Tour de France *** 2014 *** [LIVE THREAD]

Le Tour ^ | July 2, 2014 | Various

[Baynative]

While the media tries to make soccer into a real sport we are only three days away from the 2014 Tour de France a genuine test of men against men, men against nature, men against elements and men testing their own hearts and will.

[PeteB570]

Thumbs up to the Giant/Shimano riders.

But I still like it when the breakaway makes it to the finish line. Like to see that at least once each Tour.

[Baynative]

I think the chances of that were better before all the high tech communications that teams have now. Today when a break goes everyone in the peloton knows who is gone where they sit in time, what their abilities are and more; and all in their own language. From that they can gauge exactly what they need to reel them in. I am always intrigued that the catch routinely comes so close to the finish.

A few years ago there was a breakaway that was out for a long time on a windy course and when the peloton geared up to bring them in the wind broke the peloton apart into several groups. The break had 7 or 8 riders and a couple of miles out of town one guy in the break attacked and got away going through a roundabout. The peloton caught the remainder of the group but the attacker held them off and won. I can't remember who it was. Now, I'm gonna have to try to find it. It was only 4 or 5 years ago.

[PeteB570]

Is that when Vino and his team got caught out in the second group?

[Baynative]

Funny - I tuned back in to the tour and saw Thomas Voekler off the front by himself and that was the guy I was thinking of before...

From Velo News 2009:

Thomas Voeckler of France claimed a solo victory Wednesday in the fifth stage of the Tour de France, a 122-mile ride from Le Cap d'Agde to Perpignan.

Following a long breakaway, Voeckler made his move 3.1 miles from the finish to escape from a small group of riders and cross the finish line by himself.

Voeckler, who broke his collarbone earlier this season, and five other riders -- Ignatiev, Anthony Geslin, Yauheni Hutarovich, Marcin Sapa and Albert Timmer -- broke away after just 7 1/2 miles and left the rest of the field trying to catch up.

With the wind blowing sideways along the Mediterranean Sea, the peloton pumped up the speed about 35 miles from the line behind the push of Saxo Bank and Columbia riders. The peloton ended up breaking into three pieces and riders were scattered, but none of the favorites were trapped except Giro d'Italia winner Denis Menchov of Russia.

As the pace eased momentarily, the second peloton caught up with the first.

Less than four miles from the finish, the leading group was reduced to four riders following an attack from Ignatiev, a track specialist making his Tour debut. Voeckler, who wore the yellow jersey for nine days in 2004, then bolted out of a roundabout and went all out to the line.

[Eric Roelfsema]

I am looking forward to tomorrow’s stage with the cobblestones.

[Para-Ord.45]

Down goes Froome !

Oh, wait. He`s ok.

Kittel looks like the jolly green giant next to the other guys

[Baynative]

A mini Paris-Roubaix in July

"Prior to the Grand Départ in Yorkshire, Fabian Cancellara answered to the skeptics that cobblestones are as legitimately part of the Tour de France as the mountains and the time trials. This is a big day for Paris-Roubaix specialists: Cancellara is one of the winners of the queen of the classics in contention at the Tour, along with Niki Terpstra and Johan Vansummeren. But there'll be two races in one stage, one for the win, the second one as a survival exercise.

With nine pavés sections on the map and the same stage finish location in front of the Arenberg forest as four years ago, the danger is around the corner for GC riders. Defending champion Chris Froome fears the day even more after he hurt his left wrist in a crash during stage 4 but yellow jersey wearer Vincenzo Nibali also knows how much a race leader can lose on gravel roads because of going down or not handling the pace on that particular terrain. In the 2010 Giro d'Italia, he lost the pink jersey in similar circumstances."

[Baynative]

I must have slept through something. Kittel who has three stage wins is 19:50 back while Peter Sagan who has been sitting on his wheel is down only 2 seconds.

I'm guessing there was a crash that held the peloton outside the last 3km.

[A'elian' nation]

Perhaps you could explain to me, if you would be so kind, how it is that Kittel from Germany, who has won 3 of the first 4 stages is not the Yellow jersey leader? In fact he is not even in the top 15 of the Yellow standings.

I thought best time determines Yellow jersey leaders.
Was Kittel that slow in the other stage that he is not on the leader board, or is some other calculation involved?

Thanks for your time

[Baynative]

We are about a minute apart in our posts. I just asked that question. I'm thinking a crash must have separated Kittel from the main group on stage 2. Lead out specialist Mark Renshaw is also 19:50 back. I'll try to find some time for a little research in between doing some real work. ;-)

[Para-Ord.45]

Kittel lost time on the hills. Saw him grunting alone being left behind on small cat. 3 hills.

He can win a general sprint but fails to gain back 19 + minutes.

http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2014/us/stage-4/classifications.html#rank

[A'elian' nation]

Thanks a lot for that link. That’s what I was looking for.

Am also looking for a link that gives the times for each stage of the race. Or does one have to check each race stage individually online?

[PeteB570]

And Andy S is out (DNS) today.

[A'elian' nation]

Would also be nice to find a website that gives the points awarded each stage for each racer.

I’m not even going to ask all the ways points are awarded and subtracted. That is an arcane science beyond my ken.

I did read that Belgium leads all countries in Tour de Frances won on points. 19 times. France has 9 and Germany 8 Points winners. Lance Armstrong never won on points. I guess too many minuses :-)

[Cecily]

There is a link for points under the heading “Classifications” (on the right side of the page) at:

http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2014/us/

[Baynative]

I saw Kittel struggling on a Cat3 climb but I didn’t realize that he was so far down at the end. If those hills gave him so much trouble, he might abandon in the Pyrenees.

[Para-Ord.45]

I use this one. Has video and print links. I like the video links since I work during the day and can watch usually, the last 1 o5 5 km of the stage or 2 minute highlights :

http://www.steephill.tv/tour-de-france/

.

[Baynative]

Bike Ping

The cobbles are coming, the cobbles are coming

Ms. AntiFeminazi tells me they keep 3,000 extra cobbles in storage just to fix these sections of pavé after the annual classic. A little research tells me that most, if not all, of the damage is from people taking souvenirs.

At any rate, I am not quite sure I am supportive of the cobbles being included in the tour. Yes, I know it is an aspect of the traditions. But I don't like the idea of a mishap taking down a star and maybe ending his career.

Paris-Roubaix is another story. The race is what it is and anyone who rides it knows what may come. The Tour, in my mind, is different and a crash course in riding the rugged stones isn't quite whit I think fits as part of the 21 day enduro most road cyclists fancy.

This stage is maybe going to play a bigger part of what happens in the mountains than we know. That's just me.

BTW- As PeteB570 points out Andy Schleck is gone --- the plot thickens. I don't know what the roads look like in China, but maybe tour rookie Cheng Ji will find something special.

[Ms. AntiFeminazi]

I just finished the last London stage and saw your post about Andy Schleck being out. ARGH! Stupid moron trying to get a pic took one of my favorites out! I thought Brits were supposed to be smart and proper. I guess that went away with cell phone selfies!

I also saw where you said there doesn’t seem to be a lot of interest in the Tour so far. Not so! At least not for me. I’m burning the candle at both ends at work right now, but I’m watching and reading when I can. Thank you so much for running the Tour threads. I really enjoy them.

[deport]

A section of the cobblestone road cyclists will tackle during stage five of the Tour de France

Australian Michael Rogers predicts stage five of the Tour de France on Wednesday that passes
over nine sectors of cobblestones will be “terrifying”.

Rogers (Tinkoff-Saxo) is one of key riders who have been assigned to help Spanish Tour favourite
Alberto Contador in the mountains of the Vosges, Alps and Pyrenees.

And they have only increased in the last 24 hours with the prospect of rain making the total
of 15.4km of cobblestones even more slippery and treacherous.

Even if rain does not fall, there is every chances the cobblestone sectors, which are part
of the Paris-Roubaix race course, will be even more hazardous as the rain of recent days has created a
number of large pools of muddied water on them.

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