Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de France 2017
As many of you know, I write a monthly column for Cyclist Magazine where I answer Dear Abby-esque questions, and the most recent query pertained to whether I consider the Tour the best race of the year, or whether it’s an over-publicized circus. The question made me realize something about myself: I have a weariness around the Tour de France not unlike a romantic whose heart has been broken one too many times.
The fact is, as much as I prefer a race like Paris-Roubaix or the Giro d’Italia to the mid-summer shit show that is the Tour de France, nothing gets my anticipation going quite the way the Tour does, which is undeniably the pinnacle of the season; all the classifications and stages are prestigious enough that racers of all sorts are all arriving at the start in peak form. There is a promise of hard racing from day one, but the first week consists mostly of me worrying about the big favorites crashing out. As soon as we get through that mess, my heart is usually broken on the first day in the mountains, when the favorite takes a decisive lead and the rest of the race is most about stages than the GC.
At least, these are the dreads of a man who lived through the Indurain and Armstrong eras of racing.
Nevertheless, the Tour always manages to seduce me, and this year is no different. Maybe this year, she won’t be such a cruel lover. And, maybe this year, I won’t make horrible picks in the VSP. Just maybe, just maybe. You know the drill; get your picks in by the time the clock goes to zero, and you get some swap options on the rest day. Good luck!
[vsp_results id=”104413″/]
@ChrisO
relieved not to crash?
@Cary
For most it’s the way he skated through Puerto under full protection of the Spanish Federation – http://www.velominati.com/racing/how-the-mighty-fall/ and has since seemed to get better & better despite advancing years…
@Cary
Hmmm, link didn’t work. http://www.velominati.com/racing/how-the-mighty-fall/
@Mikael Liddy
very interesting. i had noticed that some riders seemingly skate through untouched, while others are hammered. i have been quite unaware Spain’s national federation had behaved this way.
@Cary
Sorry, just seeing this.
It is the completely unrepentant doper who is obviously still on the sauce and doesn’t bother really hiding his past or showing any concern or shame about it. Not to mention the way he attacked like FUCK Cuddles flat that cost Cuddles the Vuelta and gave Malmerde the victory.
The guy has no class or integrity or honour and is everything that is wrong with the sport and everything that the sport is trying to cleanse itself of and get ride of.
For our TdF excursion we had what I believe was an official TdF Photo bike. He’s a few of the pics he took as the TdF went through. Either side of this wee storm it was a nice day.
@RobSandy
Exactly. The ITV interviewer grabbed him on the turbo and asked was he happy to get through and Porte just couldn’t have agreed any harder.
@ChrisO
He was probably also relieved that he won’t have the pressure of being anywhere close to leading the race. He gave away The Tour in the first stage.
@Rick
He’s let quite a big time gap open to Froome already which he’s going to have to work hard to close. 30 odd seconds is never trivial.
I’m not surprised any of the other main contenders didn’t finish closer to the top of the stage rankings, but I’m surprised that none of them were any closer to Froome – didn’t a lot of these guys beat Froome in a TT in the Dauphine?
@RobSandy
Sky are winning because they used very cheaty skinsuits on Stage 1. Or so some FDJ aligned French boffin has alleged.
@chris
@Rick
The facts have never got in the way of a Frenchman stood at the side of the road with a cup of piss.
@chris
Touche.
Changing the subject, anyone know why Kwiatkowski was wearing black while the rest of Sky are wearing white? Is that some sort of cheat too?
@RobSandy
If you are referring to stage 2, I thought he was wearing a black rain jacket. I don’t recall whether he was wearing black during the ITT.
@Rick
I’d also assumed it was a Gabba type rain jacket.
@chris
I believe that Phil mentioned that he was wearing a black rain jacket.
@Rick
I am convinced that he was wearing what looked exactly like a black version of the jersey that the other riders were wearing. I noticed a different Sky rider wearing a black gillet with the white sleeves of the jersey sticking out, but I’m sure Kwiatkowski was all in black.
Now, of course, I can’t find any photos to back up my claim.
@Rick
This is the best I can do – that’s Kwiat just ahead of Froome. Looks to me like a normal jersey but in black. Also noticed he was wearing a different helmet.
@RobSandy
Good find. I thought it was a black rain jacket but not sure. Perhaps he forgot to get his white jersey in the laundry?
@Rick
Not convinced. It doesn’t seem to have the new Sky Castelli horizontal line motif seen on the Aero Race jersey but does seem to have the relatively thick horizontal black pocket trim across the tops of the pockets of the Gabba 3.
I think being the club kit secretary has turned me into a bit of a spotter…
@chris
Nice find. That makes sense as I believe that riders who are not in approved kit are fined. Latitude is given for rain gear in bad weather.
Not that it matters but I saw a podium photo of Sky for the top team presentation. Eight were wearing white while the only non conformist was wearing yellow.
Sagan unclips and STILL wins. what an animal!
@Cary
Not the first time. Believe 2015 WC championships saw a similar Saganical (i coined that word back then but never made it to the Lexicon)
Sagan is a phenomenal rider but he looks like a fucking clown.
In the name of all that is holy… what was he wearing around his neck. Pink ski goggles? The cap looked stupid enough with his hair doing a comic turn, he really didn’t need to accessorize it.
Sorry but I just can’t feel the love, however many bike races he wins.
@ChrisO
The goggles that he wore on the podium were not worn during the stage. He was wearing traditional black framed shades when he crossed the finish line. He may well have been wearing pink ski goggles on the podium. I am 100% sure that this was sponsor mandated as they were plastered with the company logo. I would also be willing to bet that the podium hat was sponsor ordered as well.
It is hard to argue that he sometimes looks like a clown. Below is a photo of him at the UCI awards last year. I find him refreshing and entertaining and am willing to let Peter be Peter. I think he is the best ambassador for the sport in decades.
@RobSandy
The Dauphine TT was bone dry, having listened to some of the post stage punditry it’s pretty clear that some riders had “better” conditions on Saturday than others (e.g. it was apparently pissing down when Tony Martin was on course compared to Thomas).
Porte was pretty open about the fact that, having watched Roche bin it from the front seat of the support car, he was much happier to get around in a relatively good time as long as it meant being in 1 piece. Certainly a better chance of winning from 30s back than a hospital bed. Anyone wanting a closer look at the implications of taking a few risks on Stage 1 should watch Orica Scott’s BSP from stage 2 & Durbridge’s comments about why they bothered pushing for a top 5 on the day when he’s now no use to anyone…
@Rick
This is a great discussion.
I had thought Kwiatkowski, being a Classics rider and all that, was too much of a Hardman to need an extra layer just because of a bit of rain in Belgium in July.
Gone down in my estimations.
@RobSandy
Stage 1 was a huge disappointment. You know, I can look back to Lars Boom winning the cobbled stage 5 in nasty weather in ’14 and Nibali gaining time and Froome crashing out and I can really respect that stage. Racing in rain and tough conditions ? That’s cool.
But this stage 1 TT was just plain stupid stage in the rain. Watching the stage early I had to think WTF as Bohini hit the turns, seemed like all of them littered with road paint, at a crawl. This Orica cat here shoots for a top five and blammo… outa the race. Any guesses what Valverde may have been thinking when he hit it ? And now blammo… outa the race and likely the season. Porte wants to save his hide so in essence, he gives up 30 sec’s to do so. It was just a crummy way to start this year’s TdF.
I could imagine having wanted to simply jump on a road bike with big squishy 28’s and cruising around the course.
This stage did add to my respect of Chris Froome. And Team Sky. Had to have been the jerseys right? Right…
Yesterday’s final km was sure fun to watch btw.
Cheers all
BTW: I meant to post that on the other thread with the backstage pass…
@Randy C
Not sure what your beef is! It’s not like they planned it to be wet, just a typical, short Grand Tour prologue.
A chance for one of the strong testers to wear yellow and for small time gaps to open up between then main contenders to encourage them to race.
In challenging conditions, its the riders who master them best who get the rewards, see Chris Froome and Geraint Thomas. The others had better be prepared to attack to take the time back.
@RobSandy
I agree, the race is about being the best bike rider. That includes riding in difficult conditions. Chapeau to Team Sky riders and their vortex manipulators. My VSP pick gave away the race in stage one by being cautious.
@RobSandy
I agree as well. When you race the bike, you race in all conditions and the conditions are usually the same for everyone, even in a TT. The only ones who crashed hard were the ones knowingly pushing the limits to try to take a few extra seconds. You have to race with the head as well as the legs to be a good racer.
And what the fuck was Malmerde doing anyways? He was supposed to support Quintana at this tour, which he stated that he whole-heartedly would, and yet he goes out 110% on a fuckingly known wet and crazy course and just tries to kill it for himself? He should have doubly been careful knowing that he was a supporter for Quintana’s GC ambitions. What an ass but totally keeping with his lack of character.
@Buck Rogers
To do him some credit (which I’m sure you wont agree with) he was riding hard to try and do the Movistar double-threat of having Valverde and Quintana both as GC contenders.
But everyone else rode that corner and 1 rider crashed there. That’s not dangerous conditions, that’s someone overcooking it.
What are the organisers going to say? “Sorry lads, bit wet out, everyone take it easy”. We don’t want that.
Fuck! Sagan just took Cav out badly! Curious as to how badly they punish him?
@Buck Rogers
Yes, I am a big Sagan fan but that was unacceptable.
@Rick
Yup. I have always loved Sagan but that was really bad. Relegated to last on the stage for sure, I wonder if anything other punishment?
@Buck Rogers
Shit, they are describing it on live text. Sounds like Cav has done a collarbone, tour over?
What about G? Anyone else get taken out in either crash?
The more racing I do, the more pro bunch sprints shit me up.
@RobSandy
Thomas and Froome looked fine across the line.
@Buck Rogers
Fuck Sagan. That was unacceptable. He put Cav into the barriers with an elbow. I don’t want to hear any bullshit about “Oh, I had to or I was going to crash myself” – Sagan is probably the best bike handler in the peloton. He should be thrown out of the race – but they won’t because he’s good for ratings and world champ.
@wiscot
Exactly what I was thinking and it makes me cringe to think it. They will not throw him out b/c he is WAYYYYY to popular but man, that was pretty vicious. Cav was questionably trying to get throw an opening that was closing but Sagan just fucked him straight into the barriers. No excuse.
Via Twitter:
Selon @BorjaCuadrado, la Dimension Data demande l’expulsion du Tour de France de Peter Sagan, pour son geste sur Cavendish. #TDF2017
@Rick
“RT @SophieSmith86: Roger Hammond and Rolf Aldag remonstrating with judges after Cavendish crash. Hammond calling for Sagan to go home. #tdf…”
@wiscot
From the overhead Sagan had a lot of space to his left so there’s no way he can try to use that as an excuse.
Cycling News are saying there was some sort of tiff going on between Sagan and Greipel over Sagan being a twat in the intermediate sprint.
Disqualification, relegation or a haircut and a ban on trucker caps?
Cav was actually in front of Sagan so no way he didn’t know he was there. It wasn’t Sagan’s space.
But the other thing to look at in that finish is Demare. He comes three metres to his left in the last 10-20 and nearly takes Bouhanni out as well, who just manages to check and avoid Demare’s rear wheel.
But of course they aren’t going to DQ the first French sprint winner in more than 10 years.
Funny that French TV hasn’t shown the usual overhead shots.
@ChrisO
You mean the same Demare that climbed into the backseat of his team car to get up the Cipressa when he “won” MSR in ’16??? Nah, no one would ever question him.
@chris
All three???
@RobSandy
Thomas did go down in the earlier crash but looked like he scrubbed a lot of speed before going over the debris of the crash. Could not spot whether Froome went down or just got held up.