Stage 10 today was won by Michael Matthews in a tight sprint finish over Peter Sagan. No action by the GC contenders as they took the day off. Tomorrow is a flat stage for the sprinters and I expect no action from the GC riders as they rest up for stage 12 which figures to be a battle. It's a stage that finishes atop of Mount Ventoux. I'm not sure how bold the top contenders will be with a time trial coming up the following day. No matter what, it should be an interesting day !
didn't see it, kermit.......
Matthews was elated....:
It's unbelievable. The emotion is only just sinking in. After two really bad years, I have just won a stage of the Tour de France! I was so close to giving up, but today my dreams have come trueIt was never the plan to go in the breakaway. But we have such a strong group of guys and as a team we always give whoever is up on the day 100%. Look at Daryl and Luke, they gave me everything. I am so emotional. I have no words, no words.
Matthews was elated....:
It's unbelievable. The emotion is only just sinking in. After two really bad years, I have just won a stage of the Tour de France! I was so close to giving up, but today my dreams have come trueIt was never the plan to go in the breakaway. But we have such a strong group of guys and as a team we always give whoever is up on the day 100%. Look at Daryl and Luke, they gave me everything. I am so emotional. I have no words, no words.
here's Mr Quintana post-stage 9
[FONT="]“There is a lot of mountains in this Tour,” he said. “You don’t want to kill yourself just in one day, knowing that the rivals are very strong. There was a brutal change in temperature, and everyone was going at their limit.”[/FONT]
[FONT="]It’s funny how perception works. Quintana reaches the first rest day in the best position he’s ever been, just 23 seconds behind Froome, yet many have wondered if the two-time runner-up had missed an opportunity in the Pyrénées.[/FONT]
[FONT="]Again, Quintana said the Tour is just getting started, with two time trials and the hardest climbs still ahead.
“You have to take the race day by day, and look for an opportunity to attack,” he said. “On other occasions, I had already lost more time, so there will be moments to take back these 23 seconds, and perhaps take more. Froome is strong, but I also feel very good.”
[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I’d love to win on Ventoux, where some of the mythic riders in cycling have won, but Froome is also strong,” Quintana said. “We have to see how the other rivals are. We don’t want to lose our heads, and use up our strength, and then let others take advantage.[/FONT]
[FONT="]“I am well-prepared,” he insisted. “I am sure we will meet [Froome and Quintana] in a ‘mano a mano’ duel, and the legs will decide.[/FONT]
I still think Quintana missed a big opportunity If he is indeed the strongest rider ! I seriously doubt that he will do anything in the time trials to gain back any time on Froome. I actually expect Froome to gain some time unless Quintana can indeed put some time on Froome in stage 12 climb up Ventoux. Froome as the leader would have the huge advantage of riding last and knowing what time Quintana posted in the Time trial. Also stage 9 was the 9 th straight day without a rest day and the 3 rd straight in the mountains. A mountain top finish on perhaps the toughest day in this year's tour and he does nothing ? Sorry but the strongest rider would have at least made an attack ! JMHO !
I didn't expect anything to happen with the main GC contenders but the strong winds completed changed today's outcome. The real sprinters were left behind by a 4 rider breakaway. What was a total surprise wasn't Peter Sagan initiating the breakaway but Chris Froome and Sky's Thomas joining the group of 4. Once again Froome gains time on Quintana and the rest of the main contenders for the yellow Jersey. Peter Sagan wins the stage and takes the lead in the Green Jersey race from Mark Cavendish who had mechanical trouble. Chris Froome looks so strong and aggressive that one has to wonder if this race is already over. Tomorrow will perhaps answer that as the stage will hopefully take the riders,to the Mountaintop finish of Ventoux. I say hopefully because I hear they are discussing shortening the climb by 6 miles due to winds gusts up to 100 KL at the top. That would not be what Quintana wants as he has said this was a stage he was looking forward to. Either way, tomorrow should be interesting !
wow, that's a break for Froome. You're right he has been super aggressive when needed. Extends his lead
Stage 11 winner;
Peter Sagan (Slovakia)
"Froomey and Geraint Thomas came with us," Sagan said of the move he initiated in the closing kilometres. "I said, 'We are too strong. They're never going to catch us.' We just pulled very hard and it happened. It's unbelievable."
"Today everybody was like, 'It's crazy wind, it's crazy wind.' And just crazy wind was last 15 or 12km, I don't know how much. It was not planning. It was like, it's dangerous so you have to stay in the front. The bunch is going to split for sure. But you go in breakaway with green jersey and yellow jersey and two guys like Bodnar and Thomas, you cannot plan that. It just happened.
............
Stage 12
...that's one hell of a finishing climb....
Kermit, any idea which stage Quintana makes a move?
Stage 11 winner;
Peter Sagan (Slovakia)
"Froomey and Geraint Thomas came with us," Sagan said of the move he initiated in the closing kilometres. "I said, 'We are too strong. They're never going to catch us.' We just pulled very hard and it happened. It's unbelievable."
"Today everybody was like, 'It's crazy wind, it's crazy wind.' And just crazy wind was last 15 or 12km, I don't know how much. It was not planning. It was like, it's dangerous so you have to stay in the front. The bunch is going to split for sure. But you go in breakaway with green jersey and yellow jersey and two guys like Bodnar and Thomas, you cannot plan that. It just happened.
............
Stage 12
...that's one hell of a finishing climb....
Kermit, any idea which stage Quintana makes a move?
showtime tomorrow?
For Sky, the moment is coming when Quintana and Froome must inevitably go head to head. And while the British rider has the option of waiting for Friday’s time trial to extend his lead, the Colombian has to attack soon.
“For the moment, we are really focused on Nairo,” Sky sports director Nicolas Portal said. “OK, we are watching others too, but we can feel a big battle between those two.
“Because the time trial is the next day, Chris has two stages where he can be good and gain time. You don’t want to give everything for the first day on Ventoux and then lose time in the time trial, because if you have a bad day, you have a bad day from the start to the end. The challenge is to go through the two days very well and try to gain time on both days.
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</aside>“Nairo will be strong in the time trial, but not as much as Chris, so he might go hard on Ventoux. When you need to gain some time and you’re a proper climber, you are not going to wait for the time trial if you have Ventoux beforehand. We are ready for him.”
“It’s going to depend on how Froome feels on Ventoux. If he sees Nairo in a bad position, he will go if he can take time, but he will always have in the back of his mind that the next day will be an hour’s effort. Real intense. It will be a big stage for Nairo. He needs to try to put Froome in a hard spot,” Portal added.
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</aside>“I don’t know if Nairo will attack. In the last stage of the Andorra, he didn’t attack, he just stayed there. If you are going well, you want to show yourself and try an attack to test yourself. It could be that he’s not good or that he’s saving himself for the last week.”
Mr Quintana not overly happy after today and had this to say..
Quintana had been looking forward to Thursday's planned summit finish on Mont Ventoux, but the stage will now end 6km further down the mountain due to forecasted high winds.
Quintana added: "Tomorrow I would have liked the stage to go to the top because it's an ideal climb for me. But anyway, there are still lots of days and mountains for me."
Quintana had been looking forward to Thursday's planned summit finish on Mont Ventoux, but the stage will now end 6km further down the mountain due to forecasted high winds.
Quintana added: "Tomorrow I would have liked the stage to go to the top because it's an ideal climb for me. But anyway, there are still lots of days and mountains for me."
With the time trial following today's upcoming Mountain stage, I really think Chris Froome will be content to just hold his own against Quintana and his other GC contenders. For that reason I think there's value taking the +160 on Quintana as perhaps today's the time for Froome to just take Quintana's rear wheel.
