2010 Tour de France: Stage 12, Bourg-de-Peage - Mende, 210.5 km

[jmpsmash]

this is certainly an interesting tour. plenty of drama and all that.

astana playing with saxo by having vino go forward. impressive surge again from contador which andy contained but couldn't remedy. warning shot over the saxo bow for the pyrenees? or does contador go back to sucking wheel til the itt?

I think today Contador effectively said to Schleck 'I've got your measure & can put time into you whenever I want'. He's playing mind games & I reckon he'll nail Schleck on stages 14 & 17 (the mountain top finishes). Contador is a tough little blighter who knows exactly what he's doing.

good tactical move by Astana/AC to send Vino ahead. if Vino gains a few spots up the GC, great. if that shows AS weakness and have AC gain a little time on him, even better.

however, i wouldn't write off AS so quickly. people pre-maturely wrote AC off when AS gained timed on him. now look what happened? cyclists have ups and downs and things can change within a day.

all i can hope is that the race will continue to be legit and look forward to more exciting racing in the Pyrenees.

 

[swampy1970]

It's been an excellent race - for lots of reasons.

The weather's been superb.

I'm not sure the riders would agree that rain soaked descents such as the wet and devistatingly slippery Cote de Stockeau or the 100 degree (with high humidity) weather they're currently having is 'superb' but it makes for pretty countryside on the tele...

 

[swampy1970]

Just a pity about all the broken bones and other injuries caused by some stupid decisions with regards to the route.

... because roads cause riders to crash Bad descisions on the part of the riders is the predominant cause of crashes.

Schleck senior is great on the cobbles but he got nailed there, so lets take them out. Let's remove all the small winding roads in the hills and cancel stages when it rains just so there's no chance of riders slipping. Armstrong crashed on a roundabout, so lets remove all routes with those in too.

Let's get the riders on Computrainers and simulate the race...
... oh wait, someone will probably have their cooling fan fail and suffer from heat exhaustion.

 

[jmpsmash]

... because roads cause riders to crash Bad descisions on the part of the riders is the predominant cause of crashes.

Schleck senior is great on the cobbles but he got nailed there, so lets take them out. Let's remove all the small winding roads in the hills and cancel stages when it rains just so there's no chance of riders slipping. Armstrong crashed on a roundabout, so lets remove all routes with those in too.

Let's get the riders on Computrainers and simulate the race...
... oh wait, someone will probably have their cooling fan fail and suffer from heat exhaustion.

sarcasm aide... i do find the cobblestone to be interesting. very legitimate terrain to have to bike through and give the Tour a bit more challenge and character, as well as a good test on handling skill.

 

[knonfs]

It's been an excellent race - for lots of reasons.

The weather's been superb.
The emergence of Schleck as a real contender is excellent.
Great to see a lot of reigning title holders and former holders racing.
The competition for the Green points jersey has been fascinating.
The French riders winning stages.
We had a reigning world champion assume the yellow jersey.
We had stages covering the historic routes of Paris Roubaix, Flanders etc.

It's been an excellent tour so far.

Don't forget LA BLIND fans coupling with reality...