If you can say yesterday’s stage could effectively be summed up, as far as the favourites are concerned, as a hill-climb decided on the final ascent, today’s menu will have another flavour entirely? Firstly, it’s a relatively short stage (165km). Next, it is extremely difficult, featuring no fewer than five passes. Our aim? To complicate the racing strategy and maintain the suspense? That’s why there is a long and demanding 30km descent into the finish at Bagnères-de-Bigorre. We thought it might inspire the likes of Nibali (unlikely) or Evans to put together an interesting tactical plan in the hope of destabilising the likely dominance of the Sky Pro Cycling team.

Yesterday, about stage 7, I wrote:

A flawless display from a brilliant team yesterday, I wonder how many more times they can do that.

Of course, that was about Cannondale, but I think it works for Sky too.

[video]http://vimeo.com/69807060[/video]

Shockingly it’s the best video of the highlights I could find.

Photos from Stage 8

Sky are so strong. They could just ride threshold for the rest of the tour and I think they’d still win. The other riders will be really offensive because of this, although I think Quintana is the only real danger, unless Contador can find something special. Valverde should be watched, but the display of power from Froome was awe inspiring, I don’t see how anyone can do anything against that.

I would like Sky to go on the offensive early today. Everyone is going to be tired, but you start blowing people out the back on the first two climbs, with three or four more to come, and you’ll devastate half the field. Would be a very bold move though, and so I’m not really expecting any fireworks till the second half of the Peyresourde, at least.

Expecting a break to go early on, not sure if it will stay away – it’s a short stage, but a lot of climbing, and there are going to be some tired legs today. Might just be to pick up KOM points.

The 30km descent should be great to watch.

There’s a lot of talk about whether or not Sky might be doping (see article below), and looking at yesterday, I can see why. I don’t think Sky are, but how do you explain it? Everyone else finally off the juice and suffering because of it? Some awesome training plan? Froome and Porte just born a cut above the rest? A mixture? I think a lot of people are settling for Occam’s Razor, and I wonder if we’re too biased to see it as they do.

A few useful links

Live Cycling News Text Updates
Steephill
Official Tour Live Feed App
Classifications
Withdrawals
Fantasy League Standings
Loser League Standings

JimstersJinkers pull an Evans and disappear off the top, to be replaced with Grannys Rings by Chris Johnson at the top of the Fantasy league, with the imaginatively named Junkyards STW team and UP THE ROAD in 2nd and 3rd, all three having Froome, Porte, Sagan, Cavendish, and Stannard in their teams… Is it all down to the domestiques and climbers now? Over on the loser league, Time to do some crashing remains at the bottom, and with Contador’s performance yesterday, can surely only remain there…

http://www.cyclingnews.com/blogs/robert-millar/robert-millar-hard-times – a lovely article from Robert Millar, definitely worth a quick read

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-gallery-climbs-of-the-pyrenees

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/have-100-percent-confidence-in-my-results-says-froome – Froome on being clean – the comments at the bottom are quite interesting

http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/pro-bike-nairo-quintanas-pinarello-dogma-65-1-think-2 – it’s tiny!!

And a little something to celebrate Sky in yellow, and to watch during ITV4’s ad breaks..

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I_mV5vP0E7c[/video]

imaginatively named Junkyards STW team

I assumed it would be useful for folk to know what team each member had and i could not deny which was mine if it was pants

Anyway you are just bitter at having to suck my wheel 😉

Yes three identical teams with some randoms thrown in

Out today so will miss this one

Not sur eif Sky will just monitor or go for it

Would be nice to see them do the same again but that would devestate the race IMHO and it will be all but over if he takes another minute or so out of them

I think Quintana is the only real danger,

Not with descending like that for todays stage

Good intro Realman, thanks 😀

Christ 30k to the finish from the final summit! What a waste of a load of climbs!

here’s a lot of talk about whether or not Sky might be doping (see article below), and looking at yesterday, I can see why. I don’t think Sky are, but how do you explain it? Everyone else finally off the juice and suffering because of it? Some awesome training plan? Froome and Porte just born a cut above the rest? A mixture?

It’s a question that no one really knows the answer to. surely there aren’t only 2 or 3 sports scientists that know how to train cyclists post doping? you know what I mean? if sky can train so well, then surely other teams can…

I don’t know, I hope he’s clean, I really do.

What help is that video? I spent absolutely no time looking at the bar tape.

…bar tape? 😕

surely there aren’t only 2 or 3 sports scientists that know how to train cyclists post doping? you know what I mean? if sky can train so well, then surely other teams can…

Some coaches are better than others. Training at that level is so complex, and there’s masses of theories about what is best. If Sky had come up with something that provided awesome results, they would probably do their best to keep it a secret, as you’d expect. However, that’s quite tricky too, as when team members leave and join different teams (i.e. Cav moving to quickstep), you would think they could take some of the knowledge with them.

It’s a question that no one really knows the answer to. surely there aren’t only 2 or 3 sports scientists that know how to train cyclists post doping? you know what I mean? if sky can train so well, then surely other teams can…

You get dominant teams in all forms of sport, not just cycling. If everyone knew how they did it, they wouldn’t be dominant.

Why have Man Utd dominated English football over the last 20 years? Why were the Chicago Bulls so dominant in their heyday? Why were Liverpool so dominant in European football in the 70s and 80s?

It happens.

I’ve really no idea why people who suspect doping follow pro cycling. Honestly if you watched Froome yesterday but thought he wasn’t clean then why bother. I get why people think everyone in the Tour is on drugs but I don’t get why someone would watch it if they did.

Groomed been a good climber for a while, pushing those around him so no surprise about performances. Don’t think he needs to dope quite frankly!

Richie has been around a while, also always been a strong climber.

It’s not like either of them have just turned up unannounced and thrashed everyone!

Morning !

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)

I don’t know enough about roadies to have a plausible go at “is sky doping?”

… so here’s my ill-founded bollocks:

It’s down to the quality of the entire team, isn’t it (and that’s what makes me a bit suspicious) ?

Sure, not only is Froome bloody good but obviously Porte would make the GC leader for pretty much any other team. Then they’ve got the “domestiques” and this is the bit I can’t do. Are they all way better than everybody elses (B-Hagen, fair enough, he’s quite famous but what about the rest). If they’re genuinely better riders than everybody else’s (and always have been) then fair enough – they’re just the Chelsea/Man City model for purchasing wins. If all of those guys are performing better than anyone expected, …

I can see though, that they are all very disciplined – none of this Jens on a mad breakaway stuff; they just sit and ride, giving maximum effort and protection for Froome/Wiggo

(I don’t like sky’s racing tactics but I still hope they’re not doping)

I’ve really no idea why people who suspect doping follow pro cycling. Honestly if you watched Froome yesterday but thought he wasn’t clean then why bother. I get why people think everyone in the Tour is on drugs but I don’t get why someone would watch it if they did.

Because it is a great spectacle and exciting to watch. Is it really that hard to understand?

Didn’t one wise person once say “cycling doesn’t get any easier, you just get faster”? Well surely that must apply to doping as well.

Say, for sake of argument, Froome is doping: Did you see the look on his face on that last climb? Did you see the amount he was sweating? That was seriously hard work, dope or no dope.

So you’re saying that even if you think they are doping you can still enjoy the spectacle? Sorry but I can’t understand that, if you watch Sagan,Froome, Cav et al trounce their opponents and say that was excellent but I bet he was doping? I’m not sure I could keep watching if every time someone won I thought they were cheating.

there is another thread discussing doping, Froome V Wiggins. so lets just discuss the race here
Please

+1 Junkyard: regardless of your opinions Realman takes time to create these daily threads to discuss the racing; 3 weeks of “Are Sky doping” threads will get very boring very quickly. No one else in these threads is interested in taking part in that debate, whether with think they are doping or not we leave that at the door.

JimstersJinkers pull an Evans and disappear off the top, to be replaced with Grannys Rings by Chris Johnson at the top of the Fantasy league.

Score. Took a bit of a gamble putting all my eggs in the Froome-Porte-Sagan-Cav basket (not exactly a huge gamble, you might say), but seems to be paying off so far. Top three teams almost identical – should be close. (Certainly closer than my convincing victory in the STW Giro league, at least. 8) )

As for today, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sky dominate again. Froome just looks untouchable – he could be 2+ mins up on his nearest (non-Sky) rival by the rest day.

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

Kennaugh, ouch!

More to the point I hope bloody ITV4 will not miss the key defining moments of the stage today by sticking on some ads for some Ambulance chasing solicitors and blokes grooming products 👿

130km to go, decent quality break getting reeled in and Froome only got Porte left with him at front of peleton (with Quintana on his wheel). They didnt just break the peleton theyve killed the rest of the team, the Sky train is no more can someone else bring the fight to them?

Peleton – less ‘e’s more ‘o’s…. 😉

meh, looks wrong however I type it…

Froome lost all his support and currently surrounded by Movistar, on the radio looking worried theyre going to gang up on him, take his lunch money and force feed him grass…

Cannot see it as it is like running a marathon best to do it as a doable tempo. With cycling you get assistance from the team mates [drafting]till the last final effort

It would take a sizeable breakaway of talented riders and they would need to redline for a long time to beat them/stay ahead
The next day they would pay the price for this

It is dull but it is effective if you have the fastest rider. Anyone can tuck into their train and then out do them at the last…yesterday we saw how unlikely that is.
I suppose Froome would have a bad day or a crash

EDIT: it seems Froomes attitude is he will go with them and just sit with them and tuck in- they still need to drop him as they draft him.

Suppose he needs to decide who to go with when they attack and it is not like anyone will help him

Froome(dog) constantly on radio literally surrounded by Movistar, 125km to go and he is isolated. We’ll see how he copes and whether he can make any friends.

My guess is this stage will be won by someone who “used to be a MTBer”… 8)

It will be interesting to see how well the ice baths, massage, and nutrition will have worked for the Sky powerhouse today after yesterday’s efforts.

valverde attacks and froome forced to chase, is this the pattern for the day, every other contender puts a dig in and he exhausts himself countering it?

A very nieve defense from froome, movistar are not stupid.

Oh dear.

If froome holds the yellow today he deserves to keep it bUt everyones ganging up today

Movistar and saxotinkoff got teams going for it and froomes got he and him self

A very nieve defense from froome,

In the Froome v. Wiggins debate I would say that is one area where Wiggins has the edge.

[conspiracy theory]was Kennaugh taken out deliberately? [/conspiacy theory]

Watching the crash it looked it tbh

Not sure what you mean trail rat he is just sitting in and following his main threat – what would you expect him to do – attack them all from 100 km out and try to drop them all?

It is going to be a cracking days race today and for the next few days as they all try to make him crack…will he??

And I need to go out and will miss it

Fantastic to see yellow not just sitting back and also the other big teams going for it. loving it

Missed the start I assume a crash caused the split and some of you think it was a deliberate crash to split the Sky team

Schumacher tactic sin pro cycling?

Sounds like you just tuned in.

Been watchingthe eurosport coverage.

Basically movistar are giving him a beating as a 2 , they called up the road to get their man to wait and now have a three man squad giving him a beating , he needs support

Your idea of sitting in and mine are different. Hes not exactly on movi stars wheel constantly by my standard of hugging a wheel. And the further from a wheel you are the harder it is.

Appears to be drifting in and out of the slip stream , movistar deliberitely keeping it fluid and changing pace to break him.

Pete Kennaugh was clipped and ended up off the road and down a bank; back up and riding but obviously got separated from Froome. To be fair, could have happened at any time to anyone.

Sounds like you just tuned in

missed the start and watching from second climb

Your idea of sitting in and mine are different. Hes not exactly on movi stars wheel constantly by my standard of hugging a wheel.

Well he has not been dropped so he is sitting in 😉
yes he is not the smoothest of riders and he is not tyre hugging or Team TT but he has not been dropped/broken nor even looked like he would be [ but it is exciting ]

Still he isolated so a serious test of tactics, stamina and will power

Pace is fast so it may well break the others just like yesterday ?

I love the Pyresourde! Interesting that Froome is isolated, makes for a more exciting stage!

[ but it is exciting

Something we agree on…. I have a silly list of jobs to do and a car to collect from whence we left it last night , but the tour is being watched.

so can someone explain to me why it makes a difference today if Froome doesn’t have his team around him?

Providing he has the legs after yesterday can’t he just stick with his rivals by riding off their wheel? If he can stick with sky setting a high pace then why can’t he stick with the movistar guys?

Educate me please

ta

movistar will make short sharp attacks that Frrome will have to close down on his own. Then when frroms is really tired the main movistar rider will make a final all out attack.