echappist

Wiggo was actually pretty good at this sort of stuff (Recall that Paris-Nice stage from 2012), but that guy has a mass-start track background.

The other skybots, not so much.

They probably experienced a skyblue screen of death when Bjarnes ordered the attack.

Grumpy McTrumpy

with his TT ability, Froome's lack of active participation in the chase makes me go "huh?"

Especially after the crazy pulls that Contador was taking.

MDcatV

exciting stage. double gain for AC, time back on froome and psychological message sent that saxo arent there to crown another "sir" without a fight. However, based on observations so far, i suspect in a weeks time it will be long forgotten and froome will have won by 4+ minutes ... but we'll see.

wens

They have the best stage results results in the world the past couple years. I can't think of a single major one day race that they've won. The results speak for themselves I think.

AzTallRider

I was fast forwarding through planning to watch the last 10K or so. Had to back it up and watch it all unfold when I saw it broken up. Great race. They'll all be feeling it tonight/tomorrow.

mattm

Probably because he'll just drop Alberto on the hills coming up. I mean mountains.

mattm

Also, great stage today!

Surprised at Sagan's lack of a finishing kick as of late - yeah he's got the green jersey in a stanglehold, but he doesn't seem to have 'it' anymore. Maybe he tried too hard to become a climber or something.

gsteinb

sigh. there's more to sprinting than finishing kick. he was in the wind too early with cavendish on his wheel. the math goes something like '****.' At that point the goal becomes something like get to the line with as little effort as possible to save it for another day. this is the biggest stage in the world. lead out, position, timing are all equally important. I'm not sure what Sagan's goals at the tour are besides walking away with the green jersey. He's been winning races since early in the year...maybe he has his eyes on something else

Homebrew01

Sagan didn't look like he really wanted to try for the win.

botto 

Nederlands is the language they speak in Nederland.

echappist

hmm, it's a bit less selective than i imagined, but still pretty damn tough. my bet is on a GC rider with a good kick, perhaps Valverde (yikes), De Gendt, or Purito
duly noted. thanks for pointing it out

Fat Boy

He was thinking green. Once he saw who was on his wheel, he really didn't even try to respond.

mattm

Good stage today.

rankin116

I don't follow all the estimated power stuff and all that, but damn, today looked like one of those 'not normal' days. Very impressive if legit.

Grumpy McTrumpy

Chris Pharm did a pretty unbelievable performance. I wonder if there was something in those illegal musette bags with 10k to go.

And I don't mean "unbelievable" in the good way.

Racer Ex 

rode across a 45s gap on Ventoux in a minute then put 30s into 2nd place in half a km when the 2nd place guy had been sheltered from the crosswind. In the last 4k or so the other gaps didn't move more than 15-20s from 2nd to 10th or so. Looked exactly like Pharmstrong and Pantani. Only Pharmstrong didn't drop the carp out of panatani at the end.

Hard to not be a tad skeptical.

I missed the illegal musettes.

Grumpy McTrumpy

Once we see the official timing from Saint Esteve to the summit, then we'll know whether it was another Ax3

Grumpy McTrumpy

the initial timing estimates from the various tweets have the last 15.6km at around 48.5 to 49 minutes which puts him in the yellow zone, but nowhere near the record ascents by Pantani etc.

Grumpy McTrumpy

Caution #unbridleddopingspeculation coming up

The 48:35 estimate is borderline but still slightly faster than the DpVAM that has been established for Ventoux. Also, Sky were not driving the tempo at all for much of the first part of the main ascent. Nobody did that except the guys who were OTF. After the 10k "feed" however, Froome and Porte went from looking cooked to looking like Lance and Heras. Subsequent actions were obvious and predictable. I'd like to see a timing of the top 10k but I doubt there is historical data.

I consider today suspicious, primarily due to every other top rider getting crushed (again), and not so much due to the data.

Fat Boy

Grumpy McTrumpy

image blocked

chasm54

I agree. I'm suspicious, but not yet convinced. It is conceivable that the guy is as good a climber as we have seen for a long time, and that an unprepared Contador was never as good as many thought. Quintana could have been much closer if he hadn't attacked so early.

It's a pity, this, isn't it? No exceptional performance is a source of uncomplicated admiration any more.

MDcatV

chris pharm is funny. i've been using froomestrong.

dude has no souplesse but he sure does make his bike go fast.

thechemist

+1

mattm

Today's stage was fun to watch, at least.

Has the UCI contacted you yet?