longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/18/2018 09:32 PM |
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I enjoyed the fireworks today.
Nibali will make the podium barring illness or similar. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/18/2018 09:32 PM |
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| sorry double post |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/19/2018 11:31 AM |
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Dumoulin impressed me today....hope he doesn't crack in the (steeper) Pyrenees.
SKY is clearly riding for Froome....the fact that he attacked the yellow jersey group and Thomas didn't counter when Froome was caught (or when they were riding 4 abreast) is all the proof you need of that. Thomas had to go for the stage win in the end because he had the best sprint legs of that group...
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/19/2018 11:58 AM |
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Agreed, Thomas started pacing for Froome once Bernal pulled off. Roles are clear but if with those roles Thomas can hang in that's a bonus. Froome can obviously not be confident going into iTT with Dumoulin at just 11 seconds so he'll have to attack at some point to create a bigger gap. Dumoulin can just follow wheels under notion that Froome is designated leader. As was noted elsewhere Sky riding tempo doesn't just help Sky, it also helps Dumoulin who can just sit tight.
Another good day of fireworks, the long range attacks worked to shell a lot of the Sky support riders prior to final climb. Too bad Nibali got caught out in mayhem and good on others reasonably waiting for him. Riding 5 aside inside last 3k was pretty funny to see. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/19/2018 12:19 PM |
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| And WTF were AG2R and Movistar doing when they started to work? If you wanna beat SKY, you gotta let THEM do the work to bring back Kruijswik and then counter.....helping them do the work is just stoopid. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/19/2018 12:40 PM |
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Same mistake Bahrain made yesterday.
Ouch, Nibali to hospital, doesn't sound good.
Meanwhile with all top-end sprinters gone, Sagan will win green with his eyes closed. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 07/19/2018 02:52 PM |
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Sad re: Nibali. I watched his first move and thought "He's just testing the waters. He'll go again." Well, he did put in the hardest final 4 kms by far. Yes, the first four waited for him - for a few seconds.
The crowds, the motorcycles, a GC rider clearly on his day - this is going to get talked about. Not what ASO and UCI want.
Ben |
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zootracer
Posts:835
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| 07/19/2018 03:52 PM |
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Nibali is out. Fractured T10 vertibra.
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/19/2018 07:15 PM |
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The LSD curse? I pick Nibali to podium and the next day breaks his back on a stage he might have won. Sorry.
Truly chaos on the course. Not as bad as Ventoux and Froome’s cyclocross run, but it’s out of control. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/19/2018 07:24 PM |
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| I read that Thomas is the first winner on L’Alpe wearing yellow since Lance Armstrong. Hmmm. Ironic? |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/19/2018 08:22 PM |
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I also read that Dumoulin was the fastest Dutch rider up Alpe ever. Interesting given that we had a bunch of winners back in day. Then again Thomas had fastest time today but didn't crack top 100 overall.
Ok sticking my neck way out. Froome Dumoulin and Roglic for final podium. All been going well and have a good TT. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/19/2018 09:15 PM |
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| Bold call....but not a bad one, at all. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Red Tornado
Posts:159
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| 07/20/2018 09:25 AM |
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Another year of absolute Sky dominance, regarding the yellow. Just what the Tour, and the sport, needs. Not.
I guess they are the only team that is TOTALLY ALL IN for the yellow jersey (or other leaders jersey in other GT's). The only other team with anything close to their firepower, is Movistar and they are a distant 2nd. Typically the only riders with teammates in the later stages, and that does count for something. Bravo to the guys who attacked in the Alpe d'Huez, but it was never going to be enough. Maybe when they were a bigger group they could have taken turns trying to crack Sky, but that would require cooperation which doesn't seem to happen these days. Not sure who I'm more frustrated with Sky, for being the evil empire, or everyone else for not being able to seriously challenge them. So yes, there it is, I am a Sky hater. Didn't care much for 7's teams either, for the same reasons. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/20/2018 11:03 AM |
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Challenging Sky is always going to be difficult but last couple days we've seen how it should be done, with long range attacks by Valverde, Dumoulin and Kruiswijk, which worked to whittle down the support riders. Already, Thomas had to get to work on slopes of Alpe yesterday. This is why its a shame Nibali is gone; he would for sure have thrown in another long range attack.
Cooperation among competitors is just not going to happen. That said, if Valverde had been stronger it would have been interesting to see what him and Dumoulin could have done together on Stage 11. |
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Red Tornado
Posts:159
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| 07/20/2018 01:52 PM |
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| Your'e correct that the attacks did soften Sky somewhat, but they needed to do more to make a real lasting impact.
Unfortunately, you are probably also right about the lack of cooperation between teams, I wonder why it's like that?
A strong Valverde & Dumoulin could have caused Sky some real pain, I agree. Also, just imagine what a strong Valv plus an in-form Quintana and uninjured Landa could have done themselves or in cooperation with Dumoulin/Bardet/Nibali. Whoops, there's that word again - cooperation.
Seems like good fortune, if you believe in that, smiles on Sky more than the others. Maybe not, but sure seems like it to me. They are a team built solely for one purpose and difficult to derail. |
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