2012 Tour de France

[knapplc]

Everyone dopes. EVERYONE.

I've been a fan of Le Tour since... Greg LeMond? Before? Hard to say. I've been bad about following it regularly, but when I do I want to believe that the above quote is not true.

I want to believe that Lance Armstrong didn't dope. I want to believe that most of them don't.

Sad to say, I no longer can believe that. The circumstantial evidence against Armstrong is too great. The mounting convictions are too many.

Sucks.

 

[ShowMeBuck]

That win by Cavendish today was unreal. WOW.

 

[Oh8ch]

That win by Cavendish today was unreal. WOW.

Indeed. The tour has turned out to be a bust in terms of GC excitement, but it has had many memorable moments:

1. The finish referenced above
2. Gilbert confronting a dog (I loved that)
3. Van Garderen's White Jersey
4. The emergence of several other young riders
5. The battle for the Polka Dot Jersey
6. More blood and gore than a B-Horror flick
(involving men who kept on riding)
7. The complete dominance of Team Sky

The dominance of Sky has been the story of the Tour. I kept waiting for Nibali or Evans to attack, but the pace of Sky was unrelenting. While the rest of the field is dragging itself to Paris Wiggins still has half a tank left - as does Cavendish. Not as visible as Armstrong and "the look", but complete dominance. And they are positioned to underscore that dominance in both the TT and the Paris sprint.

 

[BB73]

Indeed. The tour has turned out to be a bust in terms of GC excitement, but it has had many memorable moments:

1. The finish referenced above
2. Gilbert confronting a dog (I loved that)
3. Van Garderen's White Jersey
4. The emergence of several other young riders
5. The battle for the Polka Dot Jersey
6. More blood and gore than a B-Horror flick
(involving men who kept on riding)
7. The complete dominance of Team Sky

The dominance of Sky has been the story of the Tour. I kept waiting for Nibali or Evans to attack, but the pace of Sky was unrelenting. While the rest of the field is dragging itself to Paris Wiggins still has half a tank left - as does Cavendish. Not as visible as Armstrong and "the look", but complete dominance. And they are positioned to underscore that dominance in both the TT and the Paris sprint.

Yesterday's decision by Nibali to drop back from the breakaway and let the peloton catch him was baffling. If Nibali/Liquigas wanted a stage won, they should have forced Sky to chase down the breakaway, and then attacked a weakened Sky at the start of one of the last 2 climbs. Instead, Liquigas led the peloton in the middle of the race, allowing Sky to be fresh so that they still had multiple riders to assist Wiggins and Froome for the bottom half of the last climb.

It worked well for Valverde, whose hand Nibali shook before he dropped back from the breakaway, and for team Sky; but those tactics made no sense for Nibali and Liquigas.

I thought Froome should have gone after Valverde in the last couple of kilometers yesterday. Wiggins no longer needed his help to protect the yellow at that point. Froome chasing Valverde would have made for an exciting mountaintop finish, but they decided the appearance of team unity was more important than another possible stage win.

It was different to see Wiggins leading out Cavendish in the last kilometer today. He tried it once before for Boasson Hagen, who didn't get the stage win. The Cavendish dusting of the field in the last 500k was very impressive stuff. He'll likely do the same on the Champs Elysses on Sunday.

Why do you hate Pyrenean Mountain Dogs?

 

[Thump]

That win by Cavendish today was unreal. WOW.

Agree!!

Lived up to the moniker the Manx "Missile."

Shot to the lead like a missile.

 

[Oh8ch]

Yesterday's decision by Nibali to drop back from the breakaway and let the peloton catch him was baffling. If Nibali/Liquigas wanted a stage won, they should have forced Sky to chase down the breakaway, and then attacked a weakened Sky at the start of one of the last 2 climbs

It looked like Nibali was trying to set something up with Valverde for later - such as if I can come across to you we will work together to the line and I will give you the stage. But at that point it was too early. I just haven't seen any evidence that anyone can grind down Sky.


I also wonder if Sky/Wiggins don't want Froome to look too strong. Kind of "Let's not encourage any second guessing about who is our GC guy." Clearly he had the juice and looked like a dog on a leash.

He and Wiggins on separate teams should be grand in the next tour. It might make for a fun Olympics as well.

 

[ShowMeBuck]

I know it's early but after watching the Tour of Romandie, Bradley Wiggins has to be the favorite barring any catastrophic crashes like last year.

Cadel Evans looks awful in the build-up to the Tour.

See if Andy Schleck can finally get over the hump.

Best bet would be for a Schleck-Wiggins battle through the mountains.

Tejay van Garderen appears to be the next great American rider

Buddy you nailed it. Nice call. Everything has been as you called it.