It's getting close! TdFrance picks!

Discussion in 'The Roadie Hangout' started by Pain Freak, May 21, 2013.

  1. hav77

    hav77 Member

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    Froome was ridiculous on Mont Ventoux. Just absolutely ridiculous the way he crushed everyone. Nairo looked strong and even he was left by the wayside by Froome. He's definitely the outlier. Just look at how closely packed all the other GC contenders are.
     
  2. MnMDan

    MnMDan Member

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    To add fuel to the fire:

    Froome lives with a parasite that he's been trying to get rid of, and the only way to get rid of it is through powerful antibiotics that knocks him off the bike, much less any training, for weeks on end. Look at Froome before the parasite and Froome after (say 2008 to 2010). Clearly, body chemistry and physiology has been affected. Not saying the legal drugs used to kill the parasite offer any benefit, but maybe the fact that it knocks him off the bike without him getting fat in the off-season means he's not fluctuating weight like most cyclists.

    Lance was pretty good before Cancer, but his physiology changed afterwards...and he found access to better drugs as part of those needed to recover.

    Greg LeMond was different before and after the shooting incident.



    While we know (1) was cheating, it was against a field of cheaters.
    We'd like to think the vocal anti-cheater wasn't cheating, but he was competing (and beating) a field composed of a lot of now-confessed cheaters.
    We'd like to believe that what we're seeing is legit, but you won't know until 20 years down the road (or sooner, re: Landis and his miraculous recovery the day after bonking in the mountains).

    I choose that Froome is competing against a level playing field...whatever that means. Athletes have different levels of access to training, nutrition, race preparation, and when everything lines up, they perform at a level above their peers (sometime that includes drugs...there's plenty of dopers who's results did not improve as a result of doping, they just got kicked out of the sport).

    Can't wait for the descent off the back side of L'Alpe d'Huez myself.
     
  3. dirtmistress

    dirtmistress AKA Roadiemistress

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    Here's a couple teaser photos of the back of Le Alpe

    The 'B' side of Alpe de Huez is the Col de Sarenne. Crazy beautiful! Jeanine and I did the full loop from Grenoble, up Le Alpe to Col de Sarenne and down and back to Grenoble. It was about 92 miles and beautiful. That was in 2001 I think.

    Road surface was pretty bad. I wonder if they repaved it for the Tour.
    00320058.jpg

    This was a 12% grade.
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    This guy was going up as we went down.
    00050049.jpg

    Seriously hard core!
    00050050.jpg
     

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  4. MnMDan

    MnMDan Member

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    It was used in Stage 7 of this years Dauphine, with no complaints that I can recall.
     
  5. Sweetpea

    Sweetpea Member

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    Except that last year Froome was faster than Wiggans.
     
  6. jimw2112

    jimw2112 Member

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    I know there are other ways to get better coverage of TdF than the most accessible "NBCSports", but I guess I choose to watch and complain rather than find a better option. Sometimes there seems to be about 20 seconds of racing coverage between commercial breaks that are 2-5 minutes in length. The other day they even addressed that, Phil says something like "We're taking excessive commercial breaks so the last 1/2hour will be commercial free..." Then they continued having commercial breaks right through till the end of the stage. WTF!?
     
  7. ManInAShed

    ManInAShed New Member

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    Hah! oh yea...
     
  8. roach

    roach Full Singletrack Tuck

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    Happy to see France has something to celebrate, but I was really rooting for Tejay to take the stage. I kept shouting at the TV that Riblon was coming fast, but I guess he couldn't hear me.
     

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  9. scottay

    scottay New Member

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    Maybe if he hadn't had that mechanical and hadn't chased back to the front group? Maybe if he had waited and not attacked so soon after catching the front group? Maybe if he had waited and Jens would've brought him back up to the front? I guess that all counts as experience for next time..... I turned it off after he was caught and dropped.
     
  10. mfoga

    mfoga Intense Whore

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    Guess Froome can't say he not a cheater anymore.

    Its kind of sad that he was allowed to cheat take a very minor penalty compared to what could have happened.
     
  11. scottay

    scottay New Member

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    They all cheat a little. Ever see them hang on to the team cars for a little too long while they get something "fixed"? And then the car speeds up and they get a nice launch when they take off....
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    There used to be a site that listed all the penalties for the day...."nature break" or something like that was a penalty. lol
    .
    .
     
  12. Schecky

    Schecky SoCalMTBubbs

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    Gotta love the Tour
    [​IMG]
     
  13. ManInAShed

    ManInAShed New Member

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    Yeah, there's a lot of penalties that have exceptions because they don't necessarily apply. Like feeding in the last 25k. Makes sense for safety reasons on high speed flat stages, but sending a rider back to the car on a low speed mountaintop finish, not so much.

    Contador's sudden bike switch as soon as the officials announce over the radios that they'd be testing bike weights as the riders finish Alp du Huez was another story though. #$%^&* Contador...
     
  14. mfoga

    mfoga Intense Whore

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    Yah but he gained an unfair advantage by feeds in after anyone else could legally feed. It was vey obvious he was in serious need of that food, it was the only moment he didn't look like he was doping compared to the rest of the field. He gained way more than 20 seconds. He could have seriously bonked and lost huge time, he could have crashed losing huge time or worse. It may be a stupid rule but the rule was there and he broke it with essentially no penalty. They could easily weight condors bike when they finished it would be the bike with his number so its hard to say it was purely for weight.
     
  15. ManInAShed

    ManInAShed New Member

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    Yeh, I could see that, but considering he didn't get to eat when everyone else did within the zone because of a technical problem with a tour-supplied car, then it just seems like he's just asking for the same amount of feed everyone else got. But yeah, he could have lost huge time had he thoroughly bonked, who knows. 20 sec penalty seems kinda arbitrary. & it was good to see him actually struggle and fail for a change. ...if you can call racing the fastest guys in the world up l alp d huez twice in one day and still finishing in a top placing struggling and failing. Definitely one of the more interesting stages in recent tours though. Crazy.


    Porte looks like Froome last year.
     
  16. mfoga

    mfoga Intense Whore

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    Really I though team cars were the teams responsibility. I am pretty sure I have a bunch of teams have different makes of cars.
     
  17. ManInAShed

    ManInAShed New Member

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    I had heard they all had to use Skodas because the race is sponsored by em, but you might very well be right. & I cant tell by looking, I wouldn't know a Skoda from a modern Renault or Fiat at this point.

    ...

    ...apparently Skoda makes a pretty bitchin 4wd jeep or mini SUV of some sort. I guess there are a lot of United Statesians that want it but no ones figured out how to bring any over.
     
  18. scottywc

    scottywc New Member

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    I'm so torn. I want to go on a long ride in the morning, but also want to watch the final stage, even though I know who'll win. Decisions.
     
  19. scottywc

    scottywc New Member

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    I've seen a bunch of Volvos.
     
  20. ManInAShed

    ManInAShed New Member

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    ah, & I think the Mavic wagon is a Volkswagen. I can't imagine the Mavic car changing to suit anybodys needs but Mavic's.
     

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