Tour de france

[kermit16]

well I have been known to be a bit of conspiracy theorist from time to time..

Bardet has my respect. Cmon, he was teamateless for the last 15 km or so whilsit Froome had kwiatkowski and Landa. Seriously , Team Sky is crazy deep-- this is without Thomas!!!!

TT only Uran has a chance. But can he make 29 sec? That's a tall order.

barguil/yates-- i think 1 or these or both may be future winners. Barguil woudl be my pick

To answer your question on whether Uran can make up 29 seconds in the TT. Unless Chris Froome should fall in the time trial, there's no way he could lose those seconds. Froome has the HUGE advantage of starting last and knowing what time he has to beat.
I will reserve my thoughts on future contenders until after the TT as opening TT was somewhat influenced by the rain and slippery course on stage 1. As is apparent by this year's Tour, it's hard to win the Yellow Jersey if you can't compete in a TT. Go Chris !��

 

[Ricboff]

guess who still has the yellow jersey..............

 

[kermit16]

Tomorrow is a stage that will probably go to a sprinter like Edvald Boasson Hagen who is my gut pick ! I think most of the GC contenders will be uninterested in chasing as they rest up for the TT the following day. It's a very long stage with several cat 3 bumps in the road so one never knows who might give it a go in a breakaway. Stay out of trouble Chris Froome !

 

[Ricboff]

You could be right but I respectfully disagree as it seemed like a brilliant move to put a lot of pressure on Bardet and Uran ! It worked to Some extent as Landa broke Aru and moved into 4 th place. It happened so close to the finish that it was obviously was no threat to Froome and he didn't seem surprised at all. Like I said before, Landa in no way is better than Chris Froome this year. We clearly saw that today as Team Sky would have been delighted IF Landa would have been able to win the stage and move onto a podium position. He has no chance of challenging Chris in closing Time Trial. All in all I loved what happened today !

Froome > Landa in TT

Landa > Froome in the mountains. This has been very evident both at the Giro and now in France.


I'm glad Landa didn't go rogue as LeMond had suggested. Not right.

Not convinced Froome is wearing the yellow jersey if not for Landa/Kwiatkowski. Knew they had to be huge in stages 17 and 18 and they were. Froome was stronger a year ago.

 

[Ricboff]

btw, kermit you were right. Landa followed orders today; could not break from Froome , put the yellwo jersey in jeopardy for chris. That ending was indeed scripted.

my conspiracy theory out the window...

 

[Ricboff]

Chris Froome‏Verified account @chrisfroome <small class="time" style="font-size: 14px; color: rgb(101, 119, 134);"> Jul 19</small><button class="ProfileTweet-actionButton u-textUserColorHover dropdown-toggle js-dropdown-toggle" type="button" aria-haspopup="true" style="color: rgb(101, 119, 134); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; padding: 2px 9px; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out; position: relative;">More
</button>


It was a pleasure to meet @emmanuelmacron

& @larsloekke

after the finish today! #TDF #TdF2017

 

[kermit16]

Froome > Landa in TT

Landa > Froome in the mountains. This has been very evident both at the Giro and now in France.


I'm glad Landa didn't go rogue as LeMond had suggested. Not right.

Not convinced Froome is wearing the yellow jersey if not for Landa/Kwiatkowski. Knew they had to be huge in stages 17 and 18 and they were. Froome was stronger a year ago.

i agree 100 % ! However not only is Froome far better in TT, I think he is a better descender than Landa and it's His descending talents that neutralizes attacks on non mountain top finishes. I'm 100 % convinced that if Landa was racing for Moviestar THIS year, he could not beat Chris Froome. It's a whole different story when you're the guy who everyone has an eye on. Why wasn't Landa able to detach himself from Froome, Bardet and Uran today ? Froome and Team Sky wanted him to ! He simply didn't have the legs in that final climb ! Froome, Bardet and Uran brought him quickly back when Froome and Team Sky wanted him to go win stage. It was a brilliant plan but Landa couldn't pull it off. Whether Froome could win without Landa this year is open to debate as losing Thomas early was devastating. However I seriously doubt Landa could have beaten Bardet or Uran this year. Next year we shall see.

 

[kermit16]

Edvald Boasson Hagen made it look easy as he easily won today's stage. Chris Froome remains in Yellow as the main GC allowed the breakaways to escape as they all were saving their energy for tomorrow's TT.

 

[kermit16]

I will be busy today so I just want to take a quick look at tomorrow's Time Trial stage. The goal for Chris Froome is to win the Tour De France. He is a huge favorite to do just that. I know he would like to win a stage BUT why take a bunch of risks as the only way he could lose this year's tour would be IF he took a spill in Time Trial. He will be the favorite in the Time Trial but I hope he doesn't take the bait and take unnecessary risks. I would take a chance that Tony Martin just might have recovered enough to give it a go ? Is he injured ? I haven't heard a word about him ?

 

[Ricboff]

comes down to Marseille kermit.......


froome;

it was a good opportunity for us GC guys who have had a tough time in the Alps to regain a bit energy and sit on the wheels ahead of tomorrow's time trial.
It's definitely a fast course, there's a small climb out the back of Marseille. I think it suits me well, it's quite a power time trial. I certainly think someone like [Primoz] Roglic or Tony Martin could be fighting for the stage win tomorrow.
Certainly at this point it's my race to lose. I have to make sure I do everything right, follow the right processes and hopefully not have the bad day. I've got the legs, and hopefully everything else will be alright.

Chris Froome‏Verified account @chrisfroome <small class="time" style="font-size: 14px; color: rgb(101, 119, 134);"> 3h3 hours ago</small><button class="ProfileTweet-actionButton u-textUserColorHover dropdown-toggle js-dropdown-toggle" type="button" aria-haspopup="true" style="color: rgb(101, 119, 134); font-style: inherit; font-variant: inherit; font-weight: inherit; font-stretch: inherit; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1; font-family: inherit; margin: 0px; overflow: visible; cursor: pointer; background-image: initial; background-position: initial; background-size: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-attachment: initial; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; border-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-color: initial; padding: 2px 9px; transition: box-shadow 0.15s ease-in-out; position: relative;">More
</button>


France was showing off today

#TDF2017 #TDF Lac de Serre-Ponçon

@vkalut

 

[Ricboff]

stage 18 pic...

 

[Ricboff]

 

[kermit16]

Well tomorrow is the deciding Time Trial stage and I will get to sleep in for a change as it's only the last 3 cyclists that I have any real interest in. Go Chris ! &#55357;&#56397;

 

[Ricboff]

kermitt, thats all she wrote.....


BRILLIANT performance. btw, he was +100 vs roglic, lol
Uran Vs Bardet was -280, just crushed him. if bardet ever wants to win this, gotta learn to TT

left NOTHING to doubt

 

[kermit16]

Maciej Bodnar won today's time trial. However the big story was the impressive time trial by Chris Froome who wrapped up his 4 th Tour De France with his 3 rd place finish only 6 second off the winning time. The most exciting finish was Bardet fighting the clock to barely edge Landa by 1 second to keep his 3'rd place spot on podium! Uran easily moved into 2 nd place on podium with a very nice time trial.

 

[Ricboff]

yup, that's a tough pill to swallow for Landa. Let's not forget he came back to help Froome (stage 15). Easily on the podium if not for that.


froome;

just an amazing feeling. Absolutely an amazing feeling. Obviously it was so close coming into this time trial. It was basically all still to race for out on the road today so I'm just blown away.
I just spoke to my wife, she's just headed off the Paris with my son, I can't wait to get there tomorrow now.
It's definitely been the closest [Tour de France I've won], the closest and most hard-fought between the rivals. I think given the route we had this year, it was always going to be a close race, but I didn't expect it would come right down to the line in this TT in Marseille.
There was a fair bit of pressure, but I think for me it's always a good thing having pressure. It just motivates me even more


yates (winner of best young rider)


I’m really happy. A little bit relieved. I really wanted to come here and take this jersey and to pull it off is absolutely fantastic.
It’s always difficult. Everyone thinks it’s just a parade but once you get there with the nerves it’s a hard day once you hit the circuit. For sure, I’m looking forward to the Champs Elysees wearing the jersey.

 

[kermit16]

Ricboff,
Yes today was a classic example of what it takes to win the Tour. You don't necessarily have to be the best at every aspect ! You just can't be pathetic at any aspect which is a requirement to win the Tour. Bardet put on a pathetic performance today and he came within 1 second of moving from second place to fourth place. Now we have to understand that he was going all out to try and retain his second place spot and he was riding far beyond his abilities. He took far too many risky chances and it cost him a lot of time. Contrast his ride to Chris Froome's ride in which he never looked even close to missing a curve. Chris Froome has NO weakness as he excels in the mountains, the time trials and descending ! However perhaps overlooked is his mental stability of always knowing what he needs to do on every stage. Today he didn't need to win the stage as his only goal was to beat or match Uran's time and not fall. Perhaps he could have won today's stage BUT that wasn't the goal ! After tomorrow I will take a look at NEXT year's Tour And who to keep an eye on. Of course making any predictions is not prudent until we actually see the course for next year. The organizers did everything they could think of to neutralize Chris Froome's dominance and how did that work out ? Who held Yellow almost the entire tour ? Part of the reason this year's Tour was closer than most is the course was not to Froome's liking. I expect some cobblestones next year as Chris hates the cobblestones ! LOL

 

[Ricboff]

Ricboff,
Yes today was a classic example of what it takes to win the Tour. You don't necessarily have to be the best at every aspect ! You just can't be pathetic at any aspect which is a requirement to win the Tour. Bardet put on a pathetic performance today and he came within 1 second of moving from second place to fourth place. Now we have to understand that he was going all out to try and retain his second place spot and he was riding far beyond his abilities. He took far too many risky chances and it cost him a lot of time. Contrast his ride to Chris Froome's ride in which he never looked even close to missing a curve. Chris Froome has NO weakness as he excels in the mountains, the time trials and descending ! However perhaps overlooked is his mental stability of always knowing what he needs to do on every stage. Today he didn't need to win the stage as his only goal was to beat or match Uran's time and not fall. Perhaps he could have won today's stage BUT that wasn't the goal ! After tomorrow I will take a look at NEXT year's Tour And who to keep an eye on. Of course making any predictions is not prudent until we actually see the course for next year. The organizers did everything they could think of to neutralize Chris Froome's dominance and how did that work out ? Who held Yellow almost the entire tour ? Part of the reason this year's Tour was closer than most is the course was not to Froome's liking. I expect some cobblestones next year as Chris hates the cobblestones ! LOL

post is spot on

the bold can't be emphasized enough. There is a HUGE difference in the mental aspect of an elite domestique Vs an elite GC rider. Porte learned that this year (he was no where near the apex on that turn in stage 9). Landa will get his shot next year.

full kudos to Team Sky. Portal has a reputation of being a no nonsense guy, borderline prick. He can build a team!! Does it over and over again!!

biggest disappointments;
- Quintana
-Team BMC. Wow. Think they poured 20 million into building this team! Blew up

biggest surprise;
Barguil - wow, wonder where he lands next year. France must be ecstatic. Bardet and Barguil . Are Les Bleus back!!!!!!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


enjoyed reading your posts, kermit. Enjoy the cash :toast:

 

[kermit16]

post is spot on

the bold can't be emphasized enough. There is a HUGE difference in the mental aspect of an elite domestique Vs an elite GC rider. Porte learned that this year (he was no where near the apex on that turn in stage 9). Landa will get his shot next year.

full kudos to Team Sky. Portal has a reputation of being a no nonsense guy, borderline prick. He can build a team!! Does it over and over again!!

biggest disappointments;
- Quintana
-Team BMC. Wow. Think they poured 20 million into building this team! Blew up

biggest surprise;
Barguil - wow, wonder where he lands next year. France must be ecstatic. Bardet and Barguil . Are Les Bleus back!!!!!!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


enjoyed reading your posts, kermit. Enjoy the cash :toast:

Thanks and right back at you ! Your posts are always interesting and it's great to converse with someone who understands all the little idiosyncrasies that are the Tour De France.

 

[kermit16]

Just a quick look at tomorrow's last stage. For most of the cyclists, it's largely a ceremonial day for finishing this grueling race and of course for the winners of the tour's various jerseys. However for the sprinters tomorrow is their biggest day and their teams will be going all out to,set them up to win in Paris ! Who's going to Win ? My hunch is Andre Greipel ! Why ? Well he hasn't won a single stage this Tour and he usually wins his share. Also he was a co-favorite with Edvald Boasson Hagen in stage 19 and didn't even give chase. Perhaps he was saving himself for tomorrow's bigger prize. Maybe they made a deal ? Nah !