maxmartin said:I don't think it is planned, it just so happened. Apparently this happened
"Vincenzo Nibali initially headed to the Tour de France podium area after the finish of stage 9 to Mulhouse, perhaps thinking he had to climb on the podium."
Red Rick said:Have we heard anything about Nibbles' plans after the Tour?
maxmartin said:I sure hope so. I envy you. I guess no matter what happened tomorrow on those vicious slope, you will be smiling. ( of course unless Porte drops everyone)![]()
maxmartin said:As a huge Nibali fan , I actually doubt this pic. Did you read the article I posted yesterday. Apparently he only slept one hour before 2012 Tour ITT, because he was so nervous. That is only for the fight of podium position. Imagine this time he is leading the Tour and fighting for the WIN.
Carols said:I saw that. Made me believe they didn't let it go intentionally! Instead it just happened and they decided to let it happen.
Are there any quotes from Vino around? Haven't heard much out of him.
In 2012 he wanted to race the Vuelta à la Bettini after the Tour, maybe he will do the same this year and aim for Worlds and Lombardia.Red Rick said:Have we heard anything about Nibbles' plans after the Tour?
pigoonse said:Do you mean this one? I loved it. And yes, my guess is that he will sleep. But neither one of us will be able to prove whether he slept or not.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/07/news/favorite-son-vincenzo-nibali-italys-latest-star_335782
maxmartin said:Busy conjuring the plan for tomorrow
Rollthedice posted yesterday, not sure you read it or not.
http://www.letour.com/le-tour/2014/...-be-over-after-planche-des-belles-filles.html
Carols said:Yes I saw that one, thought it was pretty unrealistic. I was hoping there were some since then.
Rollthedice said:Here's the latest from Vino. The yellow jersey was a present for France
https://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2014/us/stage-9/news/int/vinokourov-a-present-for-france.html
And here's a longer interview before today's stage, video in French:
http://www.cyclismactu.net/news-tdf-vinokourov-nibali-est-serein-c-est-tout-42434.html
SafeBet said:Birdsong talked to the Italian media this morning and said he was feeling better and that he would use todays stage to further recover from his bad stomach.
Nibali is tired as the whole team, but make no mistake: everybody must feel tired at this point. We're nine days into the race and we have yet to see a rest day. Tomorrow will be about recovery more than anything else. If you have a bad day there might be minutes at stake.
dduff442 said:There was unintentional hilarity during an interview with Fuglsang today:
Interviewer: And with yourself and Vincenzo obviously high up the GC, that gives you options for tomorrow?
Fuglsang [Turning away]: Hah?
Interviewer: With both yourself and Vincenzo up there, that gives you options for tomorrow?
[Fuglsang climbs onto bus]
SafeBet said:Birdsong talked to the Italian media this morning and said he was feeling better and that he would use todays stage to further recover from his bad stomach.
Nibali is tired as the whole team, but make no mistake: everybody must feel tired at this point. We're nine days into the race and we have yet to see a rest day. Tomorrow will be about recovery more than anything else. If you have a bad day there might be minutes at stake.
UpTheRoad said:What is his problem? Nibali is the leader of Astana. Sure, Fuglsang has ambitions and is going well, but this and the other interview could be viewed as an open display of disharmony within the team. Nibali is a serious contender, perhaps even the outright favorite right now, and Fuglsang is a a top domestique. He has ridden a great race and has supported Nibali very well, especially on stage 2 and stage 5, but he needs to support Nibali, plain and simple.
When this happened at Sky, Froome was clearly a better climber than Wiggins. When it happened at Astana part 1, Contador clearly the best, but Armstrong was a 7 time TdF champion (at the time).
None of those are present at Astana right now.
What am I missing? They have the TdF within reach and now is not the time to do this.
UpTheRoad said:What is his problem? Nibali is the leader of Astana. Sure, Fuglsang has ambitions and is going well, but this and the other interview could be viewed as an open display of disharmony within the team. Nibali is a serious contender, perhaps even the outright favorite right now, and Fuglsang is a a top domestique. He has ridden a great race and has supported Nibali very well, especially on stage 2 and stage 5, but he needs to support Nibali, plain and simple.
When this happened at Sky, Froome was clearly a better climber than Wiggins. When it happened at Astana part 1, Contador clearly the best, but Armstrong was a 7 time TdF champion (at the time).
None of those are present at Astana right now.
What am I missing? They have the TdF within reach and now is not the time to do this.
dduff442 said:There was unintentional hilarity during an interview with Fuglsang today:
Interviewer: And with yourself and Vincenzo obviously high up the GC, that gives you options for tomorrow?
Fuglsang [Turning away]: Hah?
Interviewer: With both yourself and Vincenzo up there, that gives you options for tomorrow?
[Fuglsang climbs onto bus]
"I think Nibali will win the Tour, he's my favourite. If he goes as well as he did when he won the Giro last year, if he's got the same condition, I think he's unbeatable."
Can Contador finish with him?Moviefan1203 said:We'll see what Nibbles is made of tomorrow. Hopefully he can finish with Contador.