Tour de France 2011 thread

Yeah I dunno what Andy was playing at. One of the breaks he got quite some distance on the others with only one rider with him, I forget who he was, and he just sat up :confused:

MightyQuin said:
What happened...did someone's needle slip? Cycling is the biggest farce out there, with TDF leading from the front. All the drugs have made a mockery of this "sport".
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No nothing that bad just the odd collapsed lung, broken rib, leg and collar bone.....
 
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Alan said:
Yeah I dunno what Andy was playing at. One of the breaks he got quite some distance on the others with only one rider with him, I forget who he was, and he just sat up :confused:



No nothing that bad just the odd collapsed lung, broken rib, leg and collar bone.....
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and being pushed into barb wires of course - your normal run of the mill day in TDF :-)
 
powermzii said:
well yesterday's attack changed things a bit...talk about throwing the cat amongst the pigeons.
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Indeed. I was surprised both the Schleck's couldn't follow Contador - it was only a Cat 2 climb after all.

Oh well, just makes today's racing even better... the Schlecks need to attack viciously today or tomorrow to stand any chance at all.
 
gregmcc said:
Did you see the hectic crash where a car knocked into a cyclist?! :eek:
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With the somersault into the barbed wire will go down in infamy :D

Chris said:
Indeed. I was surprised both the Schleck's couldn't follow Contador - it was only a Cat 2 climb after all.

Oh well, just makes today's racing even better... the Schlecks need to attack viciously today or tomorrow to stand any chance at all.
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Yeah was a surprise. Should have expected an attack because of the decent into GAP with Andy not being a good descender. Perhaps he decided to save himself for today even if it meant losing over a minute to both contador and Evans.

Hard to see how both brothers would crack at the same time like that.
 
Chris said:
Indeed. I was surprised both the Schleck's couldn't follow Contador - it was only a Cat 2 climb after all.

Oh well, just makes today's racing even better... the Schlecks need to attack viciously today or tomorrow to stand any chance at all.
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What are the odds on a Schleck one-two today? The stage profile looks hectic... Of course, there's always that last little climb up Alp d’Huez on Friday.
 
Very unlikely to be a Schleck 1-2 I'd say...50km descent today so even if they get a 30sec-1min time gap, it'll be wiped out at the end. I think they'd rather wait for Thursday or Friday where it's a mountain top finish. I suppose they could try it out on the cat-2 climb near the end but I doubt it.
 
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I think Andy and Frank gonna have to go all out today to at least claw back some of that time over the yellow jersey and Cadel Evans, they might rue leaving it too late esp with the way Alberto attacked and left them for dead yesterday. We all know that the time trial event is not the Schlecks best and Evans and Contador are immense in those...
 
Gotta have some sympathy for Andy Schleck with two stages ending in difficult descents but if you wanna win the yellow jersey you gotta be strong in all aspects of cycling
 
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What a ride by Andy today... That was class. Great fightback by Cadel on the last climb as well. Still think Andy needs more time before Saturday... The climb on Alpe d'Huez is going to be fascinating.
I know you're not supposed to mention it but Andy's ride today reminded me of Floyd's 120km breakaway to Morzine in '06. I guess it's 'cos you so seldom see the peloton unable or unwilling to react when a race favorite goes on the attack like that.
For me, Andy deserves the win now... He's taken the big chance while the others were just covering each other. I think Phil and Paul mentioned it... He rode with "flair", like a tour champion should.
 
Have to agree brilliant ride, but he is going to have attack again tomorrow as he needs more time on Cadel for Saturday. As for Contador we shall see tomorrow going to be interesting...
 
Andy might be pooped tomorrow after today's effort but then Frank can take over-hope so!!
 
Fantastic ride.

Unfortunately he didn't quite get enough time. Needed another minute. This sets up Frank nicely for tomorrow as Andy, Evans and Voeckler tore themselves inside out today and probably won't recover sufficiently. Contador might also have been saving himself for a major attack tomorrow but I seriously doubt it.
 
greg0205 said:
What a ride by Andy today... That was class. Great fightback by Cadel on the last climb as well. Still think Andy needs more time before Saturday... The climb on Alpe d'Huez is going to be fascinating.
I know you're not supposed to mention it but Andy's ride today reminded me of Floyd's 120km breakaway to Morzine in '06. I guess it's 'cos you so seldom see the peloton unable or unwilling to react when a race favorite goes on the attack like that.
For me, Andy deserves the win now... He's taken the big chance while the others were just covering each other. I think Phil and Paul mentioned it... He rode with "flair", like a tour champion should.
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There are a few differences between Andy's and Floyd's rides though...

1) Floyd attacked from 120km out, Andy from 60km
2) Floyd had no team mates to help him during the entire ride
3) Floyd hardly lost anytime during the entire stage...Andy lost about 1:30min on the last climb to Evans, which is how it should be

Alan said:
Fantastic ride.

Unfortunately he didn't quite get enough time. Needed another minute. This sets up Frank nicely for tomorrow as Andy, Evans and Voeckler tore themselves inside out today and probably won't recover sufficiently. Contador might also have been saving himself for a major attack tomorrow but I seriously doubt it.
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Yip - Andy needs another minute or so. He might just wait until the last 5 or 10km of the Alp D"Huez today and launch a vicious attack. Evans can no longer rely on Contador to cover Schleck as he's basically out of the race.
 
greg0205 said:
What a ride by Andy today... That was class. Great fightback by Cadel on the last climb as well. Still think Andy needs more time before Saturday... The climb on Alpe d'Huez is going to be fascinating.
I know you're not supposed to mention it but Andy's ride today reminded me of Floyd's 120km breakaway to Morzine in '06. I guess it's 'cos you so seldom see the peloton unable or unwilling to react when a race favorite goes on the attack like that.
For me, Andy deserves the win now... He's taken the big chance while the others were just covering each other. I think Phil and Paul mentioned it... He rode with "flair", like a tour champion should.
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was biting my nails those last 10KM, wow. Awesome ride indeed but yeah he DOES need more time. Am not too clued up on his time-trial abilities unfortunately but today and Sat should be epic. I also just hope he recovers well. Don't think Voeckler will be as strong today - he looked close to death at the end. Turning out to be a pretty good tour.
 
Chris said:
There are a few differences between Andy's and Floyd's rides though...

1) Floyd attacked from 120km out, Andy from 60km
2) Floyd had no team mates to help him during the entire ride
3) Floyd hardly lost anytime during the entire stage...Andy lost about 1:30min on the last climb to Evans, which is how it should be
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Pretty much why I started that with the "not supposed to mention it" thingie... I know he failed a drug test (testosterone actually) but Floyd's ride that day was the best I've ever seen on the tour, bar none... Lance's comeback after the musette bag fall and off-road ride in '03 was astonishing... Greg LeMond's 58 seconds over Fignon in '89 was amazing, but Floyd's ride that day tops them all for me. I'm still upset that the failed test has diminished his achievement to be honest... I couldn't take my eyes off the television that day... He'd cracked on the climb the day before and that was how he chose to respond... Don't know if you remember this but Robbie Hunter was the last team mate he had left after he had put them on the front of the peloton to crank up the pace right from the get-go.

Andy's ride yesterday was one of those rides that fans will probably end up talking about years later and that's why I really hope he wins now.
 
powermzii said:
was biting my nails those last 10KM, wow. Awesome ride indeed but yeah he DOES need more time. Am not too clued up on his time-trial abilities unfortunately but today and Sat should be epic. I also just hope he recovers well. Don't think Voeckler will be as strong today - he looked close to death at the end. Turning out to be a pretty good tour.
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Andy's really, really not the best time trial rider. Fabian Cancellara will set a benchmark for Andy to chase and, depending on what happens today, he'll also start after Cadel. Brian Nygaard and Kim Andersen are going to be on the radio to him minute to minute with the time gaps. As it stands today he's looking at defending one and a half seconds per km... If he can just get his head around turning himself inside-out on a flat stage...
 
The only thing Andy has going for tomorrow is that it is not a "flat" time trial there are hills if he can ride like last year in the time trial where he only lost 39odd sec. to Contador then maybe he is in with a shout, but I have a feeling that today will be the day when the tour will be won or lost. I think they need to try and break Cadel Evans.
 
greg0205 said:
Pretty much why I started that with the "not supposed to mention it" thingie... I know he failed a drug test (testosterone actually) but Floyd's ride that day was the best I've ever seen on the tour, bar none... Lance's comeback after the musette bag fall and off-road ride in '03 was astonishing... Greg LeMond's 58 seconds over Fignon in '89 was amazing, but Floyd's ride that day tops them all for me. I'm still upset that the failed test has diminished his achievement to be honest... I couldn't take my eyes off the television that day... He'd cracked on the climb the day before and that was how he chose to respond... Don't know if you remember this but Robbie Hunter was the last team mate he had left after he had put them on the front of the peloton to crank up the pace right from the get-go.

Andy's ride yesterday was one of those rides that fans will probably end up talking about years later and that's why I really hope he wins now.
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Indeed it'll be one of the most talked about stage victories for years to come. I laughed at Paul Sherwin last night as before Andy attacked, he was continuously advocating that someone has to attack on the Col d'Izoard and then when someone attacks, he was saying it was risky, probably not going to work etc! :D Of course what he was saying was true, but it's like he was going back on his word. I really wonder if Andy has anything left in the tank - he clearly had cracked in the last km yesterday...
 
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