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Post by meput on Jul 5, 2014 15:20:58 GMT -7
Look at video of the crash carefully. Almost looks as if the handlebars hooked. If it was tight and Cav coming up fast hooked handlebars would have pulled Cav into Gerrans. Cav tried to pull away leading to spun wheel to left and Cav down onto right shoulder.
Latest report separated shoulder without fracture. Degree of pain on Cav's face, doubt he is in the peloton tomorrow. Hope he is able to continue. I enjoy him. I know that he does turn off a lot of fans. Sprinters are weird characters, just think of Mario Cipollini.
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Post by meput on Jul 6, 2014 4:55:09 GMT -7
Stage 2: Cav out. Gerrans in peloton. The old fart is not in the breakaway. The KOM jersey will most likely go to someone else. Good English crowds again today. Time for me to go for a bike ride
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Post by meput on Jul 6, 2014 18:46:29 GMT -7
The boys had to work to go over the hills today. A lot more climbing than most Tours have in the first week. Too much climbing for Kittel to defend the yellow jersey. I think the sprinters are going to suffer during this Tour.
Interesting, Nibali in yellow. He is considered a contender, but a bit down the list. Suspect he and Team Astana will be able to defend the maillot jaune for the next several days. At least until Stage 5 and the cobbles.
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Post by JimRatliff on Jul 6, 2014 20:16:59 GMT -7
I had to wait and watch a rerun later in the day. What a great finish, a preview of the GC boys? A bit telling that they seemed more concerned with not letting Peter Sagan get away than they cared about Nibali. Of course the timing of Nibali's move was excellent.
Then I really enjoyed the interview with Jens Voight after the race about the Stage 1 strategy where he asserted that he is "more than just a pretty face."
I enjoy that they started this years Tour with racing!
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Post by meput on Jul 7, 2014 16:02:29 GMT -7
If you liked Jens Voight's interview after Stage 1, his interview after the Tour of California is priceless. The interviewer asked his about his "easy week": . Kittel is on form for the sprints. He did suffer on Stage 2. Waiting to see what the mountains will do to his ability to sprint. I think the mountains will help Sagan and Coquard. In Cavendish's absence Renshaw did okay. Good showing by England and the English fans. A few more visits and the fans may learn how to watch a road bike race without standing in the road where the riders need to go.
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Post by JimRatliff on Jul 8, 2014 15:23:59 GMT -7
My heart goes out to the riders; you have riders on one side and stationary objects (spectators) on the other and you are doing 20-25 miles per hour -- and you are on a vehicle with NO static balance. If you hit something, you (and maybe your fellow riders) get to go sliding along the asphalt at that same 20 mph, and then get run over by your fellow bikers. Sadly, I'm pretty sure none of that goes through the spectators minds. That WAS a pretty good Voight interview. Candid, to say the least.
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Post by JimRatliff on Jul 9, 2014 6:42:02 GMT -7
Lot of "boys" on the ground in the rain today, even before they get to the cobblestones. They should be wearing body armor. Broadcasters say 2 dozen falls before the first cobble section. This years tour is not being kind to last year's champion; Froome with two crashes today in addition to a bad fall yesterday.
Update (spoiler alert). Froome is out of Le Tour.
The GC "contenders" really split up today, and Nibali rode like a champion. Big effort by him and his "domestique". I didn't expect nearly this much action. Interesting that the combination of soft tires designed for the cobblestones that were evidently a bit soft for the rainy conditions = very tough day at the office.
Most of the tires were 27 or 28mm tubulars running 50-60 pounds of pressure in the rear.
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Post by livingproof on Jul 9, 2014 18:17:02 GMT -7
Time to check in on the TDF. My interest in the Tour builds as the event proceeds. IMHO, the real star is the country of France which is so much more beautiful than any other cycling venue. Each morning, I watch the opening of the show, then, try to ride for about 90 minutes and then catch the closing end games. With the World Cup and Wimbledon, my interests lay elsewhere this year, so, now it's time to focus. This has to be the toughest 3 week endurance event on the planet
Today was the most brutal day I remember seeing in a bike race. Usually, the first week is somewhat boring/routine, with the big guns in self preservation mode, so, today was also the most interesting first week stage I recall. Cobblestones and mud would be something to avoid at all costs, I don't know what the event planners were thinking with the route of today's stage, is it fair with the possibility of rain? The best riders in the world hitting the ground is not a pretty scene. I salute all who started, and, feel for those who Tour ended today. But the TDF is all about climbers and Alps, so, today will be forgotten quickly. Time to focus is now.
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Post by JimRatliff on Jul 9, 2014 19:49:23 GMT -7
When asked if they should eliminate the cobbles, Fab Fabian Cancellara said "well, they could eliminate the mountain stages and then I could be a favorite." "Seriously, no one expected rain with the cobblestones, but the tour is about everything, not just mountains or time trials, but we need to do something that eliminates the danger aspect. Somewhere their need to be limits."
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Post by JimRatliff on Jul 10, 2014 11:45:40 GMT -7
I'm wondering how Team Sky feels now about their decision to put all of their apples in the Chris Froome basket and diss Bradley Wiggins. Hmmm. Froome appears to be a great talent, but not the model of consistency and somewhat distant from his teammates.
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