The irony of the booing is that it should have been Froome booing the spectators
Froome has raced with real style and class this tour, Its not been the normal Sky procession its been proper racing nothing for any one to boo about. I was quite annoyed at the booing. The crazed tribalism of football is starting creep in. What next cycling fans fighting on the slopes and in the bars?
Wowsers.. just seen the highlights.. well that was absolutely farcical. 😆
What have I missed in the STW internet-armchair-expert debate-stakes so far?
Get some bic's and a cup of tea its going to start soon.
Seriously the stage I fall asleep for... Just caught up this morning, mental truly mental and on the end it'd been coming for a while. The spectators have been closing in too much and we have had issues already. Gutted for Porte shows that no matter how much you do luck is a big part of it. I think they would have pulled more time know the rest by the end, they looked in good form up there.
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http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/07/news/more-details-of-froome-crash-from-mavic-neutral-service_414703
I thought the behaviour of the fans was starting to resemble the giro in places. The camera bike was behind Quintana at one point,he was just behind two other bikes,there was no way he could have attacked,even if he had it in him,it was like riding between trees with wide bars on.
a_a: the actual line in that text which is sort of lost in translation a little bit (and bear in mind that English is not Jens' first language) is that it was LIKE riding a kid's bike.
No it isnt, have you watched the video. Jens speaks in English, his English is very good its clear what he says. Maybe he lied just so the stw big hitters could expose the truth!
Watching the highlights, it's obvious the officials made the right decision: not only were the fans behaving in obstructive and dangerous way, the motorbikes were far too close to the riders.
The fact that one of the motorbikes following them ran over Froome's bike, proves the latter point.
On the plus side though, Froome had well and truly cracked Quintana and Porte looks to be flying.
Obviously the right decision was made re standings at the end.
But
Wouldn't it have been interesting if they'd left it as it stood... with Yates in yellow and Froome over a minute down.
I reckon the young man would have only held onto it for a day... Froome would have destroyed todays TT fueled by anger.
Yeah, that thought crossed my mind as well.
I must admit it's the type of incident I've been expecting to happen for a long time. Something has to be done.
Wish my French was better to pick up the subtleties in L'Equipe this morning to see what feedback from other places are. Generally most of the riders seem to agree with the decision (Mollema excepted)
Velonews are finding something to whinge about in Sky's approach as usual
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/07/tour-de-france/froomes-abuse-of-yellow-was-movistars-missed-opportunity_414736
LOL ninfan's 'burn' 😆
tragic
here's a pic of me with my long term partner, Danny MacAskill
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But there's already a precedent from this year's tour when on stage 8 the 1Km red kite banner collapsed just as Adam Yates approached then the lead bunch ran in to it. Since that was a flat finish the 3Km rule was in force and the organisers could use the timings from the 3Km point to work out the time gaps between those who were and weren't affected by the collapsed banner and apply them retrospectively.
Yesterday I don't think the timing kit was in place at the 3Km point due to it being a mountain finish so it was kind of fortunate for the organisers that Mollema wasn't held up by a significant amount of time so they could assign Porte and Froome the same finishing time as him. Similarly for the Yate/Quintana/Van Garderen group.
It's unlikely that those riders would have finished in that manner since there would have been several attacks in the last Km but it's basically the least worst option to take. Possibly the rider who benefited most from the re-timing was Quintana since he was already losing time, didn't look like he'd the strength to attack (just about everyone in his group was attacking and leaving him) and bridge to the Porte/Froome/Mollema group but gained the time that it took Mollema to extricate himself from the crash.
Velonews are finding something to whinge about in Sky's approach as usual
It is an odd one, Sky were quite streetwise there, but dunno what Movistar were doing they certainly shouldn't have bothered waiting IMO.
I agree that something needs to change on the mountain stages - too many fans just don't have enough respect (or are just drunk) for it to carry on as it is. I was wincing the other day (when Contador abandoned) seeing some of the shots of him climbing with fans 'helpfully' smacking him on the back - if I was covered in road rash and someone did that to me no way would I have stayed composed.
As for yesterday's stage - even without the moto incident the crowd were already interfering by not allowing enough room for attacks. Whether it's feasible to barrier/police 10km of road is another matter though.
Oh and any dick that's doing selfie filming or waving at the TV camera and not actually watching the riders as they come past (usually whilst stepped out dangerously in the road) should be flogged
A situation made more intense by the thronging crowds crammed into a much smaller area. Whilst, in general, the crowds are an integral part of the Tour, there are situations like this that ought to be more controlled and managed.
As a spectacle I've never seen this in all my time watching and following bike racing, yes there have been situations similar to it but nothing quite this extreme and at the end of the stage.
One main point has to be taken out of it, Froome is a passionate competitor. He could have stood up and argued with the commissaries after the stage, whined like he did back in 2012. But No, he did what his instinct told him to and carry on, continue the fight, the struggle, the passion.
I admire him more for that.
Running in cleats, walking even, is pretty difficult when you've ridden 50k never mind 184k at tempo then spent the last 30k at pace up a mountain chasing your mates for the win.
Determination at its finest, result duely given correctly. A slow handclap for the ASO and Race Officials.
Those photos showing 4 motos bunched up in front of the yellow jersey group tell the story imo. Just a ridiculous number of motorbikes at the tour these days.
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Back to discussing the actual race pre-incident...
Seemed to me, not being a roadie and only watching the tour and the vuelta, that Quintana just doesnt have it in him? seemed to sit up when his attacks didnt work and Froome started. Almost like he couldnt be bothered to retaliate - is his mind just not quite in it?
Movistar would appear to be either tactically inept or unable to decide what they want to do. Having Valverde there is splitting their resources. Quintana looked pretty isolated on the lower slopes, if you've no-one to help you then trying to deal with attacks from a team that has three domestiques helping their leader is not going to work.
Anyone else seen this? Quintana holding onto the Mavic bike:
https://twitter.com/assekevin/status/753720450551836673
Would be a bit petty to punish him for that when Froome is running up the road without a bike, complete chaos, motos speeding up and slowing down suddenly and spectators all over the road. He's just trying to navigate through the carnage without having to clip and unclip every two seconds, or crash into a pissed fool in a mankini.
Shame we didn't get to see how the race would have ended without the crash, I feel it's the race that has lost out here.
Interesting to see Froome running up the road. Can you imagine what went through his mind? should I just cycle on that neautral bike, should I run, walk or should I should I just stand there with my hands on my hips looking annoyed with several thousand spectators surrounding me?
Something like this has been on the cards for years.
Any 'supporters' that have so little respect for the riders deserve to be run over. A couple of Hummers as lead vehicles would do the job.
Nice!
Any 'supporters' that have so little respect for the riders deserve to be run over. A couple of Hummers as lead vehicles would do the job.
Nice!
Indeed. Well put.
Shame we didn't get to see how the race would have ended without the crash, I feel it's the race that has lost out here.
Definitely. Though the stage win and any time bonuses had already been decided. I think the conclusion for the GC boys was pretty much determined by that point as the decisive move had been made.
fifeandy, you might want to check out todays non-cycling related headlines and maybe consider your comment?
No, not really.
There's a world of difference between a terrorist deliberately driving over innocent people and drunken fools jumping into the middle of a bike race.
Is it really too much to ask for fans to cheer the race respectfully from the side of the road? As with most other things in life, morons will continue to be morons whilever there are no consequences for their actions.
I think GC would have been different too, Quintana was going backwards, Froome and Porte (and Mollema too?) would have 100% put more time into him.
I think they'd have put more time into Quintana, not sure about the others, Yates and Aru had realised they needed to go full gas and had upped the pace shortly before the incident.
Overall the jury did about as well as they could do with an impossible situation.
I think GC would have been different too, Quintana was going backwards, Froome and Porte (and Mollema too?) would have 100% put more time into him.
I think it would have been about a minute on the line. Before the incident, last we saw of Quintana was him looking in trouble and being paced up the climb by Valverde.
Is it really too much to ask for fans to cheer the race respectfully from the side of the road?
I really do think it's just an unfortunate combination of circumstances. Huge numbers of people on the big French national holiday. The big stage of the Tour with the iconic climb. Hundreds of thousands of fans. An arena cut in half resulting in a huge compression of people. No barriers in the finishing kilometres as they were being blown over by the wind. To lay the blame for [u]this particular incident[/u] solely at the feet of some disrespectful spectators I think would be not looking at the wider picture. (Though disrespectful spectators are definitely a problem that needs to be tackled!)
Very sad. Porte looked strong enough he might have dropped Froome.
Sad NQ couldn't make it stick. Too much hype (which I bought into)?
Velonews are finding something to whinge about in Sky's approach as usual
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/07/tour-de-france/froomes-abuse-of-yellow-was-movistars-missed-opportunity_414736
I think they've got a valid point. Froome acted in a dignified way with the incident at the end of the race (at least in public) and the end solution was about the best that could be found. All fine.
It was a real shame though - Porte looked really strong and could have put some time into Froome on the rest of the climb
But the earlier Simon Gerrans crash was rather different. There was stuff happening at that point in the race, it wasn't just a Peloton cruise. It was a crash due to a lack of skill/judgement (Gerrans overcooked his speed on the corner) rather than a mechanical or crowd intervention. Froome himself and his bike were undamaged. He should have had to carry on without all of his domestiques. You don't leave the yellow jersey behind but there's no obligation to protect his whole team.
Nah, don't think NQ is overhyped, and don't think we've seen the end of him at this tour.
He's a tiny rider - probably gives him a really 'low' threshold power at around 360W - he'll have had a couple of hard days battling in the crosswinds, and won't have had the raw power into a strong headwind yesterday.
Still the Alps to come, hopefully we can see him at his best there.
Having seen lunge's link, a quiet word with Quintana / Movistar might be in order.
He should have had to carry on without all of his domestiques. You don't leave the yellow jersey behind but there's no obligation to protect his whole team.
Interesting incident that. Given that Froome had pretty much stopped to wait for his teammates, he wasn't in the group and he wasn't the one that instigated the slow down, so bit harsh to blame him and Sky! Think there was quite a bit of confusion as to what had actually happened (fog of war!) Wasn't in Cancellara slowing down the group while Valverde wanted to press on? A bit of a missed opportunity by Movistar there though their popularity would likely have taken a hit had they done so!
Still the Alps to come, hopefully we can see him at his best there.
Fingers crossed, especially as we were cheated of what could have been a good finish between Porte and Froome yest.
They wouldn’t have broken any of cycling’s unwritten rules. True, it wouldn’t have been nice, or particularly gentlemanly, but there comes a time when the gloves must come off. Froome would have brought it upon himself.
Even they dont seem that convinced by their argument but at least they know who to blame.
Nah, don't think NQ is overhyped, and don't think we've seen the end of him at this tour.
He's a tiny rider - probably gives him a really 'low' threshold power at around 360W - he'll have had a couple of hard days battling in the crosswinds, and won't have had the raw power into a strong headwind yesterday.Still the Alps to come, hopefully we can see him at his best there.
All extremities crossed - so want to see him attack and make it stick.
nice data visuals from dig deep coaching on Twitter
Some bloody impressive numbers there!
You don't leave the yellow jersey behind...
Which I guess is why he stopped for a wee. Definitely a bit cheeky and I would have forgiven Movistar for not slowing down.
I don't think Movistar are tactically inept, much as I dislike Valverde he did just about all he could do once they got to Ventoux. Someone had to attack to try and disrupt Sky from their usual high tempo until 2-5km to go, then wind it up then Froome attacks routine. Valverde attacked to try and cause Sky's domestiques to be dropped but they were just too strong.
When Quintana went I think he just realised he didn't have the legs that day and if he carried on pushing into the red he could end up in serious trouble so he eased off but Froome obviously saw the weakness and attacked, at that point Quintana just had to ride at threshold and limit his losses.
It's far from over though, unless Quintana has an illness he'll still be a big threat in the long Alpine climbs. Will be interesting to see how he fairs in the TT today, I think if he loses a lot more time he must be hiding an illness.
[quote=richardk ]Generally most of the riders seem to agree with the decision (Mollema excepted)
I don't think Mollema has any disagreement about Porte and Froome being given the same time as him. He has a quite reasonable and understandable complaint that Quintana got a time bonus relative to him though - because all of Quintana's group got given the same time as Yates. That decision doesn't appear to be justified - effectively Quintana has been given benefit for simply being delayed by the aftermath of the incident when Mollema got none despite being on the floor.
Personally I agree with Mollema on that - the time ruling on Quintana's group is quite clearly unfair on Mollema (and Yates, Froome, Porte).