"For safety riders have declared today's cobble sections will be walked whilst holding a team mates hand."
so, do they change their bike setup at all for these cobbles? particularly wheels and tyres?
They might be on specific tubs suited to pave, they usually ride 25mm super tough tubs at Roubaix,
You might see less deep section carbons today than a normal road stage too
Oh and OP, i cant really see a problem with what happened yesterday, Cancellara knowingly gave up his yellow jersey and wanted to make sure nobody took advantage of the chaos behind him other than the guy who had been out there all day attacking.....
I dont imagine the pro peleton is the sort of place you want to be making enemies, Cavendish has first had experience of this from the Tour de Suisse.
Yeah, I hear Cancellera is going to be using one of these, with stabilisers.
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Some riders choose to ride a cross bike at Roubaix
hur hur hur.
Bradley wiggins pointed out no-one waited for him when he crashed at the Giro so why wait for others yesterday.
Tor Hushovd was also pi55ed as it meant he didn't get valuable points whilst Cav was miles behind.
All in all, good to wait a bit (but he had to as the Shlecks were behind him) but the last non contested finish was a bit of a mockery.
i dont get it.
People came off, and some people got caught up in it, but they all knew the course, they all the rode the same course, surely its a race?
Theyve been watching too much football i think.
No, if they had been watching too much football, every time someone rode within 2 meters of them they'd fall off clutching their face. And it would be bitterly disputed whether the winner had actually crossed the line or not.
And I thought the Schlecks came off because one of the motorbike camera crews went into them or something. Hardly can be their fault.
Indeed they are changing their bikes for today:
Team Saxo Bank mechanic says:
”Normally, our riders are using 23 mm tires on the wheels but most of them are will have 25 mm tires on Tuesday's stage as they provide much more comfort and it will be easier controlling the bike on the cobblestones. Fabian (Cancellara) and Jens (Voigt) have both asked for 27 mm tires. In addition, the air pressure in the tires for tomorrow is much different than usual. In ordinary road races, the pressure is 9 bar but tomorrow, the pressure is reduced to 6 bar in the back wheel and 5.5 in the front and again, comfort is everything,” Rune Kristensen explains.
“On the cobbles tomorrow, all our riders will be riding our special Roubaix S-Works bike from Specialized which wheelbase is 2 centimeters longer than on our usual bike as it provides much more comfort. Finally, all plastic material has been cut off the pedals so the riders won't be bothered with mud and grass between the shoes and the pedals when of if they crash,” Rune concludes before turning to bed.
I initially thought "what a bunch of nobs" but a colleague informed me that one of the official motorbikes on the race bust a crank case and spwewed oil on one of the descents. The rain washed this oil along about 3/4 of a mile of road which is what caused the biggest chunk of the crashes. This i guess could be classed as " one of those things " but even I would agree that it's not the sort of thing that should determine the race, so although it did look a bit precious of them to the casual viewer, I guess it was quite a gesture on Cancellara's part. Today should sort them out though.
Yeah, I hear Cancellera is going to be using one of these, with stabilisers.
ironic that theres no one better at descending than Spartacus. notice he didn't have any cuts on hum yesterday
i dont get it.
People came off, and some people got caught up in it, but they all knew the course, they all the rode the same course, surely its a race?
Its called sportsmanship
Its called sportsmanship
im not convinced.
lots of people lost out, when they managed to stick with it, because Spartacus thought it wasnt fair that some of the people who should have been at the front, had binned it for one reason or another, and wernt. (one of who was his key team mate i think? but im not sure, im not following it that closely yet)
in the F1, if someone is miles behind, they dont take a chilled out lap to let them catch up do they?
i think its all part of the tactics?
one of the many advantages of making the huge effort and crucially timed effort to make a break away is to get away from the pack before a technical bit, and keep out of the mele?
In the Tour de France it seems to be decided on who is the best cyclist, not who is the luckiest cyclist. Which sometimes seems to be the opposite to things like F1, but I prefer it that the winner is the most skilful, fittest, cyclist, not the one who just didn't fall off/get a puncture/etc.
We've seen it lots of times over the years where people crash and the group sits up to let them get back on, matter of respect for your opponent and good sportsmanship but to nutralise the race like that seemed a little over the top. There can only be a hand full of cyclists who could exert that control over the peleton. Lets hope today sees some good racing with no major crashes, could be one of the few chances people have to get a gap on Contador so I'm guessing some major action and hopefully no serious injuries.
[i]in the F1, if someone is miles behind, they dont take a chilled out lap to let them catch up do they?[/i]
Yes they do. They even let them unlap themselves when someone skids on oil or trys to fly their car and leave a tiny amount of debris on the track.
Your even not allowed to overtake on the final straight in some races when there is no debris ahead.
they'll reach the cobbles in about 30 mins
I think it's very easy to criticise when sitting at home watching tv. It's very different to actually being there and racing. Most of the top riders said it was the right thing to do and most of them are far better bike handlers than many of us could probably even dream of being.
You know in other sports, when they say it's a shame to win over your opponent because due to an injury, or illness or whatever? It's the same thing here.
It's because of the effect of the peleton in these races. You have a safe area in it, and you might consider it unfair to have people evicted from it due to random events.
Just saw what looked like some spectators almost fighting over a water bottle a rider had thrown away.. Its a water bottle...!
Having read contadors article in last months Pro Cycling about the cobbles, he said that he'd be running as low as 3.5bar tyre pressure, reducing cadence and looking to the big guys for support as apparently it's a bit tricky riding le pave when you weigh about as much as an empty fag packet.
Which I would assume is why the likes of Spartacus and Boonen do so well on the cobbles.
I too don't quite get the 'oooh someone has crashed lets wait for them' it's racing after all so why not try to gain as much advantage as possible when things like this happen.
I think it's more down to the teams directuer sportifes and the race boss trying to keep the big names in the tour for the T.V and advertising monies than anything else, it would be good for a domestique or the like to gain a massive lead before they hit the Alps but they just don't want it to happen.
Its a water bottle...!
It's "Le Tour". Spectators will fight over far less than a discarded bidon full of go juice.... 😉
It amuses me that across the world there are cyclign fans who are getting to see racing over cobbles for the first time.
Hiopefully next year, they'll be watching Spartacus defending his RvV and P-R victories from this year. That's what racing on cobbles is all about.
I think it's more down to the teams directuer sportifes and the race boss trying to keep the big names in the tour for the T.V and advertising monies than anything else, it would be good for a domestique or the like to gain a massive lead before they hit the Alps but they just don't want it to happen.
+1
It would be excellent if an unknown slipped away during the carnage and put 10 minutes into the big hitters. Now that would shake the whole tour up. Unfortunately money talks in the [i]La Grande Boucle[/i] 🙁
No roadside bike changes I see today. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/race-director-defends-tours-stage-three-pave-finish
...so cancellara will need to pack some spare batteries 😉
gotta watch out for those curbs!
First stack of the day, David Le Lay down n' out and they're not even on le pave yet 😯
Who are folk thinking will win today?
I am thinking Cancellara.
Why do they keep on talking about pressures in bars? Who actually uses bars anymore?
Everyone but us and the americans.
The euros wouldn't have a clue what psi is.
bars are the modern metric version, psi is old school
Oh ok. I thought bars was old school.
Cav is still in the main pack, and the break away is going to get caught..
Ullrich Mayo and Hamilton waited for Armstrong in 03. Payback by Ullrich for a previous sporting gesture when he punctured and Armstrong waited.
schlek hit the deck hard
Evans ahead of Armstrong, Armstrong ahead of Contador, Frank apparently not moving.
You wait for people because you never know when you need a favour from another team to attack or chase a break down.If you piss everyone off you would have no friends and never win a thing.Read some of the books by tour riders foe a deeper insight.The Agony And The Ecstasy by Stephen Roche is good as is Memories Of The Peloton by Bernard Hinault
Wow, the pave is making today's stage really exciting!
Armstrong losing out due to a puncture.
Evans or cancellara for the stage?
STOP THE RACE, Lance has a puncture
EVERYONE WAIT!
Unbelievable stage again.
Armstrong is burying himself to get back.
great finish
Three British Team Sky riders having a good day today. Must be all the practice on Manchester's shocking roads - they might as well be cobbled!
Thomas could be 2nd in GC tonight
Thomas to overshadow Wiggo this year?
Brilliant stage for Andy Schleck, apart from the loss of his brother.
Go Geraint!
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Standings
1. Cancellara
2. Thomas
3. Evans
6. Schleck
9. Contador
14. Wiggins
15. Millar
18. Armstrong
Wiggo clear of Contador and Armstrong too apparently 
Brilliant stage for Andy Schleck, apart from the loss of his brother.
He did much better than I expected given his anorexic build but I would say if he loses Frank it will more than cancel out todays gain once in the mountains - No tag team climbing attacks.
So, it's going to be interesting when they hit the mountains.
Contador and Armstrong have some work to do against Andy Schleck and Evans 😀
Chapeau to Gerraint Thomas ...
White Jersey
Impressive ride from Armstrong to get back to that group. Still reckon he's going to have a major play in the positioning of the podium come 3 weeks time!
Can someone explain today's stage to me please? I was going to watch it but got distracted at work by various people, anyway...... the stage is pretty much flat on the Eursport profile, I was expecting a breakaway to be caught and a group sprint, where did all the time gaps come from?
Thanks
What about the vultures with cameras around Frank Schlek when he was on the ground a wee push would have had them in the ditch.
cobbles, I gather.
But the TdF text feed is less than illuminating.
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these buggers = punctures, crashes and general mayhem
Our colleagues from luxembourg radio have told us frank schleck is out of the #tdf with a broken collarbone
Frank Schleck broke his collarbone and is at the hospital in Valenciennes.
Yup, it's the pave, crashes and punctures left right and center
Stunning rides over the cobbles - amazing how most of them could see where they were going with all the dust thrown up by the team cars and TV bikes.
Brits did well - looks like Armstrong is not going to feature this year. Could be a fight for the yellow in the mountains between Contador, Andy Schleck, Evans and Wiggins.
Well done to Geraint Thomas!
Geraint Thomas just pulled on the white jersey. 🙂
Stoner, cyclingnews.com text feed is a little better.. not so many Test Match Special tangents yet though which is a pity.
cheers BN, will bookmark it for next tuesday when Im stuck in the office again.
Yeah, I knew there were cobbles, but don't really understand why it makes a difference? Sure if you get a puncture or crash it's a problem, but it wasn't all those people that finished off the pace that had problems surely?
Can someone explain today's stage to me please? I was going to watch it but got distracted at work by various people, anyway...... the stage is pretty much flat on the Eursport profile, I was expecting a breakaway to be caught and a group sprint, where did all the time gaps come from?
I refer my honourable friend to the reply I gave some hours ago. 😉
(Namely, the stage had five sectors of pavé (cobbles), which has the effect of breaking up races massively. If you're not familiar, check out the Ronde van Vlaanderen (Tour of Flanders) and Paris-Roubaix next year. you'll get a feel for the mayhem produced by cobbles then. And probably a taste to ride them yourself.)
As well as crashes and mechanicals, the difference in the riders ability to ride the cobbles fast makes a difference.