Stage 3: SPOILER

[trustysteed]

i can't help feeling that the crashes and cobbles have actually ruined the whole race within the first 3 stages. it was poised nicely with armstrong a few seconds ahead of contador and both schlecks always ready to cause mayhem in the mountains. now armstrong's almost a minute off the pace so that kind of ends the intriguing fight with contador and some good names have gone like schleck and van de velde.

one good note is seeing evans up there, he's had a good start and may come out of this well as he can certainly time trial and he's not completely rubbish in the mountains.

 

[Smokin Joe]

i can't help feeling that the crashes and cobbles have actually ruined the whole race within the first 3 stages.

I don't think many people would agree with you there. In the past the first week of the Tour has often been a series of long uneventful club runs ending in a bunch sprint or with a no hoper winning on his own.

What we have now is much better, the race is wide open with no one team able to strangle it. And if Armstrong is a serious contender (which I doubt) a minute behind Alberto would at this stage be easily managable.

 

[Landslide]

I don't think that ruins the race at all, just means that gameplans will have to change, and the individuals and their teams that have to make more of the running may not be those we initially suspected.

 

[trustysteed]

i know what you mean but when main contenders and big team players that can have an effect on the race are taken out of contention or the race early on, it loses some of it's appeal for me.

 

[zimzum42]

Why does everyone love the mountains?

Because it opens up gaps in the field.

Like Smoking Joe says, this has made the boring first week a bit better and has set this tour up to be more interesting

As much as it's nice to see no hopers get to wear yellow for a few days, the GC at the moment looks much more like it normally does after 2 weeks, which IMO is good

 

[Smokin Joe]

So who is "out of contention"?

Surely you can't thing Contador has sewn it up?

 

[trustysteed]

on a slightly separate but related note, surely racing down these single file cobblestone roads with spectators encroaching on the road is a recipe for disaster? sure it might be spectacular to watch but both riders and spectactors risk real damage for the sake of it.

 

[threebikesmcginty]

I think it's been great - the talk was of Chavanel holding onto the yellow jersey for days. The cobbles changed all that in one day - interesting racing IMO.

 

[raindog]

Contador is one minute down on Evans and AndyS - that's nothing at all if he's in good shape when we hit the mountains. The only one who's looking a bit dodgy at the moment is LA and even he's not that far back. Remember this year's Giro when Basso lost a shed load of time on that early stage in the mud? Well, he went on to win the race. Nothing's decided from yesterday's stage and we've got two and a half weeks of intrigue and racing ahead of us - sit back and enjoy.

 

[Stephen-D]

My first TDF and im loving it so much already, the passion the crowds and the great races, hope it stays like this.

 

[montage]

it did annoy me that the wheelsucker won yesterdays stage.

 

[Thor]

it did annoy me that the wheelsucker won yesterdays stage.

But that's what sprinters do!

 

[montage]

But that's what sprinters do!

yer I know, I guess it is a fair one, but I would rather somebody who had done a bit more work won it.

I guess thor put in one bit of effort to keep up with cancellara at one point

 

[MacB]

it did annoy me that the wheelsucker won yesterdays stage.

all around tactics though, he only had an interest in catching the lone guy left out front and staying ahead of any chasing pack. The effort needed for that was minimial, after that it was stage win and points that mattered. Don't forget he wasn't too happy with the way he'd been forced into complying with the non-race the day before. He'd done all the hard work for the day and kept himself out of trouble. I don'y know who Fabian was trying to kid claiming it as the right thing to do. Had the Schlecks not been in the crashes I doubt he'd have attempted similar. The least he deserved was a bit of wheelsucking.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

i can't help feeling that the crashes and cobbles have actually ruined the whole race within the first 3 stages. it was poised nicely with armstrong a few seconds ahead of contador and both schlecks always ready to cause mayhem in the mountains. now armstrong's almost a minute off the pace so that kind of ends the intriguing fight with contador and some good names have gone like schleck and van de velde.

I feel completely the opposite. This has been a great start - and it means that every stage is going to be far more contested. It won't be just a parade to the mountains. The GC and Green jersey competitions are wide-open, the fight for white looks interesting, and I have no idea who is going to get the KoM. Not everything is about Armstrong...