Tour de France 2015

[monty1104]

Actually, could be Cancellara officially in green too. Also not sure whether Sagan might be ahead of Greipel too due to the intermediate sprint.

 

[monty1104]

Nope, Greipel definitely into Green on 55 points, Sagan 39, Cancellara 35

 

[balmainforever]

The app has Greipel on 55 Sagan on 39, Cancellara on 35

 

[balmainforever]

Okay that stage win gave 50 pts for the green jersey.

 

[monty1104]

Just looked up the points guide, stages 2, 5, 6, 7, 15 and 21 have 50 points on offer for first place

 

[balmainforever]

Climbing stage tomorrow. 3 x cat 4 and a cat 3 climb.

 

[grouse mate]

Bizzarre finish from Cav, either it was just a brainfade or he doesn't have the confidence to beat Sagan and Greipel. He's told the media it was Renshaw's fault, I can't agree with the sook, unless he has a full train to lead him in he's hopeless. He's half the rider Sagan is.

 

[Vader]

Climbing stage tomorrow. 3 x cat 4 and a cat 3 climb.

I wouldn't call that a "climbing stage". The only reason it's not a stage for the sprinters is that it finishes on top of the Mur du Huy, which is a nasty little climb used in the Fleche Wallone (one of the spring classics). It's not really a race for the climbers either. This is a stage for the "puncheurs", riders like Gilbert (not riding the Tour this year), Gerrans and Valverde who are capable of an explosive kick on short steep climbs. Valverde should be a fairly strong favourite for tonight's stage.

 

[Vader]

Last night's stage was an absolute ripper, with the coastal winds blowing in off the North Sea resulting in the peleton being ripped to shreds. We saw some massive winners and massive losers. The overall classification for the main GC riders is as follows:
00:42 - Rigoberto Uran Uran (7th overall)
00:44 - Tejay van Garderen (8th)
00:48 - Chris Froome (10th)
1:00 - Alberto Contador (14th)
2:07 - Thibault Pinot (31st)
2:09 - Vincenzo Nibali (33rd)
2:22 - Alejandro Valverde (39th)
2:25 - Jean Christophe Peraud (41st)
2:27 - Nairo Quintana (44th)
2:32 - Richie Porte (46th)
2:52 - Joaquin Rodriguez (71st)

The winners were Cancellara, Froome, Contador and Van Garderen. Greipel won the stage, but didn't really gain anything significant other than line honours. Cancellara managed to pip a fading Cavendish for 3rd, picking up 4 bonus seconds in the process. This was enough to leapfrog him ahead of Tony Martin and into yellow - a jersey he could well hold all the way to the rest day in Pau. Froome, Contador and Van Garderen all gained significant time on their other GC rivals - 1:28 in the case of Froome, 1:24 for Contador and Van Garderen. All three riders will sleep a whole lot easier knowing that Nibali and Quintana have a deficit of more than a minute before the race even hits the first climb. You can't win the TdF on a flat stage like stage 2, but you can lose it...

The losers were many...

Dennis lost his yellow jersey and didn't receive any help from his team in attempting to retain it. That's harsh, but fair enough when you consider that Van Garderen is the team leader and he was still in the lead group. The teammates he did have in the second group weren't going to work either, as doing so would mean bringing Nibali and Quintana back into the picture, which was counter to Van Garderen's best interests.

Nibali and Quintana both finished in the group which crossed the line 1:28 down on Greipel. Nibali now finds himself just over a minute down on the other GC riders. I can see him getting that time back on van Gaderen and Uran, I can't see him getting it back on Froome & Contador. Quintana is in an even worse position, a further 18 seconds down - more than 90 seconds behind Froome. There's no doubt he's a great climber, but can he regain that much time in the mountains?

Pinot and Peraud also finished in that 2nd group, but I don't really consider them to be big losers. They were the Steven Bradburys of the 2014 race, benefiting from the misfortunes of Froome & Contador. Neither of them are in the same class as the big 4. This time loss won't help their cause any (and they would still be aiming for a top-10 finish), but they never had any realistic hopes of winning to begin with.

 

[thegrach]

Quintana was my pick before the tour, but I am not sure he can come from that far back, can he? He will also still be fairly closely marked I am guessing.

 

[Vader]

Quintana was my pick before the tour, but I am not sure he can come from that far back, can he? He will also still be fairly closely marked I am guessing.

He'll definitely be closely marked. He may be 87 seconds down on Contador and 99 seconds down on Froome, but that's nowhere near enough for them to think about letting him off the leash.

 

[Ichabod Noodle]

I know there are time bonuses on the flat, but are there time bonuses in the high mountains. A stage win and 30 sec gap + a time bonus, might be able to help Quintana. No more ITTs also help him. But I agree. It's a lot to make up - but then again... People fall off and break things so this race is far from over.

 

[phantom13]

Its Froomes race after yesterday. I can see Contador fading in the mountains after the huge Giro effort and Nibali and Quintana being over a minute back, with Skys team (that can mark everyone so Froome can hammer his cadence on a counter) its a big ask for anyone to overcome from here. If he gets through Stage 4 on the cobbles mark it down.

 

[monty1104]

I know there are time bonuses on the flat, but are there time bonuses in the high mountains. A stage win and 30 sec gap + a time bonus, might be able to help Quintana. No more ITTs also help him. But I agree. It's a lot to make up - but then again... People fall off and break things so this race is far from over.

I read in one place they are available on every stage and another place that it was only stages 2-8. Both places were in the official tour website so not sure which is correct.

 

[Papa Juggs]

Bizzarre finish from Cav, either it was just a brainfade or he doesn't have the confidence to beat Sagan and Greipel. He's told the media it was Renshaw's fault, I can't agree with the sook, unless he has a full train to lead him in he's hopeless. He's half the rider Sagan is.

What a flog. If he doesn't have the full peleton leading him in he can't win, can't expect Renshaw to be a 1 man train.

 

[phantom13]

Cav's whinge is disgusting. Even if Renshaw went too early (which i think is debatable) he has been the best lead out man in for a looooong time and Cav owes him many a win, he dicks up once or twice, let it go. Plus even his own director said he gave up on the sprint which cost Martin the Maillot Jaune.

 

[grouse mate]

Cav's whinge is disgusting. Even if Renshaw went too early (which i think is debatable) he has been the best lead out man in for a looooong time and Cav owes him many a win, he dicks up once or twice, let it go. Plus even his own director said he gave up on the sprint which cost Martin the Maillot Jaune.

Renshaw was still on the front riding as hard as he could, he doesn't stop until he's sees Cav pass him. It takes a special guy to sprint into a headwind from 300m out, in other sports it would be called tanking.

 

[grouse mate]

I know there are time bonuses on the flat, but are there time bonuses in the high mountains. A stage win and 30 sec gap + a time bonus, might be able to help Quintana. No more ITTs also help him. But I agree. It's a lot to make up - but then again... People fall off and break things so this race is far from over.

I read in one place they are available on every stage and another place that it was only stages 2-8. Both places were in the official tour website so not sure which is correct.

Prudhomme was quoted as saying it was stages 2-8 when it was originally announced but there is some UCI rule which says its for every stage apart from TT's. Cyclingtips said were trying to get to the bottom of it but I'm still yet read confirmation of either. There's also this regarding the sprint points so I'm thinking the time bonuses will be the same.

In another significant change, the Tour has reshuffled the points competition in what could be viewed as the “anti-Sagan” rule change. Like time bonuses, the new points rules will apply to the first nine stages only.

In 2014, Sagan won his third consecutive points jersey without winning a stage. By consistently placing in the top-5, Sagan picked up points to coast relatively unchallenged into his third green jersey. Under new rules introduced for 2015, that feat could prove more difficult, with a new rule structure favoring stage winners.

“We want to give more of a bonus for those who win,” Prudhomme said Wednesday.

Under new rules, a stage win will be worth 50 points, compared to 45 under old rules. The gap to second-place is significant, with just 30 points to the runner-up, compared to 35 under former rules. Here are new points for the top-15 — 50, 30, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2 — compared to the former top-15: 45, 35, 30, 26, 22, 20, 18, 16, 14, 12, 10, 8, 6, 4, 2. Those numbers will only put more pressure on green jersey candidates to win.

Read more at http://velonews.competitor.com/2014...points-competition_350373#bMTJ4HyJalZxcDCW.99

 

[monty1104]

Stage 3: Anvers - Huy
Last night's stage was much more significant than most expected. Nibali and Quintana both lost significant time on Contador and Froome when the peloton was split due to crosswinds. Unfortunately, Rohan Dennis was also caught behind, and given that his team leader Tejay Van Gardener did make the spilt, BMC were never going to help chase, even though it meant losing the yellow jersey.

Current Jersey Leaders
Yellow: Fabian Cancellara (TFR)
White: Tom Dumoulin (TGA)
Green: Andre Greipel (LTS)
Polkadot: N/A
Lantern Rouge: Brice Feillu (BSE)
Team: BMC

• Km 109.0 - Côte de Bohissau2.4 kilometre-long climb at 5.5% - category 4

• Km 143.0 - Côte d'Ereffe2.1 kilometre-long climb at 5% - category 4

• Km 154.0 - Côte de Cherave1.3 kilometre-long climb at 8.1% - category 4

• Km 159.5 - HUY - Mur de Huy1.3 kilometre-long climb at 9.6% - category 3
  
  
  
  
  
  General Classification after Stage 2
  SUI 1 CANCELLARA, Fabian (TREK FACTORY RACING) 3:44:01
  GER 2 MARTIN, Tony (ETIXX - QUICK STEP) + 3
  NED 3 DUMOULIN, Tom (GIANT - ALPECIN) + 6
  SVK 4 SAGAN, Peter (TINKOFF - SAXO) + 33
  GBR 5 THOMAS, Geraint (SKY) + 35
  ITA 6 OSS, Daniel (BMC RACING) + 42
  COL 7 URAN URAN, Rigoberto (ETIXX - QUICK STEP)
  USA 8 VAN GARDEREN, Tejay (BMC RACING) + 44
  BEL 9 VAN AVERMAET, Greg (BMC RACING) + 48
  GBR 10 FROOME, Christopher (SKY)
  
  A quick look at the stage profile probably doesn't do justice to the difficulty of the day, especially the final climb; the Mur de Huy. This climb hits 19% at stages. Make no mistake, even though this stage is not classified as a "mountain stage", there will be no sprint finish. An interesting note to this stage is that the Cote de Cherave tops out at only 5.8km to go. At an average of 8.1%, a rider who doesn't pack an explosive finish might use this to get away from the peloton to give himself a head start on the Mur de Huy. Tonight is a stage for the likes of Simon Gerrans, Alejandro Valverde, Michael Albasini, Thomas Voeckler and Joachim Rodriguez. I'll be tipping Valverde for tonight, but I expect Tom Dumoulin to be in yellow by night's end.

 

[eth-dog]

I can honestly see van Garderen being in yellow tomorrow. Hope to see a good stage from the Yates brothers, they were average last night.

 

[monty1104]

I can honestly see van Garderen being in yellow tomorrow. Hope to see a good stage from the Yates brothers, they were average last night.

Maybe, but I doubt he'd want it. No point in wasting the team's energy trying to retain the yellow jersey from week 1. If they wanted the exposure, they'd have made sure Dennis kept it.

 

[eth-dog]

Maybe, but I doubt he'd want it. No point in wasting the team's energy trying to retain the yellow jersey from week 1. If they wanted the exposure, they'd have made sure Dennis kept it.

Yeah, probably. Just think he could possibly be in the yellow. I like BMC and want to see them do well.

 

[TennisPlayerAndy]

Should be a good stage tonight.

Hoping for a nice battle on the last climb between some of the big names.

 

[monty1104]

Should be a good stage tonight.

Hoping for a nice battle on the last climb between some of the big names.

Don't count on it. It's too short for any real time gains to be made and I doubt any of the top GC contenders see themselves finishing top 3 on the stage, which means they won't be getting a time bonus.

 

[Papa Juggs]

Sagan $21 seems good after his display yesterday. That is some strong form he is in.

Could be a stage for Mollema $41 if he wants to show something in this area where he is sure to have some fans.