Morning morning, all well?

Today’s thread, given the lack of racing today, is entirely dedicated to our views and thoughts on the last weeks racing.

I’ll start off with some pics from yesterday and add my views once I’ve woken up.

Sky train.

Mollema on the attack.

Martin on the attack too.

And this, this is how dreams begin.

Will we be getting more team transfer news today or does that happen after the race finishes?
Surely Landa will be off to lead a team somewhere (Movistar?) given his performance so far. Retirement for Contador?

Landa can’t go to Movistar, it’s pointless.

He has to go to someone that doesn’t have a GC man. Otherwise he’s just sitting there as a Domestique for the main times, if he goes to Movistar he’s not getting the lead role in the Tour before NQ does.

The problem with that though, none of the other teams really have a team strong enough to support, so he’d have to do most of it alone.

It’s all well and good saying how great he is, but don’t forget, for the large majority of stages he’s equally as well shielded/supported as Froome is, he gets the leads up the hills first, but then yes, he’s doing the solo support role after that. If he goes somewhere else, he’s not getting that support for 80% of the day, he’s on his own.

Landa can’t go to Movistar, it’s pointless.

He has to go to someone that doesn’t have a GC man. Otherwise he’s just sitting there as a Domestique for the main times, if he goes to Movistar he’s not getting the lead role in the Tour before NQ does

Not sure i’d agree 100% with that. Firstly NQ is not really setting the tour alight, he may be viewed as a bust flush having failed at the giro also. His so far dismal role in TdF also might indicate that the if your team is going to make a serious tilt at all three grand tours, as movistar will do this year you’re going to need more than one top rider hence n elevation for Landa. So Landa joins Movistar, gets a shed load of cash and gets to lead at the Vuelta, which is allegedly more than Sky would let him do this year

I have a feeling Sky will have a crack at signing Bardet within the next couple of seasons. Froome’s around till 2020 but Bardet is younger, and there’s more than one Grand Tour. Maybe not this year, but soon…

So Landa joins Movistar, gets a shed load of cash and gets to lead at the Vuelta, which is allegedly more than Sky would let him do this year

I’d expect Landa to be given one of the others if he stayed at Sky next season.

G has been shown as lacking this season for a GT win, sorry for any who love him, but he can’t quite cut it with the big boys on the hills. So i think Landa will be given whatever GT that G would ordinarily get.

Don’t forget Valverde will start to scale back races, certainly after his off and over the next couple of years as he heads into retirement.. I think Landa would be a good fit.
Also, Berties signed with Trek until 2019.. but they’ve ridden together and know each other well enough that Bertie will start to scale back as he heads into retirement (again) again another good fit.
Also, Pinot has a new ProCont team starting next year without any Mountains guy named so far.. could be a good fit, spend one year at ProCont, next year at Pro level.. (world points and sponsorship would come with Landa)
UAE have Ulissi, whilst a cracking rider maybe they need more firepower (unlikely tfr if I’m honest)

Landa was given sole leadership for the Giro last year, and joint leadership this year. Neither worked out for various reasons.

It’ll be an interesting one for Landa. The big teams with the big money and support for a proper go at a GT mostly have incumbent leaders. Maybe a move to Trek as surely Contador can’t go on much longer? Movistar would be a good fit, Spanish and all that, and I think he’s a better all round rider than Quintana. Would he take a big pay cut to lead a team?

Only issue with Landa is that, as strong a rider as he appears, he’s can be inconsistent and he’s not a proven leader.

There’s been some brilliant racing as well as some baffling tactics. I think several teams have finally discovered how to match Team Sky, at least tactically. The GC reflects this as it’s so close: Simon Yates is in seventh at 2:02, that’s usually the gap between first and second by this point in the race.

Dan Martin might possibly be podium if he hadn’t been involved in the Richie Porte crash. For me Bardet looks much more of a contender than Aru, it helps that he’s still got a full team whereas Astana are slightly reduced but they don’t seem to be on the ball regarding supporting and protecting him – the run-in to yesterday’s finish being a case in point.

Not sure about Sky signing Bardet – AG2R is very much a French team

Pineau is not Pinot.

There’s been some brilliant racing as well as some baffling tactics. I think several teams have finally discovered how to match Team Sky, at least tactically. The GC reflects this as it’s so close

I wonder how much of that is down to the parcourse this year. Tour always use to be long steady climbs and with summit finish and a couple of long time trials. Now it’s super steep stuff, short time trials. Suits different tactics and a different style of rider.

Bardet to Sky? I don’t see it. As much as I like Bardet I do wonder how he’s going to win a GT. This year’s atypical Tour is ideal for him and probably his best shot. If the Tour reverts to type and has a long TT then he loses minutes (he lost about 3 minutes to Froome in last year’s Tour on the 37k ITT.) Skinny climbers just don’t usually win the Tour.

I’ve not touched EuroSport coverage this year. ITV4 has come on in leaps and bounds and now they are live for the full stage there’s no reason to turn over to ES.
Ned Boulting and David Millar make a brilliant double act and coupled with the Chris Boardman info bits and Gary Imlach’s gentle sarcasm it’s a really nice blend.
Not actually heard any of Philippa York’s input yet though.

Rider of the week: Barguil I think. Honourable mentions to Dan Martin and Thomas De Gendt.

Team of the week: Got to be Sunweb.

Moment of the week: The last few km’s of Stage 14 to Rodez. Kwiatowski leading out Froome into the top 10 whilst Aru was up the right hand side of the road without any team anywhere near him about 100 riders back. Shockingly bad riding.

I’ve had it running in the background at work and I enjoyed listening to Phillipa. think she’s done now though, it was only a three-day affair?

Bardet is my favourit rider. The next French winner. And I very much doubt he’d leave a French team unless someone like Sky could give the support he needs. Yesterday AG2r looked good, in a different class to Astana 😆 . Landa to Movistar is almost certain IMHO unless Sky offer a lot to keep him.

Whatever we think, it is a national game as well as as money game. A French winner in the French team who also win the team event would basically be immortal in France!

And I haven’t checked my Fantasy Team since Porte left 🙁

Yesterday AG2r looked good, in a different class to Astana

They absolutely smashed it. That was superb team tactics and the fact that they’ve got 8 guys to stick on the front and do that shows how well they’ve all come through the first fortnight.

Still all to play for though, it’s so close. One badly timed mechanical, even half a bad day or a moment of isolation and it could still all change round.

You wonder how much cash sponsors will throw at AG2R to keep Bardet? I suspect he’s worth a lot more to a French team than a non-French team.

Landa to Movistar is almost certain IMHO unless Sky offer a lot to keep him.

I reckon he’ll be gone from Sky, much like what happened with him at Astana. Then he’ll be back to being a super-domestique in a couple of years having failed to get the results as lead rider on a big team.

The main reason Landa would go to MOV is that they may offer him leader status at the Vuelta. Froome seems to want to keep the Vuelta in reserve, meaning another rider can’t plan their schedule around certain leadership. It’s a shame. Landa is a really class rider, and since he’s been at Sky he has always, as far as I recall, done exactly what the team has asked him, and seems to be well liked within the team. It’s a shame his 2 attempts at the Giro have been ruined by crashes (just like every Sky attempt at the Giro, it seems). I think the pressure at Team Sky must be really intense for the riders, but I’m sure it’s somewhat different to how it was with Nibali and Vino at Astana.

It’s great to see Barguil has recovered from his pelvis fracture. He really lit up the tour in the last week. His riding very much reminds me of another French King of the Mountains who was one of my cycling idols as a teenager – Richard Virenque (but hopefully without the scandal and fall from grace 😯 ).

Super excited for the final week. Bardet and Aru will need to attack Froomey, but how will Sky respond – throttle the race with a searing tempo, or fire Landa up the road? I’m sure Bertie will be up to something. Whatever you think of the guy, a bike race is 100% more entertaining when he’s in it.

Vive la Tour!

Agree with weeksy – Landas have 95% of the support Froome get from Sky. Would be different ballgame if he was lead for another team.

Ag2r turned up yesterday but as a team have been pretty quiet for the rest of the two weeks I’ve watched. Need to be there all the time if they want a win and not just relying a broken spoke to get themselves time.

Good to see its a little more open this year.think the narrow time gaps are more the lack of mtn top finishes though than even competitors.

Astana are slightly reduced but they don’t seem to be on the ball regarding supporting and protecting Aru

Probably because they don’t actually like him.

It’s the job they are paid to do. They must really dislike him not to help him.

Shaping up for an interesting week, must be pretty stressful if you’re riding for Sky.

Aru and Astana is curious one. He did seem to work well with Cataldo and Fuglsang, but they’re now gone. He’s left with Valgren (who doesn’t seem to be a fan), Grivko (an Ukranian) and a bunch of Kazakhs. Makes you wonder if there’s much team spirit round the dinner table?

Scuttlebutt is that Aru is really disliked on the team and that they really wouldn’t lift a finger to help him win. Add in a seedy conspiracy twist and the theory is that the only reason he is still on the team and leading their GT push is that if they kick him off the team he’s likely to throw ‘omerta’ out the window and dish the full dirt on Astana..! 😯 I’ve also read in a few places that he is so disliked generally in the peloton that his chances of getting a leaders role at another team in minimal, if Astana kick him to the curb then it would likely be the end of his WorldTour career.

Watching the ITV4 live coverage during the stage where Landa and Contador went off the front, Phillipa and David Millar both seemed to be fairly confident in stating that Landa was likely heading to Trek next year with Contador stepping down his GT ambitions to take on a road captain/ uber-domestique role for Landa. They certainly seemed chatty enough on their breakaway..!? It seems like a good fit, if Contador has finally accepted that his chances of another GT win are very slim and he and Landa get along. Trek don’t have an obvious GT contender and they have enough of a budget to put together a team that could carry a strong enough leader through a GT.???

H1ghland3r, wouldn’t surprise me about Aru. Reminded of Henderson’s comments about Aru’s “illness” back in 2015. Does not seem a happy team.

CaptainFlashheart – Member
Pineau is not Pinot

Whew.

We thought you were asleep.

Listening to Lance’s podacast (boo hiss I know) he said its an open secret that Landa’s contract with Movistar is already signed but their is a convention in the cycling press not to report transfer news until August 1st.

Scuttlebutt is that Aru is really disliked on the team and that they really wouldn’t lift a finger to help him win. Add in a seedy conspiracy twist and the theory is that the only reason he is still on the team and leading their GT push is that if they kick him off the team he’s likely to throw ‘omerta’ out the window and dish the full dirt on Astana..! I’ve also read in a few places that he is so disliked generally in the peloton that his chances of getting a leaders role at another team in minimal, if Astana kick him to the curb then it would likely be the end of his WorldTour career.

Funny watching Dan Martins break yesterday and De Gent and Geschke both happy to work for him all the way to the line, I was thinking what are the chances you would of seen that if it was Aru, they would of all sat up and tucked in behind him

rest day review is up…

Rest Day Review

Valgrens interview was brutal.

Video: Trouble in Astana vented live on TV after Aru lost yellow

If it is Movistar you’ve gotta be thinking they’d be clever enough to pick, say, Landa for Tdf leader and Quintana for the Giro. It’s obvious Q can’t do both.

Listening to Lance’s podacast (boo hiss I know) he said its an open secret that Landa’s contract with Movistar is already signed but their is a convention in the cycling press not to report transfer news until August 1st.

Yeah, transfers never mentioned until after tour. Can’t be seen fratenising with your next team, sponsors won’t be happy.

Funny watching Dan Martins break yesterday and De Gent and Geschke both happy to work for him all the way to the line, I was thinking what are the chances you would of seen that if it was Aru, they would of all sat up and tucked in behind him

That was interesting – it was almost like Martin had team-mates with him the way they were riding. Just seems to be down to him being well liked by all accounts although I wonder if there might also have been some sympathy for the way he’d lost time on GC through no fault of his own.

I’ve had it running in the background at work and I enjoyed listening to Phillipa. think she’s done now though, it was only a three-day affair?

I heard some of the coverage she did and it was a useful addition to the already very good ITV4 coverage.

The whole thing is like a 3 week France tourism advert though – really looking to heading over there with the motorhome next week although disappointed that we’re not in Paris for the final stage this year.

although I wonder if there might also have been some sympathy for the way he’d lost time on GC through no fault of his own.

That was David Millars opinion too.

Having QS owe you a favour might well come in pretty handy for Sunweb and LS too.

omerta, favours.. it really is like the mafia in the peleton!

Don’t forget a lot of the riding at the tour is based on the ‘you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours’. There’ll be a breakaway tomorrow when you might need a bit of help. Following day, vice versa. Add on old team mates, or team mates to be next season and there’s always a lot of help around.

There, thankfully, still seems to be a lot of respect within the Peleton. Imagine any other sport where they’d wait for you if you had a puncture, for example. Suppose the omerta works both ways of course.

Get within a few seconds of their main man and suddenly the help would stop mind! Sponsors pay the wages ultimately.

Week 2 highlights on ITV4 now.

Also, Dave Brailsford has been providing some out-of-race entertainment:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/brailsford-launches-rant-against-cyclingnews-journalist/

Millar’s Tour team. Did he say 100% clean? Starting with Indurain and Ulrich?!

Brailsford is becoming a bit of an embarrassment. I’m surprised Sky are still backing him TBH.

He may well be losing it with the pressure, but he has a point as far as Cyclingnews is concerned.