DLBroox

How did Dan Martin get up from that and finish so well?

Sorry for Bargul!

Ironfish653

I think it's one of those SOP rules, like with motos; If you're still down when the medics get there, you're staying down, you go on the board, and in to the 'bus'. Err on the side of caution.

I've put motos down on roads like that at those speeds, wearing a full riding suit, with armor. Got the crap beat out of me. I try not to think about it when i'm doing 30+ on a descent on the (velo) with just shorts and a jersey.

Ironfish653

Seriously. Tough dude.

Lucky he got a bike change while he was still in the 'panic mode' after the shunt. It's amazing what you can do when your adrenaline is red-lined.

Marcus_Ti

I'm still in awe of Uran finishing, and moreover winning that sprint in what was basically a single speed.

Andy_K 

Yeah, that was too bad. It was a fantastic bit of racing on his part to keep his head after he got caught and hang in there to be able to try for the win.

stlcowboyfan

I know we're missing two elite sprinters, but his ability to accelerate and walk away from guys is astounding.

Giacomo 1 

So true! Kittel is on fire and has it all going his way right now, right down to Katusha and Lotto Soudol helping him. His competition is leaving him with alot of energy to use for the sprint.

Greipel, Bouhanni and Kristoff are just lost out there and looking bad. I'm loving the speed of Eddy Bosenhagen though. Didn't know he could hang in bunch sprints like this...

patrickgm60

Astana in yellow!

europa

The peleton is scared of Team Skye and this has resulted in a lack of racing. The refusal to keep racing when Froome ran wide was telling. It was worrying in previous years, it's pathetic this year. We got a good result in this stage solely because Froome cracked - as mentioned by the commentators, if the peleton had had the guts to genuinely attack Froome, this race would be far from obvious.

DLBroox

I agree. If a rider can't ride the course than bu-bye. I mean attacking on a mechanical the other day was one thing but that was ridiculous today. You're in the heat of the race and the guy runs off the street!

Maybe now knowing that Froome is vulnerable guys will be more willing to attack Sky. Tomorrow should be interesting.

Wonder what they were saying to Landa in the Sky bus today.

HardyWeinberg

Yay! Although if Aru gave up 40 sec to Froome on 14km TT, does that mean we would expect him to cough up a minute on the 22km one in Marseille? So 6 sec is nice on the podium today but I don't have my hopes too high yet.

HardyWeinberg

The worst.

Giacomo 1 

As well they should be!

Team Sky are stone cold killers. Did you see them climbing today? Like machines! Froome still had 4 riders starting the HC climb, with no Gerraint Thomas, then 3, then 2 and he had Landa to the end. No other contenders had any teamates next to them for most of the race. Aru did it on guts today, not team help. No team can come close to matching these guys.

I'm not a Sky lover, but cmon, you gotta give it to these guys.

dstrong 

Tomorrow could be interesting...or a total bore. I don't think Froome can get his 6 seconds back from Aru given the long descent after the last climb. Then it's a bunch of flat stages. Could Aru hold the yellow all the way to Stage 18 (Col D'Izoard)? Froome should be able to beat Aru by at least 6 seconds in a 23k TT...but why leave it to chance. If Froome is still down going into Stage 18, the Sky-beasts will be unleashed for sure.

Lazyass

Hell, Aru didn't need a team at the end. He was just sitting behind Froome the whole time.

Caretaker

Flat stages? I don't think so.

There aren't any 'flat stages' left in this Tour unless you count stage 21.

79pmooney

The other GC guys did just that. Froome's super-teammates led him off the road and they waited so he could get back on. This should have been Froome's up-the-road teammates doing all in their power to slow Aru, Uran, Bardet, Bennett et al as they did their best to put Froome in real difficulty. Now, that would be some good racing.

No, instead, Formula 1 king spins out on a corner. His opponents wait? Really?

Ben

Kevindale

It's easy to denigrate these guys (GC contenders not named Froome) for not attacking, but they're in something of a prisoner's dilemma. We all know what it's like to push yourself just past the point of no return: you go from cruising along as fast as you possibly can, to your legs barely moving enough to keep you upright. Do that 20 km from the finish and your Tour is over.

Yeah, if they all took turns attacking Froome they might crack him, but the calculus seems to be (1) shadow Froome, and try to hold on and beat everyone else for number 2 or 3 - a podium finish is HUGE, or (2) go for it, on the small chance you'll win it all, knowing if you slightly overdo it on just one mountain you're probably out of the top 20. And they know it's likely the 4th or 5th attacker who will reap the rewards of a worn-out Froome. The first several serious attackers might end up in the back of the peleton. It's no wonder they're all eyeing each other, waiting until the last kilometer to make serious moves.

The problem is the attackers aren't attacking Froome - they're attacking Team Sky. A lone attacker against that talent is taking a crazy chance. At the end of the day, each GC rider's goal isn't to keep Froome from winning again, it's to do as well individually as they are capable. From a fan's standpoint, that may be disappointing, but from a professional rider's standpoint it's the only thing that makes sense.

gpsblake

Yap, Maybe Froome even gave up the yellow on purpose today by laying just a tad off the final climb.

Tomorrow's stage is one of the shortest stages in modern history outside of a TT. It will be interesting to see.

europa

No. Skye have already stated they wanted to carry the yellow through to Paris - first team to carry it through an entire tour in decades.
This small loss doesn't actually take any pressure of Skye, they'll still have to work as hard while trying to get Froome back in front.

Steve C

This is what David Miller said about the Froome off road excursion, not word for word you understand.

"They didn't wait for Froome, they knew that he had enough team strength left to pace him back up to them, so any attack would have been wasted."

Better to save their strength for the end game, which is what they did, and it proved the correct decision. They're not stupid you know.

Caretaker

Aru missed the turn as well as Froome. Both riders got back on the road quickly and you can see them both side by side struggling to gear down and get started again.

Did you actually watch the stage?

colombo357

It forces Astana to do some work.

Maelochs

Same here but ......

Contador is past his prime. Even his great effort on Stage 13 I think, showed that he really doesn't have it any more. Too many crashes. Too many this year, too many in prior years. he has to feel like his fate does not include another TdF win.

I feel like he spent everything to get a stage win (he knows he will never make the podium) and still couldn't keep up with the youngsters. I dearly loved watching him go today, though.

MinnMan

It's nice to see Aru in yellow, but I have to agree with others - I don't see how he survives the TT, and so it's going to be Froome in the end.

Plus, Sky is just so strong and Aru has no team left. If there are any stages coming where tactics matter, then Aru will be defenseless.