So the stage all the riders have been looking forward to, a 28Km examination of the bloke in fronts arse.

But wait there are some hills and one at the end thats going to make things interesting.

An atypical team time trial
This stage is unique in the history of cycling. Usually a team time trial is contested in the first third of a Grand Tour but eight stages have already taken their toll. Orica-GreenEdge, the last squad to have won the TTT at the Tour de France two years ago, is three riders down due to the abandons of Simon Gerrans, Daryl Impey and Michael Albasini after crashing. Vannes to Plumelec is also an atypical course as it’s lumpy with an uphill finish in a famous cycling heartland. Mûr de Bretagne stage winner Alexis Vuillermoz claimed the GP Plumelec one and half month ago. It’s also the place where Alejandro Valverde took stage 1 in the 2008 Tour de France in which Chris Froome and Vincenzo Nibali were making their debut at the Grande Boucle. The three of them are under stress ahead of this 28-km long stage set to be decisive for the overall classification, as Chris Froome stated after stage 8. Their respective teams, Movistar, Sky and Astana, are potential winners, so are Tinkoff-Saxo and BMC. It won’t be just physical but a tactical affair as well in terms of using the different riders’ power smartly in the first part of the race and saving some energy for the conclusive hill where the fifth rider’s time will count for the rankings.

And to sum all that off I think he’s saying all bets are off with the exception of Orica just trying to stay together till the finish and probably deserving of a nice day by the pool for the rest day tomorrow.

What it all means?
1. GBRFROOME Christopher 31 TEAM SKY 31h 01′ 56”
2. SVKSAGAN Peter 47 TINKOFF-SAXO 31h 02′ 07” + 00′ 11”
3. USAVAN GARDEREN Tejay 61 BMC RACING TEAM 31h 02′ 09” + 00′ 13”
4. FRAGALLOPIN Tony 71 LOTTO-SOUDAL 31h 02′ 22” + 00′ 26”
5. BELVAN AVERMAET Greg 68 BMC RACING TEAM 31h 02′ 24” + 00′ 28”
6. COLURAN URAN Rigoberto 118 ETIXX-QUICK STEP 31h 02′ 30” + 00′ 34”
7. ESPCONTADOR Alberto 41 TINKOFF-SAXO 31h 02′ 32” + 00′ 36”
8. FRABARGUIL WARREN 82 TEAM GIANT-ALPECIN 31h 03′ 03” + 01′ 07”
9. CZESTYBAR Zdenek 116 ETIXX-QUICK STEP 31h 03′ 11” + 01′ 15”
10. NEDMOLLEMA Bauke 141 TREK FACTORY RACING 31h 03′ 28” + 01′ 32”
11. NEDGESINK Robert 131 TEAM LOTTO NL – JUMBO 31h 03′ 35” + 01′ 39”
12. ESPVALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro 59 MOVISTAR TEAM 31h 03′ 43” + 01′ 47”
13. ITANIBALI Vincenzo 1 ASTANA PRO TEAM 31h 03′ 44” + 01′ 48”
14. CZEKREUZIGER Roman 44 TINKOFF-SAXO 31h 03′ 47” + 01′ 51”
15. GBRTHOMAS Geraint 39 TEAM SKY 31h 03′ 48” + 01′ 52”
16. COLQUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander 51 MOVISTAR TEAM 31h 03′ 52” + 01′ 56”

Well there is every chance somebody else could be in yellow as we hit the mountains on Bastille day, Sagan/Saxo need just 11s & BMC just 13 to nick it off Froome Sky seemed to do a fair bit of work yesterday so we will see how they roll today with the feed of everyone’s times in their ears.

As for yesterday the breaks came and went but it was all back to one group for the finish and nobody seemed to know when to go with the top 10 seeming happy to mark each other and not risk blowing up, a surprise Sagan didn’t go and a Frenchman taking the win – always a popular result.

The only real surprise was Nibbles loosing more time, unless he has a very cunning plan for the mountains I don’t think he’s going to make it 2/2.

The fans from Eritrea

Promises to be interesting. Will anyone’s ambitions falter on the tiredness of of of their colleagues? Who won’t be speaking at dinner?

Question – I assume Froome will have a yellow skinsuit, and also because it’s Sky with their budget and the expectation there’s a chance that they would hold yellow by now that they would have had one in the cupboard ready.

But the others? There were a few could have been in yellow, not least Fab or Tony, plus some other chances potentially from yesterday. Is there a speed seamstress on standby who knocks up appropriately logoed leader’s jerseys overnight depending on the day’s results?

Is there a speed seamstress on standby who knocks up appropriately logoed leader’s jerseys overnight depending on the day’s results?

there is a complete van full of all the jerseys in all sizes that gets marked up with the appropriate sponsors each evening

But the others? There were a few could have been in yellow, not least Fab or Tony, plus some other chances potentially from yesterday. Is there a speed seamstress on standby who knocks up appropriately logoed leader’s jerseys overnight depending on the day’s results?

The teams with realistic GC contenders will have planned for this.
Someone took a picture of a yellow Trek frameset which was squirrelled away in the back of the truck – all ready to be built up should Cancellara get yellow on the first day.
Sky do the same, you’ll see Froome’s bike get more an more yellow as the Tour goes on. At the moment it’s just some subtle yellow highlights, by Paris it’ll be fully yellow (assu!ing he’s still in yellow obviously!)

Teams roll out everything for the Tour, they won’t have left anything to chance and some suppliers and sponsors will work through the night to get special one offs of kit made and delivered.

It will be funny if Saxo win to see Sagan dressed up in what is probably Contadors yellow kit 🙂 Bertie won’t be at all pissed off about that

Ohhh this will be booooooorrrrrrriiiiiinnnngggg 😐

Honestly, not a fan of TTT’s..

At

All

Have fun watching it though yeah.

I’ll be back when the real racing son.

Stage 8 STW fantasy league results, not much happened then they went uphill very quickly.

Some new teams in the days stage result!
1: Team The Froome Wagon, DS Paul B on 385 points
2: Team Ritchie is on the Porte, DS M Rees on 359 points
3: Team Almost real biking, DS Greg Bowie on 341 points

In the GC:
1: Team Durham Dynamo, DS Rich Harper with 2675 points
2: Team The Froome Wagon, DS Paul B with 2457 points
3: Team Almost real biking, DS Greg Bowie with 2384 points

—-
BMC to win the TTT TJ to take yellow

Love a team time trial 🙂

Would be super to see Sagan in yellow, even if just for a day, but realistically it will be Froome or Tejay tonight.

From the early footage looks like it could be quite technical out there. Finish is sounding fun looking at the gears these guys are pushing

ITV have caught Sherwen and Liggett’s disease. ‘On the eve of the first individual rest day’

Is there a specialist team rest day then? Where they get to rest as much as their fifth most rested rider?

See for me it’s like Boycott and Blowers, without them it’s just not cricket 🙂

A few Scherwinisms..

If STW turned up as former mountain bikers would we be favourites?
The end of the TT they are hitting 180-190BPM – hell I hit that on some hills is that a good or bad thing 🙂
I wish there were some more stone walls this year

If STW turned up as former mountain bikers would we be favourites?

The year they devise a course that’s all downhill, count me in. That’s where our skillz will be most effective.

Well Movistar up the front, Nibbles is really in trouble now, Saxo fastest at Split one so could be a bit change up front or some very big gaps in the next half hour

I tell you what, when a TTT is ridden well, like BMC and Sky at the moment, it’s a beautiful thing.

I take it back from other posts, Sky have a blinding team 🙂 Really good team effort today.
Biggest thing was taking 27s off Saxo and Bertie so looks like on day one in the mountains it’s time for everyone else to attack.

Tomorrow being a rest day of somebody wants to do a week 1 summary go for it 😉

and I guess with an interview for SBS/Aus TV confirmation the Porte is moving on at the end of this year. Sort of let slip but a real top bloke and obviously heading to be the main man somewhere else (BMC apparently)

A Jersey getting printed at a stage finish for anyone interested

Impressive stuff by BMC and Tejay so far too, not really put a foot wrong. Be interesting to see how well he hangs with the big four (we writing Nibali off yet?) in the third week, he’ll want to prove he’s their man for the Tour too with Porte joining next year.

ITV4 managed to make it quite exciting as TTT’s go actually!

Soooooo bloody close between Sky & BMC, can’t see Nibali doing anything now but you never know what might happen, I reckon Contador could still take the win and Quintana is looking very dangerous. I just don’t know about TJvG yet? I really want to see the Yates’ twins smash a stage in the mountains!

Did anyone else notice the disdain from Valverde toward Quintana? Quintana def can’t rely on him, I reckon he’d drop him in a second if he got half a chance!

I reckon he’d drop him in a second if he got half a chance!

TBF, I reckon that may be mutual

(wouldn’t trust valverde an inch, mind)

Soooooo bloody close between Sky & BMC, can’t see Nibali doing anything now but you never know what might happen, I reckon Contador could still take the win and Quintana is looking very dangerous. I just don’t kno

In GC terms the race has barely started. Nibali is 2 minutes and a bit down – that’s how much time he could put into Froome in the last 5km of a big mountain stage. Or vice versa, of course. At least all of the GC contenders know it’s all about climbing now – they don’t have to factor in their inadequacies in a TT. .

Only if Froome blows. In order to take that much otherwise he’d have to attack way earlier – like before the last climb. That or take time out of him several days in a row, which would be almost as extraordinary. Nobody takes 24s/km out of the top guys in an attack.

I didn’t say it was likely…

Nobody takes 24s/km out of the top guys in an attack.

Stage 15, Ventoux, 2013. Froome dropped Quintana at 1.2km and won with a 30 second lead. He had dropped Contador at 6.5km and put 1 minute 40 into him.

I’ve been watching cycling for a long time, aracer – it happens. To prove my point I thought I’d google some mountain stages, that was pretty much the first one i landed on. Either I’m lucky, with a defective memory for bike racing, or you’re talking crap. 😉

The advantage that Froome has over the rest is he has the time in the bank now, they need to attack
1. GBR FROOME Christopher 31 TEAM SKY 31h 34′ 12”
2. USA VAN GARDEREN Tejay 61 BMC RACING TEAM 31h 34′ 24” + 00′ 12”
3. BEL VAN AVERMAET Greg 68 BMC RACING TEAM 31h 34′ 39” + 00′ 27”
4. SVK SAGAN Peter 47 TINKOFF-SAXO 31h 34′ 50” + 00′ 38”
5. ESP CONTADOR Alberto 41 TINKOFF-SAXO 31h 35′ 15” + 01′ 03”
6. COL URAN URAN Rigoberto 118 ETIXX-QUICK STEP 31h 35′ 30” + 01′ 18”
7. ESP VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro 59 MOVISTAR TEAM 31h 36′ 02” + 01′ 50”
8. GBR THOMAS Geraint 39 TEAM SKY 31h 36′ 04” + 01′ 52”
9. COL QUINTANA ROJAS Nairo Alexander 51 MOVISTAR TEAM 31h 36′ 11” + 01′ 59”
10. CZE STYBAR Zdenek 116 ETIXX-QUICK STEP 31h 36′ 11” + 01′ 59”
11. FRA GALLOPIN Tony 71 LOTTO-SOUDAL 31h 36′ 13” + 02′ 01”
12. CZE KREUZIGER Roman 44 TINKOFF-SAXO 31h 36′ 30” + 02′ 18”
13. ITA NIBALI Vincenzo 1 ASTANA PRO TEAM 31h 36′ 34” + 02′ 22”

Tejay has the chance to take yellow from a small break but keeping it will be tough and he hasn’t come through in the last week as much. But flying under the radar so far and staying in contact is a good start. It’s a bigger ask for the others, if Sky pick their stage they could be the ones as above putting time into the others.

Quintana had attacked earlier and used up energy in a solo attempt before being caught. Froome dropped Contador at 7.5km to go, so would have needed about 10km to make 2 minutes.

If you are going to argue small points –
Froome rode with the new leader of the youth classification for about a minute but then repeated the sort of surge that eliminated Contador with 6.5km to go. . From the TdF website itself. And so what if Quintana had attacked earlier? Are you expecting Froome not to be attacked at all? Not to respond? Not to use energy?

Perhaps I shouldn’t have specified 5km? Maybe 12km? –
and there was movement up ahead as Quintana attacked and Froome followed. This prompted a pursuit from the Katusha: Moreno and Rodriguez who set the pace of the yellow jersey group and this eliminated Contador and Kreuziger from the group with about 12km to climb.
With 5km to climb, Van Garderen led the stage with an advantage of 40” on Riblon while behind Froome found himself in a crisis and was calling for the team car… initially it seemed like it might have been a mechanical but there may have been more to it. Froome was ultimately paced to the line by Porte and the pair finished 1’13” behind Quintana and 3’18” behind the stage winner. Froome was seventh in the stage and gained time on his nearest rival, Contador (who dropped down to 5’11” behind). The Spaniard was 11th in the stage and lost 57” to Froome Stage 18 Alpe d’Huez 2013. Froome bonks, one favourite makes over 2 minutes on another, nobody attacks before the last climb.

As I say, maybe I shouldn’t have been blasé and said 5km, this being pedantsville STW and all that. The point being that while Nibali wouldn’t want to be over 2 minutes in arrears, it’s not the end of the race for him, and he can make up the deficit on a mountain stage in far less distance than on any other sort of stage.

Nobody takes 24s/km out of the top guys in an attack

Btw 30 seconds in 1.2km is 25s/km. (Froome’s attack on Quintana.)

I dont see anyone being able to take 2 mins on a stage over Froome. The way he keeps battling back is hugely impressive even when the likes of Bertie can accelerate away. Problem for Nibbles is that he needs Froome, Quintana and Bertie to have bad days.

And we know how strong Contador is after a rest day 😛 El Pistelero will come out battling tomorrow, he’s the best attacking GC rider there is, this second week should be all the way sexy!

Froome may want to put even more time into them over the next few days, let alone protect the time he already has.

I agree though, the big guns will need to try some longer attacks if they want to beat Froome, IMO.

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/cycling/33498831
Some thought from Geraint Thomas on the week gone and whats to come.

I dont see anyone being able to take 2 mins on a stage over Froome.

Strictly speaking you wouldn’t have to, as there are 10s time bonuses for the stage win.

Nibbles for me doesn’t look like he has the form to trouble anyone, but the rest who knows. Still plenty of very hard racing to come, you only need one bad day and it can all go up in smoke.

Anything’s possible but I don’t see Froome cracking so badly that he’ll lose huge amounts. That happens when you have to match attacks to avoid losing seconds and eventually red line to often into oblivion. A minute’s not a huge amount but i haven’t yet seen anything from Bertie that suggests he’s any better than Froome and with the effects of the Giro still in his legs, there’s two hard weeks to come yet. And limiting losses vs Quintana and Nibali at 2 mins to a few seconds a day is very do-able.

I think it also helps that TJVG is up there. Is he a contender? I don’t know yet, but the others have to treat him as one until proven otherwise, hence it’s not enough to double or triple team Froome, they’ll have to crack TJ as well.

In fact, i suspect that Froome’s the strongest in the pack and will win with a bigger time gap than he currently has.

individual TT are boring as hell to watch but a TTT can be a pretty awesome sight. especially when the lead man rides them into a field <cough>garmin<cough>

oh and that Segan picture is pic of the tour for me so far.

I don’t think we’ve seen anything yet from the top five contenders, I think we’ll have a better idea after the second week. I think Froome is the strongest but I’ve a feeling there’s more to come from Nibali and Contador.

Some of the comments on that BBC article are a bit sad eh? 🙄

No more time bonuses.

Don’t read the comments in news articles, that’s the path to the darkside.

Don’t forget, Contador would rather risk fighting for the win and lose than come second.

Don’t forget, Contador would rather risk fighting for the win and lose than come second.

At this stage of the race I think that goes for all the big 4. Tejay though would be happy with a podium.

Contador v Froome will be interesting. Maybe the reverse of the Vuelta last year when Contador had a gap going into the mountains, seemed that on each stage Froome had to push the pace and Contador just tracked him then nipped past to pick up a few seconds at the line.

Nibali doesn’t quite look to have the form. Looks ripe for at least one really bad day in the mountains.

Quintana is the one that would worry me, a real unknown at the moment.

oooh Eurosport just offered me a month for £1.
No more having to suffer low res feeds or the elderly ITV4 duo 🙂

The code looks like it might be a personal one-off code (as I’ve subscribed before), but anyone is welcome to try it.

The web-version of the offer email is here:
http://mm.mm-eurosport.com/mirror/euro1436543301.php?id=4i7r4d0g0s6f2q1z5z3i1d1d929d1s0m7f24i1d3dd5s8m7f5d2d5

(they charge 5.99 a month if you don’t cancel after the tour)