Vincenzo Nibali

[red_flanders]

Nibali dropped Sagan and Cancellara, while sitting down. Do I need to say more?

Probably. Since sitting down is the way stages like this are ridden. Hoping you aren't that clueless and are simply trolling.

This was even more mutant than Froome last year.

Never mind.

 

[go crazy]

Probably. Since sitting down is the way stages like this are ridden. Hoping you aren't that clueless and are simply trolling.



Never mind.

Walkman is a good name, he probably doesn't even ride a bike. Please go out and find some cobbles, or just a rough road, and try standing sprinting through it. Let's see how far you get before you blow a tire or are bucked off your bike.

 

[SafeBet]

Dodgy performance by Astana, this can't be denied. Fuglsamg stands out the most to me. He even dropped Nibbles at one point.

 

[DirtyWorks]

Nibali dropped Sagan and Cancellara, while sitting down. Do I need to say more?

This was even more mutant than Froome last year.

Maybe, maybe not. He's always had the technical skill to do very well in situations where bike handling is a critical issue.

If he pays dearly for today's efforts in week 2 and week 3, then I think it's a clue today's performance wasn't too alien. IMO, Nibali's squad took the opportunity presented regardless of the high cost of a big effort so early into the race.

An experienced grand tour rider will know he cannot ride as if today is the last important day. So, it's reasonable to see some riders backing off the pace.

 

[hiero2]

Maybe, maybe not. He's always had the technical skill to do very well in situations where bike handling is a critical issue.

If he pays dearly for today's efforts in week 2 and week 3, then I think it's a clue today's performance wasn't too alien. IMO, Nibali's squad took the opportunity presented regardless of the high cost of a big effort so early into the race.

An experienced grand tour rider will know he cannot ride as if today is the last important day. So, it's reasonable to see some riders backing off the pace.

I dropped in to see if there was anything more than ranting and drivel posted. I see mostly not is the answer. But, I fully concur with your comment above.

Nibali's first impression on the grand stages was demonstrating superb bike-handling skills. Right now, Nibali has his job on the line. Perhaps he enhanced, perhaps not. It IS possible that they had the luck and skill to do what they did. And went for a bigger effort than other teams. It WAS a perfect opportunity for someone to give that a try, and I was expecting it from one of the other GC teams, like Garmin, or maybe OPQS, or even Sagan. It was a hard day, typical of a "Classics" day, and lots of strong favorites got left out. Very typical.

Now, if I see a continued strong performance in the mountains, I'll be expecting to see a midnight police raid.

On the other hand - it was a beautifully fought stage. I am sad that Froome dnf'd. I would rather he had finished today, but it is what it is. I wanted to see AC beat him in the mts.

 

[Netserk]

Dodgy performance by Astana, this can't be denied. Fuglsamg stands out the most to me. He even dropped Nibbles at one point.

Fuglsang's reaction after the stage was hilarious!

Someone got the magic potion in time.

 

[webbie146]

Fuglsang's reaction after the stage was hilarious!

Someone got the magic potion in time.

How did he react?

 

[Netserk]

How did he react?

~"If I'd known it'd be so easy, I wouldn't have been so worried this morning"

 

[SeriousSam]

This was even more mutant than Froome last year.

rofl. Horner is the only rider in the peloton who can challenge Froome's mutantry.

 

[ciranda]

~"If I'd known it'd be so easy, I wouldn't have been so worried this morning"

Joke obviously because it was pretty hard. As was evident from the tv coverage.

Dodgy performance by Astana, this can't be denied. Fuglsamg stands out the most to me. He even dropped Nibbles at one point.

I don't find it surprising (as in Sky-like unrealness) in these conditions and a course like this. As you could see he's as good in corners as Nibali. Distances were because of earlier pavé stretches and weather anyway, I mean someone like Ranshaw was there until 10 km to the finish.

 

[filipo]

Dodgy performance by Astana, this can't be denied. Fuglsamg stands out the most to me. He even dropped Nibbles at one point.

I know, right? I mean who would have thought a world-beating mountain biker would be good on the cobbles?

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

well if you look at bigger time frame including Dauphnie, he is peaking at the right time along with TJVG. But go back to doping, his performance even today is far away from astonishing, he is really struggling in the last few hundred meters.

This. +1

Boom straight up dropped Nibali on the last sector. Which was expected, but I didn't see anything outlandish from Nibali today. He just rode a great race, was attentive, and exhibited his usual great handling.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

I know, right? I mean who would have thought a world-beating mountain biker would be good on the cobbles?

The guy won the Cape Epic. Cobbles are just minor road debris to him.

 

[hrotha]

It's difficult (even pointless) to draw conclusions from such an unconventional stage because you might see Fuglsang up there and think it's weird but the thing is we have no reference points for many of the riders for cobbled races.

 

[CycloAndy]

The hypocrisy on here is unreal. So many times I've seen people defend their sky bashing (which admittedly at times is justified) by saying 'but we know the other riders are doping we just don't go on about it because of the Sky trolls'. Then we witness an unbelievable performance where Nibali and his team rode away from so many classics specialists with ease and half the people say 'doesn't mean he's doping'! Today's performance might have been partly due to his big 'sack' but also a sack load of drugs!!

 

[Almeisan]

Hard to estimate wattages based on time when on the cobbles. Get real.

 

[the sceptic]

The hypocrisy on here is unreal. So many times I've seen people defend their sky bashing (which admittedly at times is justified) by saying 'but we know the other riders are doping we just don't go on about it because of the Sky trolls'. Then we witness an unbelievable performance where Nibali and his team rode away from so many classics specialists with ease and half the people say 'doesn't mean he's doping'! Today's performance might have been partly due to his big 'sack' but also a sack load of drugs!!

I dont see anyone saying Nibali is cleans though.

 

[lemoogle]

It's also not the type of stage that you can fully judge based on doping. Even those of us that believe froome is clearly undeniably doped expected Froome to lose time on the cobbles today( let's be honest he would not have finished where porte did had he not fallen ), and that wouldnt have meant everyone ahead of froome was more doped than he was.

 

[BYOP88]

The hypocrisy on here is unreal. So many times I've seen people defend their sky bashing (which admittedly at times is justified) by saying 'but we know the other riders are doping we just don't go on about it because of the Sky trolls'. Then we witness an unbelievable performance where Nibali and his team rode away from so many classics specialists with ease and half the people say 'doesn't mean he's doping'! Today's performance might have been partly due to his big 'sack' but also a sack load of drugs!!

I don't think Nibali is clean. But your logic is a little off, does that mean in the Armstrong years guys who beat him on flat/sprint stages, or in 2001 when that break of 14 finished a week ahead of the peloton were they on more gear than Armstrong? No, sometimes the biggest doper can still lose.

 

[filipo]

The hypocrisy on here is unreal. So many times I've seen people defend their sky bashing (which admittedly at times is justified) by saying 'but we know the other riders are doping we just don't go on about it because of the Sky trolls'. Then we witness an unbelievable performance where Nibali and his team rode away from so many classics specialists with ease and half the people say 'doesn't mean he's doping'! Today's performance might have been partly due to his big 'sack' but also a sack load of drugs!!

The inability of certain posters to read a race -- or even race reports -- is what's unbelievable, fella. The day was all about luck and positioning, not (just) who took the biggest sack of drugs. (Because clearly that's how they do it. By the sackful.) It would have been unbelievable if Froome had finished as well as Nibali--but only because Froome has the tactical sense of a particularly dim herring. Read what Cancellara said about too many noobs getting in his way, or what GvA said about losing eons in the corners, or what pretty much any cobbles specialist had to say about the day before you blow your nads with this "unbelieveable" shiz.

It's a pity Froomestick bailed, though. Would have loved to watch him try to stare down his stem over those cobbles.

 

[Oldman]

The inability of certain posters to read a race -- or even race reports -- is what's unbelievable, fella. The day was all about luck and positioning, not (just) who took the biggest sack of drugs. (Because clearly that's how they do it. By the sackful.) It would have been unbelievable if Froome had finished as well as Nibali--but only because Froome has the tactical sense of a particularly dim herring. Read what Cancellara said about too many noobs getting in his way, or what GvA said about losing eons in the corners, or what pretty much any cobbles specialist had to say about the day before you blow your nads with this "unbelieveable" shiz.

It's a pity Froomestick bailed, though. Would have loved to watch him try to stare at his stem over those cobbles.

+1. Wet days like this are about: a)initiative and positioning b)luck. Nibali stayed out of trouble and knew how to handle his bike. Give him a flat or slide out and everyone is still in with about the same time. Nibali's TEAM rode this well. What Sky was doing back and how they manage to crash themselves is a separate story...no helping that situation.

 

[mewmewmew13]

+1. Wet days like this are about: A)initiative and positioning b)luck. Nibali stayed out of trouble and knew how to handle his bike. Give him a flat or slide out and everyone is still in with about the same time. Nibali's team rode this well. What sky was doing back and how they manage to crash themselves is a separate story...no helping that situation.

+1 +1
.............

 

[maxmartin]

+1. Wet days like this are about: a)initiative and positioning b)luck. Nibali stayed out of trouble and knew how to handle his bike. Give him a flat or slide out and everyone is still in with about the same time. Nibali's TEAM rode this well. What Sky was doing back and how they manage to crash themselves is a separate story...no helping that situation.

Tbh, Fulglsang is more impressive than VN, in the end VN is hanging on his dear life onto Fulgsang's wheel. He did not even has any energy to chase Boom alone to gain more seconds in the end.

 

[ChewbaccaD]

The hypocrisy on here is unreal. So many times I've seen people defend their sky bashing (which admittedly at times is justified) by saying 'but we know the other riders are doping we just don't go on about it because of the Sky trolls'. Then we witness an unbelievable performance where Nibali and his team rode away from so many classics specialists with ease and half the people say 'doesn't mean he's doping'! Today's performance might have been partly due to his big 'sack' but also a sack load of drugs!!

And you completely ignored the hypocrisy of those throwing sh!t at Nibali, who defend the joke that is Chris Froome with their last breath? Typical.

 

[ChewbaccaD]

The inability of certain posters to read a race -- or even race reports -- is what's unbelievable, fella. The day was all about luck and positioning, not (just) who took the biggest sack of drugs. (Because clearly that's how they do it. By the sackful.) It would have been unbelievable if Froome had finished as well as Nibali--but only because Froome has the tactical sense of a particularly dim herring. Read what Cancellara said about too many noobs getting in his way, or what GvA said about losing eons in the corners, or what pretty much any cobbles specialist had to say about the day before you blow your nads with this "unbelieveable" shiz.

It's a pity Froomestick bailed, though. Would have loved to watch him try to stare down his stem over those cobbles.

+1 Dead fu*king on!