79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 09/10/2020 11:46 AM |
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Sagan is saying he didn't think his move (to pass between van Aert and the barriers) was dangerous - dangerous or no, it was illegal. The penalty he received was SOP for that move. If Sagan wanted a bye on that pass, he had to get by van Aert without touching him. He failed that part badly.
Some of this sprinting stuff is a lot like sailboat racing. Position can be everything. And both sports have detailed rules that give rights to some riders/boats and obligations to stay clear to others. Knowing those rules can make a huge difference. A real part of both sports is that you don't always have to adhere to the rule, but when you don't - don't touch anybody! Or make them do something to accommodate you. Sagan flunked that part badly. (It was pretty obvious that the gap he wanted to shoot wasn't going to stay open long enough for him to get through.) Good sailboat racing? "Well, I can get 10 more points passing van Aert. I can lose 50 points or more if I touch him. Hmmm, maybe, just maybe backing off is a smarter decision."
That said, we (the U of Mich sailing team) won the Kennedy's Cup at the Annapolis Naval Academy by doing illegal inside mark roundings all weekend at the leeward mark and passing several boats each time. (We were there the year before. Our skipper, then a freshman, noticed that when you put the helm down (turned the wheel to start a turn), it took a couple of boat lengths for anything to happen on those heavy and sluggish 44' boats. So, next year with him now at the helm, he announced to all of us that he was putting the helm down 2 lengths before we got to the mark; that it was up to us to do a perfect and clean job of sail handling (dropping the spinnaker and raising the jib) because any small mistake would cost us the regatta.
Every race we did that. Every race, the hole was there. And every time, we pulled it off. I was working the mast. My primary job was getting the spinnaker pole up and down. Not a tough job but that pole had to be down at the mark to pull those rounding off. I had to jump up and stand on a winch to reach the overhead bell fitting the pole fit into and pull a lanyard to remove the locking pin. Pole sliides out, I grab it and pass it down to the foredeck man. One time, I yanked the lanyard and it broke! Well, the pin stuck down an inch or so below the fitting so I tried banging it up with my hand while holding tie pole in the other. 2 or 3 tries and nothing, That pole had to come down! So I grabbed the mast with my right hand and slammed the pin with my left. Pin went two feet in the air, pole slid out, grazed (my head?; I've forgotten) fell and was caught by the alert foredeck man. I got to be the hero of the day. (We found the pin. Losing that would have been a real problem!)
Sagan had to pull off similar gymnastics he he didn't want that relegation and points loss. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 09/10/2020 01:36 PM |
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Selfie sticks protruding past the fence, some funky barrier blocks sticking out... what's with that?
Sagan should have been relegated but something has to be done by the race organizers. Get those fans back off the fence in the last 500 meters, and clean up the fences. It's inexcusable. It looked like he moved over to avoid all that stuff but he did barge into Woot. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/10/2020 02:33 PM |
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Sagan acknowledged he never even saw the selfie stick. So yes, it should not be where it was. But it didn't factor in what happened.
The barrier yes, that stuff for sure needs to be done better and is fully in organizers control. Inexcusable. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/11/2020 10:22 AM |
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Stage for Columbia.
GC is two Slovenians followed by four Columbians.
Interesting stuff. Good race today. Good day for Roglic. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 09/11/2020 10:29 AM |
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Good stage....surprised Bernal cracked like that. He has to go on a rampage in the Alps now.
Pogacar is obviously the biggest threat to Roglic now.....time bonuses may end up being critical as Pog has more pop than Rog right now. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 09/11/2020 07:59 PM |
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| Oh and is this the year of Richie or what!? |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 09/11/2020 11:15 PM |
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| Richie Porte? Richie Valens? (I thought he passed a while ago? Richie Haven? Haven't seen his name in a long time. Richie Russo? (My hockey nemesis. Has a good, hard, high slap shot. Found chinks in my armor many times. 10 days of solid, often bone, bruise every time. And he'd kill me for calling him Richie.) |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 09/12/2020 06:51 AM |
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Oh and is this the year of Richie or what!?
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 09/12/2020 10:56 AM |
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| That was a perfectly timed move by Andersen and Sunweb. They pretty much ate Bora’s lunch today. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 09/12/2020 03:48 PM |
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| Sagan did pick up 20 points on Bennet so it wasn't a total loss, but Sagan and the team had to work really had for it, even after Bennet was sitting up and cruising.. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 09/12/2020 04:07 PM |
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Tomorrow is the day I have pegged for Quintana. It never gets up to his favorite altitudes (very little in Europe does) but it does have his lengths, gradients and locations en course. If he wants to do anything this year, this is it. He's been riding very smart up to this point. He's lost 72 seconds but not burned any matches.
So, is he up to it? |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 09/12/2020 08:54 PM |
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Odds that tomorrow is a deciding stage? This amateur's guess: 20% or less, more likely to be defensive, plus or minus a few seconds at the finish (Significant yes. Boring yes.) That said, I would love it if Q proves me wrong tomorrow. And if he does, win or lose, thanks.
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 09/13/2020 06:36 AM |
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| Higuita our of the Tour...crashed early in the stage apparently. Tried to get back on but had to abandon. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 09/13/2020 07:13 AM |
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| Wow Bardet’s concussion is very severe. Imagine with no helmet. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 09/13/2020 07:22 AM |
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| Disgraceful he was allowed to continue.... |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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