BigFatCoward Posted July 22, 2017 Author Share Posted July 22, 2017 Unless the shit really hits the fan the final podium should be Froome, Uran, Bardet. Have to say, this has been the most boring TDF i can ever remember, even worse than 2012. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted July 22, 2017 Share Posted July 22, 2017 What a complete and utter breakdown by Bardet. And shame on the French for their constant booing of Froome. So Froome wins the Tour but it's certainly the least glamorous win so far, devoid of shine. And last year's win already wasn't as strong as the first two so there seems to be a pattern here. No stage wins. Never dropped his competitors in the mountains, not once. A win through consistency. But look at the all the competitors who could have challenged, but did not, for whatever reason: Did not compete: Dumoulin, Nibali. Completely out of shape due to Giro: Quintana, Pinot Well past his best: Contador, the guy many hoped would give Froome a good run alomng with Quintana. Porte and Valverde fell early. Porte surely the biggest threat given his form. Valverde would have had a very good chance at top 3 finish in this Tour ( but not to beat Froome IMO). Then there is Chaves, who finished on the pdoium on Giro *and* Vuelta last year, completely out of shape due to injury. So, the Vuelta looms, and we hardly seem to have contenders, except for Froome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 I agree 7 hours ago, Calibandar said: No stage wins. Never dropped his competitors in the mountains, not once. A win through consistency. Yeah, I'm not disputing whether Froome was a fitting winner, but it is a bit disappointing that he essentially won the Tour through consistency and good Time Trialling. Take out the time trials, and he would have had to have been a bit more assertive. As it is, because his TT were much better than any of the other contenders (witness Bardet) he knew he didn't have to take any risks in the mountains and could just follow anyone who did. Uran's 2nd place finish was much the same. I don't remember Uran putting in any major attack but by virtue of staying safe, following any attack and having some decent TTs he earns a spot on the podium. Porte's exit was the real end of the Tour as a competition. I don't think Nibali or Valverde would have posed Froome any major problems (any more than Bardet and Uran did) but Porte really could have. Give him another year for Movistar to build a team around him and Landa could be a contender as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 The British commentators have been talking up Barguil as a potential future contender in a couple of years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 23, 2017 Author Share Posted July 23, 2017 Sky missed on the stage win and the podium by 1 second each. Overall it was underwhelming, but the best rider definitely won. Now onto the Vuelta, where genuinely anything can happen, Froome is overwhelming favourite, Nibali should podium, after those 2 you could make a case for anyone of 10-15 riders making the podium. the 40km TT and the 13km TTT definitely gives Froome a buffer, but there are some naughty MTF as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted July 23, 2017 Share Posted July 23, 2017 4 hours ago, Maltaran said: The British commentators have been talking up Barguil as a potential future contender in a couple of years. Hmmm, we'll see. Like Bardet his TT is terrible and like Bardet I expect him to struggle to improve it much. A lot of that has to with build as well. He's tall and very thin and there just isn't much power there, he's never going to be a great TT rider, or even a good one IMO. On the other hand he is clearly an excellent climber and if can be consistent, he'd be good enough to challenge for a podium spot, I'd agree with that. If you've seen Virenque, who he models himself after all, you'll know what to expect with Barguil. I expect he will leave Team Sunweb because he will want to go for his own chances next year. The other thing we have to consider is that this is The Tour de France, in a country of very chauvenist people who have been starving for a French winner. I hope this does not happen, but I fear they may reduce the TT's even more than they already did this year, to increase the chances of Bardet, Pinot or Barguil to do well. The emergence of not one but 3 French riders who can finish top 5 but cannot do TT's is a threat IMO. And if they do this, it may be that Dumoulin again chooses not to compete in the Tour next year. He said yesterday that they will wait to see what parcours the Giro and Tour will release in October. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 So, not much interest for the final Grand Tour of the year. Froome is the obvious favourite, Nibali probably second, and then a whole host of people who could win if circumstances go their way. it also the final tour of Alberto Contador Velasco, without doubt the most exciting Grand Tour rider of his generation. Whatever you think of him, he has animated the shit out of stage racing for the last 10 years, and hopefully he goes out with his head held high and a decent result. i'd like to see Lopez make his breakthrough out of the dark horses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted August 21, 2017 Share Posted August 21, 2017 Other lesser known riders I am interested in are the young Movistar riders Fernandez and Soler. Hoping for a strong Vuelta from Kelderman as well, top 5 finish would be a very good performance from him. Obvious favorites: Froome, Nibali, Ary, Yates Brothers, Chaves, Zakarin,Majka. I would love it if Poels could go for his own chances in this GC, rather than have to implode for Froome. Sky says he has a free role. We'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted August 21, 2017 Author Share Posted August 21, 2017 Also hoping SK can ride in Giro 2016 form. Seems to have snuck in under the radar a bit this time, probably better for him than the hype on his shoulders before this years Giro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted August 22, 2017 Share Posted August 22, 2017 Well. Froome looks in fantastic shape. Chaves as well. Bardet and Aru have so far shown they have carried over their Tour form into the Vuelta. Nibali was dropped a bit there at the end of that mountain. Aru and Bardet as well but they kept it close enough that it was never more than a few seconds. Some real casualties in this first uphill stage. Poels imploded due team Sky's incredibly frantic pace uphill. Lost 1:35. Kelderman and Kruiswijk at 1:14 already, with the latter now 2 minutes behind Froome already in the GC. Michael Woods and the Yates Brothers finished at 25 seconds so limited the damage. Zakarin at a minute already though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted August 24, 2017 Author Share Posted August 24, 2017 Quite a good tour so far, such a shame Contador had that stomach issue as he has looked excellent the last few days. Still see Froome as almost unbeatable without a crash. should have a better idea after the weekend who is really here to play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted August 25, 2017 Share Posted August 25, 2017 I feel good about myself for predicting Woods would be good. Cannondale has it this year. Question is if he can be do this 3 weeks, he's new to it. Yates Brothers restricted to following so far. Aru and Nibali look very unconvincing. Bardet was also dropped Wednesday. I love the way the stages are set up, so much better than the Tour. Shame the riders don't same as strong as last year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted August 26, 2017 Share Posted August 26, 2017 If Contador hadn't had that one bad day then this would be quite exciting Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted August 27, 2017 Share Posted August 27, 2017 Froome is absolutely unbeatable. Only remaining question is, will have a bad day at some point? Those hoping for an exciting Vuelta, such as myself, need to say to themselves, well it's two more weeks. Because really, Froome ( and Sky) could hardly have been more dominant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted August 28, 2017 Author Share Posted August 28, 2017 but he still only has a small lead (though you can add at least 90 seconds to it from the TT). he is only a minor incident away from this all coming back together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted September 24, 2017 Share Posted September 24, 2017 Sagan gets his hat trick, after being completely invisible until the final 500 metres of the race Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 The TT and the road race were great in the sense that the best rider wins. In the TT, Dumoulin demolsihed the field and put Froome at a staggering 1:20 to win the TT. And Sagan, when a group of favorites head for the sprint and he is in after a tough stage like this, he is the best. Even though the competition was fierce. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted April 30, 2018 Author Share Posted April 30, 2018 So, this Friday the Giro kicks off in Israel, because why the hell not. The favourite could be stripped of the title if he wins and his inhaler gate case goes against him, and movistar have 3 of the biggest Grand tour riders in the world but have forgotten to send any of them, meaning they will have to cope with lots of egos in July at the tour. Froome v Dumoulin appears to be the main battle even though neither has exactly shone so far this year, 45km of time trialling puts all their rivals at a massive disadvantage. Appears to be little to seperate the best of the rest, Pinot, Chaves, Yates, Lopez, and Aru all look like they could podium if things go their way. Route is ok, nothing special, but i am looking forward to Zoncalan just because it is so hideously ridiculous. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 Oh hell yeah grand tour season is here! Havent really kept up with it all this year havebt watched any of the classics really just been watching lance armstrongs podcasts on them to catch up looking forward to some late nights for the giro though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted May 1, 2018 Author Share Posted May 1, 2018 8 hours ago, lmanion said: Oh hell yeah grand tour season is here! Havent really kept up with it all this year havebt watched any of the classics really just been watching lance armstrongs podcasts on them to catch up looking forward to some late nights for the giro though. Basically quickstep won everything so far this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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