Yes, today is stage 11...can you believe it? Yesterdays long mountain stage was somewhat of a snoozer for fans...certainly not for the riders. However TODAY's stage should be a real shootout....at least we can hope. Sky is looking much like the indomitable superpower of old...again. And they weren't even in Yellow! Gotta give credit to GVA...he honored the Yellow yesterday...and we will see how / if he pays for that today.
Still daydreaming of being there in a camper with my travel road bike (the frame comes apart and the whole thing wheels and all fits into a 26"x26"x10" hard-shell suitcase, so it ships on the airlines as a regular suitcase, not a bike). Ahh...I'd be riding the big climbs, the cobbles, and anything even remotely interesting. Riding thru the throngs of fans already there...getting a tiny glimpse of the madness the riders endure. And of COURSE, at the very top of the bucket-list of climbs is Alp d' Huez...who doesn't want to say they've climbed THAT?
OK...gotta scoot...just wanted to get up a new page for the next few stages.
Viva le Tour!
Cheers!
Have you ever thought about riding the Etape de Tour? Actually, there is one for the Tour of CA you should look into...
ReplyDeleteHaven't watched the stage yet, just taking a break from fixing the cracks in the driveway
Rae
Hey Rae...I'd LOVE to ride the Etape de Tour! (yes I know about it, but the COST!) Of course, when I'm there in my little camper following the Tour, riding around and all maybe I WILL be riding that! Anyway...just back from work and my after-work-mtb ride (nice day, I felt strong actually...guess all my REST is paying off!)
ReplyDeleteAs usual on my rides, I have lots of time to think, and wanted to toss this out before I watch today's stage (11). I'm going back to Stage 9..THE COBBLES. Specifically I'm going to blast BMC. And specifically, J.O. (the manager/directer, whatever his title is). WHAT THE HELL WAS HE THINKING? They HAD a top contender for the podium (Richie Porte), and then they had TJ as a backup if he faltered. And on the MOST FEARED STAGE OF THE ENTIRE TOUR, they have one of the best in the business to guide their 2 podium hopefuls thru the chaos. But no...a past WINNER of Roubaix was out for himself, trying for a stage win, and to keep the yellow (FOR ONE MORE DAY). SERIOUSLY??? Are you KIDDING ME?? Sadly we'll never know if Richie would have crashed out (BEFORE the first cobble section even) had GVA been there shepherding him thru the stage. Richie (and TJ behind him) should have been GLUED to GVA's wheel from start to finish. I kind of thought this was a TEAM sport, and Richie was truly a podium hopeful. And the best man they could have had to guide him was out in front. HAD GVA been there (where he SHOULD HAVE BEEN) and Richie still crashed out (I actually doubt it..he wouldn't have been where he was) then the mantle shifts immediately to TJ. And guess what? At that moment, TJ was the best placed of ALL the GC guys! So then GVA shepherds TJ, and maybe he WOULDN'T have had all those flats and crashes! On the one crash where it was a left turn onto the cobbles, and TJ went WAY right and made an almost 90 deg turn IN DIRT (and immediately washed out his front wheel and crashed)...all I can say to that is WTF? THAT was a stupid thing to do. Even on a full blown mt bike making a hard turn in dirt you will likely go down...the front just can't hold a line. A road bike? ARE YOU KIDDING?? NOT A CHANCE!!! So MAYBE GVA would have been there and TJ woudln't have taken that ridicilous line aorund that corner, and maybe he wouldn't have had THAT crash. And who knows how many flats he might have avoided. But just the mental bonus of having GVA shepherd him back to the pack IF he crashed / flatted would have helped a LOT! Instead he lost what, 6 minutes?? Gosh J.O...I hope that ONE EXTRA DAY in yellow and a 2nd place on the stage was worth BOTH your GC guys. DUMB DUMB DUMB! Hell...even Quintana did good...right there w/ Valverde! (and he stayed up at the FRONT the entire way! I was suitably impressed Q!) Taylor Phinney...a GREAT cobble rider...nope...busy babysitting Uran, and rightly so. IF you have a GC contender, then everything (and I mean EVERYTHING) is about protecting him and his position. BMC failed miserably and now lacks a GC guy. Good move. NOT. OK...I'm done...time to go watch Stage 11..should be quite exciting!
I think that if I say I am rooting for someone, that is the kiss of death for their ambitions... Rae
ReplyDeleteI feel that way all the time! (same for my stock picks...sometimes I think I should have a little subscription newsletter...where I give advance notice of stocks I'm about to buy or sell, giving paying investors time to get out or in as it will inevitably go the other way from what I want).
DeleteAND SO! Stage 11 did NOT disappoint (unless you were rooting against Sky). DAMN those guys! I was so jazzed when Valverde attacked, and Dumolin going big...(both on my Fantasy team). Nibbles...CVDV said it..what the hell? STOP HELPING SKY! (however I forgive Dan Martin at the end as he was in for himself and Froome jumped on his wheel. Dan is THE MAN! LOVED HIS ATTACK! Talk about coming back from the dead!) Was really hoping the Valverde attack would pan out and then Quintana would try to bridge up...but no. And I"m KILLING MYSELF that I didn't sell 2 or 3 guys and go w/ G T on Sky...I KNEW he'd be up there and just didn't do it. STUPID! Anyway....TOMORROW! 2 climbs I really really REALLY want to do myself one day...Col d' Madeline and of course, drum roll...Alp d'Huez! What will really be interesting is to see who is out of gas after the short brutal stage today. I think a LOT of matches were burned today! But hey...THAT was racing, and it was AWESOME! LOVE the short mountain stages! The one they did last year was a huge success too. MORE PLEASE!!
ReplyDeleteI was glad to see Tejay up there giving it a go, but he thoroughly ran out of gas. Will he keep trying? And Uran -- finished down with the sprinters (and Craddock, for pete's sake!) He MUST have been injured in his crash Sunday and perhaps is just hoping to heal as the race goes on, hoping to go for a stage win later?
ReplyDeleteTexas Tough (Craddock) still chugging along, and even improving !
So which 2 of these 4 on my team should sit tomorrow? Valverde, Jungels, Tejay, or Uran? I am leaning toward Jungels and Uran -- obviously something wrong with Uran, and I don't think Jungels has the legs for D'Huez. Well, don't think Tejay does either, but maybe he will surprise.
Elise = Rae btw. Google switched my name
ReplyDeleteHey Rae...hope you benched Uran...I heard on the pre-show this morning (the race was already underway) that Uran didn't start. And I had him active of course, and was unable to bench him as the stage had already begun. Wish I had known that sooner, but that would have required me to be up by 3am. So now I have FOUR of my 15 out. Kiss of death baby!
ReplyDeleteJust looking at the aerial shot of Alp d'Huez this morning makes me SO want to ride it! I LIKE climbs (I'm not fast but I can ride all day). And what's up with TJ now? I saw this morning that he's like 23 minutes down now?? HOLY CRAP! Wasn't he like seconds back before Stage 9? Jeez...what's he doing, stopping for coffee and sandwiches on the way? The kiss of death for TJ is when you tell him he's "the man"...he was killing it right up to that point!
ReplyDeleteAbout BMC and the free reign given to GvA-- well of course, he is a big star, and holding the yellow is important, but I also think that rewarding his loyalty was a big big factor. Rumor has it that Porte and maybe TvG jumped ship during the sponsor search, while Greg promised to stay with the team until the bitter end. Somewhere I heard that that was a major factor in landing the new sponsor.
ReplyDeleteI wish I had an answer about Tejay -- if he hasn't had the assistance of a sports psychologist, he should. Was it last year that he dropped out because of migraine? Migraine is often a stress response.
Once again I'll be up late watching the stage on DVR. Had too many tasks this morning. Plus, I had to go get my daughter's keys and take her dog out -- he refused to poop on his walk this morning, before she headed off for her 10 hour shift & she was worried about what she would find when she got home!
WOWHOLYCATSOHMYGOSHAMAZING! I'm flat out exhausted...Stage 12 didn't disappoint! First thing (and I said this before) is that I WANT TO RIDE THAT Cat2 climb (can't possibly remember it's name, nor spell it even if I could)...I recall when they did it a few years back, thought it was the most amazing road I've ever seen! Still think that! AND that it's so close to Alp d'Huez...WHEN I get over there w/ my bike, you can bet your booties that I'm going up it! And then the DRAMA! At 1k to go still didn't know who would win! I was really rooting breakaway dude w/ Lotto Jumbo (can't remember his name either other than it started w/ a "K"). He was AMAZING! But he just ran out of gas...then the attacks...loved that there were attacks on Sky! But in the end...the TEAMMATE!!! DAMN! I wouldn't have predicted THAT! (and certainly would have picked G if I had any inkling he'd be riding like THIS!) I wonder what Brailsford has promised G to keep him...very similar to the Wiggens/Froomegate years back. Now it's Froome/Thomasgate, except Thomas is in Yellow by a nice margin! Froome SHOULD be pretty worried I'd think. Yeah yeah yeah...you an talk about "as long as it's in the team" all you want, I have zero doubt that Froome is ticked and wants/expects to win in Paris. And hey...it's still a LONG ways to go...the Pyrenees will have something to say in a few days...but G looks pretty freaking fantastic! And finally...the Alp it's-self...I had goosebumps watching it! ALL THOSE PEOPLE! The MADNESS! The NOISE NOISE NOISE NOISE! (think the Who's down in Whoville). SMOKE! FLAGS! INSANE RUNNERS! SPEEDOS! COSTUMES! MASSIVE QUANTITIES OF ALCOHOL (drunk fans)! Fans camped out for DAYS holding their spots! And Poor Nibbles...taken out by a FAN (we think)! And then he comes back THAT CLOSE to the lead group! Bardet was FANTASTIC! I truly didn't think he had it in him this year (thus didn't pick him in my Fantasy team). DUMOLIN!! (I DID pick him!) I WAS YELLING AT HIM (on TV, about 8 hours after the stage was over) to hold it when he attacked! Then again at the top in the sprint! ARGHHHH! He just didn't quite have it! And hey...nothing against Froome...he is quite impressive, but on that note it doesn't bother met that he DIDN'T win on the Alp. Just wish the winner WASN'T with the biggest budget team in cycling, that's all. Really hoped Quintana could hold with them, but not surprised he didn't (why oh why do I CONTINUE to pick him year after year?) Sheesh....the 21 yr old Columbian kid Bernal (sp?)...Sky's "secret weapon" was the man today...he killed it at a pretty critical time in the race! Kudos to him, and I'll be watching him in the future for sure! (especially when he's no longer w/ Sky). OK...I'm beat...thank goodness I zoomed home from work and immedietly started binge-watching the Stage...pretty much ZERO FF'ing today (except for all the commercials)...didn't want to miss a MOMENT! My FAV stage in YEARS is all I can say...I need to go get my massage now, then have the chef make me a tasty dinner, then early to bed to recover for tomorrow. OK...no chef (she's in West Palm Beach right now w/ 5 other girls)...and I HATE massages (well, I'd just rather buy bike parts than toss $ away to have someone hurt me). Early to bed I can do..it's just about 9pm and I'm so happy to be going to bed EARLY! The last few nights have been killers (when you get up at 4:15am anyway). Goodnight all!
ReplyDeleteFriday morning and I realize I TOTALLY forgot to talk about the sprinters (or LACK OF THEM SUDDENLY). WOW! I think the ASO needs to re-think their time cutoffs. The "TRUE" sprinters in this day and age are a different animal than the days of Robbie McEwen and Eric Zabel. These guys are bigger and faster, but need a leadout train to win, AND they are definitely slower in the mountains. It's like the ASO hasn't figured that out. They have these draconian time cutoffs, and they include stages that only the mountainist of goats appreciate...they instill fear and dread in most, ESPECIALLY the sprinters. Yet they claim the want them to stay to Paris. SO..I think they really need to revamp the time cutoffs, OR just put all the sprints before the mountains knowing the best will not make it thru the mountains. Sagan is a very (as in 1 of a kind) breed. Unless he gets hit by a meteorite he will win the Green jersey even if he doesn't contest another sprint (wouldn't THAT be something...he protests and doesn't participate or gain ANY more sprint points, yet gets the Green in Paris). I think he should do it. THAT might wake up the ASO that they have a problem. Too bad for Cav, Kittel, Gavria, Griepel, Gronewagen (sp?)...come on...4 of the 6 sprint stage winners are now out...only Sagan is left with the other 2. Pathetic. Those were some really hard mountains. Awesome to watch tho!
ReplyDeleteOH! And I also forgot to talk about Nibbles! DAMN!!! Out due to a spectator! Fractured vertebrae...that SUCKS! HE was looking to be a real antagonist in the Pyrenees. What a blow to the peloton, losing one of the true threats to the Sky dynasty. Now we really only have Dumolin...Q is pretty much out...he faltered in his moment to take back time on the Alp d'Huez. And Valverde seems to have done his best but also not up to the task. There's still hope that somebody can challenge Sky in the southern mountains...but that hope is looking dim right now. My only real question is: how will Froome make that time up on G? WHAT IF they go into Stage 20 TT w/ G still that far ahead? Would the team ask G to "take a fall" and let Froome beat him?? Certainly Froome is counting on winning...but is G willing to LET him? OK...with that I'll get to work. Happy Friday!
ReplyDeleteHowdy, sorry I've been absent this week but I DO have MUCH to chat about! 1st, so glad to hear from you Barbara & that you're watching the TDF too! 2nd, I took "vacation hours" Wed & Thurs mornings so I could watch the stages LIVE & then when I got here, I was just swamped with work stuff so I couldn't get here to chat. 3rd, I kinda stayed away also because I've been FURIOUS & DEPRESSED since the Stage 9 Cobble Catastrophe! As ya'll know, I wanted almost ANYONE other than Sky to win this damn race before it even started & because they lost NOTHING in that stage, the freakin writing was on the wall : once AGAIN they will CRUSH everyone! And that is EXACTLY how it has transpired so far. Day after freakin day, almost the ENTIRE SKY TEAM leads the peloton up ALL the mts until the final few K. And thanks to the decimation of Stage 9, there is almost no one left to combat them or not ENOUGH competitors left. When Richie crashed AGAIN on Stage 9 & sat there on the side of the road holding his arm that way, you knew he broke his collarbone! And the cobbles hadn't even started yet! And then there was the total clusterf*ck that was Tejay's day. O.M.G. Well, WHERE was the rest of BMC?! They sure weren't around Tejay like AG2R was around Bardet, who had 5, count'em, 5 mechanicals & yet only lost 7 SECONDS to the GC guys! I'm SO glad you wrote something, Matt because I've been seething since Sunday at Ochowicz & the entire BMC team. Last week, I mentioned I thought it odd that GVA was given a "green light" to ride for himself. Well, NOW WE KNOW WHY! He was not only staying with the new team but will be the MAIN GUY! Oh yeah, BMC is "moving away" from being a Grand Tour team, like that's a good thing?!
ReplyDeleteAnd then there was the cobble stage itself. I know you love them in the TDF, Matt but I think it was a CATASTROPHE. Not just for Richie & Tejay. But also for Uran (now out of TDF due to a crash incurred in this stage) & EVERY OTHER rider who crashed & needs to recover. Plus, Big George says it takes more than a week for your body to recover from Paris-Roubaix & even though this stage wasn't as long as PR, there were almost TWICE as many cobble sections as in previous Tours that included them & I think it affected everyone who isn't taking illegal "sh*t" to help them in recovery. You know, like SKY.
And yeah, the ASO thought it was being so "innovative" with this year's route, well, it bit them in the ass when ALL the top pure sprinters couldn't even make it to Stage 12's Finish line let alone all the way to Paris. Granted, Cav may not have made it no matter the course as it became evident that he was NOT himself. I had not known of ALL his crashes & injuries this year (broken ribs not in one race but 2, plus previous crashes & injuries). Heck, there's no way he'd had time to recover & train for the TDF! And I know he's not one of your favorite guys right now, but it broke my heart to see him like that & then to miss a time-cut by over half an hour (but he FINISHED that stage!). I now doubt he'll be able to match let alone pass Merckx's record but I DO think he'll win at least 1-2 more stages in future Tours.
But hey, maybe ASO was trying to "apologize" to Sagan for throwing him out last year by making this year's race so IMPOSSIBLE for most of the pure sprinters that Sagan would surely win the Green jersey a 6th time as all his competitors wouldn't make it to Paris. ;)
And Matt, the mt stages just depressed me even more because there's NOT ENOUGH guys who can stop Sky. With Richie out, Uran out, Nibbles now out, Tejay, Adam Yates (didn't he crash on the cobbles?), Valverde all non-factors & Quintana (well, geeze, WHO IS THAT IMPOSTER?), who is left to battle Sky but Dumolin & too-far back Bardett? And since Dumolin went deep at the Giro, his body may just totally break down next week in the Pyrenees. Of course, Froome's body may break down too, but he's got his not-so-secret weapon INHALER to help him out...
ReplyDeleteHonestly, that it looks like it will be Sky 1-2 in Paris makes me VOMIT. And every time I hear the BOOS, I laugh & applaud! (I don't applaud the touching though!) Actually, I'm amazed there hasn't been more bad stuff directed at Sky, but that may change when it becomes evident no one else will beat them. What do you think it will sound like in Paris at podium time? How far down will NBC have to turn the microphones? Do you think someone(s) may even throw vegetables/fruit at Froome or GT?
As for GT, I've always liked him pretty much, but he gave interviews 2 days straight this week that I thought were sh*tty & has me rethinking how I feel about him. Instead of congratulating GVA on his great rides & SHOCKING triumph to stay in yellow after the 1st mt stage, he snarked that "everyone knows GVA won't be winning the Tour, so it doesn't matter" etc. I was shocked. I may be furious at Froome & SKY & the UCI, but at least Froome has almost always been gracious in acknowledging his competitors' efforts.
And once again, NBCSN will NOT broadcast the stage tonight so I'll see no Tour today.@*&$^&@$ And OH, last night they started the Primetime show at 6:00 so they could show some fight crap later. URRRRRRRR!
I keep trying to convince myself that the Tour ain't over, but unless a freak crash takes out Froome AND/or GT falls apart in the Pyrenees, I can't see how anyone who's left can beat them. And I think that is HORRIBLE for the sport! It's bad enough that a team that spends 2-5 TIMES what every other TDF team can spend just dominates year after year but now that their LIES & SHADY activities have started to become uncovered, well, it's not a surprise the TDF TV ratings all across Europe are down BIG.
At least Dan Martin is still in the race & even though he's lost far too much time to factor in the GC, he'll not stop attacking when he's having one of his good days. Let's just hope he has 3 good days in the Pyrenees next week!
Hey Susie...love your rants...you GO GIRL!! I would be all for Salary caps like in US Football...and you also hit the nail on the head about G vs Froome...as much as I do NOT want him to win, he has softened my feelings towards HIM (not the team tho) as he is just so gracious and complimentary (towards his rivals). As good as G is, yep...he irks me (mayabe that's why I didn't pick him...cuz I KNEW he'd be up there). And hey...anybody who doesn't love Dan Martin is an ass...he's the new Jensie! (last name pronounced "Vote", not "Voight"...did you hear the commentary about how to pronounce his name in the first week between him, P & P? It was HILARIOUS!) And I've noticed P & P are actually saying "Vote" now! Anyhoo...it's Friday afternoon...a flat stage today (well, mostly). Got a ton of stuff to do this weekend, likely heading back to the Springs on the 29th (not confirmed but looking like it will happen). All I can say about this years Tour is that I'm just enjoying it...trying to stay emotionally dethatched from any one rider and just watch in amazement as they do what they do. (dethatched until I'm yelling at the TV for Dumolin to win on the Alp d'Huez anyway). Susie, Barbara & Rae...hope you have a wonderful weekend and get your PHIL of le Tour! (HA! Sometimes I kill myself!)
ReplyDeleteOh, I am just so amazed (appalled too) at the carnage this year! I rather think that some tune in hoping to see crashes but I am not one of them! I want to see the best of the best competing in all of the stages. There has been good racing (thanks to Doumulin, Bardet, Gilbert, and others) but I am saddened by how many stars have abandoned or crashed out.
ReplyDeleteWhen Hincapie and Cadel Evans were riding for BMC I was a fan of the team, but the past few years not so much -- even though I want to be because technically they are a USA based team. After Cadel retired they just didn't seem to know how to nurture the likes of Tejay, or maybe they didn't care to, or just couldn't pull off being a multi focused team (classics vs grand tours).
Froome has always been gentlemanly, noticeably more than Wiggins was for sure! But I agree with Susie, it is bad to have one team be able to be so dominant -- and yes, I question how they manage it -- some say it is because they have so much money to pay the best riders (but still they lose one or two every year who want to try for themselves). Hmm.
Remember the bad crash last year, caused by spectators, and again this year it was a spectator taking out Nibali, (and I was gritting my teeth watching the race up d'Huez, waiting for the disaster to happen -- so many close calls by those idiots!). There are so many that the race marshals just can't police them -- When I did it for the Tour of CA (way back in 2008) I was assigned a sector and told to keep people off the road & tell them to not let straps dangle and keep the dog leashes tight (amazing how many people brought their dogs to the roadside to watch the race!)
NBC's access to cycling has gotten worse and worse. Remember when OLN/Versus had "Cyclysm Sundays" A race nearly every week, and no searching for pirate feeds on the computer! Ah the good old days! Now NBC wants us to pay for our cycling via the Gold app. Really, the price is reasonable for a year of access, but I just didn't.
Oh, and P&P reverted to their mispronunciation of Jensie's name today -- did you catch that -- so he had to remind them again (on air hahaha!)
Hey Rae...just finished today's stage (13)...yes, immedietly caught P & P back to "Voight"...Jens is SO funny with them...what a class act! I also remember the good old days of OLN...Bobke making hilarious commercials, races all the time throughout the season...yep..good old days for sure. Now I see ONE race every year. I've considered the NBC Gold for the year, but we have DSL and our streaming is pretty pathetic...I might have to try it one year tho...I THINK I can get it to stream onto the TV via the blueray player (it's a smart device, the TV is not). And so...today...no big surprise it was Sagan (I'm fine with that). The other guys were close tho. Pretty chaotic last 4k...Sagan was like a fish looking for the right stream...he was everywhere. OH...and I looked at my Fantasy team (Thinking I rocked it pretty good today)...somehow Kristoff was benched! WTF?? Come ON! I know it was a sprint stage...I swear my team is changing on me. Had him AND Phinney benched actually...I don't get it. And that's considering I now have FIVE guys out of the race out of my 6 bench! (I did still have Gavria as a starter cuz I TOTALLY forgot last night at the end of the stage to take him out...but why I would have had Taylor out I can't fathom...I only picked him for a few stages, this was one of them. I just went thru the rest of my stages...Kristoff is Benched for all mt stages...everybody else who is still in the race is in. Makes it kind of easy. Maybe next year I'll choose the cheapest guys to leave benched all the time, and then have my 9 all-stars that are much more expensive. Hmmm...I'll have to ponder that. Anyway...happy Friday NIGHT! Woo-HOO! No work tomorrow (every night is Friday for you Rae! Congrats again...I'm GREEN JERSEY with Envy!) Susie, I know you won't see this till Monday, but I HOPE you can watch and just enjoy some...half of every stage I'm mentally putting me in the picture..."yep...me right there....and there...and there". Gotta dream big! (not sure where I want to be for Alp d'Huez...it is seriously insane up near the top...maybe lower...but when that time comes I'll worry about it).
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