... and forcing Kloden to respond to TWO Andy attacks essentially blew him out so he couldn't follow when Contador went later.


So yes... he did respond to an attack (in a measured fashion) but he hurt his team in doing so. At the very least he should have sat up when he got to Frank and made him or Wiggins pull the rest of the way up to Contador, Kloden and Andy.
 
May 26, 2009
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kurtinsc said:
No, he actually did earlier in the stage.

Before the lead group of 4 got away, Frank attacked and Armstrong tried to cover... then Andy attacked and Contador went with him. Armstrong was dropped with Wiggins and Frank was yo-yoing off the back.

Armstrong towed Wiggins back, along with Frank once he passed him until they caught Kloden, Contador and Andy.

Then a couple of minutes later, Andy attacks and Contador and Kloden followed. A minute later Frank bridges over to create the 4 man group at the front.

Lance's pulling the others back basically eliminated a possible 2 on 1 with Kloden, Andy and Contador in the front.

instead, it was a 2 on 2 with the later action... and forcing Kloden to respond to TWO Andy attacks essentially blew him out so he couldn't follow when Contador went later.


So yes... he did respond to an attack (in a measured fashion) but he hurt his team in doing so. At the very least he should have sat up when he got to Frank and made him or Wiggins pull the rest of the way up to Contador, Kloden and Andy.

Don't let Lance fans see that, Lance would never hurt HIS team only horrible people who can't speak English do that :D
 
Nov 17, 2009
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BYOP88 said:
Don't let Lance fans see that, Lance would never hurt HIS team only horrible people who can't speak English do that :D

It is what it is. It's very possible that move turned an Astana 1-2 with Contador and Kloden into an astana 1-3. It's hard to say for sure that if Kloden and Contador had pushed the pace at that point and Lance had sat on Frank's wheel when he was behind that Frank would have been able to bridge without the breather Lance gave him.

I personally think that in the 2 minutes, the lead would have gotten to 30 seconds or so... and that would have been too much for Frank to bridge... but that is speculation of course.
 
Eyeballs Out said:
Correct. Armstrong's time-trialling has been his weakest discipline since he came back. I think the old man struggles to get into any kind of aero position these days

If anyone beats Gesink for the GC it will be Morabito


Armstrong has yet to have a good ride in the race of truth. There's no way he's going to bring back a minute. I doubt he would go fully into the red to win here.

He wants top 5. In both GC and TT

I think Thomas Löfkvist has the best shot at catching Gesink.
 
WildspokeJoe said:
Armstrong has yet to have a good ride in the race of truth. There's no way he's going to bring back a minute. I doubt he would go fully into the red to win here.

He wants top 5. In both GC and TT

I think Thomas Löfkvist has the best shot at catching Gesink.
I don't think so. Löfkvist's and Gesink's TT is more or less at the same level.
 

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