I didn't see the end of the stage this morning, but I guess rule 5 applies today. Not that a link is necessary, and everyone on this thread/sub-forum knows this already, but: http://www.velominati.com/the-rules/
If I was Sky or any other sponsor of that team I might be reconsidering my sponsorship. They chose to leave a Tour winner at home for purely selfish reasons and now the one egg in the basket they had is broken. I know they think they Porte can do something but unless he is much better in Time Trails then before he has no chance and either does the team.
I look at the old pictures of self supported tour days with 3 weeks of dirt roads and those boys where tough, bet they welcomed the cobblestones.
Its war, and they made a tactical mistake. If Froome hadn't crashed during the Criterium du Dauphine he might still be in it. He doesn't look completely done, just beat up. Too bad. I was looking forward to the battles on the climbs. I'm also sad that Quintana isn't there.
Also very sad about Quintana. I bet him and the team manager are having a few choice words now that Froomey is out.
Ya, ofcourse Quintana would have been great in this tour from a fans perspective. But he made the decision along with his management to focus on the Giro, which better suits his style of riding. He won that tour only a month ago, so i dont think he is second guessing anything!
It's not that they think Porte can do something, he's just the only card they have left to play. Success or fail, it'll make for good racing. He's another strong guy that could rise to the occasion... and if he doesn't, Sky is full of really strong talent that would then be "free to fly". Not that any of them will be GC threats, but they'll certainly animate the daily action as they go for stage victories.
Sky had no choice. Wiggo can't figure out what he wants to do more than 6-months in advance between Grand Tours and Track disciplines, and he's not well liked either within the Sky team or the peloton. Remember, he didn't give his winner's bonus to Froome until the year after his win (it was given to everyone else), and Sky team members continue to roll through a revolving door with Wiggins. With the Grand Tours, you need to pick and choose in order to be competitive, and while you make most of you're own luck, you need to be good enough to take advantage of it. Quintana's got quite a few more years...he was a revelation last year but not a GC threat with this year's "Classics"-style route...not enough finishes where he can gain minutes to compensate for his other shortcomings. Now is the time for Porte to see if he can graduate to 2nd fiddle on the team or if he stays in 3rd. Either way, in three years, its a Quintana/Sagan battle shaping up because they're both good enough to be able to take chunks of time out of each other while being consistent enough to destroy the rest of the field.
Race aside, as a presenter, Greg Lemond comes across so nervous, jittery, bumbling, and scatterbrained on camera, he'd be better off if they 1, paired him with someone with whom he has some chemistry, 2, put them in a convertible and shoot them commentating en route & in front of scenic places along the way, and 3, had them both steadily consume wine throughout the telecast until they're telling stories and singing songs and wearing berets and eating baguettes and smoking cigars and falling down. That would be infinitely more entertaining than anyone elses coverage I've seen.
Ooooh my gosh! 8-[ This years Tour juuuuuust got VERY interesting!!!! Crashes.. Attacks... Individual / Team strategy... Risk... Broken damn frames... (This drama keeps getting better and better) Must see TV!
Not how I thought this stage was going to go. Damn, I wish I could have seen video of the frame, but at least I want to see pictures.
At this point, they are saying the frame was a victim (who knows) Edit: Rumor #1: The "rider" whose frame broke attempted to accelerate... He rode into a hole in the road. (The rest is history! Well.. That's what they tell us)