"Thunder's bull"... I like that...Crockett said:
. Kinda like "Cranky's ****"... So Davy... you're not a Crockett a ****...
60th Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré - ProT
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. Kinda like "Cranky's ****"... So Davy... you're not a Crockett a ****...
yep, and your comparison was knocked down as it should have beenCrockett said:
but, you know I luv you crockett. BTW, not many comparisons could be made,
but...
Pedro Horillo in 2002 got a gap in the last 1 km, Mcgee jumped at about 500 metres and got him. Mcgee never got in his slipstream for shelter tho. He just went straight by.
At the 2005 Tour, perhaps Vino got on Mcgee's tail, he should have sat up, and asked Vino to come thru. But I don't think Vino would have pulled. And Mcgee might have fancied himself to finish Vino in the sprint. As it was, Vino had the legs. We know Vino's legs versus Mcgee's legs were never gonna be matched in the medical program.
I think it was an AG2R guy, I know Brochard was at Bouygues. I cannot remember who it was, originally with Vino. I think Brochard did some time at AG2R, but still, he sticks in my mind. It was an AG2R guy, not Dumoilin, not Gerrans, not Nazon, not Kirsipuu.
MCgee got across at about 1km.
Cancellara jumped at 500, and nearly got to MCgee.
Mcewen won the kick home thanks to Freddie R.
Funny, the Fassa jersey of Cancellara and the AG2R of (Brochard?) looked very similar, because they were in the background. Originally Vino jumped with the AG2R, but he went back when Mcgee caught them. Then Canc came across.
OK, last km attacks?
The Swiss guy, Rubens Bertogliati in 2002. Maillot jaune. No prologue that year, or was the prologue short enough to have time splits of less than 20 secs, and Bertogliati is a bit of a prologue specialist, and was good in tts.
This attack, not by Wrolich, but by Lang. Pure folly when Hincapie was on the wheel tho.
Just finished watching the coverage...... Geez Valverde looked good.. I'd even say he slowed towards the end... so smooth........ Evans looks good also and Levi put all in..... he don't really matter.... tomorrow will tell the real story....
Looks like Valverde can time trial now, but if he's beating Evans and Leipheimer in TTs at this point, maybe he's peaked too soon? Could spell trouble for his Tour campaign.
Levi ain't going to win this race now, he's not a good enough climber to get rid of Valverde.
Levi ain't going to win this race now, he's not a good enough climber to get rid of Valverde.
Eldrack said:
Agreed.
Valverde looks very very strong : if he climbs even half decently tomorrow, he will win out outright going the way he's going now.
Could be interesting to see how Uran goes in this. He finished 9th in the tour of switzerland last year riding for the ill-fated Unibet team and is only 21 now so should have improved since last year. He finished 2nd in the tour of catalunya this year. valverde is obviously the team leader but Uran may be allowed to go into breaks as a policeman and could also finish high even if working for Valverde all the time. Could also be a big help for Valverde in the tour.
Valverde: great tt.
I was impressed as I saw Montfort and it seems that Gesink has improved his tt abilities (20th prologue, today 10th)
I was impressed as I saw Montfort and it seems that Gesink has improved his tt abilities (20th prologue, today 10th)
Info on tomorrows stage: The last climb of the day, up to Le Saleve (or les Crets du Saleve) is nasty. Has a 4.5km section in the middle that averages at 11%, with a kilometre long section at just over 12%. Gets a bit easier once they hit the ridge, from Les Croisette to the top of the climb is only around 4.5% but if someone's suffered on the steep section before hand they're going to struggle to get back on/stay on if someone attacks. Descent into town is very technical and pretty steep (over 10% in some places).
I'm not sure where exactly in Annemasse they finish, but it's slightly up hill from where they cross the river at the base of the descent until the finish line. If a group goes to the line then Valverde will win it no questions asked. However there is plenty of oppurtunity for someone to attack on the steep section and then hold off the chasing group, but only if they're a pretty solid descender. Should be interesting.
I'm not sure where exactly in Annemasse they finish, but it's slightly up hill from where they cross the river at the base of the descent until the finish line. If a group goes to the line then Valverde will win it no questions asked. However there is plenty of oppurtunity for someone to attack on the steep section and then hold off the chasing group, but only if they're a pretty solid descender. Should be interesting.
Yeah... but his **** poor TT's in last year's TdF just prove that he's doping now (and probably wasn't then) IMHO.cyclingheroes said:
You can't be that inconsistent without being on and off the dope... even if this time it wasn't pancake flat and a bit shorter.
Look at the average speed. I think it was decisive that there were two climbs in it.Crankyfeet said:
Valverde did not have great form during last years tdf. It had nothing to do with riding clean or not. He had a very bad time which caused a bad tour and not starting at the Vuelta for reasons I don't want to write publicly here.
Okay CH... it was presumptuous of me to judge him like that... not knowing the full story...cyclingheroes said:
But his performance does raise questions in an environment of cynicism... when it is that far below par... just after the Tour made a hullabaloo about doping and got them all to sign a no-PED's contract.
I can only suspect that the reasons (that you know about) for his sub-par performance are quite personal... which puts him in a bind when trying to defend against armchair critics like myself.
Yeah, when comparing results its difficult to know how fair a test it is. For what its worth Valverde said this after today's stageCrankyfeet said:
Questioned about whether he improved his time trialling or he became the number one because of cycling getting rid of some cheats, Valverde answered: "No matter what some riders did, whether they cheated or not, I've turned the page about the past. I improve my time trial every year, it comes with the age and the motivation. I found the right form with racing less, mostly with one day races like when I was an amateur, also with the training camp up the Sierra Nevada. Last year my results were good but affected by all the pressure of the rumors concerning the Operación Puerto. That's totally behind me now. Becoming a father has also made me more calm."
http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2008/jun08/dauphinelibere08/?id=results/dauphinelibere083
His performance in the tt in last year's dauphine was better than his tour performances although not as good as today's performance
Valverde could always tt in Spain when the race was on the line.Crankyfeet said:
See the uphill tts in the Vuelta when Nozal nearly won about 2004, and 2005.
He won an uphill tt in Pais Vasco, and might have had a result in Catalunya.
I think there is a general lack of knowledge (not referring to Crank) on the abilities of riders in tts, and the variables.
Most think it is a lab test.
This tt had 400 vertical metres of climbing between about km 5 and km 13. And a ver short rises elsewhere.
Valverde sucks in tts over 30km, long, flat, non-technical, part his threshold, part mental. It aint doping, cos god knows, he got the best of that.
So, this tt, where it had some climbs and cols to shake it up, and interrupt the rhythm, was perfect, he could attack the difficult parts, and then find a comfortable rhythm on the flatter sections, which were not too long. We know he has the power for short prologue efforts, so he could still power down on those flatter stretches.
So, lets reassess the ride. I saw the climbs, my immediate thought was, Brajkovic will win this if he is in form. Alas, he is either not doping, or not in form, and did not target this stage. I thought Levi would come second or win. Seeing the climb, I did not think he would win it.
Go back over the years, check out Valverde at the Vuelta, and Catalunya, and Pais Vasco, you will see many a result.
TTs are a different thing in the Tour when they are 50kms or longer. Most of the time is lost in the last 10 kms. That is where the pure chrono riders just get started, plus the dopers.
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