2012 Tour de France

A Cycling Legend is in the process of being born. That poster will be priceless so hold onto it! Or even better I'll give you 20 bucks for it?

 

Come on! The guy deserves a lot of credit. He is 22 years old, riding his first Tour, and already has 3 stage victories. He may not have the top speed of the other top sprinters (yet), but he compensates with other attributes, like smarts and, yes, opportunism. He reminds me of Oscar Freire. Same type of rider, perhaps not the fastest, but always looking to take advantage of any opportunity. I think the guy has a bright future ahead of him.

 

"A race is a work of art that people can look at and be affected in as many ways they’re capable of understanding."
One of my favorite Steve Prefontaine quotes, very apropos to this discussion.​

 

Cavendish is a whiny douche, Sagan is just having fun. If you can't see the incredible skill and talent Sagan possesses you're blind. I've literally seen almost every race he's done including his MTB and Cyclocross world titles and am in awe of his natural talent. Here's a guy that can give world class sprinters a run for their money yet get over huge mountain passes in the front group. As he matures he'll win in virtually every type of race from Paris-Roubaix and Flanders to Leige and the Tour De France. Not since Merckx has there been someone with this capacity.

 

Speaking of Freire, I just found out he is out of the race. Cracked ribs and punctured lung. Out of the Olympics as well. Too bad. A sad way to end a very prolific career...

 

Indeed! La Planche Des Belle Filles looks like a stinging grunt.
Here's a pretty good preview - skip to 3:36 for the final climb. wish I could be there.
[youtube]kjjAGNx2DTw&yr[/youtube]

 

"He reminds me of Oscar Freire. "

Bingo.

Freire was something else when it came to road smarts. Sorry to hear he's out. Didn't look on form from the get-go this year. Great rider.

 

Sagan is now in the Top 10. Besides being able to survive in the mountains (he won the Big Bear Stage in last year's ATOC) he is also a fairly decent time trailist. If he survives this weekend I can see him potentially give Evans and Wiggo and run for their money for overall yellow in Paris. Sounds silly I know but then again you never know......

As for opportunism I just call that really good cycling. In the hectic atmsphere of the last 5 kms of a sprint stage, having the ability to think quickly, get yourself behind the right wheel, stay upright and actually win without a lead out train (he has none) is pure tallent. Cav seems to be able to do it once in a while. Give him a good lead out train and he will win all the time. (Cav is still a legend - no matter what)

Sagan seems to be nailing it regularly.

 

>>It isn’t entirely fair to blame Phil Liggett, really, because the curse had already been bandied about on group rides, in coffee shops, on Twitter and elsewhere as soon as Peter Sagan started becoming a majority owner of short stage races. But it was Liggett who formally unleashed the curse on Sagan on Tuesday’s NBC coverage of the Tour de France, declaring to the world seconds after Sagan’s stage 3 victory that “(Sagan) is the new Eddy Merckx in cycling, for sure.”<<
.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2012/07/news/commentary-handing-sagan-the-cannibal-curse_227651

 

Sagan will be no where near the front group tomorrow. If you look at the Big Bear climb, it is long and gradual. Once it starts to get steep, he can't hang with the true GC contenders. Just look at the AToC this year on the Mount Baldy stage, he got dropped about halfway up GMR and ended up losing 25 minutes on the stage.

 

He could move up a couple of places by the rest day - these "Mountain" stages this weekend look fairly easy but, on the podium in Paris? Umm..Sagan's the sprinter for Liqui. After a few more cracks at stages that suit him his job then turns to taking as many pulls up front for Nibali and Basso - their main GC guys. No way those two work for Sagan - ain't gonna happen this year.

I haven't been listening to Liggett and am not surprised he's being fed that business about Sagan. Fluff for the casual fans. Kelly, Harmon and Kirby on EuroSports are pretty lowkey about anyone's chances outside of Wiggins and Evans. The kid got whipped good on Baldy both years in TOC and I just don't see him having a punter's chance of hanging with the hard men once those big days start stacking up.

Looking for Chris Froome and Dan Martin to light it up this weekend. Out of the spotlight and both big diesels when it tilts up.


Chris Froome - another former mtb'er lighting it up. Wiggins and Froome should be lethal together in the big climbing stages.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Froome

 

Agreed.
It is just a game.

Still... I'm enjoying Sagan's panache and Cancelerra's class.

 

Agree...I did not like Contador any more than I like Cavendish. I think I enjoy watching the folks that seem to be having fun out there.

 

You are right he won't. He's too big right now to hang with the the real climbers. He spent this off season purposely putting on muscle mass(he's noticeably bigger than he was last year) to have a go at sprinting and some of the flatter classics. He'd need to lose close to 25 lbs to become a 3 week grand tour contender, not unheard of at all. To see what he can do on a steep mountain check this from the Tour De Suisse last year where he's still big and ONLY 21 years old. This stage was steeper than the Baldy Stage.

Part 1.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-iuQ2dfyZE&feature=relmfu

Part 2.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtpQ_7Bj_YM

 

Actually I misspoke, the last guy to do well at everything was Sean Kelly. If Sagan has a career like Kelly's he'd still be a legend.

 

good call obie. Sky nailed it perfect today.

 

Evans serving notice today he's not about to concede anything. A true hardman. Great ride today.

http://www.irishpeloton.com/2011/11/the-perfect-cyclist-a-jack-of-all-trades/

 

Anyone still betting on Sagan for Paris?

Losing 12:01 on the first climb of the Tour doesn't bode well for his chances for the overall (Cancellera even beat him by 10:22). I think he learned alot today about the need to pace yourself during a 3 week race.

Great stage today. The leaderboard shook out real quick.

 

I'm betting he might pop another wheelie.

 

Gotta love Cadel's grimace...that man wears it all on his face and is heart...some folks give him crap because sometimes he is emotional...to me that shows the depth of his fire and desire.

Ohhh just a comment on Cav...and his cockiness / moodiness / d$ckish... look at many (not all I know there are expections) truly work class athletes...that is part of the make up / that is part of the competitiveness... ...people didn't root for Michael Jordon cause he was a nice guy..I enjoy it when they talk $hit like that, it's entertainment.

Sagan .... let the boy play....

Phil and Paul I love 'em ... the outlandish things they say...that is part of the charm and fun..I don't want a golf announcer for the TDF ... how much fun would that be.