-
the adverts are quite sparse though. i think there was only three breaks from 60km on. i actually dont mind the adverts; it gives me time to fire up some more coffee and find another king skin :) i tried watching the ITV4 jive but much prefered eurosport, plus its HD which i always appreciate.
millers break was solid, but there was no way he was going to lose the main field. boonen and menchov are having a rough time this tour, cant see them really doing anything now. i like seeing thor hushovd winning, hes the giant sprint powerhouse that can make it to the front on stages wheres theres a bit of hill, unlike cav.
-
They usually have a good laugh.. Today they were talking about Columbian drug-money backed teams (and made certain that they didn't name names)
That was a bit bizarre.
The funniest bit today was when they were talking about riders missing the start, and Harmon was saying how he remembered one rider missing the start of the team time trial back in the early 1990s, without mentioning a name as he was trying to protect that rider being a colleague and all. Kelly wades straight in and says "Stephen [Roche] did a great ride that day on his own".
Kelly's finest moment was the Giro last year, when he was talking about different approaches to motivating riders and he said "some riders just need a right fooking drilling". Harmon was oddly silent.
-
Millar wasn't unlucky, he was downright stupid. Maybe in a classic you can open up that much of a gap, but in the TdeF? No chance - no-one can ride on their own that long and not be caught. The peloton will always work together to reel them back in - after all, what have they got to lose on a stage race?
-
what about yesterday's breakaway?
There are breaks and then there are breaks. Voekler's break was timed just right, catching the rest of the lead group with their underpants round their ankles. Millar's break left him alone, exposed and doing all the work for much too long.
Maybe he broke just to test the lead group and was surprised when they didn't give chase, but strategically it was just mad. Most of the peloton's riding for the time and not the win - hence their working together to catch him.
-
There are breaks and then there are breaks. Voekler's break was timed just right, catching the rest of the lead group with their underpants round their ankles. Millar's break left him alone, exposed and doing all the work for much too long.
Maybe he broke just to test the lead group and was surprised when they didn't give chase, but strategically it was just mad. Most of the peloton's riding for the time and not the win - hence their working together to catch him.
Alternatively, he could have noticed that his breakaway companions were tiring and felt he had more chance of success riding alone. He was caught in the final 1.5 kms which would suggest that he was right to go it alone, given that Chavanel and Auge were caught with around 25 kms to go.
Also, what point are you trying to make with your last sentence? Most of the teams riding at the front today, namely Cervelo, Rabobank, Milram, Columbia and Caisse d'Epargne were doing so in an attempt to set up their sprinters for the win, not on gaining time.
-
Alternatively, he could have noticed that his breakaway companions were tiring and felt he had more chance of success riding alone. He was caught in the final 1.5 kms which would suggest that he was right to go it alone, given that Chavanel and Auge were caught with around 25 kms to go.
Also, what point are you trying to make with your last sentence? Most of the teams riding at the front today, namely Cervelo, Rabobank, Milram, Columbia and Caisse d'Epargne were doing so in an attempt to set up their sprinters for the win, not on gaining time.
Fair enough, but I just felt making a break with 30km to go was perhaps a little ambitious.
The second part was more about different strategies depending on the type of race. If you're riding a one-day classic then you can always risk making a break and riding alone for all that time - you don't have to save your energy for the next day and can just go all out for glory. In a stage race it's going to be different - you can't afford to give a single rider a 40-50 second advantage. Yes, everyone's going to want to take the stage, but you've also closed down the gap and you'll also finish at the same time, meaning there's not going to be a huge shake-up in the GC.
But anyway - I'm totally stoked for Hushovd. I'm a big fan of the CTT. He was proper filthy...
-
I think Millar's strategy for the race is to try and win a stage, not do well in the overall so he can afford to take risks on stages like today's. The problem with today's move was that he's too close to the overall lead to be given much leeway, so Saxo Bank made sure the gap didn't get too big that the sprinters teams would lose interest. Rabobank took over from them with a long way to go and then, oddly, Astana started riding. The only reason I can think of as to why they did so was to keep their leaders up front and out of trouble, but with either Armstrong or Contador likely to take yellow tomorrow you'd think they'd have saved their energy.
Millar should try again on Sunday, it's a tough stage but there is a long way from the top of the last climb to the finish and he could get away with some climbers then drop them on the run in.
-
I put a bet of £8 on Hushovd to win today at 12/1. He did, and I'm up £104. I used the winnings to buy a Rapha Classic jersey. Even got the SURVEY09 10% off discount on there!
Nice one. I was tossing up between Hushovd and Friere, went for the wrong man.
Shoulda have put it on the forecast!
-
Millar was not stupid in the slightest, saying that is very shortsighted. He was out in front for a long time with all the cameras in him and got a massive amount of publicity, he may not of won the stage but his sponsors will be very pleased with him.
i was in dartford when he went on a solo break when the tour left Lahndaan the buzz when he stormed up the road dancing on the pedals was electric. joe public despite knowing fuck all about cycling knew there was a brit out front and wanted to cheer him on.
In the post race interview (today) he mentioned the crowd and the streets he knew well as he lives in girona. He said it reminded him of the crowd at canterbury.
i think he's a bit of a romantic and feeds off the occasion, maybe after all the dark days of his doping confession he just want's to be liked and a have a bit of recognition back home? -
i was in dartford when he went on a solo break when the tour left Lahndaan the buzz when he stormed up the road dancing on the pedals was electric. joe public despite knowing fuck all about cycling knew there was a brit out front and wanted to cheer him on.
In the post race interview (today) he mentioned the crowd and the streets he knew well as he lives in girona. He said it reminded him of the crowd at canterbury.
i think he's a bit of a romantic and feeds off the occasion, maybe after all the dark days of his doping confession he just want's to be liked and a have a bit of recognition back home?Yeah, saw him in Goudhurst that day. He'd slipped off the back of the breakaway group of 4 by then, even so the atmosphere was absolutely electric. I'd never experienced anything quite like it. Luton Town's Johnsons Paint Trophy win over Scunthorpe was close though.
Messy...
Well, I was left in a sticky situation if that's what you mean.
muleboy
wibble
strider.
melon
andyp
deleted
rusty
villa-ru
mooks
hippy
daccordi
Sam
Platini-
Post a reply
About
Tour de France 2009
Posted by
@Sparky
TDF related competition in C+ email; win a Tarmac Pro SL and crash it like Boonen
https://www.futurecompetitions.com/cplustarmac/Default.asp?source=newsletter&attr=road/2009/07/09