Author Topic: Tour de France 2012 (Read 144399 times)

LEE · « **Reply #625 on:** 16 July, 2012, 04:37:52 pm »

Quote from: vorsprung on 16 July, 2012, 01:41:06 pm

Quote from: Rainmaker on 16 July, 2012, 07:42:54 am
Posted by: Rhys W: Today at 12:21:01 AM
I blame the Russians. I heard they were Karpets' tacks.

Oh dear!!!!!! Give that man a cigar!

They don't use tacks, they use stair rods

When I heard that Wiggins had avoided tacks.....blah ..blah... something about Jimmy Carr...I'm too lazy to be bothered with a punchline.

welshwheels · « **Reply #626 on:** 16 July, 2012, 04:41:10 pm »

Ewan Houzami · « **Reply #627 on:** 16 July, 2012, 04:50:03 pm »

Zzzzzzzzz. Watching today's stage I'm left thinking that was three hours of my life I'll never get back. I could have gone for a ride!!!

bobb · « **Reply #628 on:** 16 July, 2012, 05:11:25 pm »

Yeah, I want my money back!

TimC · « **Reply #629 on:** 16 July, 2012, 05:13:49 pm »

I watched the last 20 minutes - that was enough. Zzzzzzzz!

spesh · « **Reply #630 on:** 16 July, 2012, 06:53:05 pm »

All the action was in the first two hours, which were full-gas - to the point that six riders abandoned. Once a break was finally established, Lotto did try to chase for a bit, but Liquigas couldn't be bothered because Sagan's as good as won the Green jersey, and Orica-Green Edge just couldn't be bothered. Cav's out of contention for the green jersey and besides, Sky weren't going to put themselves out with two hard days in the mountains starting on Wednesday.

mattc · « **Reply #631 on:** 16 July, 2012, 07:21:53 pm »

Has Sagan killed Le Tour?!?

Bledlow · « **Reply #632 on:** 16 July, 2012, 07:42:01 pm »

Have any team heads jacked in? If so, there'll be domestiques out for a moment of glory, trying for a long breakaway on a stage where the GC isn't being contested. Sometimes entertaining, especially when they get away with it & win the stage.

mattc · « **Reply #633 on:** 16 July, 2012, 07:54:37 pm »

I do enjoy the succesful breakaway stages ... at least in the "Highlights" form! The Millar stage, Voeckler's uphill sprint (can't remember who won that day?) ... lots of fun.

But if the peleton has NO interest in chasing, it all feels a bit phony. If that makes sense...

spesh · « **Reply #634 on:** 16 July, 2012, 08:04:52 pm »

Two weeks in, and if they are less juiced than in previous years, they'll be knackered. Given the parcours for Wednesday, I'm not surprised that many would prefer to soft-pedal on a transition stage.

citoyen · « **Reply #635 on:** 16 July, 2012, 08:20:24 pm »

Quote from: Bledlow on 16 July, 2012, 07:42:01 pm

Have any team heads jacked in? If so, there'll be domestiques out for a moment of glory, trying for a long breakaway on a stage where the GC isn't being contested. Sometimes entertaining, especially when they get away with it & win the stage.

Hesjedal, Martin, Sanchez, Kittel, Westra, Gesink...

So yeah, just a few. Several teams have lost their Plan B too. Evans is clearly below his best, Basso, Scarponi and Frank Schleck were never serious contenders. I don't like to say this detracts from the glory of the likely Wiggins victory but it would be preferable to beat a strong field.

Guess it shows just what a tough race this is.

d.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #636 on:** 16 July, 2012, 10:12:45 pm »

They were definitely taking it easy today. But the more I see, the more I think there's no such thing as easy for them. The distances and mountains combined are simply crazy!

TimC · « **Reply #637 on:** 16 July, 2012, 10:28:04 pm »

Quote from: Cudzoziemiec on 16 July, 2012, 10:12:45 pm

They were definitely taking it easy today. But the more I see, the more I think there's no such thing as easy for them. The distances and mountains combined are simply crazy!

Yep. 160k today. Flat, but they've already done 2000k or more, and Wednesday and Thursday are serious mountain stages so I can forgive them for 'taking it easy'! At an average speed of 43kph... !

spesh · « **Reply #638 on:** 16 July, 2012, 10:37:27 pm »

I think today's stage can be best described as being only "relatively" flat - there was still around 2,500 vertical metres of climbing.

The Inner Ring called it right:

Quote

The Race: time is running out for teams to win a stage so expect a furious start with many riders and teams wanting to be in the breakaway. The stage is short meaning the pace should be intense until the elastic finally snaps, either figuratively or when Wiggins pulls down his shorts for a pee, the sign of a patron indicating it’s time to stop chasing.

Exit Stage Left · « **Reply #639 on:** 17 July, 2012, 12:06:56 am »

I like the full Jens Voigt interview.
http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/news/cult-cycling-hero-jens-voigt-talks-to-ned-boulting/

Peter · « **Reply #640 on:** 17 July, 2012, 12:25:49 am »

Thanks for that! I do hope he is right. But right or wrong, I could listen to him for hours. They should strike a special medal for him; he even hinted at it himself!

Feline · « **Reply #641 on:** 17 July, 2012, 12:37:13 am »

Quote from: Exit Stage Left on 17 July, 2012, 12:06:56 am

I like the full Jens Voigt interview.
http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/news/cult-cycling-hero-jens-voigt-talks-to-ned-boulting/

Excellent!

Domestique · « **Reply #642 on:** 17 July, 2012, 06:23:35 am »

Quote

Pete Geyer ‏@cyclingfans
4 press/media vehicles kicked out of the Tour de France (3 for speeding, 1 alcohol related). (L'Equipe)

With all the Police around as well, madness.

citoyen · « **Reply #643 on:** 17 July, 2012, 10:31:37 am »

Love that Jens interview.

Quote from: spesh on 16 July, 2012, 10:37:27 pm

I think today's stage can be best described as being only "relatively" flat - there was still around 2,500 vertical metres of climbing.

The Inner Ring called it right:

Quote
The Race: time is running out for teams to win a stage so expect a furious start with many riders and teams wanting to be in the breakaway. The stage is short meaning the pace should be intense until the elastic finally snaps, either figuratively or when Wiggins pulls down his shorts for a pee, the sign of a patron indicating it’s time to stop chasing.

It was an odd stage in that all the excitement was in the first half, with the break trying to form and the peloton. Sky kept trying to put the lid on it and allow the break to get away, but as Inrng and others said, teams were always going to continue to attack while they didn't have a rider in the ecape group - hence Saxo only easing off once Niki Sorensen had got across the gap.

You can't blame the peloton for taking it relatively easy - especially if more of them are riding clean than in previous years. They must be completely knackered.

Only another 500 miles to Paris...

d.

Cudzoziemiec · « **Reply #644 on:** 17 July, 2012, 12:54:44 pm »

Jens seems remarkable in that he's very likeable without being bland. Many successful sportsmen come across as either arrogantly super-concentrated or totally characterless; perhaps it's his character which stops him being more successful?! I didn't realise he was born in the DDR - he was 18 when the Wall fell, so too young to have been involved in the machine himself, but he must know a bit about doping! And according to various studies which show Germans from the East are more cooperative etc than those from the West, maybe we can say he has an East German character?

rafletcher · « **Reply #645 on:** 17 July, 2012, 01:07:10 pm »

Quote from: Cudzoziemiec on 17 July, 2012, 12:54:44 pm

Jens seems remarkable in that he's very likeable without being bland. Many successful sportsmen come across as either arrogantly super-concentrated or totally characterless; perhaps it's his character which stops him being more successful?! I didn't realise he was born in the DDR - he was 18 when the Wall fell, so too young to have been involved in the machine himself, but he must know a bit about doping! And according to various studies which show Germans from the East are more cooperative etc than those from the West, maybe we can say he has an East German character?

I'm not having a pop at Jens (he's getting paid regularly by Leopard because he doesn't try a dodge taxes by getting part of his salary paid to offshore banks in "image rights" - unlike the Schleck and Fulsgang), but the East German system started waaaay before the age of 18 - by that age they were sucesses or already dumped.

Exit Stage Left · « **Reply #646 on:** 17 July, 2012, 01:10:49 pm »

Jens is the archetypal 'Man of the Tour', he is essentially the riders shop steward. It's success enough to get round the Tour, and Jens' aim is to make it possible for the largest number of riders to finish. The organisers want a spectacle, which is provided by the sprinters and the climbers. Jens is a rouleur, who can chase down breaks and participate in those breaks himself. The true test of the rouleur/time triallist is the Duo Normand, Jens has won that twice, once with Chris Boardman and once with Jonathan Vaughters, now manager of the Garmin/Sharp team. Boardman won that event three times and Wiggins has won it once. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duo_Normand
It's interesting that Jens brought his hand to his face when he was saying that it was a clean tour, but he does have to protect those he represents,

citoyen · « **Reply #647 on:** 17 July, 2012, 02:49:03 pm »

Forgot to mention this before but this week's Sunday Telegraph used a fantastic pic in its Tour coverage - we've discussed before the fact that cycling fans don't have the same tribal allegiances as fans of other sports, but the sight of a Brit descending a mountain pass in the yellow jersey closely pursued by a Brit World Champion is enough to bring the patriotic streak out of anyone...

http://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/race-leader-bradley-wiggins-of-great-britain-and-sky-news-photo/148326713

Ewan Houzami · « **Reply #648 on:** 17 July, 2012, 04:48:18 pm »

Somebody somewhere upthread mentioned a meet-up in Look Mum No Hands either tomorrow or Thurs. Is there any interest still?

citoyen · « **Reply #649 on:** 17 July, 2012, 05:47:07 pm »

It was me. Unlikely to be able to do tomorrow or Thursday (busy days at work) but I can probably do Friday. Shame that Friday isn't nearly so interesting a stage.

d.

Author Topic: Tour de France 2012 (Read 144399 times)

LEE