Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de Suisse
The Tour de Suisse is the last warm-up race prior to the Tour, and the last chance to test your form. As far as Tour rivalries go, we typically see one rival choose the Dauphiné and one la Suisse; it’s unpleasant to ruffle your feathers too much with a pre-Tour head-to-head, you see.
While the Dauphiné has the benefit of previewing some of the Tour’s stages in a race situation, the Tour de Suisse has the benefit of including the only thing more sinister than cobbled bergs: a cobbled mountain pass. This road also holds the distinction of being the only one where I feel more sympathy for the road layers than I do the riders.
Aside from rivals and masochism, the key factors determining which race to ride have to do with the timing of the peak: this race features a full week later in the calendar than does the Dauphiné, and based on the Tour’s parcours and rhythm of the rider’s season, this race may have better timing. But in any case, as with the Critérium, the effort is a dangerous gamble: ride too hard and you could fire off the Guns enter the Tour with little more than starter pistols. Balance, balance.
So, as the Dauphiné winds down, it’s time to start thinking about Suisse, our last VSP before le Tour. Get your picks in by 5am Pacific on Saturday morning. Same drill as usual: Being a week-long stage race, the points on offer are 7 for first, 5 for second, 4 for third, 3 for fourth, 2 for fifth, with the usual allotment of bonus points for getting the rider right but the place wrong. Also, there are no rest days, so no rest day swaps, but we will have our usual approach for riders who drop out. Piti Principle applies as always. Also review the guide, being careful to note that the rules have changed a bit this year, and we may not have completely updated the guide yet, so if there’s a question, ask.
May Merckx be with you all.
@frank, @RedRanger
I don’t like their mtb gruppos, but I know a lot of dudes love their road gruppos (is it gruppos or gruppe?) I’ll stick with my Campy, thanks.
Chapeau to the young Dutchman Kruijswijk today, and very sorry to hear about Soler. Does anyone else think Levi could’ve gotten a little more time back on Cunego if he’d gone a little sooner? I mean Il Piccolo Principe looked fine today, but other than one attack, he didn’t really fire the guns. And what’s up with Frankie? No stones… I guess everyone’s saving it for July.
Tomorrow’s it, if no one attacks it’s Cunego’s race.
@RedRanger
(snicker)
You funny guy, RR.
Too bad u mention something techy I have OPINIONS (insert usual “my opinion only” disclaimer here) about, to detriment of all I will now WRITE. BWAHAHAHAHAHA!
Got a couplea friends work directly for Shimano; been a few SRAM products that’ve fit me like a glove for some reason; man do I get an earful when they show up on my ride.
I don’t pay attention to advertising, guess I don’t spend much time reading about riding… other than couple of BB’s/Blogs w/no advertising. See what ppl are using, ask about it, try it. So I’m not brainwashed. I don’t think.
Heard plenty of crap about crappiness of SRAM, I got no reason to dispute ‘coz my personal sample pool is tiny.
What I DO like: they think in a different box (sometimes moreso, sometimes less) than Reigning Component Co.s.
They TRY shit. Sometimes it works, sometimes it don’t. That’s good for us all (the trying diff things part, that is). Which I guess would be my main point.
If you rode mtb back in the day, remember Gripshift? Early versions sucked. After they tuned it up, vs. other top of line stuff of the day, I loved it. For some reason it fit my brain. Never had any particular problems with it; worked spot on for me. Now, of course, it would be like rocks and sticks.
Currently have 2009 Force, except Dura Ace calipers, cog set. Dunno what it is, I like what lotsa ppl hate about the levers’ shifting action. It’s… organic. (yeah, that means inexact, if u don’t like it!). Took a couplea rides, but then it slid into some spot in my brain that it connects with, better than equiv. equipment of Reiging Component Co.s.
I hope this is not too tangential to the current conversation, as the door was opened by RR.
I enjoy letting the ppls know about things that have worked, for their own digestion.
I thought talking RE. myself was relevant since my opinion is based on my experience.
Et finis.
it seems more than serious for Soler..
“Affected by crashes on several occasions during his pro career, Team Movistar’s Maurico Soler has once again experienced bad luck and has crashed out of the Tour de Suisse.
”
Now in english language from VeloNation
PS: He now has been subjected to an artificial coma…friggin’ bad luck …
Soler’s Crash(ed) Link
@Alpin
Man that’s bad news… I like Soler, he’s a scrapper, and he’s had more than his fair share of bad luck. Plus I’m partial to big guys that can climb, too…
Frank: As much as I would love to have 4 points, I should only have one point. I am getting three points for having A Schleck in 4th place (it’s misreading him as Frank).
@Alpin
This is not good. Skull fx with reported cerebral edema. Even if he recovers, looking at having some mTBI. Rough year for cycling so far. Prayers to him and his family.
@Buck Rogers
It was a news article on some site. I can only get the last hour or so live, IF I have the time.
And it is way more serious than I thought. I feel bad about commenting with a joke.
@Buck Rogers
Yes to all that. Bummed for Soler and his family.
Here’s the latest on Soler. Dear God. Prayers and positive vibes going his way.
@Netraam
Don’t beat yourself up. Light a candle and/or do whatever else to send him good sensations, then get on your bike.
Shit like this should put our individual gripes about wheel-sucking MAMIL’s, nod-snobs, component preferences etc., etc., etc. in perspective.
@Buck Rogers
Right you are. Corrected. In the future, you can dispute them automatically (without needing to post a comment) by clicking the down-arrow next to your pick and clicking “dispute”.
@frank @all
I LOVE Campagnolo and DA works impeccabley but come on, SRAM Red (and even Force) is lighter and cost half as much.
And it’s ‘Mericun. That’s one of the other things I like about my new bike – I think the only thing on it that is made in Taiwan are the water bottle cages. Oh, I forgot, I guess I have a DA chain/cassette now.
last news on Juan Maurico Soler’s Crash …
(approximative translation)
Juan Mauricio Soler (Movistar), who struck a spectator on Thursday, was placed in an artificial coma. Doctors do not yet know if his life is in danger.
Juan Mauricio Soler has been placed in a medically induced coma Thursday for surgery to a fractured skull after his fall at the sixth stage of the Tour de Suisse. The Colombian, who hit a spectator in the beginning of the course, had lost consciousness, a broken ankle and head bloodied. The spectator is suffering from “minor injuries”, according to doctors.
Soler, who was second overall, was transported by helicopter to hospital where doctors also diagnosed him with a skull fracture hematoma to the brain, and placed him on life support because of an affected lung. “He has serious injuries, but we can not say now if his life is in danger,” said Dr. Robert Kretsch.
news 1
news 2
Isn’t Sram getting a bit stale? Since they bought out their road group the only thing they’ve changed has been renaming it RedBlack or putting tour colours on the shifters. In that time, Campy’s gone to 11, Shimano’s revamped their shifter shape, plus bought out electric, plus introduced asymetric chains, blah blah blah. Is this accurate or am I getting it wrong? It is cheaper than Dura Ace but not so much here I think.
(Americans, flame on – there’s a lot of Sram lovers in the US)
Are DA components made in Japan? Don’t know about drivetrain, but I thought that was the reason for price premium.
Plus there was Sram’s response to DI2, which was to try and use viral marketing to boost the organic feel of cables, make old school cool, etc…
“Steel is real, and cables are stable”, eh?
Yeah, I think it failed because the marketing concept was leaked and got a predictable backlash against perceived lack of innovation. That was a while ago now as well, around 12 months (waiting for Bretto or Oli to chime in.) And it wasn’t a good marketing match – early adaptors and weight weenies love Sram, crusty old soap dodgers on 30 year old steel bikes with down tube shifters and spd sandals snagging their beards are the ones who think the cables for their 5 speeds are a new innovation worth trying out. Not the best marketing concept ever.
@Cyclops
How about that frame?
@minion
http://weightweenies.starbike.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=81977&hilit=sram+marketing+electronic Google search to prove I’m not crazy.
@Cyclops
The Taiwanese et al make good sh-t these days. Asian manufacturing standards (as a mass generalisation of a continent) are superior to just about anywhere else. But good news for you Cycey is that a lot more stuff is going to start getting manufactured back in the US of A over the next few decades… Coz your cost of labor is gonna go right down along with the Greenback.
Does it warm the cockles of your heart to ride a Look frame manufactured in Tunisia?
@Marcus
Brutal! (True, but brutal all the same.)
@Marcus
@sgt
Cycling is such an international sport(one thing I really like about it) I don’t get how people can get caught up in national boundaries, even when it comes to equipment. I never even consider nationality when I am rooting for a rider or looks and a sweet ass bike. Thats just my take on it though.
@frank
Got it. Thanks.
@RedRanger
Yep.
@minion
@RedRanger
@sgt
Marketing bloopers; where it was made unless there’s something specific with factory somewhere; ‘stale’ – that’s the kind of stuff i was talking about that means next to nothing to me when it comes to putting stuff on my bike, and my current choice of SRAM.
10 was de riguer, I sure as hell can’t afford anything BUT cables or to run out and buy the next hottest thing… SRAM Force levers/DR’s were my choice because they were a great fit /feel for ME; i can shift in the drops outta saddle mid 35mph (i’m tired, u do the math)pack sprint and it hits every time.
everything else they make could be shit for all i care, dznt affect what i have. if since i shopped it, xyz happened in the company and they’ve lost creativity/marketing ability, whatever. when i break what i’ve got, then being behind the tech curve may be a deal breaker. now, i’m lovin’ what i got!
The Spanish feed is up. Looks like Andy is trying to bride a gap at the moment.
Now were talking!!! A Schleck firing one across the bow before the tour.
Andy in green on Sunday? not bad considering. good one on De Gendt.
The Spanish commentators are going on about how Cunego should be getting an extra second for the gap he put on Levi at the end.
I like my Tunisian-made LOOK. I do not like SRAM Force. I do like Campagnolo Centaur 2009/2007 gruppos. I do like 1991 Campa Record. I do like 2005 Shimano 105.
I don’t care where things are from; I do care that when I have the $ for some sweet as gear and get it and it works well for me. That’s awesomeness.
*I do also care about my enviro-footprint with my cycling habit. I don’t own a car and consume petrol, which is a plus, but I do get stuff shipped from the UK all the time and I know bicycle manufacturing isn’t so nice on Mother Earth. I like to think I’m doing okay, but still, I could get better for sure.
And great racing today.
I think I would like to name my son, if I have one, Laurens ten Dam. Boss hair, cool name.
@minion
At my local coffee shop the other day, and was having this conversation with the proprietor who used to build bikes, was a national team mechanic, and connected with Cervelo for some time. His strong preference was Shimano (across the spectrum) as the best value and quality at the going prices.
SRAM’s great on mountain bikes, but they’re still behind the curve on the road stuff. The stuff is good, but there’s a reason it’s cheaper, too.
@Steampunk
On some level, I definitely agree. Especially mid-range Shimano is bomber stuff. I have 8-speed 105 that I bought 20 years ago that has seen nothing but new cables, chains and cassettes and it still works perfectly.
I’d also like to remind everyone that SRAM is not cheap – at least not SRAM Red. Before Campa went 11spd and Shimano went to their latest, SRAM was the most expensive group by several hundred bux.
In the end, I prefer Campa not only because I love the looks, but it’s the most quiet – at least the 10spd is (I’m not upgrading to 11spd – more isn’t always better, and I hear it’s much noisier…and I just don’t like the looks of the new levers.)
The Principle of Silence is more than just pleasant and peaceful, it also means you have an efficient machine. Every bit of noise – especially drivetrain noise – is lost energy because it takes energy to create the noise, and that’s energy not going into making your bike move forward.
This becomes particularly acute when I’m pedaling squares up a big hill and my drivetrain is tic-tic-tic-ing. Obviously it’s the lost energy in the noise, and not my form that’s the issue there.
A change in the overall as Bulky Mollema dropped down to fifth. G’Phant takes the lead. What will the ITT bring tomorrow? Certainly not a Grimpelder on the top step.
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Wow, tied for high points. Sadly though, Frank is surely right about Schleck and the ITT, I see Levi Leipfrogging him into at least third and maybe second… and my lucky seven turning back into a 2….
@frank
Check the stats. Mollema is in there twice. Stevo is the one who is second.
@LA Dave
Under the circumstances, I’m looking pretty good. I’ve got Schleck for fourth and Mollema for fifth. If Fuglsang is light’s out and jumps to second, I could be in the money. And if Klöden wins by, like, 40 minutes, that would be magic. It does mean I need Kruijswijk and/or Eggtimer to have an off-day…
@Netraam
Right you are. Corrected. That’s the second time that’s happened where I could swear the results show something different than I put in there. Don’t know if it’s user error or a bug, but either way it points at me. Bugger.
Balky Mulema is pissed that Leopard Trek hit the gas when he flatted with 15 km to go in today’s stage. (Link for Frank)
@Steampunk
I can easily see things working out in your favor… well except for the Kloden part. Wish it would happen though, I had him winning as well, I could use the points!
@xyxax
I can understand he is pissed, but he’s mistaking Leopard Trek and Saxo Bank because of the Schlecks. And a whole different thing is at stake here.
This is true.
I was back in London a couple of weeks ago and went for a ride on the bike I leave there, with 10sp Veloce, and the second thing I noticed was how much quieter it was than my 11sp SR.
The first thing I noticed was that however bling and fast and beautiful my Ridley is, getting onto a custom-built steel bike is like putting on pyjamas that have been warmed on the radiator.
Frank, are you talking about the 2009-forward levers, the kind of swept back ones? I agree that they don’t look as nice as others, but I do have to say that they are a functional bonus for dudes with smaller hands, like me. I find them easier to reach than my other Campagnolo levers.
And yeah, Shimano 105 stuff lives on. I used it on my second-hand Cannondale for around seven years, tons of kms, recabled it once I think, and zero issues.
ChrisO – I hear ya on the feel of well-done, well-fitting steel. In February and March I was traveling for eight weeks, no cycling. When I got back I saw my carbon LOOK and my steel Casati hanging on the wall. Grabbed the Casati and the entire ride I just kept on smiling because the bike rode and handled so nicely.
Andy Schleck’s time trial is HORRIBLE. Is he trying to hide something before he starts the tour?
Van Garderen had a mechanical problem. Too bad.
Great ride by Levi… and quite a tank by Cunego….
Nice time trial by Levi Leipheimer.
Great ride for Fuglsang as well…nearly got a podium.
Tough day for Cunego, but the win couldn’t have gone to a nicer guy. Congrats to Levi!
My powers of prediction couldn’t have been poorer for this race.
This was a pretty unpredictable tour.