Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2014

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• @Buck Rogers

  They just don't make Grand Tour contenders like they used to, eh? Wiggo with the last laugh, esp as he did so well at PR this year.

  Indeed. He did extremely well at both Paris Roubaix and Public Relations in 2014.

• I see Froome is getting some sympathy, but not much else, so I think it's time to profess my Dirty Froome Love.

  The first time I saw Froome race was in the 2011 Vuelta when he did that storming TT that put him in the top 3. His subsequent experience in that race, having to wait for Wiggo, even though he was in red made my appreciation for him grow (particularly when Wiggo would do his stupid hill-getting-steeper, must-tuck-lower routine). Froome should have won that race.

  On the Tour in 2012 he won one stage, and should have had another 1 or 2, but again Wiggo's need to have his hand held on the steep stuff cost him.

  Finally in 2013 Froome was given his head. He took yellow in style, attacking earlier then he was supposed to. And then the next day, he clung on when Garmin decided they were going to fuck with everybody. He then won with style on Ventoux, accelerating away from Bertie, and then slowly dropping Quintana. He showed his class on the last mountain stage, having a go and attacking Quintana, even though he didn't have to. The one complaint made about Wiggo in 2012 was that he had no panache on the bike. Froome is the opposite; as far away from a trendy mop-top mod as you can get, but you can't accuse him of riding like a robot.

  Stage 2 on the Dauphine this year is a shining example. Left alone with 6km to go, he rode damn near everyone off his wheel, and not by slow strangulation. He jumped, decelerated, jumped again, and then just rode as hard as he could to the line.

  Yes, he does look like a spider humping a lightbulb, and his fascination with his stem is a bit puzzling. But he's making the most of his God-given physiology, no matter how unorthodox it might be.

  The race is going to be much poorer without him.

• @wiscot

  Video is good, but sometimes stills are better. Check these pictures out for what an epic stage just happened. Look at the faces. The one of Porte and Thomas is especially great.

  http://www.steephill.tv/2014/tour-de-france/photos/stage-05/

   

  Crikey. Look at the focus in Porte's eyes. "This is our/my big chance. C'mon G, let's fucking smash it!".

  I loved that stage. Anyone else see @Alex under the Malteni flag on the 2nd-to-last secteur?

• @LeoTea

  I see Froome is getting some sympathy, but not much else, so I think it's time to profess my Dirty Froome Love.

  The first time I saw Froome race was in the 2011 Vuelta when he did that storming TT that put him in the top 3. His subsequent experience in that race, having to wait for Wiggo, even though he was in red made my appreciation for him grow (particularly when Wiggo would do his stupid hill-getting-steeper, must-tuck-lower routine). Froome should have won that race.

  On the Tour in 2012 he won one stage, and should have had another 1 or 2, but again Wiggo's need to have his hand held on the steep stuff cost him.

  Finally in 2013 Froome was given his head. He took yellow in style, attacking earlier then he was supposed to. And then the next day, he clung on when Garmin decided they were going to fuck with everybody. He then won with style on Ventoux, accelerating away from Bertie, and then slowly dropping Quintana. He showed his class on the last mountain stage, having a go and attacking Quintana, even though he didn't have to. The one complaint made about Wiggo in 2012 was that he had no panache on the bike. Froome is the opposite; as far away from a trendy mop-top mod as you can get, but you can't accuse him of riding like a robot.

  Stage 2 on the Dauphine this year is a shining example. Left alone with 6km to go, he rode damn near everyone off his wheel, and not by slow strangulation. He jumped, decelerated, jumped again, and then just rode as hard as he could to the line.

  Yes, he does look like a spider humping a lightbulb, and his fascination with his stem is a bit puzzling. But he's making the most of his God-given physiology, no matter how unorthodox it might be.

  The race is going to be much poorer without him.

  Well put, I'm with you there.

• @LeoTea Great statement. As much as I get frustrated with how nice Froome can be, I have to admit I shed a tear when I saw him shake his head and step in to car.

• Fuckin' awesome! What a stage, 47kph average, 47!!, brilliant riding by the Astana squad, very impressed by Nibili so far, take that Vino!

• @frank

  @wiscot

  Dammit! Missed the last 10k but it sure was epic what I saw. Sad for Froome, but you know, I think there's a big difference between training on cobbles and racing on them. Most of the guys who did well today have raced on the stones. Not surprised at Nibali at all. Good all rounder in GTs and one day races. Known to be a great bike handler. He's also shown himself to be an aggressive and proactive racer - see stage 2 for evidence.

  I hate to bring up COTHO, but if he showed one thing in ALL his tours (and I'm including comeback ones) is that you need luck. Some you make, some you don't. Nibali had luck, Froome didn't.

  Agreed on Sky - now they're stage hunting - along with many other teams. All their eggs were in the GC basket.

  Should cobbles be in the Tour? Yes. Just as mountains, TTs, flat stages, lumpy stages should be. I want an all rounder to win, not some billy goat who limits his losses on the flat. Nibali is an all-rounder. Froome is not.

  Fabian's point was perfect yesterday; if you can't have cobbles, then why have climbs? Any one of those riders (cough! TJ cough!) who complains about it is dangerously close to emulating the Grimplette.

  But today Candelabra is saying the cobbles dont belong in the tour and it was dangerous, all because Schleck lost 8 minutes, and complained no one can pass on the narrow pave, sounds like sore loserspeak to me, how can he change his mind like that.

• What a shit sandwich that was out there today...wow!

  I still haven't seen the last half of the race and can't wait to catch up with it tonight.  However, I will say, that when it got ugly... and riders started going down... and the cobbles were looming... it certainly felt like a reckoning of sorts in which heart, skill and courage would trump watts.

  The Tour needs more of this.

  It will be interesting to see what Porte and Thomas can do together when the road goes up.

  Awesome stuff!

• @Chris

  Beauty!

• Holy Fuck, that was a stage. Geraint Thomas is such a stud. He dragged Porte up through about three groups. And Cancellara was on NBC sports afterward, charming, making sense, clean. That's a pro.

  I'd be under a blanket in the team bus, asleep.