2013 Tour De France Thread

[Moliere]

Sounds like Cav had a urine bomb thrown on him during the ind. time trial today. Maybe it serves him right?

As I watch these stages, I'm constantly amazed at how close the fans are to the action. Some are right on the road and move out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit. I konw there's been some fan interference in the past, but I'm somewhat amazed it doesn't happen more often.

[Coach McGuirk]

Sounds like Cav had a urine bomb thrown on him during the ind. time trial today. Maybe it serves him right?

As I watch these stages, I'm constantly amazed at how close the fans are to the action. Some are right on the road and move out of the way just in time to avoid getting hit. I konw there's been some fan interference in the past, but I'm somewhat amazed it doesn't happen more often.

You wanna see crazy find LAs time trial up alpe duez. That was freaking crazy.


Also, I'm not saying Froome is doping, but froome may be doping.

[bluegoose]

I didn't hear much or any of the commentators or Cav's interview, but I really didn't think it was that far out of line. Those closing sprints can be brutal. Guys lean on each other all the time. I dont know what Cavendish said, but it looked to me like he expected the other guy to lean into him and so he prepared to defend by going on the offense. Turns out the other guy didn't lean as much as Cav expected and Cav just let his lean carry though and it happened. Now it also looks like Cav had some malice. He clearly wanted to deliver a blow, but in the context of what was happening around him I didn't think it was an illegal move.

I could see where you were coming from if the guy was sprinting. But he clearly wasn't. He had sat up and basically stopped pedaling after leading out for kittel. Anything but an aggressive stance by someone getting ready to drop a shoulder into cav.

But I am clearly in the minority on this one. The commentators largely agree with you and very few riders have spoken out against him. Much of the twitterverse agrees with me, but after reading some of the tweets I'm not sure that I'm in the best company.

[creekster]

You wanna see crazy find LAs time trial up alpe duez. That was freaking crazy.


Also, I'm not saying Froome is doping, but froome may be doping.

Whether Froome is doping is an interesting question. He has had a rather meteoric rise the last coupe of years. But he isn't that old and in fact might be about the right age to break through as he has done the last couple of years. OTOH, his ride in the ITT today was amazing. And he climbs like a goat (and I last said that about a pre-clenbuterol-infused steak incident contador), which is a rare combo. After Team Sky's big day in the mountains, the whole team was wasted the next day EXCEPT Froome who still motored through it all. Plus his power numbers on some of the climbs are pretty crazy. Still, it is all only implied and circumstantial at best. I will certainly follow this closely, but I am not sure there is much evidence of doping except his winning, and that's pretty unfair. Plus David Millar, who is to doping in cycling like a reformed alcoholic is to people hanging out in bars, swears that Froome and Wiggo are clean. So maybe they are. Someone has to win, after all. (But, if team sky has more postie type mountain days, I would have to wonder . . .)

[BigPiney]

Tony Martin is a freaking stud of a time trialer. especially since he looked like this only a few days ago:

click on this link to see an full body slightly nsfw shot. http://www.cycling-republic.co.uk/ar...-and-road-rash

[RC Vikings]

Whether Froome is doping is an interesting question. He has had a rather meteoric rise the last coupe of years. But he isn't that old and in fact might be about the right age to break through as he has done the last couple of years. OTOH, his ride in the ITT today was amazing. And he climbs like a goat (and I last said that about a pre-clenbuterol-infused steak incident contador), which is a rare combo.

Go back and Hinault, LeMond and Fignon could motor during a TT but could also climb with the goats. What makes Froome so different is he's built like one of the Schleck boys, I'm just not sure where he gets his power from.

[creekster]

Go back and Hinault, LeMond and Fignon could motor during a TT but could also climb with the goats. What makes Froome so different is he's built like one of the Schleck boys, I'm just not sure where he gets his power from.

I agree completely. But look who you called out: Fignon (who admitted doping just before he died, as you may recall, although it wasnt with EPO), Hinault and Lemond were all exceptional talents. IOW, it is a rare combo.

I also agree about wondering where the power comes from. This is especially true given that Froome (and wiggo for that matter) have obviously lost 10 or more lbs the last couple of years while simultaneously improving their ITT abilities. How does that happen?

Speaking of Schleck: how the skinny have fallen, eh?

[Joe Public]

I also agree about wondering where the power comes from. This is especially true given that Froome (and wiggo for that matter) have obviously lost 10 or more lbs the last couple of years while simultaneously improving their ITT abilities. How does that happen?

I think that's pretty well established at this point, unfortunately. Coach nuanced it well.

[RC Vikings]

I also agree about wondering where the power comes from. This is especially true given that Froome (and wiggo for that matter) have obviously lost 10 or more lbs the last couple of years while simultaneously improving their ITT abilities. How does that happen?

http://www.outsideonline.com/fitness...rformance.html

If he is doping they need to ban him for life. First Wiggins and now Froome, it just looks bad to have two guys come out of nowhere and dominate the tour from the same team.

On a happier note I loved seeing Cavenish being overtaken in a sprint yesterday.

[PaloAltoCougar]

...On a happier note I loved seeing Cavenish being overtaken in a sprint yesterday.

My wife, a former Cavendish fan, was really bothered by his takedown a couple of days ago. And she thinks Kittel is charming. So as Kittel edged out Cavendish (and you could see Cavendish had a wtf? look on his face as Kittel beat him), she was cheering and as animated as she's ever been watching the Tour.

[creekster]

What about today's stage? [SPOILER][SPOILER] WTF happened to Valverde? Its one thing not to ride back into the peloton after a puncture becasue the pace is too high, but to end up losing alomst ten minutes to contador and more than 8 to Froome? It looked like he sat up with about 10k to go and quit. Very disappointing.

And contador is clearly feeling that he does not have the ability to dance away from Froome in the Alps so he had to try to put time into him on this flat stage. Amazing.

Just yesterday I had a freind tell me that she didnt see any point in watching any of the stages on TV until the last 10 k or so becasue nothing happens before then. I begged to differ and it was nice of the guys to provide me with a perfect example today of the sorts of things that can happen when you least expect it. The peloton's pace was INSANE. Valverde rode backwards. And then one of the tour's most well known climbers rides off the front in a mini TTT on a FLAT stage. Good [/SPOILER]fun.[/SPOILER]

[RC Vikings]

The peloton's pace was INSANE.

With four top sprinters and teams trying to break Sky the flats have actually been pretty entertaining. The weaving and jockeying for position at 30+ mph is just insane.

[Coach McGuirk]

I just don't believe what I am seeing with froome.

[Pheidippides]

I just don't believe what I am seeing with froome.

Right? That last 10k or so was amazing.

[Coach McGuirk]

Right? That last 10k or so was amazing.

Here's what Ross Tucker has to say initially,

First thought on the #TDF up Mont Ventoux today. It produced more fireworks, but not for good reasons. Detailed analysis will come later (can't wait to see what comes of it), but I will say this:

That is going to be a really difficult one to interpret. The overall time is not spectacular, but it is fast. I got it a shade outside 49:00 (to be confirmed later), which is consistent with what Contador and Schleck produced in 2009, and around what Wiggins did. Overall. It's not the record, not even close. That's Mayo (45:47) and Pantani did a 46:00 in 1994.


But the manner in which it was achieved is what makes it complex - the first 5km (from St Esteve, so at 15km to go), were very slow. Then Porte & Froome inched it up progressively, dropping all but two rivals. That's when Froome attacked (around 7km to go), and the gap he created was enormous. Then he backed off, then attacked again.


So we've got a slow start, big accelerations, and shifting winds (the on route commentator said predominantly tailwind, incidentally), and that makes the analysis very complex.


Hopefully, we will have SRM files from someone in that trailing group to provide some kind of anchor. Failing that, I'd recommend using Contador as a barometer. But that acceleration was pretty explosive, but it came off a slow pace to that point. Very complex...more to come soon.

Sports Science had predicted a clean ride of 50:46 which froome destroyed and Doping ride of 48:45 which froome came in just after. The kicker is everyone saying the first 5 km of the climb was very slow.

And what really blew me away was his accelerations. I mean where the hell did that come from?