Because Movistar won’t set a constant pace like they did yesterday. Quintana will probably attack as he did yesterday and it’ll be up to Froome to then chase him down with the others sitting in his wheel. If he catches Quintana then one of the others will then attack him again…eventually in theory he won’t be able to keep with the attacks.

so why doesn’t he just ignore the attacks and focus on the main rider?

Should be good today but I agree with Tom B, why such a gap from the last climb to the finish ? After loads of big hills it’s not like there’ll be a bunch sprint and it’ll just minimise any advantage a climber might have gained on his own (the kind of stage WiggoSky would have liked last year, I think)

Different stages suit different riders, if you had all the stages as being flat (for sprinters) or summit finishes (for climbers) it would get a bit boring, and only sprinters and climbers would win. This will be exciting.

Ok, no more dope-talk but we should bear in mind that Realman had a paragraph and a link on the subject in the OP so I doubt he’s gnashing his teeth over others doing it

As I’ve said before, I’m not a fan of speculation, but I don’t think trying to ignore it is the way to go either. Having said that, I think it only really needs to be discussed before or after the racing, never during. Speaking of which, I’ve only just tuned in (went for a ride – what an idiot), and I see I’ve missed loads…

However, Bulgaria is excellent.

Also

3 weeks of “Are Sky doping” threads will get very boring very quickly.

+1

so why doesn’t he just ignore the attacks and focus on the main rider?

Because they’re all threats really.

He can’t really ignore it if Quintana goes as he isn’t that far down on GC.

The advantages of having your own team is that you can dictate the pace and where and when to speed up slow down, this is sometimes not apparent with Sky as they drill out a hefty pace anyway. Of course you can still follow the other teams and take a bit of shelter but its on their terms and if you are struggling they won’t ease off the gas. And it just takes one mistake or missed line on an apex and there is no one to help you get back to the guys forging ahead. Also there is a recognisable advantage of having your teammates around you from a physiological point of view, strength in numbers and all that.And to a lesser degree if something goes wrong with your bike you can nab a teammates wheel or whatever.

What happened to Porte?

he can ignore quintana IMO – could just about take the yellow but he won’t keep it and would hamstring valverde if he had to defend yellow. Meanwhile sky get to recover tomorrow

I I was him I’d stick to valverde and/or contador ONLY

(or is that bollocks ?)

If Quintana went he’d catch him on the descent. Not a day for Quintana to attack.

Now am I good at predictions or what 🙂

It’s not just the descent, there’s a long flattish finish

Excellent! Quintana has forced the selection.

Evans to win?

Seeing the way Quintana blew up yesterday Froome may indeed be better off letting him go to limit the damage to himself but without team-mates around him he may not be able to reel him in on the descent.

C’mon Andy! (Schleck, of course).

RealMan – Porte seemed to be a bit slow out of the blocks this morning and then when Kennaugh got taken out he, Froome & Kennaugh were all seperated. Kennaugh got back with Porte but couldn’t stay with him to chase down Froome, Porte didn’t have the legs to catch Froome alone.

Looks like a fun descent, albeit a bit long.

mogrim – Member
C’mon Andy! (Schleck, of course)

Aye, he’ll tear ’em apart on the descent

Cuddles will get them on the descent, he is an ex mountain biker after all

Aye, he’ll tear ’em apart on the descent

🙂

Thanks psling, he’s lost huge time though.

Given that Quintana appears to be leading them down the descent I’d say that it’s pretty safe ton day Fuglsang and Martin will stay away!

ha ha.. have any of you “mountainbikers” ever tried to keep up with a roadie who’s a good descender on a mountain descent?

Actually was that Kwiatowski?

That’s the comment from Phil normally about cuddles.

ha ha.. have any of you “mountainbikers” ever tried to keep up with a roadie who’s a good descender on a mountain descent?

Yeah, I have. And if (amateur) Spanish roadies are anything to go by they’re not that good. Pros, of course, are a different matter.

Edit: to be fair my mate, who’s 100% Spanish, is better than me. But he’s a moutainbiker too.

Movistar (and saxo) would appear to have buggered up a very good opportunity here, and now they’re pacing froome down to the finish

Anyone know who won L-B-L this year? 🙂

Good God ! Gesink ? 😯

(he’s in my losers team 👿 )

Anyone know who won L-B-L this year?

Was he an ex-mtber?

Persona – it’s a term spouted by Liggett on ITV4 commentary and repeated tongue-in-cheek by the likes of STW forumites 8)

Ah, thanks psling.. forgot for a moment I had entered the old boys club. 😉

Big shame about Porte, but great win for Martin.

Well, fair-dos to Froome, a cracking ride under the cicumstances; he neutralised all efforts to break him in the end.

And well done to Dan Martin!

Great ride from Froome!

Movistar blew it today, but froome didn’t look in trouble anywhere. Ah well some higher mountains to come and ventoux will be awful if the temp stays high. Well done to Martin too

For me today was more impressive than yesterday from froome

Chapeau

Bloody Movistar, was expecting more.

Perhaps Dan Martin could spend some of his winnings on dentistry? 🙂

mogrim – Member

Bloody Movistar, was expecting more.

Perhaps Dan Martin could spend some of his winnings on dentistry?
Won’t be from today as from what I understand all the riders are donating their winnings to the people of the stage are who lost their homes in floods earlier this year?

Fantastic day’s racing, a totally compelling watch. Looks like there should be no more worries about this year being a boring tour.

Cracking effort from Martin, helps my fantasy team no end.

cracking last two days,
Froome-Dog staying with the best- shame for the Tasmanian Devil with the grin of pain but I reckon he’ll get time back over the TTs and other big mountain stages. 😀

kind of shows Sky are human, I wonder if questions will now be asked of the other teams if they keep up such relentless storming of the hills day after day??