Tour de France - 2016

[Critch]

It's an annual tradition that we have a Tour de France thread here that gets widely ignored then quickly dies. So this year I'll start it.

Five stages in, all watchable so far. Until today it was sprint finishes, breakaways that nearly but not quite made it, popular riders (Cavendish (is he popular, I kind of like/hate him) and Sagan) doing well, couple of favorites in trouble (Contador crash and Porte with an inopportune flat tire).

Today was a relatively early relatively mountainy stage, and I'll avoid spoilers to avoid spoiling. But it was good.

Commence now with the half-dozen half-hearted replies before the FOFC TdF thread fades away for another year.

[The Jackal]

Originally Posted by Critch

It's an annual tradition that we have a Tour de France thread here that gets widely ignored then quickly dies. So this year I'll start it.

Five stages in, all watchable so far. Until today it was sprint finishes, breakaways that nearly but not quite made it, popular riders (Cavendish (is he popular, I kind of like/hate him) and Sagan) doing well, couple of favorites in trouble (Contador crash and Porte with an inopportune flat tire).

Today was a relatively early relatively mountainy stage, and I'll avoid spoilers to avoid spoiling. But it was good.

Commence now with the half-dozen half-hearted replies before the FOFC TdF thread fades away for another year.

I think the Euros and Wimbledon are going to command the majority of whatever sports viewing time I have in the morning/midday for a bit longer.

[bhlloy]

I would hope that people don't click on a thread if they aren't up to date with the day's events, but I will play along

Spoiler

Do you think what happened today is a result of the big teams making a mistake, or do you think they are perfectly happy with that result knowing they don't have to sit in yellow and defend all week and will get that time back in the mountains?

[Critch]

Yeah, I wasnt really sure about spoilers. I went safe on the chance that some people may be at work then watch the rerun this evening.

Spoiler

I dont think it was a mistake by the big teams, Van Avermaet isnt a long term risk. He'll probably keep the yellow tomorrow but lose it on Friday when the Tour hits the Pyrenees. Friday's stage has a big category 1 climb at the end.

[bhlloy]

I tend to agree, which is why I was confused by the BBC suggesting it was a mistake or miscalculation. I see it having absolutely no impact on the final result.

[whomario]

While i am generally over cycling as a sport and have little to no idea whats been happening the last couple years, i definitely tune in every once in the while for the landscape-porn

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Critch

Yeah, I wasnt really sure about spoilers. I went safe on the chance that some people may be at work then watch the rerun this evening.

Spoiler

I dont think it was a mistake by the big teams, Van Avermaet isnt a long term risk. He'll probably keep the yellow tomorrow but lose it on Friday when the Tour hits the Pyrenees. Friday's stage has a big category 1 climb at the end.

Ironically, Van Avermaet won the Tirreno Adriatico earlier this year because of miscalculation of the GC riders, but that was mostly a result of bad weather cancelling the only mountain stage. For the big GC contenders, he's not interesting. Eventually he'll end up an hour and more behind the eventual winner. I see him capable of maintaining it through Friday's stage, as it has only one climb and has a 7 km downhill finish. On Saturday he'd have to get into a successful breakaway to stand a chance.

[flere-imsaho]

Originally Posted by whomario

While i am generally over cycling as a sport and have little to no idea whats been happening the last couple years, i definitely tune in every once in the while for the landscape-porn

This is me. For a period of over 10 years I followed the TdF religiously every year. No longer.

[bhlloy]

Never seen that before...

[Critch]

Yeah, strange ending, strange day all round. Strange winner, strange yellow jersey day, strange Nibali.

This no-spoilers thng sucks.

[Critch]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

Never seen that before...

Good camera angle from yesterday, couldnt have been timed to take out Yates better:

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Critch

Yeah, strange ending, strange day all round. Strange winner, strange yellow jersey day, strange Nibali.

This no-spoilers thng sucks.

It was a pretty straight forward stage, actually. Cummings is an attacking specialist, Van Avermaet kind of announced his attempt to maintain the yellow jersey (which was always going to involve an attack) and there's nothing strange about Nibali given there's precedent about GC riders that rode well in the Giro to fall flat in the Tour.

Froome's attack yesterday was much more surprising.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Critch

Good camera angle from yesterday, couldnt have been timed to take out Yates better:

That, however, was very strange.

[bhlloy]

Between the inflatable banner and what happened today, this tour is a fucking mess.

[Critch]

That was ridiculous. Tinkov was interviewed a few days ago and said ASO shouldnt be allowed to organize major events, looks like he's right.

Bauke Mollema came across as a bit of a dick in his interview (where he said it was just Froome's bad luck and should stand) and in Tejay Van Garderens interview (he said he thought they should have neutralized the stage and not taken advantage, but Mollema attacked).

[bhlloy]

Every year they talk about the behavior of the fans and how close they get to the riders and they need to do something about it, this year it finally made a farce of the biggest stage on the tour. Complete joke, and you know there will be no ending of complaining if they do give Froome the time back now.

[SirFozzie]

Looks like they gave him the time back:

Chris Froome keeps Tour de France yellow jersey after stage 12 ends in farce | Sport | The Guardian

[bhlloy]

They gave him Mollema's time, which is good (and fair) because he doesn't somehow lose time on Quintana, but he would have probably put at least another minute into him if the crash hadn't happened, because Mollema was held up as well and had his momentum stopped.

Just a complete mess all around. Farce is the right word and this has been coming for years.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by Critch

Bauke Mollema came across as a bit of a dick in his interview (where he said it was just Froome's bad luck and should stand) and in Tejay Van Garderens interview (he said he thought they should have neutralized the stage and not taken advantage, but Mollema attacked).

I think that's a case of bad translation, providing we're talking about the same interview. When the interviewer asked Mollema what is supposed to happen, he said that if the jury goes by the rules, Froome would be unlucky. In no way did he say what his opinion on the matter was and what the jury in his opinion should do.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by bhlloy

They gave him Mollema's time, which is good (and fair) because he doesn't somehow lose time on Quintana, but he would have probably put at least another minute into him if the crash hadn't happened, because Mollema was held up as well and had his momentum stopped.

Just a complete mess all around. Farce is the right word and this has been coming for years.

The jury had to go outside the box here, but the final decision is a typical UCI jury decision and sounds like the best possible solution without having to out of the blue create time differences.

It's weird how the race organizations, after all the incidents earlier on this season, still can have a situation like this occur.

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

The jury had to go outside the box here, but the final decision is a typical UCI jury decision and sounds like the best possible solution without having to out of the blue create time differences.

It's weird how the race organizations, after all the incidents earlier on this season, still can have a situation like this occur.

Oh, I totally agree. You can't just start making up times, but for all the grumblings I'm sure we're going to hear that Froome is getting favorable treatment, I'm just pointing out that he could have basically put the tour away for all intents and purposes if the incident hadn't happened.

The fans do seem to get worse year after year though. One thing I don't think I've seen before but saw multiple times today is the blowing of colored smoke devices/chalk (not sure exactly what they are) into the faces of the riders, which I'm sure feels great when you are hauling a bike up a 9% gradient after a 200km ride. That and the flags across the raceway, the idiots who run alongside and put their hands on the riders and my special favorite the woman who pretty much stepped into the peleton to get a photo - I don't know what the answer is and the fact that the fans were compressed into 6k less space probably doesn't help, but they have to do something about it.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by MIJB#19

I think that's a case of bad translation, providing we're talking about the same interview. When the interviewer asked Mollema what is supposed to happen, he said that if the jury goes by the rules, Froome would be unlucky. In no way did he say what his opinion on the matter was and what the jury in his opinion should do.

Never mind that. Apparently Trek - Segafredo (Mollema's team) have unsuccessfully protested the jury decision. That's not very sportsmanlike...
Fwiw, Quintana, Valverde and Van Garderen also received special treatment, getting the same time as Adam Yates, despite finishing 7 seconds behind.

[thealmighty]

Question for those with more knowledge than I have (I have watched the Tour since the eighties, when it was shown only as weekend recaps, but don't follow the entire season)...

Is Tejay really good or just hyped by Phil and Paul on the US shows to try to build an audience?

The past couple of years they have him in the GC contenders group before the race, and say how he is so good at this or that, but he always seems to disappoint in the actual stages. Can't keep up with the top group, ever, it seems, and they touted him as someone who would battle Fromme in the TT, but not so much.

Just wondering how he is viewed overall.

[AlexB]

He's a wheel-sucker: can follow most increases in tempo, but not the full blown attacks.

However, the same was said about Cadel Evans, and he ended up winning a Tour. The difference between TJ and Evans though it that Evans could follow for longer, so tbh I only ever see TJ being a super-domestique - his team mate and co-leader Richie Porte has basically blown him out of the water on every uphill section this year, and would have been the undoubted number 1 very early on if he hadn't lost 90 seconds through an unlucky mechanical on one of the early days.

[MIJB#19]

Originally Posted by thealmighty

Question for those with more knowledge than I have (I have watched the Tour since the eighties, when it was shown only as weekend recaps, but don't follow the entire season)...

Is Tejay really good or just hyped by Phil and Paul on the US shows to try to build an audience?

The past couple of years they have him in the GC contenders group before the race, and say how he is so good at this or that, but he always seems to disappoint in the actual stages. Can't keep up with the top group, ever, it seems, and they touted him as someone who would battle Fromme in the TT, but not so much.

Just wondering how he is viewed overall.

Decent on his own pace climber, more than decent time trials rider. On good days, can finish with the elite or the second tier guys in both disciplines. Depending on the rest of the field (how cliché), capable of a top 5/top 10 finish in a grand tour. He's done it twice (5th) and had to drop out late last year ranked 2nd. This year Van Garderen's ITT was below his standards, showing he's not in his best shape. Unless he evolves into an elite time trialist or better climber, I think that's where he'll stand, usually finishing in that second-tier, 4th to 8th place area.

Compared to the competition this year, Froome and Quintana are the clearcut big2, even with Quintana struggling the last couple of days. Valverde is a better climber, but I suspect he'll to have a bad day in the last week, Bardet and Mollema are also slightly better uphill, but Van Garderen can beat those guys in the ITT, normally. I'm still a non-believer in Porte until he actually has grand tour GC results on his resume, right now it's limited to a single 7th place in Giro d'Italia. Aru should be better than his current GC rank. Dan Martin is a classics rider, I'll be surprised if he maintains his top10 spot. Kreuziger is similar to Van Garderen, but older. Meintjes a pure climber. Rodriguez appears past his peak, but could bounce back in the last mountain stages and surge back into the top5. Adam Yates is too young to have an opinion on. It would be nice if he can maintain, but it's too early to judge. From 14th and lower, it's unlikely those riders will compete for the top5/10 spots from here on.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Great article if you're a cycling fan.

The Long Ride For The First American Team To Race The Tour Of Iran

[AlexB]

For anyone interested in cycling, the Vuelta is shaping up to be one of the best Grand Tours in recent memory, worth a look, especially as this weekend is likely to be criticial.

On a much sadder note, a reminder that the sport is dangerous, even for the best, and an example of the mentality of a champion:

Kristina Vogel 'can't walk any more' after injuring spine during crash - BBC Sport

[AlexB]

Inspirational and emotional article with more details on Kristina Vogel

Kristina Vogel on crash that left her paralysed: 'I've learned it is OK to cry at how bad it is' - BBC Sport

[Critch]

Still almost a month to go before this year's Tour, but one of the favorites out. Chris Froome, four-times champion and possible Lance Armstrong Tribute Act, crashed into a wall today while trying to blow his nose at high speed.

Broken leg (complete with protruding bones), fractured elbow, broken hip, and broken ribs. He's in intensive care and the team manager says "he's not in great shape".