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diphthong

simply epic. love the summit finish at the galibier-finally! if the weather is ugly, the race will be absolutely shattered on this stage.
contador may not win here but he puts another 10-45 seconds between himself and nearest rivals. if my rough calculations are
correct, i've got approx 120 km of climbing on this one with about 4700 meters/15,000+ feet of climbing and much of it at altitude.
are you for reals?!?!..ouch.

Caretaker

Alberto Contador to make a move.

roadwarrior

Supposed to snow and be 38 to 45 degrees, both days. They cross the Galibier the next day on the way to the Alpe. Apparently it snowed on Sunday and they had to go get 200 tourists dressed in summer wear off the mountain before hypopthermia set in.

rousseau

Here's a link for the weather:

https://www.weatheronline.ie/cgi-app/...&W=0&YEAR=2011

It looks like between 12 and 15 degrees from 11 am to 5 pm on Thursday, but it doesn't mention anything about snow. Change of precipitation: 55%.

Dolomiti

Wonder if Contador might be so bold as to try to blow the race apart on the first climb. The last 10km of the climb is brutal: https://www.climbbybike.com/profile.a...ountainID=1894

Is that for the summit? Or at say, Valloire or something? Weather365 says a high of 7C for Thursday, but I have no clue if that's accurate either.

rousseau

The heading says "Col du Galibier," so I assume that's the summit.

ultraman6970

I see the shreck brothers riding quietly thinking in a good excuse for arriving 5 minutes behind TV, AC, SS and CE

roadwarrior

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/jonk...ntage-voeckler

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Kr7DHuCz1U

Kupkake

really really hope the weather doesn't spoil this stage, it looks insane!

Kind of Blued

There are so many tactical possibilities here. All I know is that Contador will attack somewhere between the starting line and the last half of the last HC climb. I hope the weather is crap, but they ride anyway so the Schlecks can come to terms with the fact that they're nancy boys.

DXchulo

They were saying on Eurosport today that they don't expect the weather to be a factor tomorrow. There could be some snow on the ground, but it will all melt from the roads. I hope they were right.

I hate to be a stupid American here, but I was there for Stage 1 of the Tour of California this year and I can tell you first hand that it really sucks for everybody when a stage is changed at the last minute because of snow.

globecanvas

Sanchez!

diphthong

kinda harsh in light of the fact that anyone that finishes a grand tour, much less rides at a high level, is def not a "nancy" boy.
not realizing potential, perceived as whiny and/or having questionable tactics? okay.

SouthFLpix

I think the Schlecks and Contador will both attack and try to drop Evans. No fancy tactics here, it's just going to be a painful battle all the way to the top, but it's going to be a lot of fun to watch.

mountainjesus

After today's performance, I foresee a painful day for Evans. Contador makes up some time. Andy Schleck whines about something.

Laggard

queen stage

JoelS

They're all gonna suffer, and suffer bad. The race will shatter like a glass bottle hitting concrete. Should make for an exciting stage! No predictions here. Whoever can suffer the most will gain time. Those that can't suffer will lose it.

Nick Carraway

Cannot wait for tomorrow. That is all.

crazyarm07

Really, tomorrow (and Friday) has the potential to be one of the all-time great Tour stages. Of course, it could turn out that the GC guys just mark each other all the way up, but I don't think so. It'll be fireworks tomorrow, and no matter who wins, it's gonna be fun to watch. Can't wait.

TommyL

Contador has looked so good the last couple of days, I say he makes a move- and he doesn't leave it for Galibier. Here's hoping Evans can stick with him!

Dolomiti

Profiles for the climbs:

The Agnel
Profile of the Izoard
The Lautaret (first half of the Galibier)
The last section of the final climb

So much climbing above 2000 meters...

Richard Cranium

The stage profile graphics are really kind of misleading. At least some of how this "carnage" will play out will have to do with team strength. I can't say how much because i don't know which way the winds are blowing.

Some of the interesting aspects - where the heck is Contador's team - Sanchez?

Leopard/schleck-stik - is Hincapi over the hill?

Cadel - "i have no climbers" Evans?

Anyway - look for a snooze fest -for at least the first 150k ........ You can thank me at 14:15 GMT 7 -21 -11

OrionKhan

For some reason, I get the sense that Riis has been having them cool their jets for this stage. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't be surprised to see them up at the front in force tomorrow.

This is the best scenario for us. Contador is behind and has to attack. Schleck is behind and has to attack. Sanchez is behind and has to attack. Evans is in good shape but probably wouldn't mind getting closer to Voeckler or even taking yellow. Its going to be epic.

TommyL

Thanks! Methinks that if they are together after the first two climbs, they will remain together (for the most part) on the Galibier. Hopefully there are attacks on the first two climbs, otherwise we may have to wait for the Alpe.