2010 Tour de France: Stage 9, Morzine-Avoriaz - Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne, 204.5 km

[Chavez]

Sanchez?
For some reason I have never visualised him as a climber.
But he has gone very well thus far to be fair.

His gold medal says that he can be as good as ANY rider on any given day.

I am pretty surprised about him doing so well, as far as that goes.

 

[alienator]

Casar has to be really, really, really happy today with the win. To beat both Sanchez and Cunego in a sprint should be noteworthy....

Actually, the French should be pretty pleased so far as they've already got quite the stage victory tally. It's a noticeable improvement for them over TdF's past. Of course, they don't yet have a GC contender, but their performance curve is on the upswing.

 

[Scotttri]

Well what an interesting stage, Schlek and Contador proved what most already new, and well done to Navaro again great ride.

Unfortunate for Evans fractureing his elbow, not sure why he is continuing as it would sap power out of you.

 

[alienator]

Unfortunate for Evans fractureing his elbow, not sure why he is continuing as it would sap power out of you.

His competitive nature, dedication to the team, perseverance....are all reasons why he might be continuing. Hell, his continuing is just like Farrar's continuing race and like Valentino Rossi being back on the race track a scant five weeks after sustaining an open fracture to his lower leg. You don't get to be a champion by lying down when things get uncomfortable.

 

[vitamin s]

Unfortunate for Evans fractureing his elbow, not sure why he is continuing as it would sap power out of you.

hes riding with the pride of the rainbow jersey on his back! tough as nails! i used to hate evans, but with the year hes had, i want to take back everything i said about him in the past.

 

[doctorSpoc]

all contador has to do is ride a schleck's ass for the rest of the tour and victory is his... he's going to take min 2min+ out of schleck in the TT (52kms)... maybe as much as 3mins. even though he really doesn't have to, i have a feeling that contador puts the hurt down big time in one pyrenean stage just to cement it.. but as it is without a fall or REALLY badly placed flat, contador looks like he takes tour victory No. 3.. arm chair ride.. schleck is not going to be able to take 3mins out of contador.. contador looked pretty under control from where i am sitting.. the Pyrenees will suit contador even more.. schleck has not shown me sign yet that he can win this..

 

[Ted B]

You don't get to be a champion by lying down when things get uncomfortable.

It would be too easy for Armstrong and Evans just to quit the race now that crash injuries have taken them out of GC contention and given them the justification to do so. However, after all the blood, sweat, and tears it takes just to get there in competitive form, finishing in respectable fashion becomes important to one's own pscyhe, the morale of the team, and favorable PR.

As for the Schleck/Contador battle, the Pyrenees remain, and we may yet see one (or both) falter. It's far from over, and it looks like at least Vino the vulture will keep us entertained to the end.

 

[alienator]

As for the Schleck/Contador battle, the Pyrenees remain, and we may yet see one (or both) falter. It's far from over, and it looks like at least Vino the vulture will keep us entertained to the end.

Yup. Nothing's writ in stone with this TdF, especially given the amount of rent skin and broken bones that we've seen. The race so far has rivaled NASCAR races for the number of crashes. I'm sure there's plenty of bad days and bad luck left to go around.

 

[Eldrack]

Vino's a grade A bollocks.

He pulled the same stuff today that he did when he was riding for Jan Ullrich at telekom.
The moron goes off on these solo breaks trying to blow the field and his team mates to pieces.
He's a great rider but he's a clown.

I'm not entirely sure it was a bad move. After he hit out Saxo and BMC had to work fairly hard to close him down. They raised the pace high enough to bring him most of the way back and as soon as his move was failing Astana hit the front and really put the hammer down on the other riders opening it up for Contador and Schleck to go mano-a-mano. Not sure if it would have been more effective if Vino had just ridden on the front of the peloton but I don't think his attack damaged his teams chances.

 

[limerickman]

I'm not entirely sure it was a bad move. After he hit out Saxo and BMC had to work fairly hard to close him down. They raised the pace high enough to bring him most of the way back and as soon as his move was failing Astana hit the front and really put the hammer down on the other riders opening it up for Contador and Schleck to go mano-a-mano. Not sure if it would have been more effective if Vino had just ridden on the front of the peloton but I don't think his attack damaged his teams chances.

You never know with that lunatic Vino.
He might have been trying to go for a solo win.
It would not surprise me.

 

[njsarge]

Hi,
I just joined the forum and I am from Toms River, NJ. I am planning a trip to my LBS to look at some road bikes. I would like to start riding to help me get in shape. I was looking at bikes direct website and saw the standover measurement. Should I be able to standover the bike flat footed or on my toes? Sorry if this sounds like a newb question but I might decide to purchase a bike from bikes direct because of their prices and I don't want to purchase the wrong size bike. Thanks for the help.

 

[daveryanwyoming]

Standover height is how high above the ground the top tube of the bike sits with normal tires mounted on the bike. You want that to be below the height of your crotch when standing flat footed on the ground. If you have to rise up on your toes to clear the top tube you're asking to crunch yourself pretty good some day when you stop and put your feet down suddenly.
 
You really shouldn't size a bike based on standover height. Sure you need to clear the tube with some margin, but there are more important things like forward reach and top tube length. Go to a decent bike shop and they should be able to sort you out on bike fit.
 
Good luck,
-Dave

 

[njsarge]

Thanks for the reply. I will check out my lbs and have them help me out.

 

[njsarge]

I visited two shops today. The first shop sold specialized road bikes. I told the salesperson I was looking for an entry level road bike. He showed me an Allez elite compact it sold for $850. It was a 2010 model, but they did have the 2011 model for 90 more. This was one step above the entry level allez bike that sold for 750. Unfortunately they did not have on in my size built so I could test drive it. I couldn't have anyway because I had my 2 year old son with me. I was impressed with the staff because they were very knowledgeable and looked like avid cyclists. They encouraged me to join in some group rides once I got the bike up and running. They said if I decided to purchase the bike they would build the size that would fit me and get me on a stationary trainer to make any adjustments. They also stated they would give me 2 years of adjustments and service. They would also give 20% off of any purchases I made with the bike.
http://www.specialized.com/zz/en/bc/SBCProduct.jsp?spid=52849&scid=1001&scname=Road
 
The second shop had a trek 1.2 for 870. They include 6 months of service and adjustments. I wasn't as impressed with the staff. Just didn't get the enthusiatic vibe that I got from the other shop.
 
There is one other shop near me but it is twice the distance than the first shop.
 
I will probably be back at the first shop within a couple of days to purchase the specialized.
 
I can't tell you how much of a help this site is. I felt confident talking to the staff about the type of bike I was looking for.

 

[Steve_A]

Sounds like you've found a good shop. That's a great first step!