Tour de France 2015 - may contain nuts and SPOILERS

[HF2300]

Not sure about Cav's post race comment to the effect that he 'couldn't' hold on for third, didn't look like he was going full gas to the line to me.

Have to say it looked to me as though he only backed off once he'd looked across and realised the others had beaten him. Not sure what happened to EQS, apart from Cav and Renshaw they didn't really seem to be present in the last K or so. Renshaw dropped Cav off at 300m, so about 100m short of their usual target, but it seemed to me they were partly landed with that situation.

I think we expect QuickStep to do the perfect leadout every time, but it seems to me they haven't been as strong in the last year or two, and everyone else has cottoned on to their tactics and caught up.

 

[Origamist]

Great race today. They all earned their corn. Kwiato took the day's combativity prize which I think is fair and a bit of consolation for the disappointments of Cav and Der Panzerwagen. Monster effort from Sagan too to get back after his mechanical.

I think he is also fortunate (along with Nibs) that the Tour commissaires are generally not as harsh as the ones at the Giro when it comes to pacing...

 

[The Couch]

I think he is also fortunate (along with Nibs) that the Tour commissaires are generally not as harsh as the ones at the Giro when it comes to pacing...

They weren't harsh at the 2013 WC RR (in Italy) either

For a flat stage this turned out really interesting

Strange to see that many people made a similar comment as above and hadn't expected this... from the moment this stage was announced, I thought everybody was aware of the (big) possibility of echelon formations
(by the way, stage 6, might also have the echelon formations)

 

[Berk on a Bike]

I think he is also fortunate (along with Nibs) that the Tour commissaires are generally not as harsh as the ones at the Giro when it comes to pacing...

Ah I didn't see him doing it. I saw Nibs blatantly using just about every car in the cortege earlier. Even the commissaires' car at one point.

Out of interest, does anyone have a link to the daily fines report?

 

[mjr]

I saw Nibs blatantly using just about every car in the cortege earlier.

Isn't it usually a convoy, or are you suggesting that Nibs's tour chances just died?

 

[Berk on a Bike]

Ah I didn't see him doing it. I saw Nibs blatantly using just about every car in the cortege earlier. Even the commissaires' car at one point.

Out of interest, does anyone have a link to the daily fines report?

Call it an appropriate malapropism

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

Call it an appropriate malapropism

Cortège, in the French style is fine. English usage tends to be more funerary.

 

[Dave Davenport]

Much as I admire Greg Le Mond, the thing he does on Eurosport is pretty sh1te, and the younger bloke presenting it with him is awful.

 

[Hont]

Nowhere to hide when you are an out of form sprinter.

I think it was more tactics than form. You could tell there was a big headwind by how late Greipel left his jump (he may have even left it later had Sagan not gone). If Cav had been behind Greipel in the same position I know where my money would be.

It's odd that such an experienced rider as Renshaw failed to take account of the wind, but it's easy to say from the armchair - perhaps he thought that Cav was in good enough form to go long. Cav never seems to win the first sprint stage, though, he always seems at his best with a few more miles in the legs.

 

[Crackle]

Avg pace yesterday ~ 27mph

Not bad Smeggers. You should go pro.

 

[cd365]

I really enjoyed yesterday's race, I wasn't going to bother watching much until the last few Kms, glad I did

 

[Berk on a Bike]

Cortège, in the French style is fine. English usage tends to be more funerary.

I'm half Quebecois so blame that

 

[Berk on a Bike]

Much as I admire Greg Le Mond, the thing he does on Eurosport is pretty sh1te, and the younger bloke presenting it with him is awful.

I haven't seen any of this series yet. Is it the guy with the brightly-coloured trousers?

 

[Berk on a Bike]

A four-man break has almost three and a half minutes on the bunch. Short stage today, less than 100 miles. Lightweights...

 

[Hont]

Has anyone seen anything more on the query over the ITT length? I saw someone suggesting that most of the riders GPS had the route at 13.4km not 13.8km, which would have made Dennis ride not the fastest average speed. Not seen any further comment on that though since.