monty1104
Premium Platinum
Last night went very much as planned; breakaway, caught, sprint, Kittel wins. The interesting thing out of last night's stage was the crash by Chris Froome. He has a hell of a lot of road rash on his left hand side (the same side he fell on during the Dauphine), and he has a banged up hand, which will hurt like hell on the cobbles tonight.
Current Jersey Leaders
Yellow: Vincenzo Nibali (AST)
White: Peter Sagan (CAN) worn by Romain Bardet (ALM)
Green: Peter Sagan (CAN)
Polkadot: Cyril Lemoine (COF)
Team: SKY
General Classification after Stage 4
ITA 1 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA) 17:07:52
SVK 2 SAGAN, Peter (CANNONDALE) + 2
SUI 3 ALBASINI, Michael (ORICA GreenEDGE)
BEL 4 VAN AVERMAET, Greg (BMC RACING)
ESP 5 CONTADOR VELASCO, Alberto (TINKOFF-SAXO)
ESP 6 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR)
GBR 7 FROOME, Christopher (SKY)
BEL 8 VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen (LOTTO BELISOL)
NED 9 MOLLEMA, Bauke (BELKIN)
DEN 10 FUGLSANG, Jakob (ASTANA)
Tonight's stage will be very interesting. A majority of the riders have come out and said that they are not looking forward to riding this stage, due to the cobbles. In an interview last night, Jens Voigt had an interesting outlook, essentially saying that no matter what, you won't please every rider, so you just have to do the best to deal with what is thrown at you.
With 9 cobbled sectors in the last 70 odd km, this will certainly be one to watch out for. A majority of the sections are rated as 3 star difficulty, with section 9 (Carrefour de l'Arbre) and section 7 (Mons en Pevele) rated 5 star. The numbers of the sections count down from high to low, so the two difficult sections are actually in the first three sections crossed. It is here, most likely on the Mons en Pevele, where a move will come. This is a 3km section of cobbles that is super difficult. Look out for guys like Cancellara, Terpstra, Van Summeran, Sagan, Vanmarcke and Van Avermaet to look to break up the peleton here. These guys will have this stage penciled in as a great chance for victory, but for mine, it's hard to go past Cancellara.
On a side not, for those who watch Paris-Roubaix, though this stage finishes in Arenberg, the riders will not go through the Arenberg Trench
Watch out for: Just how much better Cancellara is on the cobblestones than anyone else. He is a genuine freak.
Conversation regarding past cases of PED use or innuendo surrounding current riders will not be tolerated. This thread is specifically about Stage 4 of the 2014 Tour de France, so let's keep it that way.
Current Jersey Leaders
Yellow: Vincenzo Nibali (AST)
White: Peter Sagan (CAN) worn by Romain Bardet (ALM)
Green: Peter Sagan (CAN)
Polkadot: Cyril Lemoine (COF)
Team: SKY
General Classification after Stage 4
ITA 1 NIBALI, Vincenzo (ASTANA) 17:07:52
SVK 2 SAGAN, Peter (CANNONDALE) + 2
SUI 3 ALBASINI, Michael (ORICA GreenEDGE)
BEL 4 VAN AVERMAET, Greg (BMC RACING)
ESP 5 CONTADOR VELASCO, Alberto (TINKOFF-SAXO)
ESP 6 VALVERDE BELMONTE, Alejandro (MOVISTAR)
GBR 7 FROOME, Christopher (SKY)
BEL 8 VAN DEN BROECK, Jurgen (LOTTO BELISOL)
NED 9 MOLLEMA, Bauke (BELKIN)
DEN 10 FUGLSANG, Jakob (ASTANA)
Tonight's stage will be very interesting. A majority of the riders have come out and said that they are not looking forward to riding this stage, due to the cobbles. In an interview last night, Jens Voigt had an interesting outlook, essentially saying that no matter what, you won't please every rider, so you just have to do the best to deal with what is thrown at you.
With 9 cobbled sectors in the last 70 odd km, this will certainly be one to watch out for. A majority of the sections are rated as 3 star difficulty, with section 9 (Carrefour de l'Arbre) and section 7 (Mons en Pevele) rated 5 star. The numbers of the sections count down from high to low, so the two difficult sections are actually in the first three sections crossed. It is here, most likely on the Mons en Pevele, where a move will come. This is a 3km section of cobbles that is super difficult. Look out for guys like Cancellara, Terpstra, Van Summeran, Sagan, Vanmarcke and Van Avermaet to look to break up the peleton here. These guys will have this stage penciled in as a great chance for victory, but for mine, it's hard to go past Cancellara.
On a side not, for those who watch Paris-Roubaix, though this stage finishes in Arenberg, the riders will not go through the Arenberg Trench
Watch out for: Just how much better Cancellara is on the cobblestones than anyone else. He is a genuine freak.
Conversation regarding past cases of PED use or innuendo surrounding current riders will not be tolerated. This thread is specifically about Stage 4 of the 2014 Tour de France, so let's keep it that way.
