2014 Pro-cycling season thread

That's one hell of a place to park a bus

Yesterday's effort when Contador went off the front (wasting sky riders in the chase) was just to keep the pressure on. Saxo domestiques took it easy today. Contador / Riis tactics are awesome.

That's one hell of a place to park a bus

The OGE driver's probably dropped his keys over the side.

Kiryienka deserves half of all Sky winnings. He's a fucking tank, and all this chat about Porte not performing or Nieve ignores the fact that one guy sucked the rest of the peloton over most of the climbs today. Total beast-Froome would have lost a bitchload more time today if he'd been forced to rely on the rest of his captains earlier.

Agreed: love watching Kiriyenka boss it, awesome rider

Loving this; it's like a distilled TDF without all the bullshit transfer and obvious sprint stages.

Would Wiggo have made a difference today?

Boom! Nice one Pistolero! Now just stay in yellow, bitch.
#SkyVOGE

Would Wiggo have made a difference today?

They were out-raced today rather than over-powered. That said Porte looks a shadow of the rider of last season still.

Didn't see it but a mediocre showing from Wiggins in the opening TT in the Tour de Suisse, 32 seconds down on Martin

And I mean mediocre by his standards, not mine...

Don't think he's ever done too well in really short TTs, Sagan being up there is a clue what course must have been like.

Don't think he's ever done too well in really short TTs

I bet he'd be rubbish in 4km TTs on the track. :)

Yeah they're well technical.

I think we need to watch that video of Wiggins falling off a cyclocross bike

Its weird how hard I was rooting for Bertie.

You lot were quick to forget about Contador's drug suspension. I still think he's a cheat and would prefer to see a clean (as far as anybody can be sure) rider best him.

Also - where is Valverde? Barely raced recently and not down for TDS either.

He's riding the Route du Sud I believe.

TBH I think you have to give Contador the same benefit of doubt you give to Froome really. His career has followed an odd path

Are you talking about their present or their past when you say to give them the benefit of the doubt?

Present for Contador. His positive for clen was fairly benign, and yes he raced through a dirty era (and who's to say that is over) but if he is juiced now how is a clean Froome beating him? (or in the race, almost beating him).

Anyway I just hope Contador is clean, and Froome too. Love watching the pair of them compete up climbs, two such contrasting styles, makes the mouth water for the TdF

Yet no one seemed to feel the same about a cleaned up Armstrong or a cleaned up Valverde.
I don't know what, if anything, Contador is up to now. It's not as if his form ever dropped off in an Andy Schleck way; he has won the Vuelta and been fourth in the Tour since his ban but this year he is certainly better again. It's not possible to blood dope in the way it was in the past but marginal gains through cheating must still be there. Thomas Voeckler springs to mind. Chris Froome and Wiggins and Talansky and Evans and Kelderman don't.
Given a choice between those kind of riders and people who have profited, in every way, in the past from cheating I know who I will be rooting for.

On another note, Tour de Suisse stage looks pretty lumpy today...

http://www.tourdesuisse.ch/fileadmin/user_upload/2014/Etappenplan/Hoehenprofil/HP_2_Etappe.jpg

Oh dear. So this is why they aren't in the MPCC.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/report-uci-fast-tracked-froome-tue-request-at-tour-de-romandie

I bet the Twaterrati are enjoying that