Stage 10 **SPOILER**

[mr-marty-martin]

if thats the case then maybe the teams caught out will put in a protest...

 

[Chuffy]

A bit of both. The stage was never going to offer much, except to the sprinters or maybe an exceptional breakaway effort. That's probably why it was chosen for the 'no radio' test.

I think ultimately this 'no radio' test will be abandoned because it will back fire. The idea is to make for more exciting races but if the riders decide not to race.... it's a kind of 'lead a horse to water' argument.

I think it'll be a case of who blinks first. Today was never going to be much of a stage, radio or not, and the peloton could afford to amble along. If ASO want to run it like this again they'll need some evidence that it makes a significant difference in the big stages and that means they'll have to stare down the teams. Friday could be a lot more interesting, wot with there being some serious lumpy bits. The teams won't be able to take it easy if someone goes off the front on a climb. Sitting up would be waaaaaaay too much of a gamble.
I did think that Jens Voigt's moan that 'they might as well cut our brake cables' was hilariously over the top. You'd think a hard-as-nails old pro like him would be less diva-ish.

 

[Bigtwin]

Bradders said he loved not having a radio.

Must really spoil a nice day in the saddle all that yabbering on.

 

[Chuffy]

Bradders said he loved not having a radio.

It was Millar who said that, or did Wiggy say it too? Interesting that Garmin were one of the few teams not to sign the petition.

Must really spoil a nice day in the saddle all that yabbering on.

Wouldn't you be tempted to plug in your iPod and crank up some decent tunes instead?

 

[Bigtwin]

It was Millar who said that, or did Wiggy say it too? Interesting that Garmin were one of the few teams not to sign the petition.

Yeah, that's him - Millar - we used to call him "Bradders" just to annoy him when we were whipping his ass at hill climbing practice.

Wouldn't you be tempted to plug in your iPod and crank up some decent tunes instead?

I'd sing along - like to see the peleton decide to reel me in then!

....

 

[Chuffy]

I'd sing along - like to see the peleton decide to reel me in then!

While you're doing it, why not sh*t yourself? They won't come within a hundred yards!

 

[Chuffy]

In fact when Bertie attacked on Arcalise, what he actually did was release half a pound of semi-digested apricots into his shorts before accelerating. LA could have kept up, he just couldn't bear to get any closer.

 

[Bigtwin]

While you're doing it, why not sh*t yourself? They won't come within a hundred yards!

Think that would be automatic as 70 pros in lycra close rapidly on me....

 

[Chuffy]

Think that would be automatic as 70 pros in lycra close rapidly on me....

When you say '70 pro's in lycra'......

 

[Bigtwin]

When you say '70 pro's in lycra'......

I can tell you, you don't make that mistake twice in one life-time. Nice bar in Thailand or not...

 

[Chuffy]

I can tell you, you don't make that mistake twice in one life-time. Nice bar in Thailand or not...

 

[rich p]

I think it was Vandevelde on interview who said that their radios hadn't worked all week anyway!

 

[andrew_s]

Just looked at it again and it is very harsh - the gap was about 3 bike lengths which was also the gap between 3rd & 4th and then 4th & 5th and all the top 10 were given the same finishing time.

It's a 1 second time gap that constitutes a split, not a distance gap, and that far back in the bunch they were rolling over the line fairly slowly. They all have transponders on their bikes, so everything is automatic.

Carelessness on the part of Wiggo - if you have GC ambitions you shouldn't be that far back in the bunch, just for this reason.

 

[zimzum42]

Crazy! Wiggo sticks to Lance like glue through the mountains, then messes up on a stage like this!

 

[Flying_Monkey]

True, though I get the feeling that 15 seconds isn't going to matter much when it comes to the Alps and Ventoux...