Le Tour de Pharmaceutical 2012

Could've been so much better if they had a climb between Plainevoux and Seriang. It's going to basically be an uphill sprint, and it's not like the Liege region lacks short climbs. But it was a stage made specifically for Gilbert (it's his home region).

Big Dog wrote:

skully wrote:You don't have a remote control?

Yes but looking at the weather it may be irrelevant.

Ah fark!! More bad weather in Blighty???

tricycle wrote:Could've been so much better if they had a climb between Plainevoux and Seriang. It's going to basically be an uphill sprint, and it's not like the Liege region lacks short climbs. But it was a stage made specifically for Gilbert (it's his home region).

I'm highly impressed with your wide and detailed knowledge of numerous different sports, t. Ace work .

Cheers skulls, though I'm shite at actually getting out and riding a bike, and pretty much every other sport.

Sky will be wearing yellow helmets as Team GC leaders today. It's a new rule and it's pointless really.

Predictable stage winner yesterday, think that's Sagan's eleventh or twelfth win this year. Gilbert has been rubbish all year, especially considering his season last year, the organisers would've booked the podium back in October. Still thought it was a bit of a shitty course for the stage though.

Just put the lot on drugs so it's a level playing field and then we'll find out who is the best rider.

bodyline wrote:Just put the lot on drugs so it's a level playing field and then we'll find out who is the best rider.

bl, just out of a National Party workshop on rational extension.

So anyone been caught yet?

It will be a day for the sprinters in stage two. Evans is still 10s shy of Wiggins so will have to watch himself.

The new tour de france website is absolutely shite.

Try this one

SBS Aust

Big Dog wrote:

The new tour de france website is absolutely shite.

Try this one

SBS Aust

Cheers, it's far better.

Good ride by Cav today, rode a lone race and seemed gone around a km from the finish. He sat on the right wheels though, seemed to be on Goss' wheel for some time. Dare I say, a bit McEwen-esque.

Excuse my cycling knowledge (or lack thereof) but what difference does it make having a team supporting you? I just read the BBC report on Cavendish's stage win and it says that he did it largely without the help of his team. What exactly do they do? Is it kind of like pace making in running or is there more to it than that?

The leader of a team usually has a few mates who are there to just protect him, from crosswinds or any other avoidable mishap, and in the case of sprint trains, it's pace making for the fastest man (Renshaw played this role at HTC for Cav and Geraint Thomas did at the Giro in May).

Cav doesn't have his team backing him because of Wiggins being one of the favourites for te race, so he had to weasel his way through opposing teams' organised sprint trains and get to the front, and be led out by an opponent, Greipel, who is also frighteningly quick. I thought it was one of his better wins.

Ah so there's a bit more to it then. Cheers for the info.

Yeah, the lead-out trains basically get the sprinter in position and protect him from the headwind etc., with the front man going as fast as he can and the others following in his slipstream, when the front man can sustain the effort no longer he pulls aside for the next in line to take it up, and so on until the final lead-out man peels away to hopefully unleash the sprinter in prime position to charge for the line.

vilkrang wrote:Ah so there's a bit more to it then. Cheers for the info.

Depends what the team's objective is for the Tour. Sky have set their sights on yellow in Paris and picked the team accordingly. Any stage wins for Cavendish are bonus.

Quite a lot more to it then. I always thought it was pretty much an individual sport but it sounds like the most successful will always have a strong team behind them.

Very interesting, cheers.

vilkrang wrote:Quite a lot more to it then. I always thought it was pretty much an individual sport but it sounds like the most successful will always have a strong team behind them.

Very interesting, cheers.

Armstrong's teams were cherry picked to do one thing. Get him to Paris in yellow. Watching his teams taking him up a mountain was some of the best team play I have ever seen.

Yeah, but it would also have to be one of the most perverse doping programmes back then, along with Telekom. Cobbled classics riders like Hincapie were nearly top 10 in the Tour in a specialised era and donkeys like Riis were obliterating the field in 96.

Slightly challenging stage today with four cat 4 climbs. Wou'd'nt expect the major placings to change on this leg.

Another Sagan win, and looking at the bump just before the finish for the next stage, he could well have another.

Wiggins should, and, I think, has got the same time as the group ahead as he was caught in an accident in the final 3km.

3 km rule not applicable to these stages -summit finishes of the 7 th, 11th and 17 th stages and the TTs.
Saw it somewhere in-here

Decent prize money there.

No major changes after S3. Evans moved up a place but the main focus was on the sprinters. Some nice coastal scenery today with another four Cat 4 climbs. Should be another day for the sprinters.

Nasty crash took Cav out of the running for the final sprint to the line yesterday. Looks like another stage for the sprinters today so perhaps he can make amends.

Thought it was Goss' big chance yesterday, and Cav's leadout man Bernie Eisel caused the crash by clipping Robbie Hunter.

Cav, Greipel, Goss, and maybe even Kittel considering how flat the stage is and Radioshack will want yellow for as long as possible, so it shan't be a breakaway win.

Anyway, some reports are saying that the ten riders testifying against Armstrong are going to have a six month ban. Nice, Hincapie will retire by the time the ban starts, and the ban will take place during the off season. Basically, a one month ban for confessing to doping and indicting Armstrong. ****** hell the USADA are twats at times.