Favorites ascending. Photo: Gruber Images.
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!
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View Comments
@Rick
@Rick
WHY did the others not force Froome to do all the work to the finish? They had nothing to gain by chasing down Bardet. That was Froome's chase to make to keep yellow from Bardet.
@VbyV
Maybe they were all just racing Bardet for second place?
@VbyV
Just to be devil's advocate here, a crash is a crash, a puncture is a puncture. Neither can be predicted or avoided - if they could be, they wouldn't happen. But a mechanical? Some might argue that a well set-up bike should function fine barring a situation such as a rear mech getting dinged in a crash (like what happened to Duran Duran) As bikes get more and more technologically advanced, and therefore more susceptible to malfunction, at what point (as I said barring a Uran situ) does a mechanical malfunction qualify a rider to call or expect a ceasefire? Surely it behooves a team to send out their riders on the most reliable equipment just as they send them out properly nourished and rested. Would it be acceptable for a rider to declare "I didn't sleep last night" or I've got the shits this morning, so if you'd all take it easy until I feel better, I'd appreciate it."
As I say, just being the devil's advocate here, but as I've said before, you can't run a race along the lines of "if everyone is feeling top-notch, let's race, otherwise, let's take it easy."
@VbyV
Because save Aru, they were all going for the stage win. Also, all Froome had to do was shadow Aru. The only thing on offer for Froome were bonus seconds and they were only really important if Aru got them and Froome got none.
Somethings gone amuck with the rest day swaps code. I'll see if I can get them working in time, but worst case is that no one swaps, which is not a terrible worst case...
@wiscot
I think there was the possibility of an interesting conundrum arising yesterday. I find it a bit fishy that Aru attacked as Froome put his hand up. As Simon Yates said 'bullshit'. I bit of a ceasefire in that sort of race while someone changes a bit is reasonable, I think. Didn't make it easier for Froome as he had to ride back up to the favourites knowing full well someone would hit it as soon as he made contact.
However, when Bardet was out the front, the chasing group contained Uran who was having his own mechanical. Would the group riding away from Uran to catch Bardet be considered unsporting, when the alternative would be to let Bardet escape, taking the stage win and potentially moving up on GC?
@frank
This is obviously the Will of the Velominati Gods!
Merckx himself must have visited the site, saw the "Rest Day Swap" bullshit and decreed that it must stop now!
(either that or there is a glitch in the matrix???)
@Buck Rogers
A-Merckx, brother.
@VbyV
I thought the same thing. Primarily as a result of Froome's abuse of power in last year's Tour. When three or four Sky riders crashed and Movistar stepped on the gas. At that precise moment Froome decided he needed to take a potty break. Cancellara rode up to Movistar and told them to ease off, which they reluctantly did.
In yesterday's stage Froome had a so far unnamed mechanical at another critical juncture. When Aru slowed it took some time for the Sky train to catch back up. If it took them a kilometer to get back that shortened the roughly 9 kilometer climb by 11%. This in a race that is annually decided by far less than 1% of total riding time. Neutralizing the group for a significant portion of a difficult climb would yield great benefits to the leader.
Is it a coincidence that these things happen at crucial times or another way to reap marginal gains?
Post Script: I am not accusing anyone of anything, just wondering about their timing.
@VbyV
I'd suggest there is a huge difference between dinging someone on a climb vs dinging someone at 60 kph in a sprint finish. Where are the shouts for Quintana to be DQd for apparently dinging Contador in one of his 2 offs? Are you going to DQ everyone who has a minor contact in the peleton? Where do you draw the line? It's not a contact sport but some contact is pretty much inevitable so the question, I suggest, is whether there was danger involved. Note Sagan was apparently DQd for the second of 2 contacts in that run in. The first was pretty dumb IMHO to try to slice between two members of the same team which was the cause of the crash that also brought Thomas down. I missed the Froome incident but would suggest that in such an incident the worst penalty would be a time penalty for unsportsmanlike behaviour, if warranted.
Re Froome and critical point on the climb, I'd suggest that that point only became critical post whatever was Froome's issue and then Aru's attack. As I remember it, wasn't Sky sitting at the head of the group up to that point?
Just trying to present a balanced view here.