Tweet
I wrote up my comments this morning when it was all fresh but, alas, I stupidly lost them. This time I am going to do them in word so I don’t lose them, but the tho0ughts are no longer fresh. Oh well.
The surprise of the day was Renshaws dismissal from the race. If you care about the race you have surely sent he finish sprint by now. The best sprinters teams were lining up to send their guys to the finish. Because of the little chicane turn about 1 kilometer from the finish none of the teams could set up the sot of train they would prefer. HTC had Renshaw and Cav in their usual place near the front. Farrar was missing Robbie Hunter but Kiwi Julian Dean stepped in to try to pull him to the line. Renshaw was in front with Cav but Dean was leading Farrar up on Renshaw’s right. Reshaw claims that at this point Dean hooked his left elbow over Renshaw’s right elbow, which made Renshaw head butt dean to keep him away. The head butting was sort of comical, and it might look surprising, but it was reminiscent of a kierin tactic (Kierin is a mass start track event where things can get a little dicey).
Because he was battling Dean, Renshaw was slowed little but he also made room for Cav. Because of the slowing, Cav launched a little early but still had e nough speed to carry the race. Farrar, OTOH, saw the battle between Resnahw and Dean and swung around to the left, As Renshaw was slowing h0owever, he appears to glance over his shoulder and then moves into Farrar against the barrier, causing Farrar to put his hand on Renshaw’s hip and push back. Renshaw clearly impeded Farrar’s progress.
What in the Sam Hill was going on out there?> Was it Aussie/kiwi bad blood? Former teammate bad blood? Or was it overblown and one of those things? Hard to say. I watched it on video several time tonight and I sure don’t see Dean locking elbows. Overlapping, yes, but not hooking. OTOH, I am not sure Renshaw intended to move into Farrar, but he sure as heck did impede him.
In my honest opinion, Renshaw should have been relegated. I am not sure he should have been kicked out altogether. But now Cav and Farrar are sort of equalized, both having lost a good lead out guy.
And how about Armstrong? Sitting in the second part of the peloton, getting gapped at the line. If you need any more evidence that he has turned this into a personal parade, just look at the time gap he allowed be taken today. My guess is he goes for a win on an odd stage, 13, 15 or 17.
Finally, did you see how fast those guys were going at the end? Riding into the finish they were flying at about 36 mph and still guys were attacking off the front. Then, when the hit the last kilometer, they were going at about 40+ mph and still the fastest guys sprinted away from the field. Amazing. Although at those speeds if someone goes down it would cause a very bad accident, which is exactly why they treated Renshaw so harshly, I think.
Tomorrow the bunch charges through the Massif Centrale Perhaps we will see some real fireworks, and maybe even a surprise attack by Shleck to try to keep Contador off balance. Sadly for me, I am not going to be bale to watch live, so this is everyone’s chance to spoil it for me!
The surprise of the day was Renshaws dismissal from the race. If you care about the race you have surely sent he finish sprint by now. The best sprinters teams were lining up to send their guys to the finish. Because of the little chicane turn about 1 kilometer from the finish none of the teams could set up the sot of train they would prefer. HTC had Renshaw and Cav in their usual place near the front. Farrar was missing Robbie Hunter but Kiwi Julian Dean stepped in to try to pull him to the line. Renshaw was in front with Cav but Dean was leading Farrar up on Renshaw’s right. Reshaw claims that at this point Dean hooked his left elbow over Renshaw’s right elbow, which made Renshaw head butt dean to keep him away. The head butting was sort of comical, and it might look surprising, but it was reminiscent of a kierin tactic (Kierin is a mass start track event where things can get a little dicey).
Because he was battling Dean, Renshaw was slowed little but he also made room for Cav. Because of the slowing, Cav launched a little early but still had e nough speed to carry the race. Farrar, OTOH, saw the battle between Resnahw and Dean and swung around to the left, As Renshaw was slowing h0owever, he appears to glance over his shoulder and then moves into Farrar against the barrier, causing Farrar to put his hand on Renshaw’s hip and push back. Renshaw clearly impeded Farrar’s progress.
What in the Sam Hill was going on out there?> Was it Aussie/kiwi bad blood? Former teammate bad blood? Or was it overblown and one of those things? Hard to say. I watched it on video several time tonight and I sure don’t see Dean locking elbows. Overlapping, yes, but not hooking. OTOH, I am not sure Renshaw intended to move into Farrar, but he sure as heck did impede him.
In my honest opinion, Renshaw should have been relegated. I am not sure he should have been kicked out altogether. But now Cav and Farrar are sort of equalized, both having lost a good lead out guy.
And how about Armstrong? Sitting in the second part of the peloton, getting gapped at the line. If you need any more evidence that he has turned this into a personal parade, just look at the time gap he allowed be taken today. My guess is he goes for a win on an odd stage, 13, 15 or 17.
Finally, did you see how fast those guys were going at the end? Riding into the finish they were flying at about 36 mph and still guys were attacking off the front. Then, when the hit the last kilometer, they were going at about 40+ mph and still the fastest guys sprinted away from the field. Amazing. Although at those speeds if someone goes down it would cause a very bad accident, which is exactly why they treated Renshaw so harshly, I think.
Tomorrow the bunch charges through the Massif Centrale Perhaps we will see some real fireworks, and maybe even a surprise attack by Shleck to try to keep Contador off balance. Sadly for me, I am not going to be bale to watch live, so this is everyone’s chance to spoil it for me!
Comment