[Closed] TdF Stage 18 - Sporting Stakes [Spoilers]

Started raining at AdH already and more not forecast to stop all afternoon.
The Sarenne descent isn't dangerous, its a bit bumpy and narrow in places but its had lots of work over the last week.

On closed roads its fine, there are far more dangerous roads in the Pyrenees. A good descender could take advantage of it though, but they would still have a long way to go to the finish.

so what time should they arrive at Ad'H for the first time ?

Depends on how fast they're going obviously, but they should be in Bourg D'Oisans at about 14:30-14:50

Prediction time:

A big name going for glory from a long way out. Schleck? Was Evans saving himself yesterday? Has he ever attacked ever? Valverde? Bertie said something about planning something and that 'we would know it when it happened', I think he would do better to consolidate 2nd, but I suppose you never know.

With the rain I think Froome will loose time but not much. There is nothing in it for him to take risks. So it will be come down couple of contenders ahead (maybe having been out all day) with Froome dragging the rest up the final ascent.

WFH today. Went for an hour's road blast before work 'start time' in the sun and Eurosport HD will be on the big tv from 10.45 🙂

And i've got a good friend's pre wedding party this evening. Shaping up to be a good day!

Depends on how fast they're going obviously, but they should be in Bourg D'Oisans at about 14:30-14:50

Thats the caravan, not the race.

this is stuck on the route;

[img] [/img]

oh well.

Schleck? Was Evans saving himself yesterday? Has he ever attacked ever?

I doubt either of them will be able to put 20 minutes plus into anyone, let alone Froome or Contador.

brekaway - contador on the descent from Froome who then gets it all back on the final climb

I think he will still hurt the GC contenders if close enough tbh but he has little to prove now so he may let them take risks today knowing he does not really need to but conserve his lead and his place in the race

All over really unless he has a bad one whihc i cannot see
His interview yesterday must have hurt when he said he was only trying to conserve his losses and yet he still won

Junkyard, I just dont think Froome thinks that way, as has been said he is quite the animal on the bike, he covers every tiny manouvre, this may well be a bad thing, but so far he has not shown even a small weakness.

The lorry isn't stuck any more.

Junkyard, I just dont think Froome thinks that way, as has been said he is quite the animal on the bike, he covers every tiny manouvre, this may well be a bad thing, but so far he has not shown even a small weakness.

Apart from getting dropped on the flat by Contador+team... (Not that it's massively relevant for today's stage, but it does show Froome's not completely invulnerable).

Contador FTW. Froome to blow up and lose 5 minutes and the yellow 🙂

Is there anywhere that tells you the total amount of
climbing on each stage?

Haven't found anything reliable yet, although you can follow some of the guys who did the replica tour on strava and get extra data that way...

Here's the full story on Evans

www.cyclingnews.com/news/evans-scuttles-overall-hopes-in-favour-of-tour-de-france-stage-hunt

You are right of course, but pretty calculated at the time.

I was thinking more of stage 9 when he was alone & still responded to everything.

I really wished they'd show a graphic of how fast they were going. More than just the motorbike camera showing his speedo when doing 100kph.

TV, never manages to show speed too well, there was a short clip the other day where the camera appeared stationary (for a change) & the bunch were rounding a hairpin going up, it was steep, & they were flying.

Half day booked to watch too. The OH has even gone over to her mums with the kids so I can watch it all uninterrupted. *Win!* 😀

I'm hoping Voekler has been saving himself for this one, he's the only one who hasn't scored me a single point in my fantasy team! 😉

Interesting... Quintana has never ridden Alpe D'Huez. Surely a disadvantage?

Depends on how fast they're going obviously, but they should be in Bourg D'Oisans at about 14:30-14:50
Thats the caravan, not the race.

But the info sheet is in French, including a one hour time difference.

Already talk of only doing ADH once if the weather plays a part.

Quintana has never ridden Alpe D'Huez. Surely a disadvantage?

Well he will have done by the time they come around for the second go aye !?!

Here we go!
KM zero!

Booked into unmissable meetings all afternoon. Maybe I could resign at lunchtime?

Too late for Picolax?

Sounds like it's kicking off early from the ticker feeds 😀

it's all a bit frantic at the moment.
everyone's having a go!
Froome has been deserted.

Shaping up to be a classic, attacks everywhere.

I'll be in front of the TV in 20 min's, can't wait.

Evans out the back already? So much for that...

I'm fed up of the Eurosport ads. I know all of them by heart now I think. I also have an issue with how the Festina bloke pronounces "Tour deeee Frooonce"

On Cadel Evans

"If we’re going to have any chance of doing something in the stages ahead, I’m going to have to be a bit more recovered and back off today and see if there’s an opportunity tomorrow. If not, take it easy again in hope of coming around for one of the stages. It will be tricky but we’ll try," Evans told the press as he warmed down after his time trial.

12:53
Evans dropped by peloton
Evans has been dropped before the top of the col de Manse.

12:53 Evans dropped by peloton

Evans has been dropped before the top of the col de Manse.

Really not his tour

Waits for ITV at 13:00 ........

The GC contenders are really going to bugger the chances of a random rider getting a career making win today.

Right, I might just nip off for an early lunch - our cafe has big TV with EuroSport. Might be a very long lunch... 😉

Anyone seen the l'Equipe article on Froome yet? Not seen any commentary yet.

Where for ticker feeds?

The l'equipe article is quoted in the guardian link in my contacts froome post

[url= http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/news/tour-de-france-french-investigation-appears-show-froome-104948218.html ]not seen it - but Europsport article here[/url]

is this from today's paper?

40mpg - have a look at cyclingfans.com - lists most of the major ones.

this came up on my twitter feed. Good grief!

[img] [/img]

Well Bertie's gone for it already.

Anyone seen the l'Equipe article on Froome yet? Not seen any commentary yet.

It is sumarised on Cycling News.

But beware that the internate addage "don't read the comments" has never been more true.

I dipped my toe in and as expected its full of nutters and conspiracy theorists from the start!

My favourite being that l'equipe can't be trusted as Sky are British and ASO are part of the same group as L'equipe and the tour is coming to Britain next year 😯

this came up on my twitter feed

'F' I reckon, although 'Y' does have some rather ample thighs.

these are the interesting bits from the Equipe article, Grappe's observations:

First observation: His power drops off normally

"The relationship between power and time is similar to what is known and is observed in all the riders that have been established in the record power profile (RPP)," Grappe told Equipe.

"It shows, for example, a significant and normal power reduction of 60 watts (0.88 w/kg) between twenty and sixty minutes efforts. On average an athlete loses fifty watts in this time interval. The RPP that Froome has over two years does not seem to show any abnormality in its fundamental structure. In other words, the power data of the last two years is consistent with the profile that it represents. The performances he made on Ax 3 Domaines and Ventoux were to be expected in view of his PPR. [b]During the last two years, his profile has not changed. It appears that the potential that he has today is similar to the one he had in 2011.[/b]"

Second observation: an exceptional aerobic potential

"The extremely high maximal aerobic power (efforts of five minutes) confirms that he has an extraordinary high aerobic potential, which means he [b]has a V02 max (this has never been measured in the laboratory by his team) close to the limits of known physiological science.[/b]"

"The exceptional power that he is able to develop during maximum efforts of five minutes [b]gives him a certain reserve (of strength) compared to other athletes. This gives an indication of why he is capable of performing on the final climbs[/b]. It is estimated that, compared to his main rivals, he has a margin of 20 watts extra power. It is this difference that can be seen for example between him and his main rivals on the climbs and Ax 3 Domaines du Ventoux."

Third observation: a very stable weight

"His average weight over the two years is 68 kg (in the morning) with less than 900g variations. This shows that the power he develops over two years is relatively stable [b]when expressed in watts per kilogram (W/kg), a very important indication of the performances he has shown[/b]."

Fourth observation: excellent recovery

"It is evident that to be able to operate with a power profile near 100% of his maximum, Chris Froome must have excellent ability to recovery between stages. Because if the level of fatigue accumulates too much, it is no longer possible to be close to his records."

Grappe also studied Froome's performance in Wednesday's time trial, saying: "the average power output was still a very well integrated into its power profile once, and therefore completely expected."

The forecast at Alpe d'Huez is not good and there are fears the second ascent at Alpe d'Huez may have to be cancelled because the descent from the Col de Sarenne (1,999m) to La Ferriere that precedes the final climb will be too dangerous. I wouldn't worry too much about it, because Eurosport have just broadcast an interview with Tour event director Jean Francois Pescheux who says the riders will just have to deal with whatever weather the gods throw at them. Unless the roads are actually washed away, he says, they'll be going up Alpe d'Huez twice.

Too right, they are supposed to be the best bikest in the world, and should be able to decend. Might sort them out a bit.

Unless the roads are actually washed away, he says, they'll be going up Alpe d'Huez twice.

is that a MTFU?

Sounds like it 😈

Unless the roads are actually washed away, he says, they'll be going up Alpe d'Huez twice.

Now that swapping bikes is positively encouraged why don't they carry a mtb just in case of this? 😉