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A few musings on the stage.
It seemed like a very odd stage to me. Too hilly for so early in the race. The climbs weren’t long enough or steep enough to truly separate out the climbers from the rest, but they were hard enough that a guy like Kittel ends up almost 20 minutes off the pace. I guess its good to mix things up, but it just seemed to me like this was an odd second stage for the race.
The race did offer some interesting sights. Once again we were treated to little Tommy Voeckler trying to do what he has always done. But for some reason the act doesn’t play as well as it used to. Instead of his flailing break being an endearment, it was like the toddler who keeps acting infantile long after he is old enough to know better. It just isn’t cute any more. It was almost a relief when he was caught.
And Rolland was very grim-faced. It was a big effort by him but it made me wonder why? He wasn’t collecting many polka dot points, nor was there ever any chance for a stage victory, but he seemed very determined. It was almost like he thought he might actually be able to carry the day. Did he? If so, he was alone in thinking so.
It was also strange to see all the main GC contenders in a bunch at the end of stage two, looking like they were coming into a mountain top finish in the alps. There they are, on a smallish cat 4 climb near the end of the stage and we get Contador dancing on his pedals (with his tennis ball yellow kit making it even easier to spot him), and Froome with elbows and knees flying, powering away, each seeming to take the measure of the other. (Froome looked strong but also smelled a little desperate, like he had something to prove; we’ll see!) And Nibali, who attacked off the front and stayed away as all the others waited for someone else to start the chase. Weird.
And what about Sagan? He was the only sprinter of note to hang with the final selection. The guy is pretty amazing. I am sure that he was very annoyed. Usually he looks around at the end of a stage and sees formidable sprinters arrayed to do battle. Today, by contrast, he sees Froome and Contador and Nibali, all of whom are formidable riders but are not threats for a sprint. And then, like a bad dream, Nibali attacks off the front and Sagan can’t do anything about it. If he chases he will be spent too early to sprint. But by waiting with the others, he was at the mercy of their indecision, which left him so close, but only good enough for second.
And a word on the scene. The English crowds are amazing. So many people for so many miles of racing. The limeys are in love with cycling, I guess. But did anyone else notice how much they DON’T look like the French? They looked like, well, Americans. Ugly shorts,. Overweight. T-shirts. Running shoes. When did Yorkshire turn into Arkansas? And it just doesn’t look like France. Its like when movies use Toronto as a stand in for NYC. It’s close, but it just isn’t quite the same. Vive la difference, sure, but vive la France!
On to London.
It seemed like a very odd stage to me. Too hilly for so early in the race. The climbs weren’t long enough or steep enough to truly separate out the climbers from the rest, but they were hard enough that a guy like Kittel ends up almost 20 minutes off the pace. I guess its good to mix things up, but it just seemed to me like this was an odd second stage for the race.
The race did offer some interesting sights. Once again we were treated to little Tommy Voeckler trying to do what he has always done. But for some reason the act doesn’t play as well as it used to. Instead of his flailing break being an endearment, it was like the toddler who keeps acting infantile long after he is old enough to know better. It just isn’t cute any more. It was almost a relief when he was caught.
And Rolland was very grim-faced. It was a big effort by him but it made me wonder why? He wasn’t collecting many polka dot points, nor was there ever any chance for a stage victory, but he seemed very determined. It was almost like he thought he might actually be able to carry the day. Did he? If so, he was alone in thinking so.
It was also strange to see all the main GC contenders in a bunch at the end of stage two, looking like they were coming into a mountain top finish in the alps. There they are, on a smallish cat 4 climb near the end of the stage and we get Contador dancing on his pedals (with his tennis ball yellow kit making it even easier to spot him), and Froome with elbows and knees flying, powering away, each seeming to take the measure of the other. (Froome looked strong but also smelled a little desperate, like he had something to prove; we’ll see!) And Nibali, who attacked off the front and stayed away as all the others waited for someone else to start the chase. Weird.
And what about Sagan? He was the only sprinter of note to hang with the final selection. The guy is pretty amazing. I am sure that he was very annoyed. Usually he looks around at the end of a stage and sees formidable sprinters arrayed to do battle. Today, by contrast, he sees Froome and Contador and Nibali, all of whom are formidable riders but are not threats for a sprint. And then, like a bad dream, Nibali attacks off the front and Sagan can’t do anything about it. If he chases he will be spent too early to sprint. But by waiting with the others, he was at the mercy of their indecision, which left him so close, but only good enough for second.
And a word on the scene. The English crowds are amazing. So many people for so many miles of racing. The limeys are in love with cycling, I guess. But did anyone else notice how much they DON’T look like the French? They looked like, well, Americans. Ugly shorts,. Overweight. T-shirts. Running shoes. When did Yorkshire turn into Arkansas? And it just doesn’t look like France. Its like when movies use Toronto as a stand in for NYC. It’s close, but it just isn’t quite the same. Vive la difference, sure, but vive la France!
On to London.
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