Jump to content

Cycling Thread: Bernal wins the TDF


kempus

Recommended Posts

4 minutes ago, kyle21121 said:

He looked fantastic but Saturday could still be a huge day. I can't wait. Wonder who attacks on today's stage. 

Yeah, Saturday is still the decider. I would imagine Nibali will try to make a move on the final descent, but I can't see much happening. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, kempus said:

Yeah, Saturday is still the decider. I would imagine Nibali will try to make a move on the final descent, but I can't see much happening. 

Me either. I just want a somewhat classic stage Saturday where even if Froome wins I want there to be some doubt throughout I don't want him to hang with the top group the entire way or outright win the stage himself. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, kyle21121 said:

Me either. I just want a somewhat classic stage Saturday where even if Froome wins I want there to be some doubt throughout I don't want him to hang with the top group the entire way or outright win the stage himself. 

I think Saturday will be awesome. You know Contador is going ballistic. Nibali will too, if he has the legs. If Froome rides as he did yesterday, I could see him winning the stage. That would be a cool end too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 hours ago, kyle21121 said:

Me either. I just want a somewhat classic stage Saturday where even if Froome wins I want there to be some doubt throughout I don't want him to hang with the top group the entire way or outright win the stage himself. 

I don't see how your bad part happens. Someone behind him, definitely Contador maybe Nibali and more, will attack and his strategy the whole way has been not to match initially and gradually work his way back up. So there will certainly be moments where he will be behind and maybe even a point where Nibali has the virtual lead (though I don't think Froome would just let him get that far ahead).  The question will be whether he has the legs to catch them or if he is struggling like Wednesday.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, mse326 said:

I don't see how your bad part happens. Someone behind him, definitely Contador maybe Nibali and more, will attack and his strategy the whole way has been not to match initially and gradually work his way back up. So there will certainly be moments where he will be behind and maybe even a point where Nibali has the virtual lead (though I don't think Froome would just let him get that far ahead).  The question will be whether he has the legs to catch them or if he is struggling like Wednesday.

There's no way Froome allows anybody enough rope to take the virtual lead. Froome usually allows a 5-10 second lead, at the most. Then he reels them back in and goes on the counter. Its only if he doesn't have the legs that he allows anyone to gain more time on the road.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Contador has been so good in this race. I don't know where he keeps getting the energy to attack every day from. I didn't think he had it in him to be a serious GC guy anymore. His final race has certainly brought the best out of him. No gain today, but brought the race to life, once again. You can guarantee he will be one of the main players tomorrow. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, kempus said:

Contador has been so good in this race. I don't know where he keeps getting the energy to attack every day from. I didn't think he had it in him to be a serious GC guy anymore. His final race has certainly brought the best out of him. No gain today, but brought the race to life, once again. You can guarantee he will be one of the main players tomorrow. 

It's really a shame he had that illness in the beginning of the tour. He lost 3+ minutes on that one stage. He'd be right with Froome and Nibali with a chance to win he was healthy.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, mse326 said:

It's really a shame he had that illness in the beginning of the tour. He lost 3+ minutes on that one stage. He'd be right with Froome and Nibali with a chance to win he was healthy.

Absolutely. I think Sky have been giving him quite a lot of leeway, due to him being reasonably far behind. If he had been close to Froome, he would have been shut down a lot more. Never the less, he looks to be in the best form I've seen him in for years. Perhaps he's reconsidering that retirement. I think he could absolutely win another GT, in this form, if Froome isn't in the race.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Happy to see Contador win the stage. Very brave ride for him. Froome was utterly dominant, as he has been the entire Vuelta, minus one stage. Froome is undoubtedly an all time great. To complete the TDF and Vuelta double is his greatest achievement. First man to achieve that feat with the current calendar. Chapeau Mr. Froome.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What will Froome go for next season?

Giro-TDF double

TDF-Vuelta double

Just the TDF

I think he will try the Tour and Vuelta again. I would love to see him race the Giro, but I think it's almost impossible to win both the Giro and Tour in the same season. There's no way he's missing the TDF, so there aren't many options, really 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

8 minutes ago, kempus said:

What will Froome go for next season?

Giro-TDF double

TDF-Vuelta double

Just the TDF

I think he will try the Tour and Vuelta again. I would love to see him race the Giro, but I think it's almost impossible to win both the Giro and Tour in the same season. There's no way he's missing the TDF, so there aren't many options, really 

Is there a reason Giro-TDF is harder? It looks like the same amount of time between the end of the earlier to the start of the later (1 month) and the TDF seems like an easier race with heavy legs of a second GT.

I think a lot of his decisions over the next couple years is going to be about what is more important to him. 1. Tying the TDF record with 5; 2. Passing it with 6; 3. Winning all three GTs

Link to comment
Share on other sites

50 minutes ago, kempus said:

Happy to see Contador win the stage. Very brave ride for him. Froome was utterly dominant, as he has been the entire Vuelta, minus one stage. Froome is undoubtedly an all time great. To complete the TDF and Vuelta double is his greatest achievement. First man to achieve that feat with the current calendar. Chapeau Mr. Froome.

Yup. I mean for a neutral fan this was probably the perfect result, see Contador go out on top and see Froome accomplish the amazing.

I do however think Froome easilly had this stage win if he wanted it. He was letting Contador go because he was, rightly, more concerned with Nibali. As soon as Nibali cracked he knew he could go for the stage and made up 1 minute in 2.5KM. If he wanted the win he probably starts attacking sooner and almost certainly catches Contador

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think he'll want 5 and maybe 6 at TDF before he goes for the Giro but I have to imagine now he's thinking about winning that as well now that he has finally got the Vuelta under his belt. 

Great win for Froome. I tend to root against dominance but this was well earned and a nice career ending for Contador getting the win. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Would Poels be a viable GC contender as a team leader. He was basically leading Froome up every mountain and came top 10 in the time trial (and will be 6th overall). I still haven't gotten a feel for how to determine which domestiques have/would have GC dreams on other teams.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, mse326 said:

Would Poels be a viable GC contender as a team leader. He was basically leading Froome up every mountain and came top 10 in the time trial (and will be 6th overall). I still haven't gotten a feel for how to determine which domestiques have/would have GC dreams on other teams.

Yeah, Poels could be a GC guy as a team leader. He was Skys backup, had something happened to Froome. Similar to Landa at the TDF. I agree with @kyle21121. I think Froome will want the Tour record, first and foremost.

I think because the Giro is earlier in the season. The Giro is also incredibly hard, it would be the same if the Vuelta was the first GT. Thats speculation, though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...