baseballlover312, 06-03-14 : "Nuke Moscow...Don't worry Russia, we've got plenty of love to go around your cities"
Sarah Palin, 08-03-14 (CPAC, on Russian aggression) : "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke"
Big thanks to jdog for making this AMAZING userbar!
Unless the fighters come up with a surprise, victory should go to the sprinters
Stage Favorites
Mark Cavendish (OPQ)
Andre Greipel (LTB)
John Degenkolb (ARG)
GM: Unless there’s a surprise the stage is for the sprinters. It’s totally flat. Just watch out for the wind. If it blows hard it can create echelons
TP: a totally flat stage and no hard wind makes it for the sprinters. A boring day to be honest. Bouhanni had some trouble in the intermediate sprint. It’s clear that Cavendish, Greipel and Degenkolb are a cut above the rest and that Bouhanni is best of the rest. that gap. Bouhanni getting fourth of the bunch
The final sprint went even worse. Bouhanni got the than lead of the peloton to early and combined with his bad day he could only finished outside the top 10. Even behind some of the Argos and Omega Pharma leadouts. A break won again btw. Gilbert takes his second stage win. 42 seconds in front of the peloton. He beat Kadri (AG2R), Poulhies (Cofidis), Pérez (Euskaltel) and Miller (Garmin) in a sprint. Bouhanni has a bad day.
a fairly open stage where fighters have just as much chance as sprinters
Stage Favorites
Mark Cavendish (OPQ)
Andre Greipel (LTB)
John Degenkolb (ARG)
GM: this isn’t a day for picking up points towards the polka-dot jersey. It’s probably best to sit quietly in the peloton and not waste too much effort.
Thibaut Pinot: thanks to the recent success of the breakaway, we got Vichot in the break with Iglinskiy (Astana) and Ten Dam (Blanco).
Vichot following Ten Dam and Iglinskiy
With only 3 guys in today’s break and the KOM sprints giving points to the first four riders, there was 1 point for the first guy of the peloton. I was allowed by the peloton to take that point while Vichot earlier took all the points at the climb. The intermediate sprints (of the break and the peloton went well. Vichot got second after he was surprised by Ten Dam sprint since he was waiting to react to Iglinskiy.
the Dutchman taking the intermediate sprint.
At the peloton sprint, 9 minutes later, Bouhanni got a great launch from the Lotto train and got 5th place in the sprint, beating Cavendish and Degenkolb. Only Greipel was to strong.
Bouhanni beating The Manx Missile
We also tried to make a leadout train but that didn’t work out to good. The plan was Bonnet <- Fischer <- Bouhanni but Fischer lost Bonnet’s wheel and then Bouhanni lost Fischer’s wheel. Both of them got a gap and Bonnet actually got 5th place this way. Nacer got close to a top 10 but Ten Dam blocked him in the sprint.
The Sprinters overtake Bouhanni after being blocked by Ten Dam dropping from the break
He only got 11th place, while a top 6 was possible. The gap to Rojas and Boonen weren’t really close though. I finished in 45th place while nobody lost time today.
the finish of todays stage which is the last before two mountain stages, the real tour is starting.
Two climbs in the final kilometers will allow the best climbers to get clear off the peloton
Stage Favorites
Alberto Contador (TST)
Andy Schleck (RSH)
Alejandro Valverde (MOV)
GM: Today is for the climbers. They’re only two climbs but they’re towards the finish and they are not just any old ascensions: first up is Le Col de Pailhéres and then it’s up to Ax 3 Domaines.
Thibaut Pinot: The real tour starts now. It was likely that all the jerseys would change today with the exception of the points jersey. I wanted to have one of my helpers (Geniez and Jeannesson) to be in the break so that I would have some support in the mountains when the break gets caught on the mountain.
Jeannesson getting in the break
He got into a break with Westra and Poels (Vacansoleil), Velits (Omega Pharma), Kessiakoff (Astana) and Izagirre (Euskaltel).Before we got to the climbing though, there was an intermediate sprint and from the big sprinters only Degenkolb was interested in the intermediate sprint but wasn’t able to take the bunch win. Bouhanni beat Rojas for 7th place, all that was left after the 6 breakaway riders.
Bouhanni winning against Rojas coming up on the left
I was at the front of the peloton, with Geniez protecting me and keeping an eye on Quintana in the white jersey of course. There were a few attack early on but that didn’t went far, as they were immediately caught. I didn’t react to many of them, only to Quintana’s attack but like usual that didn’t do anything. Nibali was the first rider to get a real kind of gap. He was already 3 minutes down so no reason to follow in my opinion.
Nibali on the attack
Not much later I heard reports that Quintana was about to drop. Schleck and Voeckler were also in trouble but with the summit no far ahead it’s was a good guess that they would come back in the descent. We just manage to catch the breakaway with Jeannesson still in it on the summit where I took the maximum amount of points and was certain of wearing it another day.
the break was so close to the KOM jersey
After my mistake on stage 2, I took no risks this time and stayed in Rolland’s wheel on the downhill. Astana and Jeannesson took charge of the downhill as FDJ and Astana were the only teams with multiple riders in the break, good that I wanted Jeannesson in the break to pull the downhill along as Quintana (White jersey) and Wiggins (Yellow jersey) were dropped. Kessiakoff, Nibali and Jeannesson worked well together and we quickly good a 37 seconds gap. I didn’t get a good luck but I thought that Froome, Contador, Valverde, Schleck, Nibali, Van Garderen, Rodriguez + the original breakaway (excluding Westra) were still in the lead group. On the final climb, Gorka Izagirre (Euskaltel) was the first to make a move. Nibali, Schleck, Rolland and Valverde followed.
The first strike for the stage win
When they were brought back, Quintana attacked and I couldn’t let my white jersey competitor go.
the battle for white has begon
However he blew up going up the climb and when he got countered by Froome he was gone. while Quintana was dropped I followed easily. I was in the first group of 9 riders: Valverde (Movistar), Contador (Saxo), Rodriguez (Katusha) Rolland (Europcar), Froome (Sky), Schleck (RadioShack), Nibali (Astana) and izagirre (Euskaltel).
the lead group
Nibali made one attack but all that did was getting rid of Izagirre. Scarponi and Van Garderen managed to come back the lead group but I attacked to make sure Van Garderen and the others that were returning didn’t return to the lead group. Rolland went with me and and eventually over me when he started sprinting for the stage. I effectively gave him a leadout.
Rolland going for the stage
I wasn’t able to follow him because of my effort earlier and Rolland won the stage. I finished in 8th as the last guy in the lead group. Van Garderen lost 34 seconds and Quintana lost 45 seconds. I wasn’t in white though, with a 9 second gap to Van Garderen who had a 3 second advantage to Quintana. I also kept the polka dots jersey today but tomorrow the break will most likely take it.
The finish of the first real stage of the tour
perhaps the final time we’ll see Pinot on the podium in a row
SSJ2Luigi - OK you have twisted my arm with your sob story in the other thread so here i am to take a look around and from what i have seen it seems to be going pretty well for you although i expect better
Good performance from Thibaut.But he needs more on Van Garderen heading to the TT.But he can gain the young rider jersey because Van Garderen is not looking strong on the mountains.
And to sutty68:You are also not following mineEdited by Forever the Best on 15-07-2014 08:45
@sutty68: better in what way? results wise or report wise? one's easier then the other
@The Schleck Fan: Evans dissapointing a bit gives Van Garderen free room to challenge a GC placing. at least the Tour isn't as TT heavy as last year which had two flat time trails. this year only one flat TT with a hilly time trail aswell.
not surprised actually with Van Garderen (and Quintana) being so high, makes it fun.
The Succession of climbs will please whose who shine on the slopes, but victory may be decided on the final downhill section where good descenders may create a surprise
Stage Favorites
Samuel Sánchez (EUS)
Thibaut Pinot
Vincenzo Nibali (AST)
GM: The stage is not very long but it goes upwards over time. There is a vertical gain of more then 4000 meters! You’re going to have to stay up front all day, guys.
Thibaut Pinot: the break had a hard day to be formed. It was just under the summit of the Col de Portet-d’Aspet that we got a break that eventually made it until the end. No names of real danger however Velits (Omega Pharma, 11th GC +1’40”) and Poels (Vacansoleil, 15th GC +2’37”) could take 1 and 2 in the GC if the gap got too big. Also in the break were Le Mevel (Cofidis, 50th GC, +13’53”), Chris Horner (RadioShack, 78th GC, +17’51”) and Jakob Fuglsang (Astana, 102th GC, +21’59”). I did my usual duty of picking up the mountain sprints left by the break and Bouhanni amazingly got over the first three climbs (Col de Portet-d’Aspet, Col de Menté and Col de Peyresourde) and took the remaining points that was available by the break.
necessary points grabbing for Bouhanni and me
It was a good decision to go mountain sprints because the general manager told me after the climb I had enough of a lead of the polka dot jersey but that’s actually not why I went for the sprint the last time. I used the downhill to get a gap between me and the peloton and hopefully gain a few places in the GC. Only Voeckler had noticed that I didn’t return after the mountain sprint and went chasing me.
the emptiness of a successful break
While Voeckler went after me, reports came that Froome had fallen and that there were mass crashes everywhere. I was sure then that I did the right thing, I was safe from crashes and might get some time back on Van Garderen. Voeckler eventually caught up with me but I kept leading the break until the last 500 meters where he sprinted to a 6th place while I was happy with 7th.
Voeckler going for 6th place
I wasn’t going for a stage ranking but it’s nice to get the top 10. I even hoped on a gap for a while but eventually didn’t get it (although the gap from me to Vichot was almost 7 seconds ). Quintana did lose 2 minutes today so the youth classifications seems to be between Van Garderen and me.
@sutty68: give it time, at this point in the last story/year, FDJ had 0 wins, now they already have 1 (Stage 5 with Fédrigo )
@The Schleck Fan: I was pretty displeased with the disicion to give no gap.
if only Van Garderen would lost some time
@The Rider: going to be hard to keep that, hopefully Pinot is strong enough to finish with the lead riders and take some points there. the next meeting with a mountain sprint is not until the Mount Ventoux on stage 15
I think 80 is a bit too much, Pinot was only going 63
fighters are certain to try their luck, but the sprinters are likely to do best, meaning that victory will be decided by a mass sprint
Stage Favorites
Mark Cavendish (OPQ)
Andre Greipel (LTB)
John Degenkolb (ARG)
GM: the stage is flat and the sprinters will give their all to win today. It should be quiet, unless there’s wind
Nacer Bouhanni: today is a extra rest day for the riders for the general classification like Thibaut, tomorrow is an important time trail and there aren’t even mountain sprints today. so today I’m writing the report because Thibaut is getting mentally prepared for the time trial. He just sat in the peloton all day long and nobody important lost time today. So today it’s only the intermediate sprints and the final sprint.
The intermediate sprint went good, I used a dislocated Omega Pharma train to lead me out.
Martin and Chavanel leading me out
I got a great speed while catching up the breakaway while at the same time Cavendish and Greipel caught up with me in full speed, good for me, I still had an acceleration left.
catching the break while the sprinters go past on the far right
In the end, I started that last acceleration a bit too late and came in third but the gap was really close so I was confident that I could take a podium place in the final sprint
Greipel and Cavendish taking the first two places with a small gap to 3rd place
The final sprint had some problems, with an echelon dropping Sagan and Greipel. I didn’t believe in the Omega train this time, the seemed not really good now so I switched to the Argos train.
the train of white jerseys
However Degenkolb and Kittel’s acceleration was too high for my initial acceleration and I pushed one gear higher for the last 900 meters when Swift (Sky), Petacchi (Lampre) and Goss (Orica) overtook me. Still no Cavendish in sight.
The Argos duo in the distance with Swift, Petacchi and Goss on the left
While Swift faded quickly and Petacchi, Goss and Kittel also starting to fade I still have enough in the tank to take a good placing, a stage win seemed unreachable because the gape to Degenkolb was huge.
everybody faded while only Degenkolb and me can keep going
Degenkolb was indeed unreachable and he wins with a two bike lengths difference, meanwhile Cavendish started too late or was blocked in the sprint because he wasn’t able to overtake me, meaning that I got second place in the sprint
a time trail that leaves no room for surprises: a specialist in the discipline will come out on top
Stage Favorites
Bradley Wiggins (SKY)
Fabian Cancellara (RSH)
Tony Martin (OPQ)
GM: the time-trial suits rouleurs, It’s not very tricky, Stay focuse on your effort!
Thibaut Pinot: another important day for the GC with today’s time trail. I’m hoping that I won’t get embarrassed like last year, when both Andy Schleck and Bradley Wiggins passed me at the same time. Rolland isn’t that great of time trailer and Van Garderen is starting 2 minutes behind me.
At the first intermediate point I already lost 1’22” on Wiggins who started in front of me. On the second intermediate point my disadvantage on Wiggins was 2’32”. Just after that intermediate point disaster struck when Van Garderen overtook me.
Van Garderen in his white jersey crosses a 2 minute gap
The last kilometer was hard, I tried to keep up with van Garderen and that drained my energy. That costed more time than needed perhaps. Roy also wasn’t happy with his result, he finished 14th where we thought he could get a top 10. The GC was turned upside down. Wiggins was back in yellow after winning the time trial. Contador moves into second, Van Garderen is now third. Valverde went from yellow jersey wearer to 6th place in the GC.
Stage Results
Place
Country
Rider
Team
Time
1.
Bradley Wiggins
Sky
36’51”
2.
Fabian Cancellara
RadioShack
+15”
3.
Tony Martin
Omega Pharma
+41”
4.
Chris Froome
Sky
+45”
5.
Tejay van Garderen
BMC
+47”
6.
Alberto Contador
Saxo
+1’00”
7.
Sylvain Chavanel
Omega Pharma
+1’23”
8.
Richie Porte
Sky
+1’25”
9.
Luis Leon Sánchez
Blanco
+1’27”
10.
Andreas Kloden
RadioShack
+1’33”
55.
Nairo Quintana
Movistar
+3’33”
61.
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
+4’48”
General Classification
Place
Country
Rider
Team
Time
1
Bradley Wiggins
Sky
40h33'58"
2
Alberto Contador
Saxo
+18"
3
Tejay van Garderen
BMC
+38"
4
Chris Froome
Sky
+1'20"
5
Peter Velits
Omega Pharma
+2'07"
6
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar
+2'19"
7
Samuel Sánchez
Euskaltel
+3'04"
8
Vincenzo Nibali
Astana
+3'47"
9
Joaquin Rodriguez
Katusha
+3'48"
10
Andy Schleck
RadioShack
+4'11"
Spoiler
11
Thomas Voeckler
Europcar
+4'17"
12
Michele Scarponi
Lampre
+4'34"
13
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
+4'43"
14
Pierre Rolland
Europcar
+5'06"
15
Jurgen Van den Broeck
Lotto
+5'09"
16
Wout Poels
Vacansoleil
+5'16"
17
Cadel Evans
BMC
+5'52"
18
Nairo Quintana
Movistar
+5'59"
20
Igor Anton
Euskaltel
+9'25"
21
Arnold Jeannesson
FDJ
+10'06"
22
Thomas De Gendt
Vacansoleil
+11'51"
23
Roman Kreuziger
Saxo
+12'48"
24
Damiano Cunego
Lampre
+12'50"
25
Robert Gesink
Blanco
+13'22"
27
Jérémy Roy
FDJ
+13'44"
28
Alexandre Geniez
FDJ
+13'49"
31
Pierrick Fédrigo
FDJ
+14'33"
33
Richie Porte
Sky
+15'22"
34
Rui Costa
Movistar
+15'27"
38
Steven Kruijswijk
Blanco
+16'23"
39
Andreas Klöden
RadioShack
+16'28"
45
Dominico Pozzovivo
AG2R
+19'03"
48
Ryder Hesjedal
Garmin
+20'35"
51
Ivan Basso
Cannondale
+21'44"
52
Maxime Monfort
RadioShack
+22'00"
53
Rafal Majka
Saxo
+22'01"
54
Rein Taaramae
Cofidis
+22'33"
58
Nicolas Roche
Saxo
+23'29"
59
Denis Menchov
Katusha
+23'34"
63
Christophe Le Mével
Cofidis
+24'09"
64
Chris Horner
RadioShack
+24'15"
65
Daniel Moreno
Katusha
+24'21"
66
Juan Jose Cobo
Movistar
+24'43"
76
Mikel Nieve
Euskaltel
+28'03"
87
Bauke Mollema
Blanco
+30'25"
94
Daniel Martin
Garmin
+32'53"
99
Janez Brajkovic
Astana
+33'52"
104
Andrew Talansky
Garmin
+35'55"
106
Przemysław Niemiec
Lampre
+37'22"
123
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ
+46'59"
130
William Bonnet
FDJ
+48'10"
132
Arthur Vichot
FDJ
+48'31"
138
Murilo Fischer
FDJ
+49'07"
Points Classification
Place
Country
Rider
Team
Points
1
Mark Cavendish
Omega Pharma
237 Pts
2
John Degenkolb
Argos
213 Pts
3
Andre Greipel
Lotto
178 Pts
4
Jonathan Hivert
Sojasun
138 Pts
5
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ
135 Pts
6
Matthew Goss
Orica
131 Pts
7
Tyler Farrar
Garmin
104 Pts
8
Philippe Gilbert
BMC
95 Pts
9
Alejandro Valverde
Movistar
89 Pts
10
Juan Jose Rojas
Euskaltel
87 Pts
Spoiler
11
Marcel Kittel
Argos
83 Pts
14
Alessandro Petacchi
Lampre
68 Pts
16
Pierrick Fedrigo
FDJ
65 Pts
18
Ben Swift
Sky
63 Pts
22
Peter Sagan
Cannondale
49 Pts
27
Romain Feillu
Vacansoleil
41 Pts
32
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
31 Pts
35
Arthur Vichot
FDJ
27 Pts
38
Daniele Bennati
Saxo
22 Pts
39
William Bonnet
FDJ
22 Pts
45
Arnold Jeannesson
FDJ
17 Pts
52
Edvald Boassen Hagen
Sky
16 Pts
96
Jérémy Roy
FDJ
2 Pts
97
Murilo Fischer
FDJ
2 Pts
KOM Classification: Thibault Pinot (FDJ)
Youth Classification
Place
Country
Rider
Team
Time
1
Tejay van Garderen
BMC
40h40'35"
2
Thibaut Pinot
FDJ
+4'05"
3
Nairo Quintana
Movistar
+5'21"
4
Alexandre Geniez
FDJ
+13'11"
5
Rafal Majka
Saxo
+21'23"
6
Tony Gallopin
RadioShack
+22'21"
7
Andrew Talansky
Garmin
+35'17"
8
Romain Sicard
Euskaltel
+36'30"
9
Taylor Phinney
BMC
+44'17"
10
Nacer Bouhanni
FDJ
+38'03"
12
Arthur Vichot
FDJ
+47'53"
Team and Combatitive Classifications
Spoiler
Team Classification
Place
Country
Team
Time
1
Sky Pro Cycling
121h15'05"
2
FDJ
+4'54"
3
Euskaltel Euskadi
+5'04"
4
Movistar Team
+5'46"
5
BMC Cycling Team
+9'32"
6
Astana Pro Team
+12'04"
7
Team Saxo-Tinkoff
+13'48"
8
Team Europcar
+14'08"
9
Vacansoleil-DCM Pro Cycling Team
+16'02"
10
RadioShack Leopard
+17'21"
Combatitive Classification: Peter Velits (Omega Pharma)
Who knew Ten Dam had such a dislike for FDJ?!
). Quintana did lose 2 minutes today so the youth classifications seems to be between Van Garderen and me.
