2011 Tour de France

[DaddyTorgo]

Kicks off tomorrow morning at 8am ET. Guess I started to get really into it when my best friend was riding a ton and we ended up watching a bunch of stages together and I guess I've just kind of kept liking it.

Gotta think this is Andy Schleck's best chance if Frank can stay healthy. Leopard-Trek looks like a really strong team with Andy, Frank, & Jens Voight.

Can't believe Contador is riding...that's fucking ridiculous. Hope he crashes out.

It'll be interesting to see Tyler Ferrer + Thor both on Garmin - that's going to be a hell of a fucking train for whichever of them is going to go after Cavendish.

Radioshack looks like a decent "under the radar" type team with Kloden, Leipheimer, Muravyev and Popovich.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Kicks off tomorrow morning at 8am ET. Guess I started to get really into it when my best friend was riding a ton and we ended up watching a bunch of stages together and I guess I've just kind of kept liking it.

Gotta think this is Andy Schleck's best chance if Frank can stay healthy. Leopard-Trek looks like a really strong team with Andy, Frank, & Jens Voight.

Can't believe Contador is riding...that's fucking ridiculous. Hope he crashes out.

It'll be interesting to see Tyler Ferrer + Thor both on Garmin - that's going to be a hell of a fucking train for whichever of them is going to go after Cavendish.

Radioshack looks like a decent "under the radar" type team with Kloden, Leipheimer, Muravyev and Popovich.

Radioshack's GC contender is Jani Brakjovic.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

Radioshack's GC contender is Jani Brakjovic.

Well there's a name I didn't know.

I don't pretend to keep up with all the different riders year-round, and really only catch up during Tour-time (and then follow if there's any big news during the rest of the year of course), but that's definitely a name I hadn't heard of. I suppose I would have been introduced to it during the pre-race show tomorrow.

[21C]

I always enjoy watching the Tour every year - the only problem is that it is on late at night here. Australian Cadel Evans has been a contender in a couple of years but fallen away badly in key stages.

[RedKingGold]

Go Lance!

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by 21C

I always enjoy watching the Tour every year - the only problem is that it is on late at night here. Australian Cadel Evans has been a contender in a couple of years but fallen away badly in key stages.

They don't have a whole bunch of replays on your tv provider? We get 2-3 showings throughout the day on Versus.

[21C]

No, it is on live late at night because of the time difference in Australia. I try to watch it live if I can or I'll DVR it and watch it during the day. They offer a 30 minute highlight package the following day but I don't like watching that as much since it loses any possible drama.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Can't believe Contador is riding...that's fucking ridiculous. Hope he crashes out.

And he did in the first stage, i won't piss you ever, your mojo is so strong.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Icy

And he did in the first stage, i won't piss you ever, your mojo is so strong.

Hehe...karma is a bitch I guess. Nice to see...but still a long ways to go, as you know.

[DaddyTorgo]

Hell of a team time trial. Garmin absolutely tore the field up.

I wish during the coverage Ligget and Sherwin would update us as to whether any of the guys who dropped off didn't make it in the time they needed to and were eliminated (even if it was unofficially).

[thealmighty]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Hell of a team time trial. Garmin absolutely tore the field up.

I wish during the coverage Ligget and Sherwin would update us as to whether any of the guys who dropped off didn't make it in the time they needed to and were eliminated (even if it was unofficially).

Winning by a few seconds isn't really tearing the field up.

I especially wondered about the one who fell. That's 24 miles pretty much all alone. Did he make it, and if so, how close was he to not doing so.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by thealmighty

Winning by a few seconds isn't really tearing the field up.

I especially wondered about the one who fell. That's 24 miles pretty much all alone. Did he make it, and if so, how close was he to not doing so.

Didn't end up that way because of some of the later runs by teams, but they sure looked damn impressive doing it. Especially when you consider that a team like Sky came out and did 1 second better than them through the first checkpoint, but in order to do that burned so much energy that they dropped what...4 seconds or 5 seconds on the backside of the ride? That Garmin was able to keep up that pace through the whole ride was pretty impressive IMO.

[DaddyTorgo]

HTC has such beautiful trains. Even from like 15k out you can see the whole damn team in a train along the side of the front of the peleton. It's textbook.

[WheelsVT]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Well there's a name I didn't know.

I don't pretend to keep up with all the different riders year-round, and really only catch up during Tour-time (and then follow if there's any big news during the rest of the year of course), but that's definitely a name I hadn't heard of. I suppose I would have been introduced to it during the pre-race show tomorrow.

Radioshack:

Brajkovic showed promise when he beat Contador at the Dauphine in 2010. He's young for a GC guy (27?). Of course, after the horific crash yesterday he's out of this year's tour.

I personally like Horner after his performance at the Tour of California, but Kloden has been the one riding smart to start this TdF and has stayed out of trouble.

We'll see what shakes out in tomorrow's first mountain test.

[WheelsVT]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

HTC has such beautiful trains. Even from like 15k out you can see the whole damn team in a train along the side of the front of the peleton. It's textbook.

I enjoy watching the sprint/rolling stages almost more than the mountains.

I was really impressed by Cav's stage win that he had to pull off when the train fell apart. He came out of nowhere to overtake Gilbert.

Farrar's win was a great team effort as their train squeezed out HTC on the run-in to the line.

It'll be interesting to watch the green jersey race. Gilbert favors those uphill drags and Hushovd and Rojas are able to challenge him there too. I think it'll be one of those 3 getting the final green jersey in Paris.

Speaking of Hushovd - his fight to hold the front 10 and not let a gap open between him and Evans to keep the yellow jersey was pure class.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by WheelsVT

I enjoy watching the sprint/rolling stages almost more than the mountains.

I was really impressed by Cav's stage win that he had to pull off when the train fell apart. He came out of nowhere to overtake Gilbert.

Farrar's win was a great team effort as their train squeezed out HTC on the run-in to the line.

It'll be interesting to watch the green jersey race. Gilbert favors those uphill drags and Hushovd and Rojas are able to challenge him there too. I think it'll be one of those 3 getting the final green jersey in Paris.

Speaking of Hushovd - his fight to hold the front 10 and not let a gap open between him and Evans to keep the yellow jersey was pure class.

I never used to enjoy the sprint stages, but really starting maybe last year I started to develop a real appreciation for them - for the tactics necessary in them and all. Some of those teams are just so damn clinical at them (HTC being an obvious example, OPL this year also). Really really impressed by Hushovd...can't believe he's still clinging to the yellow jersey. He's showing some serious desire.

Just hope that Schleck is able to take it this year, out of a sense of justice...or at least that Contador stays out of it. Wouldn't mind seeing a Cadel Evans finally get his chance atop the podium either though. I think if F. Schleck stays healthy than A. Schleck has got to be the odds-on favorite.

Cav is pretty freakin amazing - although I do have to admit I get a little irritated by Ligget and Sherwin tripping over each other with their nicknames for him and screaming them out. But no denying his talent.

Still - nice to see some other guys giving him serious tests in the sprints this year.

Such a geek...I look forward to getting home to watch this everyday. I even refrain from checking ESPN.com or listening to sports radio in the afternoon so I don't get spoilered (you laugh, but the sports radio station here spoiled one of the stages for me the other day before I had a chance to mute the radio).

I also saw that Cyanide is realsing their TDF 2011 game for PS3 and XBox for the first time (instead of just PC). Change from the PC version though in that you just control one rider for the whole race. Which could be both cool, and also not cool (although it makes sense). Makes it a bit of a different game, but maybe interesting.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

I also saw that Cyanide is realsing their TDF 2011 game for PS3 and XBox for the first time (instead of just PC). Change from the PC version though in that you just control one rider for the whole race. Which could be both cool, and also not cool (although it makes sense). Makes it a bit of a different game, but maybe interesting.

I bought their cycling manager game a few years back, and it was pretty cool. I was never any good at it. I could lose a race with Jan Ullrich like no one's business. I'm sure that Contador would have been no match for me.

The other cool thing is that I took a "lower leagues" approach to that game like I do with FM, and now a lot of the guys on my old team are performing well in the pro tour winning stages and the like. That is pretty neat.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

I bought their cycling manager game a few years back, and it was pretty cool. I was never any good at it. I could lose a race with Jan Ullrich like no one's business. I'm sure that Contador would have been no match for me.

The other cool thing is that I took a "lower leagues" approach to that game like I do with FM, and now a lot of the guys on my old team are performing well in the pro tour winning stages and the like. That is pretty neat.

Last version I got was 2009 and I enjoyed playing it in spurts. I managed to get DECENT after reading some strategy guides online, but still got smoked all too often really.

pcmdaily.com is a good user community that usually has a bunch of good explanations of how to race (since the game manual is very short on strategy). Reading threads there and following their advice was the only way I ever managed to get good.

I'm on the fence about picking up the new version, but since it's been 2 years, knowing me I'll pull the trigger this weekend.

[DaddyTorgo]

Just realized as I settle in to watch today's stage - we haven't heard Mark Renshaw's name at all so far this Tour...

[thealmighty]

Haven't ever bought any version but from the forum reading I did to check, most people wrote that the Pro Cycling 2011 version is by far the best yet? Anyone know anything?

[AlexB]

Be nice if ther was a demo - usually there never is, but I live in hope.

I would be more tempted to buy if you could set the roles, and then watch the race unfold - the last one I played you could either fully control (which I found nigh on impossible) or set the roles but only see the end result times. If this has changed, mty interest level would rise dramatically.

[AlexB]

Dola,

Bradley Wiggins obviously out of the race - doubt whether he would have challenged Contador & Schleck, but I reckon after his Dauphine performance he had a shot at challenging Cadel et al for 3rd.

DT - ironically on C4's coverage over here there was a feature on Renshaw just yesterday, highlighting his role in delivering Cav to the finish, He's led Cav out to both his wins, and in the intermediates.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by Jari Rantanen's Shorts

Dola,

Bradley Wiggins obviously out of the race - doubt whether he would have challenged Contador & Schleck, but I reckon after his Dauphine performance he had a shot at challenging Cadel et al for 3rd.

DT - ironically on C4's coverage over here there was a feature on Renshaw just yesterday, highlighting his role in delivering Cav to the finish, He's led Cav out to both his wins, and in the intermediates.

There was one here too Jari - that's why I was like "I haven't heard Ligget and Sherwin mention him at all."

I just found it funny - seems like last year they couldn't mention his name enough, and I don't think I've heard it once in the commentary this year. I don't doubt he's been there leading Cav, but it's just funny that they haven't said his name once.

[DaddyTorgo]

Fucking Thor Hushovd...hell of a damn ride today!! Kudos to him for keeping yellow on a stage with a Cat 2 climb!

[WheelsVT]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Fucking Thor Hushovd...hell of a damn ride today!! Kudos to him for keeping yellow on a stage with a Cat 2 climb!

+1 That beats out his gutsy ride earlier this week to keep it. It reminds me of his breakaway to confirm he deserved the lead and honored the green jersey over Cav last year (or was it the year before).

[whomario]

bloodbath today, some fucking bad things happening including a french TV car just ramming 2 guys straight off their bikes at 50+ kmh ...

Spoiler

The car just literally bumbed 2 guys from the lead group, holy hell ... Propably the most blatant thing of that kind i´ve seen happening ever.


Vino out with a broken leg/femur, Zabriskie out, Van den Broeck out, Klöden and Contador also with falls.
Klöden might be out as well, not sure if he´ll go next stage.

Braijkovic, Wiggins out on earlier days

[thealmighty]

One of the craziest days in the Tour I've ever seen, and I've been watching since Lemond.

[21C]

Yeah, that day was just insane. I thought it was bad enough when a couple of riders fell into a ravine on a descent. It looked like the Astana rider Alexander Vinokourov landed in a tree fracturing his femur.



The description of the crash sounded pretty harrowing.

“The floor was a bit wet and we arrived to a very tight left turn. Ahead of us, they took a wrong trajectory, Thor Hushovd began to take his shoes off, a rider from Lotto just ahead of us wanted to cut a little to the left, whereas with Alexander we took the turn wide,” he added.


“The Lotto rider slipped and started to take us with him, and we found ourselves faced with a concrete column. We braked to avoid it and were forced to drop into the ravine. Alexander really hasn’t been lucky, he was ahead of me and he was stopped in its fall from a tree. I've crashed down and I got up immediately, I felt I had nothing serious.


“I told Alexander, "Come on, we go!” He answered, " Wait, not now, I think I have something broken!". So I came up to him and I wanted to lift him, but he was afraid that we make a bad move that could make him worse.

[DaddyTorgo]

Haven't watched today's stage yet...going to be interesting it sounds like

[Icy]

I have purchased the new Cycling manager 2011 for PC, the early reviews say that it's the best one until now, still with some bugs but not game breakers. I'll let you know when i have some time to play with it.

There is also a PS3/360 version, named "Le tour de France" but that one is not about being a manager but a rider. You chose the team, the rider and then you manage him. You can also send orders to your team mates and ask your team car for info about the time differences, etc. The only limitation is that the teams have 6 riders only (for performance).

Early reports says it's a bit limited but so fun, and that the ambience is incredible, like being part of the race. Every stage has some simulated parts and some real time parts, so stages take around 1 hour real time. There is not real career, just a full Tour and once it ends you start again. I'm also tempted to buy it for Ps3, here is a long video:

[DaddyTorgo]

You pulled the trigger on PCM 2011 Icy?

Sounds good - definitely let us know how it is - and the PS3 game if you end up buying it.

I was going to pull the trigger on the PS3 game this weekend, but had an unexpectedly expensive weekend in other facets, so I'll probably hold off for this month.

[Icy]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

You pulled the trigger on PCM 2011 Icy?

Sounds good - definitely let us know how it is - and the PS3 game if you end up buying it.

I was going to pull the trigger on the PS3 game this weekend, but had an unexpectedly expensive weekend in other facets, so I'll probably hold off for this month.

I pulled the trigger both on PCM 2011 for PC and Le Tour for PS3

I'll write impressions when i have time to play them.

[Icy]

Ok i finally could play an stage yesterday in the PS3 game.

In the main menu you can chose to play single stages or a full Tour.

I chose the stage 12th Cugnaux > Luz-Ardiden that is an high mountain stage with 3 climbs.

Then i chose the team Euskaltel as they have three good climbers. Then I had to chose the 6 riders i wanted in my team for the race from a list of 20 or so team riders, then the rider i wanted to manage myself, i decided to chose the best climber Samuel Sanchez. If you play a full tour, you can select the player you want to manage from your team on each stage. That doesn't look so 1st person RPG... but i see how it makes sense as a plain stage could be boring if you manage a climber instead of your team best sprinter. Anyway it's your choice, you can manage the same rider the whole tour and just roleplay and give orders to your team mates to setup the sprint, when to sprint, etc.

There are no difficulty levels, it all depends on the team and rider you chose. In fact the game tells you how difficult would it be depending on the rider and team you chose. For Euskaltel it was medium difficulty, as they have 3 very good climbers.

Then the stage starts. First there was a 20km real time section, nothing really interesting here besides some sprinters sprinting to get the bonus and points for the sprint category (boring part in fact, there is never anything interesting on the first 20km of a stage).

Then there is a simulation part. Nothing interesting here either besides a couple of riders from other teams having a problem with their tires. You can't do anything besides seing the race being ran, time differences between riders if any, etc in the simulated parts, but you don't see it in 3D, but in a 2D stage map and you can't interact at all.

Then another real time section at the beginning of the first climb. Here i told one of my team mates to go to the front of the pack and to set an high tempo, to start to test the best riders. The rest of my team mates were told to stay with me in the upper middle of the pack.

The pack got cut in two, but with an small time difference, so after the climb, both groups merged again when going downhill.

Then another simulated part until the next climb, nothing interesting.

Then the next climb, again i told two of my team mates (Mikel Nieve and Igor Anton) to set an high tempo. This time the pack got cut earlier, and at the mid part of the climb, i told Mikel Nieve to attack to test and if it worked, to have somebody upfront to help me in the future attack i had planned.

He got an small difference along with some other guys (none of the best climbers), but i saw it going nowhere, so i told Nieve to relax and go back to my group to help.

Then when going downhill we took some risks (there is a risk bar, if you fill it too much going downhill you can fall down) and then we reached the small group and the group merged again.

Then another simulated part until the start of the next climb.

Then the final climb, 15km of the tough Luz-Ardiden until the finish line. Again I asked Nieve to set an high tempo, but he told me that he was wasted and not able to do it. So i told Anton to go with me to the top of the pack and we both set an high tempo. The group split again with the top riders along me (Contador, Schleck bros, Vinokurov, etc).

At 10km to the top, i decided it was my time. Told Anton to increase the effort until he was wasted too, then when he told me he couldn't help anymore, i launched my attack. My rider Samuel is one of the most explosive ones, so i could open an small gap, a 5 seconds difference, but after 2km i got caught as i was a bit scared of wasting my energy this early in the final climb.

Then I told my team mates to go to the front of the pack again, but only Anton was still in my group, and he told me that he was sorry but had enough just trying to not to lose contact with my group. The rest were far behind and wasted too.

So at 5km from the top i decided it was now or never. I had recovered some energy back (there are three bars, green is overall and matters more for the full tour, yellow is the energy for the stage and your ability to keep an high effort you can recover it when you lower you effort, but not much if you waste it all, red is for instant efforts, like attacks and goes up and down more dynamically).

I launched an attack again, and to my surprise nobody followed me. I kept the attack at max until my red bar was over, and then an high effort that was draining my yellow bar so far, but i wanted to setup an high difference quickly.

I managed to open a big gap now, 30 seconds, but my rider was so tired, so i decided to lower my effort. I was asking my team car all the time about the race, positions and gap (cool feature, as you are supposed to be a rider, you don't know anything about that, there are no "TV like" overlays, you need to ask your team car by radio).

The gap grew up to 45 seconds, but the last 3km were so exciting, with an small group with the top riders trying to catch me up. My rider was so tired, the road was full of people with flags etc that raised the risk bar as you can fall down if you hit them, and they only step back in the last second scaring me a lot(like in real life), really well done effect.

In the last km i was told by the car that Contador and Andy Schleck had jumped from the group and were after me, but i knew the finish line was so close, so i raised again the effort to the max, to die over the bike or win... and then i crossed the line raising my arms with 15 second difference over the second group!

Wow i was even tired from the excitement and tension, but really really satisfied, like if i had won it myself. The full stage took around 50 minutes, 15 minutes per real time section and 5 for the simulated parts (you can save mid race and keep playing later).

Now the resume:
At first i thought the game could be a bit boring, as it's like that you can only setup your rider effort and move from side to side. But when you start to discover the way to interact with your team mates, with other riders, start to think about your strategies etc, the fun and excitement grows so fast.

The other riders AI seems good enough, maybe not enough agressive, for example letting my rider to attack and get a good advantage knowing he is a good climber, but i wonder if the AI is setup more for the long Tour, where it would make more sense that the best riders were looking at each other and would let a rider like Samuel to win the stage as he won't compete for the Tour. Or maybe it was just that as my player is one of the top 5 in explosiveness they couldn't follow me. I'll need to play more stages or a full Tour to know, but other players reviews are fairly positive regarding the AI.

Overall it's a really fun game if you like sports RGP's and specially follow the Tour. It could be more deep, like the PC version, where you even control when to eat/drink, the bike and equipment for each stage, etc. But the PC version is more of a manager game, you control all the riders yourself, you search for sponsors, hire staff and riders, etc.

The PS3/360 version is more of an RPG, in fact there is only one camera view, from behind you rider, and then you can look at both sides (and you can fall down if you are looking back too much time or when you shouldn't). Also as i said, you have no overall view of the stage when you are in the real time parts, you need to ask your team car by radio about the race positions, time differences etc. It really helps the immersion factor.

Positives:
- Ambience: Really well done, with the public at the sides of the road at the end of the stage, with really beautiful mountains, trees etc, scanned from the real stages. Graphics are good enough, as you can see in the videos.
- You can save the game in the middle of an stage and keep playing later.
- Team radio is really great, you can talk with your car or team mates anytime, ask them how are they feeling, to protect you, to take a rest, to attack, to go to the front and setup a tempo (in %).
- Team and riders alliances: you can ask other teams or riders to help you in exchange of anything, for example to ask another rider from another team to lead the attack in exchange of you letting him to win the stage. Or to ask another team to setup the tempo to catch the leading group etc. they can accept or not, and if you later do not do your part of the alliance, they won't ever help you again.
- Price: it's 25% cheaper than the standard console game.


Negatives:
- You can only race the Tour or single stages, that could affect the replay value, but as you can chose different teams/riders and there is always a random factor, i don't see myself getting bored for a while.
- Most of the teams have the real names, rider names, colors etc, but there are some that not. For example the Schleck bros are named Andy Schilck and Frank Schlock and same with other riders, that are misspelled in purpose, but easy enough to recognize.
- No editor to fix the real names issue.
- You can't setup strategies or anything in the simulated parts and some early plain stages could be boring if you don't have an sprinter in your team.
- Only 6 riders per team, for performance issues (still plenty of riders, 6x22 teams if i remember well).

NOTE: the PS3/360 game is not for sale in USA retails stores, it will be available as downloadable game in PSN sometime in July, no news about 360 by now. As the PS3 is region free, you can also import it from Europe (like amazon.co.uk and it will be perfectly playable. Not for the 360 as it's region locked.

Feel free to ask any questions, next will play and review the PC manager game and i guess will be more fun in the long term.

[DaddyTorgo]

Intresting review Icy...thanks. Looks like maybe something I'll take a flier on one of these days.

[RPI-Fan]

Icy: That is a tremendous and well-written review. I might pick the XBox360 version up at some point.

I am more interested in the PC game, so would love to hear your thoughts as soon as possible.

[DaddyTorgo]

Yeah - the PC game is a more likely purchase for me, but the PS3 game sounds fun too (bet the graphics would be beautiful).

[PilotMan]

I have the 2009 game but I still haven't really put the time into it. Maybe this week I'll get it going.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I have the 2009 game but I still haven't really put the time into it. Maybe this week I'll get it going.

I have 2009 too. I would probably say I got my money's worth out of it, in terms of amount of time I spent playing it, but I didn't get...as much time spent playing out of it as I wanted to. 2011 version has some big improvements though (namely "solid riders" meaning that you can't just ghost through people).

[Icy]

Did you guys watch today's stage... lol.

Samuel Sanchez won in the same stage I played and won with him yesterday in my review. So it seems that the AI is even better and more realistic than what I thought

[WheelsVT]

Nice Icy. On one of the PC versions I managed to get George Hincapie to win the Paris-Roubaix. I felt like it was a view into what could have been.

[DaddyTorgo]

Thor!!!

Who would have predicted he'd win a stage in the Pyrennes?? Jeez!!

[thealmighty]

Sign of the times...

Every time someone makes a ride one would think highly improbable, at the back (or front, depending on who) of my mind is a doping question mark. Sad for me.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by thealmighty

Sign of the times...

Every time someone makes a ride one would think highly improbable, at the back (or front, depending on who) of my mind is a doping question mark. Sad for me.

Not this again...

All these riders are tested every month and most are every week. Those making those strides are likely to be 'randomly' selected for testing after the stage. It's past the point where people should doubt about these things, or should have the same sentiments when a baseball player hits a homerun, a football player runs the 40-dash under 4.5 seconds a tennis player strikers faster than 100 miles/hour, a basketball player makes a slam dunk, etc.

The same people that boo at Alberto Contador shrug when 9 players of the Mexican soccer team test positive for the same forbidden substance. There's not going to be an astriks for their Gold Cup victory. In contrast, I'm actually more worried about soccer players, because they don't get tested as often as the cyclists, and given how much more money is involved in other sports, you have to wonder how much more advanced their methods should be...

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Thor!!!

Who would have predicted he'd win a stage in the Pyrennes?? Jeez!!

Actually, I'm seeing those sentiments everywhere, but I really don't get that. I marked the 13th stage as a typical escapee stage, potentially ending in a 100-men bunch sprint, in which event Hushovd would have been a serious candidate to win. There was little to no chance the GC contenders would be bothered to take strides here, as winning time would be unlikely in a stage sandwiched between two more important stages.

That doesn't take away from Hushovd's impressive performance, but those journalists that acted like this was a typical mountain stage, they have lost touch with reality of how the Tour de France works. Yes, I noticed even seasoned veteran journalists made that mistake.

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Actually, I'm seeing those sentiments everywhere, but I really don't get that. I marked the 13th stage as a typical escapee stage, potentially ending in a 100-men bunch sprint, in which event Hushovd would have been a serious candidate to win. There was little to no chance the GC contenders would be bothered to take strides here, as winning time would be unlikely in a stage sandwiched between two more important stages.

That doesn't take away from Hushovd's impressive performance, but those journalists that acted like this was a typical mountain stage, they have lost touch with reality of how the Tour de France works. Yes, I noticed even seasoned veteran journalists made that mistake.

Eh - but would have predicted that he'd go in the breakaway all day and survive over the mountain and win that way, versus winning a bunch sprint at the end?

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by DaddyTorgo

Eh - but would have predicted that he'd go in the breakaway all day and survive over the mountain and win that way, versus winning a bunch sprint at the end?

Thor Hushovd himself is inpredictable.
He would be a suspect to go into a breakaway in that kind of stage, as he's done it before, many times. Yet, I expected him to get caught on the climb, at least catch up downhill and finish in the bunch. Winning this way was more impressive and, granted, unexpected.

My point was that this wasn't a 'mountain stage' as in to be won by a GC rider. My rant wasn't really directed at you, but was a 'hands up in the air' moment about my disappointment for the media coverage of Le Tour overhere.

[whomario]

Voeckler is awesome, that´s all


regarding the game, am i too srupid to find it or can´t you manually save your game ?

[DaddyTorgo]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

Thor Hushovd himself is inpredictable.
He would be a suspect to go into a breakaway in that kind of stage, as he's done it before, many times. Yet, I expected him to get caught on the climb, at least catch up downhill and finish in the bunch. Winning this way was more impressive and, granted, unexpected.

My point was that this wasn't a 'mountain stage' as in to be won by a GC rider. My rant wasn't really directed at you, but was a 'hands up in the air' moment about my disappointment for the media coverage of Le Tour overhere.

Fair enough

[whomario]

Evans finally wins the tour !

The whole alpes stages were incredible btw

[DaddyTorgo]

Wow - I mean we knew the Schleck's weren't time-trialists, but that was fucking ugly. Guess Andy threw too much into the mountains and Cadel's pulling a couple minutes back on the Galibier saved his bacon and won it for him.

Was hoping Schleck would get it, but Evans was okay by me also - as long as Contador didn't.