From a race perspective, the fact that Thomas rolled in with the Gesink/Gallopin group a minute back, and the next best Sky rider was Roche, fully 3 minutes behind Froome, was definitely encouraging in that, like I said, Sky might not be quite such an all-dominating entity. Of course, Porte's flat might have played into that. But it would be nice if the Alps became a duel between the top 5 (Froome, Quintana, Van Garderen, Valverde and Contador, in that order) without getting domestiques mixed up in everything. The Vuelta last year was some amazing racing, especially the last week, so a repeat of that would be great.
I didn't think it too crucial at the time, but the 2 minutes Quintana and Valverde lost on stage 2 now makes their deficits look very tough to manage. Valverde's been utterly brilliant this season, probably the best rider at Catalunya, winning the Ardennes Double, and now pulling out some great sprint finishes at the Tour. He has a stage win in him if he can get to Gap or Pra-Loup with the leaders.
Oh, and well done Cummings. Pulled an Argentin while Bardet and Pinot pulled a Roche/Criquelion.
Last edited by Leinster; 07-18-15 at 10:59 AM.