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Come on Richie!! Pedal
Nibali is now on the front!
Rm.
Wow.
and stage to Nibali Pinot for 2nd
Valverde porte a few seconds off
Contador who? What a finish.
and a rest day, probably just a 70km spin for these boys
own up then, who said Nibali was not a climber?
I think it's fair to say Galopin won't forget that in a hurry.
Porte into 2nd in the GC... And I bet anyone who had put a wild bet on anyone other than Froome or Contador to win is getting quite excited.
Great ride by Nibali, dosing his effort for the maximum effect as usual. But, how can he even think about sticking his thumb in his mouth (I assume he's just had a kid) after scaling that 20% final climb and attacking for 2.5km. How? Every other rider is blowing out his arsehole. poor Gallopin is fubarred. Sadly, I can get rid of the thought that he's riding for the blood doping, gold medal stealing vino and it all looks a bit too easy.
What's the view on Porte 2-23 down on Nibali - is that as much as it sounds to me ?
I really wish he didn't ride for Astana.
I also wish I didn't have to see Valverde's name in the top 3!
Sadly, I can get rid of the thought that he's riding for the blood doping, gold medal stealing vino and it all looks a bit too easy.
Maybe - he certainly stepped up a level in last years Giro and again now.
Would you say the same if it was Froome?
I really wish he didn't ride for Astana.
This +10000. Seeing him with Vino makes me sad.
I also wish I didn't have to see Valverde's name in the top 3!
This too.
What's the view on Porte 2-23 down on Nibali - is that as much as it sounds to me ?
After today... yes.
With the rest day tomorrow it sort of feels like the Tours over!
Yep, Nibali isn't the best TTer, but neither is Porte.
I think Porte would have to go into the TT with a slight lead to have a chance.
Of course, nothing in this tour is predictable. People have bad days, crashes, etc and some people can ride into the tour as others fade.
34 year old Valverde has been speaking to cyclingnews:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/incycle-video-valverde-says-hes-stronger-than-before-his-doping-ban
Not watched it but the title is enough to depress me. Have he and Horner been to Antarea or something?:
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sagan doing no hander wheelies - I would soooo laugh if he fell off
are the bookies paying out yet ? 😉
Yep, Nibali isn't the best TTer, but neither is Porte.
Nibali won the second TT at the Giro last year. He's not too shabby.
I hear the cheat Contador is out. Struggling to ride clean hey
Gallopin, what a ride!! Totally blew himself inside out, hats off to him.
Then Porte and Valvpiti in the top 3, amazing.
I'm sitting here in Vosges, having watched the climb out of Mullhouse where Tony hammered it, then this morning caught them not far from our hotel, it's been epic.
Yep, Nibali isn't the best TTer, but neither is Porte.
Porte's a pretty good TTer.
Nibali won the second TT at the Giro last year
it was an up hill time trial
Struggling to ride clean hey
Well his jersey was filthy after that fall.
Porte looks like a number 2, a "true" gc contender doesn't look round for someone else to take it up when your main contender goes up the road.....
Would you say the same if it was Froome?
Absolutely. It's hard enough the pro cycling community trying to convince the world they are clean without DS's knocking about who were convicted and unrepentant dopers.
I don't agree that Froome should have blabbed about the lack of testing when Sky, Tinkoff and Astana were all on Tiede but I guess if he saw the improvement in Nibali before the public did, his query was a reasonable one - just didn't need to be public.
I don't know. It's hard to quantify the improvement in Nibbles given the absence of Froome and AC now.
it was an up hill time trial
4th in the first long ITT too, not far behind Dowsett and Wiggins.
Sadly, I can get rid of the thought that he's riding for the blood doping, gold medal [s]stealing[/s] [i]purchasing[/i] vino and it all looks a bit too easy.
In 2012 the only people who beat Nibali to the top of todays climb were Froome, Evans and Wiggins. Each one a TdF winner. Nibali was 20 odd seconds back and the time gaps behind that similar today.
Performance is never a good indicator of doping but this stage isn't even a shabby indicator. It was just someone who was just slightly better than the other remaining riders.
Jeeez. Broken tibia for Contador, apparently. And yet he still managed to climb a few km before he pulled out.
Contador update over at [url= http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/contador-fractured-tibia-in-tour-de-france-crash ]cyclingnews[/url].
Riis...
"Alberto has a broken tibia. It's not a bad fracture but he needs surgery," Riis told a small group of journalists at the Tinkoff-Saxo bus.
"He was going fast on the downhill at about 60 or 70km/h. It was a bumpy road and he lost control of he bike. Maybe he was eating."
Alberto has a broken tibia
😯
I did my tibial plateau in Morzine. No 'kin way was I getting back on my bike, let alone berating a doctor for not getting it strapped up quick enough.
Some great rides today, Tony Martin being a juggernaut after yesterday's efforts, and brilliant timing and managing of effort by Nibali. Glad to see Rodriguez riding competitively now.
hear the cheat Contador is out. Struggling to ride clean hey
No. It was beef on the road apparently. Keep up.
Seen the pictures of Contadors bike, WT actual F? Was that from the accident?
Got any links to the pics of his bike?
Team claim it was not broken and that the broken bike seen was Roache's bike that fell off the team car.
Specialized comment in Business Insider...
Specialized, the team's bike sponsor, sent this statement to Business Insider:"All of us at Specialized are devastated to see Alberto Contador withdraw from the Tour," Specialized said in an email. "He is a true champion with the heart of a warrior and he had a great chance at yellow this year. We have spoken to Alberto's brother as well as his personal mechanic (Faustino Muñoz) and the mechanic who was at the scene (Rune Kristensen), and contrary to some early, unconfirmed reports, frame failure was not involved in Alberto's incident today.
"Nicolas Roche was involved in a separate incident today and while his bike was laying on the road it was run over by a car causing it to break, potentially giving rise to the initial inaccurate reporting," Specialized told Business Insider. "Live race reporting is difficult and sometimes mistakes are made. We are continuing to research the events of today and will share any further details as we learn more."
Cover up...? 🙂
The pics are on Twitter, it's clearly Contadors bike as it's got a 31 plate on it.
https://twitter.com/JohnMacLeary/status/488734126787530752
I think its one of those situations where no one will know for a couple of days. Massive confusion, bikes being swapped, cars/motorbikes/people running round everywhere. Someone could easily have stepped on it or driven over it, maybe it fell off the car.
Its very unusual for a frame to break at the top tube/seatstay junction mid ride, much more likely that he binned it, it cracked then later broke or simply that someone dropped it.
That has really gone, bloody hell.
Can't say I am surprised that specialized are trying to blame something else.
Planche des Belles Filles 2014 : Nibali 16'43
Froome 2012 : 16'23. Nibali 2012 : 16'30
ITV4 highlights show saying he actually had two crashes, first a minor one where he just jumped onto Nick Roche's bike, second one the leg breaker where his hand slipped off the bars causing him to lose control.
Beginning to wonder if this Tour is simply going to be last man standing and there are some massive time gaps already.
There was an incident a few minutes earlier where a saxo tinkoff riders bike was lying on the left hand side of the road and he was stood on the right hand side of the road. I think it was Nikki Roche but the pictures were fairly poor with the weather at that point.
There were tons of photographers at the scene. It's going to be fairly hard to lie about it.
It wasn't so much nibalis speed on the planche it was the fact he distanced everyone else, rode a 20 degree slope and then was able to stick his thumb in his gob for several seconds. Try going at 90odd percent of max hr for 4 minutes then do that. Maybe he was indeed breathing through his arse.
I wonder whether this might be harder for Astana to manage as every one that might have been eyeing up top 10 now 'only' has to beat one of the 3 favourites. It's going to be their best chance to win the GC so they'll chuck the kitchen sink at it over the next week. Are Astana up to managing everyone on their own.
So is the thought that Contador crashed and Roche gave him his bike and then he binned it again? Would explain why Roache looked fine waiting for a bike
Still no reason why it has contador's number on it though