Look at people who are touted like that e.g. gerdeman lol i beleived he might do something but obviously not Also on eurosport they were claiming bonnet is the next french cycling hope

Gerdemann is the type of guy who you write off constantly, but when he starts again, still believe he might do something, only to dissapoint again...

Never was great climber anyway.

Haha you said to me the other day he was gonna do well xD

I like how Sean Kelly was ripping Gerdemann... that was quite funny...

Valverde always having a bad day is like Evans never attacking: a very widely spread myth.

Shall we look at his "bad days" in the past?

2003 Vuelta: none
2004 Vuelta: none
2005 Tour: none until he crashed out
2006 Tour: crashed out too early to tell
2006 Vuelta: lost many minutes time on a descent and the following flat because he was 1 non-time triallist against 2 better time triallists who were up the road. 2 vs. 1 on downhill and flat always win. that's not a bad day
2007 Tour: none
2008 Tour: one caused by a severe crash the previous day. He lost a lot of blood and had 2 wooden planks on his leg due to a fissure from the crash. he also rode the final climb of that very same stage faster than everyone except Kohl and Sastre.
2008 Vuelta: caught in a split in the peloton. that's not having a bad day. that's bad luck.

Myth.

Would that 2008 stage be the Hautacam??

You're underestimating Sánchez. Notice how he had to chase alone for almost 20kms when the pack was being pulled at full speed by the entire Caisse team. That has to have cost him an enormous amount of energy.

Yet he still finished with Valverde and Evans!

Evans has a problem here: he needs to win time on Valverde and Sánchez, because I don't think he'll win time on them in the final TT. It's too short.

Yes

think so

Okay good win by Cunego taken in the most impressive way, but....

It's the first mountain stage and Cunego hasn't been dropped in the mountains the last five years for nothing. People are way too quickly off in dubbing him a future GT contender (again!!). Danilo Di Luca did the exact same thing, in the Vuelta, even more impressively than Cunego, a few years back, only to fade away from there on out.

I don't think anyone ever called Cunego a bad climber (and meant it at the same time), because he did win the Giro, and no matter how he did it you'd have to be able to climb to some extent. Also he has finished in the Top 10 of the Giro several time since the 2004 edition.

I'm putting my money on him having an incredibly good day, not taking anything away from his win, for him to slip down as the race progressess, because you can't tell me that he has just managed to screw up his preparations for all GTs since 2004. He's not a Grand Tour rider. Never has been. But that doesn't mean he can't win mountain stages.

Remember that Sanchez is very good at recuperating. Last years tour he was best in the 3rd week, 2007 Vuelta 2 stage wins in the 3 last days if I remember right.

What's more, according to himself on the official site he suffered from the crash in that descent (that's why the Euskaltel guys were doing a bit weird with the waiting etc, he crashed on his way back from his bikechange), had difficulties with deep breathing. Based on his experience he could follow the big guns but he suffered a lot of his crash doing that.

Igor Anton also crashed by the way, that explains his 25 minutes losses and not the lack of doping

Does someone have a chart of the power developed by the riders on the last climb?

Nope but i may have a go at working it out if i can be bothered... it wouldn't be completely acurate as i don't know the wind speed etc...
But which do you mean.. the whole 22kms or the final little 6/7km dig whatever it was?

Um, I think the last 6,6 km at 8.1% would be a better indicator, I guess.

Ok... i'll have a look tomorrow as i have plenty of spare time... and i recorded the stage
I'll post my results if i think they're fairly accurate...

you pervert..

Myth indeed. Those are usually born when a talented rider can't accomplish the conquests he's hyped to achieve.

but I wouldn't call that last one bad luck, In my view I'd say he neglected his position in the pack. I think that if you take a look at his so called bad days from that perspective you might see a padron there

wasnt that 2008 biggest reason to early peak?..to good Dauphine..Caisse dominating first week..
Hautcam was most terrible stage for him..I remember several techincal problems..(that was the day what Andy Schleck also rememberes)

So, that shows he lacks one vital thing. Luck.

Haha the stage was for my dad he is on holiday and is a big cycling fan too