2008 Tour de France : Stage 14 - Saturday, July 19: Nîmes - Digne les Bains, 194.5km

limerickman

Stage 14

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morelike hypocrisy.

Grater

If Cavendish makes it over the climb, then Cavendish shits this in.

If Cavendish doesn't make it over the climb, I think Ciolek will and he'll win.

TheDarkLord

You really think that this is going to be a sprint finish??

TheDarkLord

Sage profile:

Grater

Columbia are greedy and want stage wins!

But I think it's time that FLECHA finally tries himself in a break. He either does it today or the day before the time trial. Last night could have been a sign he is hungry.

Grater

That's worse than I thought it was.

Klodifan

maybe your boy hincapie will try something. although, I personally think he is toast.

Grater

I was thinking Columbia might send someone in a break but I was trying to think of who. Adam Hansen is the most likely one. He tried unsuccessfully at the Giro. Hincapie needs to conserve his energy for the alps.

TheDarkLord

Look dude, once again, try to be a bit realistic. You can say that Columbia is greedy and want stage wins; so they will send someone in the break, or that it will end in a sprint and hence Cavendish will win and thereby have them winning all 19 stages of the Tour, or 14 stages if you take out the high mountains.

Yojimbo_

I wish they'd say the multiplication factor they use for the vertical part of those maps. It's only 500 m or so elevation between the start and end point, and if they use the same scale as the horizontal axis, you wouldn't even see it.

b1_

Live tracker:
http://www.ubilabs.net/tourdefrance/

All you really need to know is that it's up hill all day. This will suit a break away. With a decent climb near the finish, and a downhill run to the line I would be surprised if it ended in a bunch sprint.

A Columbian team member in a breakaway could just sit at the back and not do any work knowing Cavendish will be there if the peleton catches them. But it depends on whether Cavendish is feeling up to it today, or whether the team thinks he would even survive in the peleton, or whether they just want to rest him, or whether he calls it a day and heads for the Olympics. Who knows.

Bro Deal

A good day for a break. The GC contenders and their teams won't want to work before Sunday's stage. That final 10K will be interesting.

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Crankyfeet

The upslope is only 0.4% for the first 115km or so.... then 0.3% for most of the rise on the next 35km of upslope to Col de L'Orme. Then about 5% for the last 5km of the climb. Not really significant IMO.

I don't think it will lose the sprinters. It will be slightly uphill all day, which will be similar in some ways to slogging into a mild headwind. The upgrade won't be linear in any case.

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confusedfan

more of a case of how tired any of the sprinters are. Cavendish keeps saying that he's really tired ... (though that didn't seem to stop him today). On the other hand, McEwen had his best showing Friday though it's not as though that will affect Silence-Lotto's overall tactics for the stage, and Seb. Chavanel did well Thursday so FDJ might be more likely to pull at the front to bring back any breaks.

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