Cunego

doctorSpoc

think you missed my point.. my point is that Cunego's less than expected results in the last two stages are primarily a result of him crashing in both stages and shouldn't be used as a measure of his fitness. i'm not sure that those that are saying Cunego is on bad legs realized he's crashed two days in a row.

i don't see people saying that Menchov is on bad legs because he lost 40 seconds behind a crash on stage 3... that would be stupid. he had bad luck. just like it would be stupid to say the same of Cunego who has also had some bad luck... how is being caught behind a crash or going down in a crash an indication of his form? i'm guessing that the people saying he's on bad form don't actually know the circumstances of his results.

EDIT - i'd actually add that the fact that he was able to get back to the front after being in the 3rd group on the road shows what good form he is in... only getting gapped on the final climb after that herculean effort to get back on the front i think that's understandable... i didn't expect see him to get back to the front at all...

TheDarkLord

Does it really reflect on Cunego's form? His teammates did all the work.

Bro Deal

On Monday--maybe even Sunday--we will know everything. But the signs do not look good for his overall position in Paris. These little uphill endings are a where he should have been expected to gain a few seconds, maybe even grab a stage win. I thought this year's course would suit him because of its fewer time trial kilometers and its tricky stages would be good for someone who knows how to ride a one day race by staying in front and not getting involved in mishaps. The latter has not proven to be true.

His time trial really was good for him though. Losing a minute to Evans over 29K is probably the best a rider like him could hope for.

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Andrija

Catching the CSC group after their attack on Friday was good sign of Cunego's form (at least TT form). But, in general, things don't look good for him so far...
He doesn't look good (especially after crashes and poor showing on short uphill finishes).

Edit:
It was very good, strong, effort from Cunego when CSC put the hammer down.

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doctorSpoc

??? LOL... yes it does!!!

how much work did any of the other contenders do? how much work do you think Sastre was doing when Cancellara was hammering at the front and almost dropped him out of the lead group? how much comparable work was Cunego doing at the same time following his team mates who were going faster than that lead group in order to catch it? only thing his team mates got to stop but he had to continue with that group over a 2nd cat climb after a long period going faster than any of them did and they had an even better draft than Cunego had. have you ever raced before? it doesn't sound like it... Cunego performed well today in getting back to the lead group and losing as little time as he did.

Edit - and Cunego wasn't just following team mates.. he took the bull by the horns and did some pulling himself too.. so even as you phrased it, it's not accurate..

wicklow200

Well he will be lucky to make the top 10 this time around.

He just doesnt impress me on high mountain stages. He does seem to be consistent, finishing top 20 on such stages, but that isnt good enough.

On Monday even the visibly very weak Valverde caught up to him by the finisih.

thunder

Lim, you shoulda listened to me. I told you Cunego was farked.

limerickman

and you should have listened to me when I backed schumacher to win the stage.

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morelike hypocrisy.

thunder

lol

he has gone out the arse lim

limerickman

Cunego isn't going well.
Accepted.

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.."But finally the last thing I’ll say to the people who don’t believe in cycling, the cynics and the sceptics. I'm sorry for you. I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. [I]I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles. You should believe in these athletes, and you should believe in these people. I'll be a fan of the Tour de France for as long as I live. And there are no secrets" - this is a hard sporting event and hard work wins it - Armstrong 2005 TDF
morelike hypocrisy.

classic1

I'm amazed he is still 12th overall at just under 8mins back He went out the back of the lead group like a brick.

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NJK

He looked awful today. He looks uncomfortable all of a sudden, saddle to high etc. Maybe he is clean after all?? Same as valverde, compare him now to when he beat Armstrong.

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Grater

Cunego is clean. So is Valverde. 100% correct.

Hitchy

....& you KNOW this how?...Valverde probably peaked a little early, had a great TT in the Dauphine & then won the Spanish champs. It's almost impossible to hold a 'peak' for any length of time, so you'd realistically not be wanting to be peaking for a 3 week tour, much more than a week or so before hand. It's generally accepted that most guys 'ride themselves in' the 1st few days of a 3 week tour....but valverde hit it like he was superman!...tactically, I think they made an error...but he's always promised much more at the TDF than he's ever delivered, so maybe he figured he needed to 'shoot his load' early, cos the others were gunna catch up pretty quickly