2010 Tour de France: Stage 3, Wanze - Arenberg Porte du Hainaut, 213 km



Scotttri said:
Roadhouse once again carrying on with the Lance is the greatest I want him to have my baby's rant. He's a great rider but a pit past his prime, I think even Lance know's that, and your dreaming if you think he'll win Kona!!!


he's racing Ironman Canada first, i think it is, plus a few 70.3 aka half iron distances and don't hate the player, hate the game, i have pretty much zero respect for any other rider out there and that excludes Dennis Menchov and Cadel Evans.
 
modestopress said:
2010 Tour de France Predictions
1) Lance Armstrong
2) Cadel Evans
3) Ivan Basso
4) Alberto Contador (there's NO I in team, El Pistolero)
5) Levi Leipheimer
6) Andreas Kloden
7) Andy Schleck
8) Denis Mechov

Thats an interesting top 10 ;)
 
As great as Saxo performed today, this stage wasn't exactly a great one for the team. Yes, Andy gained time on Contador, but he [AC] will make that time up in the TT(easilly) even if Andy can stay with him in the mountains. Also, the fact that his brother is out of the race is a huge blow for the team. I once saw Frank Schleck chewing an energy bar and then regurgetating that bar into Andy's mouth in order for his younger brother to save energy by chewing less. Who else on Saxo will be take up this task???:confused:

I may or may not have made the last part of this post up for dramatic flair...

This has been a very chaotic start to the Tour, but we'll see who really has the goods when the mountains come into play. Today's stage was more about luck (puncture v non puncture, right place at the right time) than strength.
 
Remember we haven't seen the best of Contador yet...he suffered the Flu prior to the tour and according to Joe Friel, it takes about three weeks for the lungs to fully recover from a bout of influenza. As the Tour goes on, Contador should be getting better.

Thus, I wouldn't be surprised if he explodes in the mountains.
 
pennstater said:
I once saw Frank Schleck chewing an energy bar and then regurgetating that bar into Andy's mouth in order for his younger brother to save energy by chewing less. Who else on Saxo will be take up this task???:confused:

I may or may not have made the last part of this post up for dramatic flair...
OMG!! You scared the heck out of me with that visual. I hope you made that up.
 
No_Positives said:
OMG!! You scared the heck out of me with that visual. I hope you made that up.

I'm sure there is a libel case coming my way. Any good lawyers out there ??? :eek:
 
What about Hesjedal for the leader of his team now that their GC is crashed out?
 
Yojimbo_ said:
What about Hesjedal for the leader of his team now that their GC is crashed out?

Hejsedal has had a great year; very impsesive rider. He unfortunatley had a long day out on his own and I'm not sure Garmin could support anyone at this point in the Tour.
 
it's Lance Armstrong we're talking about...he doesn't know the meaning of the word 'quit'.

not counting the tour of ireland once it started to rain, or when he withdrew in spain after crashing or when he withdrew from the tour of cali after he crashed there...

don't hate the player, hate the game, i have pretty much zero respect for any other rider out there....

and this is how you define "hating the game and not the player"?

you really aren't wrapped too tightly, are you, roadhouse?
 
roadhouse said:
...and don't hate the player, hate the game, i have pretty much zero respect for any other rider out there and that excludes Dennis Menchov and Cadel Evans.

Pot, meet kettle.
 
limerickman said:
Today saw the first crack, Roadhouse.
The gaps will open further in the mountains.

This race will come down to Contador/Evans/Menchov/Schleck possibly/Kreuziger/Basso.

Evans will end up crying somewhere during the 2nd Pyrenean stage. Basso and Kreuziger - great guys, Giro guys but I don't see them dealing with the pressure of the Tour. Menchov... best years have past. Schleck Jr... I'd like to see the lad give Contador a run for his money in the big hills but he'll have to take the fight to Contador and not leave it until the final hill. In the races where Contador has been beaten he's been placed under pressure way before the finish line. Leave it until the final climb and you might as well just hand him the yellow jersey now.

Armstong has actually been riding stronger than I'd expected. Far better than last year. Even losing a minute in that rather slow wheel change he rode most of the way to the finish and still only lost a minute to the Contador group that he was with. More amazingly, the Contador group didn't lose time in the finale to the Cancellara group meaning that Lance, on his own, kept Cancellara and co at pretty much level pegging after his tire faux pas. Not too shabby... It'll be interesting to see how much stuffing that knocked out of him.

Saturday through the Jura should be a very interesting day. It's a day that I think Contador could be in for a hard day. Up and down but not huge hills like he excels on... a day for a hard man. In years past I would have said Voigt but I think his legs have given up the plot.
 
I picked Saxo to set the pace on this stage for two reasons,stategically they need to gain time for Schelck. This will put some pressure on the other GCs in the mountains and on cobbles it is better to turn a big gear with power rather than try and run a high cadence.
It isn't hard to figure out who in the peloton has the talent for this discipline.
 
I dont think it'll throw up to many suprises, but perhaps might point out a few riders who are sore from the last couple of days carnage, some of the better technical GC riders should look to capitalise on others percieved weeknesses but time will tell if they do.you can also search and visit it more...

 
limerickman said:
Today saw the first crack, Roadhouse.
The gaps will open further in the mountains.

This race will come down to Contador/Evans/Menchov/Schleck possibly/Kreuziger/Basso.

I dont think I could see a "Crack" in Lance. He had a flat tire and took him more than 50 seconds to fix, and for the most part he was by himself. I actually thought it was a very impressive ride by Lance.

My mind is still saying Contador is going to win the tour, but my heart is still with Lance. I have to say too that even though its still early I can tell a huge difference in Lance this year from last. Last year you could tell his age, his legs looked stiff and tired. This year has been different. The best way I can describe it is that his legs look more fresh.

Its still early though and as the tour progesses I wonder if he can keep it up. Like I said I dont think he will have enough to beat Contador or even Schleck for that matter, but I def. wouldnt be surpised to see him podium again.
 
A question and a statement...

Question: with Conty flatting in the last 3km wasn't it a good ploy by Vino to hammer the last km? Conty will be given the same time as the "vino group" and Vino won him a few seconds. At first I though Vino was a bit of an idiot but perhaps there is a master tactician in that Kazach head of his??

Statement: the pave stage had no place in the TdF - when the PR goes down those roads in groups of 10-20 there are crashed and punctures so whats the point in putting 195 riders down 1.5m cobble roads? It doesn't show who's the strongest - it shows who's the luckiest. Take Saxo Bank - Frank's accident effectively created a 1-2min lead for Andy over some of the main GC contenders. Sure it created some fun for the spectators but after Franks crash there were wheels/cars/mechanics/riders/bikes all over the place. Chaos at its best.

It makes sense in a one day classic where luck/fortune play their part is a one hit wonder but crashing out or losing a few minutes in a 3 week tour is a bit more serious...
 
jhuskey said:
I picked Saxo to set the pace on this stage for two reasons,stategically they need to gain time for Schelck. This will put some pressure on the other GCs in the mountains and on cobbles it is better to turn a big gear with power rather than try and run a high cadence.
It isn't hard to figure out who in the peloton has the talent for this discipline.


I'm not sure whether to like Spary/Saxo after todays stage - when Frank&Andy crashed on stage 2 and were losing time on the GC contenders Sparty/Saxo were instrumental in neutralising the stage.

Stage 3 Frank crashes out but Andy is gaining time on the GC contenders and Sparty is hammering on the front?

Double standards or a sucker peleton who fell for a fine tactic?
 
Eldron said:
I'm not sure whether to like Spary/Saxo after todays stage - when Frank&Andy crashed on stage 2 and were losing time on the GC contenders Sparty/Saxo were instrumental in neutralising the stage.

Stage 3 Frank crashes out but Andy is gaining time on the GC contenders and Sparty is hammering on the front?

Double standards or a sucker peleton who fell for a fine tactic?

Uhm, you did notice, didn't you, that on Stage 2 there were like 70 riders on the ground, didn't you? The situations aren't exactly similar.
 
alienator said:
Uhm, you did notice, didn't you, that on Stage 2 there were like 70 riders on the ground, didn't you? The situations aren't exactly similar.

Uhm, like, you know, like identical situation in my book - the peleton broken into 6 or 7 groups because of an accident/accidents. One day it's neutralised - one day its not.
 

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