BigFatCoward Posted July 15, 2018 Author Share Posted July 15, 2018 39 minutes ago, lmanion said: Im interested to see what BMC does with Van Avermet if they give him free reign to go for it for himself or if they are all in for Porte and use him to try and keep Porte in touch with other GC guys. Im picking Sagan for the stage win and Thomas to be in yellow after the stage Since its pretty much confirmed Porte and GVA will be on different new teams next year there isn't much that they can do if he just looks out for himself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 That was fixed in 10km Porte brok3n collarbone fuck it. Takes away a little bit of my interest maybe like 5% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Ouch. Porte out again, he's had terribly bad luck. This may sound harsh especially at a time like this, but for all the talk I don't really consider him a Grand Tour contender in light of the fact he's only had a single top 10 finish (5th) in a Grand Tour for his whole career. He hasn't shown the three-week staying power to date. He's still probably got another 3 years left in him so he'll have more opportunities. I wonder if Nibali is going to use his pave-surfing skills to try and get some time on the GC contenders today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Degenkolb gets the win and his first stage win in the Tour - good on him. Funny to think he's still "only" 29 when he's been around a little bit now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted July 15, 2018 Share Posted July 15, 2018 Poor Porte. Two years in a row. I was already a little bit bored by this Tour, but that nearly seals it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karaddin Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 And Teejay got wrecked right after being promoted by Porte crashing out, hard day for BMC. My old go to for "Not Froome" was Quintana but I've been struggling to have any confidence in him, I don't know where to turn for this tour now. Would be easier if I liked Nibali, but I do not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 2 hours ago, karaddin said: And Teejay got wrecked right after being promoted by Porte crashing out, hard day for BMC. My old go to for "Not Froome" was Quintana but I've been struggling to have any confidence in him, I don't know where to turn for this tour now. Would be easier if I liked Nibali, but I do not. I guess Geraint wins the “Not Froome” ticket now? He doesn’t fit “Not Sky” though :(. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Fuglsang and Yates are also outside chances for the Tour but I still don't see Froome being unseated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 16, 2018 Author Share Posted July 16, 2018 Everyone but Dumoulin and G need to be at least a minute ahead of Froome by the final TT, i just don't see how it happens unless he crashes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 7 hours ago, Paxter said: I guess Geraint wins the “Not Froome” ticket now? He doesn’t fit “Not Sky” though :(. It's pretty much G or Dumoulin, isn't it? Unless Yates can do better than his brother. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog-days Posted July 16, 2018 Share Posted July 16, 2018 Bit late to it, but I thought yesterday's stage was tremendous fun (to watch). The Tour should be routed over paved roads more often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 On 7/16/2018 at 1:39 AM, Paxter said: Poor Porte. Two years in a row. I was already a little bit bored by this Tour, but that nearly seals it. Good news is that there are still 10 other great podium candidates left. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paxter Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 2 minutes ago, Calibandar said: Good news is that there are still 10 other great podium candidates left. Matthews winning Green last year was cool...but we Aussies want that Yellow jersey again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 1 hour ago, Paxter said: Matthews winning Green last year was cool...but we Aussies want that Yellow jersey again! Unfortunately we don't have many up and coming GC contenders in the Aussie ranks. It would have been interesting to see what Simon Clarke could do with a good team, but he'll never get a chance to lead one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 Anyone been listening to or watching the move podcast. Quite like listening to Armstrong and now Hincapie is on there as well im really enjoying it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 17, 2018 Author Share Posted July 17, 2018 How will we win the tour this year lads? 'Lets try following sky up and down the mountains, maybe that will work'. Please try something different, anyone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog-days Posted July 17, 2018 Share Posted July 17, 2018 1 hour ago, BigFatCoward said: How will we win the tour this year lads? 'Lets try following sky up and down the mountains, maybe that will work'. Please try something different, anyone. But it's bound to work eventually - bound to, I tell ya! Think the mentality that allows cyclists to cover hundreds of miles enduring heat, mountains and spectators dressed as giant chickens may also not be a mentality that greatly encourages innovation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karaddin Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 7 hours ago, BigFatCoward said: How will we win the tour this year lads? 'Lets try following sky up and down the mountains, maybe that will work'. Please try something different, anyone. Yeah, I'd really like to see some variation from the last few years overall shape. Van Avermaet aggressively riding off into the break while wearing the yellow was a nice change up even if its only possible due to him not being a contender. I didn't even have an issue with Froome when I started watching cycling (the first year he won) but I'm unreasonable resenting him now just because his/Sky's dominance keeps the tour stale. I'm not a team manager, but the explosive attacks on mountains the last few years sometimes expose Froome early in the tour but overall they just burn out the attackers - Sky just ride it down with cadence. Maybe trying a different style of attack, pushing the peloton earlier in the day rather than letting Sky keep their energy reserves high for the end. Of course even explosive attacks are better than not trying at all and then getting dropped anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 18, 2018 Author Share Posted July 18, 2018 Stage 9 in 2013, froome was isolated the whole stage. It didn't matter in the end as he was many levels above everyone else. I doubt he would be able to respond as well now with the giro in his legs. And the level of competition is stronger this year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 18, 2018 Share Posted July 18, 2018 The problem is that Sky are just too strong. If you try and control the peloton, they just hitch a ride along with you and conserve their energy. If you let them control the peloton, then they set their own pace and are strong enough to keep it going themselves. It's a Catch 22. I think the only way to beat Sky/Froome is to collude in those high mountain stages. Have all the other GC contenders take turns making attacks and force Froome to chase down each one himself. If he ever drops off the back with you, stay put and sacrifice your own time and let the attack succeed, always force him to do all the work to make it back. That would wear him out, but it requires a lot of coordination and discipline from all the other teams. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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