tOfficial 2017 Tour de France Thread

[Nordic]

Kicks off with an individual TT today.  I have no idea who the contenders are. Anyone? Is that limey Froome still the fav?

[Nordic]

BUMP!!!!

[Nordic]

Bob, how you liking the tour so far?

The overall was over after Stage 1.  I'm resigned to the fact that overall race is going to be a dud once again.

The rest has been pretty entertaining though.  

The Cavendish/Sagan crash... the Martin/Porte crash... hole lee fuq

I like Kittle, so I'm routing for him. That tie was pretty crazy, never seen that before. I was actually hoping the other dude would get it. Kittle will win 2-3 other stages, so he'll have plenty.

Aru (sp?) should of kept up the attack when Froome's slipped a gear. Fuck waiting. Your not going to win the overall anyway, you could win the stage.  Making sure your bike works is part of the deal.

(No spoilers from today... I watch on DVR at night)

[aualum06]

Bob, how you liking the tour so far?

The overall was over after Stage 1. I'm resigned to the fact that overall race is going to be a dud once again.

The rest has been pretty entertaining though.

The Cavendish/Sagan crash... the Martin/Porte crash... hole lee fuq

I like Kittle, so I'm routing for him. That tie was pretty crazy, never seen that before. I was actually hoping the other dude would get it. Kittle will win 2-3 other stages, so he'll have plenty.

Aru (sp?) should of kept up the attack when Froome's slipped a gear. Fuck waiting. Your not going to win the overall anyway, you could win the stage. Making sure your bike works is part of the deal.

Yeah wasn't a fan of them all pulling up while Froome fixed his bike. Was possibly one of the few chances you might have to make up time..

[Robert J Sakimano]

been a wild tour...

No Cav, no Sagan, no Valverde, no Porte now.. who is really going to challenge Froome? Quintana doesn't seem to have it.. Contador is getting pretty long in the tooth. Aru looked great one day, beatable on Sunday.

and as far as them waiting for Froome when he had mechanical issues, as you know, that's the traditional unwritten rules. I was surprised to hear Bobke, Vandevelde, etc suggest that Aru was right to attack. I don't really mind it - otherwise, ever time someone attacked or the GC leader felt tired, he could claim mechanical issues.

I love watching the tour everyday - I do wish it were going to be closer this year. I suspect Froome will win by 3+ minutes.

[Robert J Sakimano]

from a sprint standpoint, I like Kittel, too - Greipel hasn't had a ton of luck. The sprint finish with Kittel and Bossan Hagen was insane - never seen anything that close in my life. And Sunday was almost as narrow.

[Robert J Sakimano]

soooo..... we have ourselves a bike race..    

[Nordic]

soooo..... we have ourselves a bike race..    

Just watched the replay. Froome cracked hard. Bardet and Aru put the hurt on him. Aru was holding on for dear life at the end. Hopefully he is not gassed for tomorrow.

[Nordic]

The whole way up I was wondering why Aru was huggung the fence and staying to Froome's left. Thought he was going to get boxed in. Then the last RH turn it all made sense. He was protecting that line all the way up the hill. Awesome.

[Robert J Sakimano]

yeah, from a foreshadowing standpoint, Aru was sizing him up the entire time - waiting for a break. I bet, in retrospect, Aru wishes he had attacked at, say, 400 meters instead of 200 meters. Yes, it was a brutal ascent but he could've likely put another 8-12 seconds on Froome 'cause Froome was practically dead.

I was aching watching how tedious their pedal strokes were coming up the Peyragude.

and what a brutal stage.. an HC climb, a rapid descent, the Peyresourde, about a 3 K descent and then Peyragude.

Froome is a supreme TT rider.. whereas Aru and Bardet are a bit more of the pure climbers. It'll be interesting to see what Froome can do in the TT, but it's still a week away - so many things can (and will) happen between now and then.

we haven't heard the last of Bardet, either - today is Bastille Day.  Four category 1 climbs today.. and they haven't even hit the Alps yet.

dude, 4 guys within 35 seconds of each other this far into the race is mind-boggling.

[Nordic]

Yeah. Froome has the super team and great at the TTs, so he is by far the favorite. As Bob Roll said in the post race it was the first time we've seen Froome crack (dating back to when he pulled Wiggins up the Alps), so it makes it exciting.

Having 4 dudes so close should be interesting to see how they play it. Do you go for the win or play conservative for a podium?

I'm excited to see some fresh blood rise up for the future. I didn't think Contana looked good last year, then lost time on the first bunny hill (plus he sucks at TTs). And as you said Contador is too old. I thought the GC was going to be a runaway.

Side note... last night they said that next year there will be no TTs and all uphill finishes (for mountain stages)??? I find both hard to believe.

[Robert J Sakimano]

Yeah. Froome has the super team and great at the TTs, so he is by far the favorite. As Bob Roll said in the post race it was the first time we've seen Froome crack (dating back to when he pulled Wiggins up the Alps), so it makes it exciting.

Having 4 dudes so close should be interesting to see how they play it. Do you go for the win or play conservative for a podium?

I'm excited to see some fresh blood rise up for the future. I didn't think Contana looked good last year, then lost time on the first bunny hill (plus he sucks at TTs). And as you said Contador is too old. I thought the GC was going to be a runaway.

Side note... last night they said that next year there will be no TTs and all uphill finishes (for mountain stages)??? I find both hard to believe.

I think Froome has dominated the GC so long that someone will want to take the maillot jaune from him.. I think it could be Aru or Bardet.. and even Uran has enough years on him that he probably doesn't GAF about a simple podium finish.

You're right - Team Sky is so dominant but we have seen them crack a bit already yesterday and with no Garrant Thomas, they are demonstrably more vulnerable.

I was a bit surprised to see Nairo wilt the way he did yesterday.

Haven't heard anything about next year's tour - have they released details yet? Normally it's the kind of thing done in the fall. I remember one year - been a while - they did a TT up l'Alpe D'Huez -

[Nordic]

What an exciting stage... but an anti-climatic finish.

Great (but not surprising) tactics by Sky. I assumed Sky would put a guy in the break. Putting Landa in there was brilliant and spiced things up. It woulda been awwwweeeessssome if he won the stage and was in yellow.

Aru was brilliant too. He only chased Froome. Knowing Froome would chase everyone else/try to attack. If you don't have a team... use someone else's.

Good to see the Polka Dots win a Mountain Stage.

[aualum06]

Froome just basically lost a wheel and had to swap with a teammate, he's in trouble

[Robert J Sakimano]

Sooo... who will win on the Champs Ellyses now?

[Nordic]

Sooo... who will win on the Champs Ellyses now?

:( for Kittle... how quick things can turn

[Robert J Sakimano]

Sooo... who will win on the Champs Ellyses now?

:( for Kittle... how quick things can turn

truth.

of course, as tight as the race is right now, there is speculation that we could see an actual contesting of the GC or podium Sunday into Paris, instead of the usual ceremonial procession leading into an all out push for the sprinters.

could be interesting - still suspect that Froome is in good shape with the TT on Saturday.

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