Cycling 2017

RedFish said:
Yeah, perhaps so. Part of that I'd guess is that his helpers are so good. You could substitute his leadership within the Sky team with a number of riders and they'd most likely end up securing the overall. That's not his fault though and I so think it's a bit unfair, as he could quite easily have win the Vuelta least once, even twice.

I do rate the achievements of someone like Nibali and Contador with wins in all 3 GTs a bit higher than multiple tour wins as part of a super team.

I think his Vuelta rides are more memorable than any of his Tour wins, which are more brilliant for the way Sky dominate the Peleton.
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You're absolutely spot-on - I sometimes wonder that any of us on here could probably win the TdeF GC with SKY pulling us along km after km.

Yeah....I know we wouldn't, but 50%+ of Pro riders could. Remember Day 1 in Dusseldorf ? I said that Froome had won it 'first day' because nobody was going to beat him over the next three weeks with that team in front of him....

No doubt about it - I reckon he does deserve far more respect than he gets ( especially here in the Land of Wine and Cheese ) but, at least, he gets the glory for what is a masterclass in selection / tactics / ability from his team and employers.

Having said all that - he'll probably prove me wrong and crash out tomorrow....

And huge congratulations to Boasson-Hagen today - class rider who deserved a Stage win after so long without one.
 
Rams said:
I mean in the media and especially by the so called expert analysts on TV in traditional cycling countries like Holland, Belgium and France, where cycling is a major sport.
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In the media, Froome is respected in France, experts and analysts are full of superlatives.
 
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Start Times

http://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/r...france-stage-20-time-trial-start-times-343404)

CET

158 Alberto Contador (Esp) Trek-Segafredo 16:46:00
159 Warren Barguil (Fra) Team Sunweb 16:48:00
160 Louis Meintjes (RSA) UAE Team Emirates 16:50:00
161 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott 16:52:00
162 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors 16:54:00
163 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 16:56:00
164 Mikel Landa (Esp) Team Sky 16:58:00
165 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac 17:00:00
166 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 17:02:00
167 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 17:04:00


http://inrng.com/2017/07/tour-de-france-stage-20-preview-marseille/
 
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French crowds classy, as usual. With Froome nearly overtaking Bardet on the finishing line it was almost funny to hear them cheer and instantly switch to booing. Nothing against Bardet though, who fully deserves to be on the podium. He must've felt terrible today.
 
Shame for Landa though, but I can see him winning it soon, maybe worth a bet
 
I've got a sneaking feeling Dumoulin will be a serious contender. He's got everything. Depends on the course I suppose, bit anything like this year and Dumoulin's got a great chance.
 
Yeah, could be really interesting next year. Landa as a captain, Quintana without a Giro in his legs, Dumoulin, Bardet with another year under his belt and Porte who might not crash this time. Against a Froome who, despite still being the strongest and a deserved winner this year, doesn't look as untouchable as he used to. We could see a very open race next year. Would also be fun to see the Yates twins ride together.

This has been a pretty decent Tour, I'd say. I'd have liked a few more mountains summits, fewer high-profile crashes and exits and a bit more attacking spirit from Uran in particular but most stages have been quite interesting and it was close until the end.
 
I wonder how big an issue Bardet's time trial is going to be for the rest of his career. Up against the likes of Froome, Porte and Dumoulin, it's a major weakness. Today's collapse was exceptional but still, he'll probably lose minutes to those three more often than not. You need at the very least an adequate TT to win a Tour. Quintana has the same problem.
 
Ainu said:
I wonder how big an issue Bardet's time trial is going to be for the rest of his career. Up against the likes of Froome, Porte and Dumoulin, it's a major weakness. Today's collapse was exceptional but still, he'll probably lose minutes to those three more often than not. You need at the very least an adequate TT to win a Tour. Quintana has the same problem.
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Agree totally. He's moved on from last year, but he's a decent TT away from really contending for the overall. It's hard to see how he's going to compensate as I think therell be tougher TT kms in the next edition. He could try and make time in the mountains but against the Sky mountain train that:s some ask.

Even losing Landa to Movistar and Nieve to Orica, Sky will just slot in Poels and Thomas , with riders like Ellisonde and Rosa ready to step in. They'll be just as strong next year.

I wonder if Sky will make the move for one of the Yates to spearhead their Tour assaults.Its the obvious move you'd have thought.....
 
I wonder if we can start to think about Froome breaking the record for Tour victories. You know, the official one, since we're supposed to forget Lance's seven. He'll be 33 next year when he'll try to equal Hinault, Merckx, Anquetil and Indurain. You'd expect him to fall away at some point, so I'm not sure how much longer he'll have. I could see him getting to five but six will be a challenge.
 
If Froome is clean, his absolute explosion onto the scene at the 2011 Vuelta at the age of 26 - and what he's won subsequently - is the most astonishing sporting achievement I think I've ever witnessed.
 
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Buchan said:
If Froome is clean, his absolute explosion onto the scene at the 2011 Vuelta - and what he's won subsequently - is the most astonishing sporting achievement I think I've ever witnessed.
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...he's not like he's doing it on his own though. The margins aren't massive and he's got unbelievable will. Other riders are just as impressive, if you like - Van Avermaet's extraordinary season for example.
 
RedFish said:
...he's not like he's doing it on his own though. The margins aren't massive and he's got unbelievable will. Other riders are just as impressive, if you like - Van Avermaet's extraordinary season for example.
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Froome looks beatable this season, but only because he's giving away 5+ years to all of his top competitors. A Froome-less Tour de France victor these last few years was as improbable as finding life on the Moon. Yes, he's surrounded by a dominant team, but this guy was throttling known climbers in mountains, tearing up time-trial stages etc. He is not winning these GTs simply because Porte, Landa etc. are brilliant domestiques.
 
Buchan said:
Froome looks beatable this season, but only because he's giving away 5+ years to all of his top competitors. A Froome-less Tour de France victor these last few years was as improbable as finding life on the Moon. Yes, he's surrounded by a dominant team, but this guy was throttling known climbers in mountains, tearing up time-trial stages etc. He is not winning these GTs simply because Porte, Landa etc. are brilliant domestiques.
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Fair enough. I respect that different people will see things differently.
 
That was one long sprint by Groenewegen, I thought he'd started way too early. The others left it too late but Groenewegen barely lost speed. Very strong.
 
Mark_GrumpyLion said:
I wonder if Sunweb will go for that to be honest. I think it will really depend on the parkour next year. If it's heavy on time trials, they'll go with him for sure. But he's not a mountain goat like some other GC contenders.
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He's not doing the Vuelta so I hope so, though he may want to defend the Giro. I think the tour generally is more suited to him and that this last Giro was uncharacteristic in terms of the number of TT Kms.

I think the tour would be so much more interesting with an in form, strong Dumoulin. I really think he could do some major damage especially with the likes of Barguil in support.
 
Turns out now that Dan Martin broke a few vertebrae due to that crash with Porte...



Still finished the Tour, what a beast.
 
Mark_GrumpyLion said:
Kwiatkowski is low-key having a phenomenal year with some very good form.
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Yup, lots of the attention always goes to Sagan but Kwiat is showing why they were such rivals even in the youth races. He's won a second Strade Bianche (fast becoming a very prestigious race), a monument in Milan San Remo and now a San Sebastian this season alone. And he already got another Strade, an E3, Amstel Gold and of course became a world champion in previous years. He's without a doubt one of the most talented and versatile riders out there.
 
Mark_GrumpyLion said:
Kwiatkowski is low-key having a phenomenal year with some very good form.
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Ainu said:
Yup, lots of the attention always goes to Sagan but Kwiat is showing why they were such rivals even in the youth races. He's won a second Strade Bianche (fast becoming a very prestigious race), a monument in Milan San Remo and now a San Sebastian this season alone. And he already got another Strade, an E3, Amstel Gold and of course became a world champion in previous years. He's without a doubt one of the most talented and versatile riders out there.
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Warms my heart that you guys rate him. He's probably my favourite rider. Incredible all round ability and this year is so special given he took a whole year to adjust to life at Sky.
 
RedFish said:
Warms my heart that you guys rate him. He's probably my favourite rider. Incredible all round ability and this year is so special given he took a whole year to adjust to life at Sky.
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I am a sucker for hard workers who put their head down and grind it out. Poels, Dumoulin, Kwiatkowski, de Ghent. Love guys like that. Got a soft spot for Geschke too.
 


Barguil is leaving Sunweb and will join Fortuneo-Oscaro, is he going to be a leader?
 
Given the heatwaves in southern Poland it shouldn't be called Tour de Pologne but Tour de Death or some other shit. I feel for those guys.
 
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