# Stage 10 **SPOILER**



## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

Profile here
http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/96th-tour-de-france-gt/stages/stage-11

I cycled through the vCreuse region once and it was torture. A non-stop series of small sharp climbs and virtually no flat bits. I found it very hard but the pros will probably zip up them at 24mph!
Maybe a coming together for a bunch sprint today?


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## dan_bo (14 Jul 2009)

Looks like death by a thousand cuts to me!


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

rich p said:


> I cycled through the vCreuse region once and it was torture. A non-stop series of small sharp climbs and virtually no flat bits.



You ain't wrong, it's my cycling playground! Just south of there, the Haute Vienne has some really lovely climbs; through the woods at tolerable gradients. 

Imo, it will be a sprinters day. Whilst from Limoges up to around Aigurande (120km ish) is bumpy, it shouldn't really trouble the pros. And it's pretty much downhill from there. It's a possible breakaway day but they'd have to go early, have at least 5 and be prepared to work very hard. I don't see it myself. The run into Issoudun is flat flat flat so tailor made for sprinters. If Cavendish is rested after the Pyranees then he has to be looking to take the green jersey back.


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## Flying_Monkey (14 Jul 2009)

He might be, but Thor has been dissing Columbia and saying they aren't strong enough to control the race. He reckons he will keep riding for intermediate points and Cav will not get the jersey back. And whatever Cav says, he wants it back, so he might have to start contesting those intermediates or hoping a breakaway without Hushovd happens.


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## marinyork (14 Jul 2009)

Thor did pick up quite a few points on the intermediate sprints the other day. This one got a slightly downhill finish?


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## Chuffy (14 Jul 2009)

I wonder what impact the radio ban will have? Probably not much if it's flat.


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## dellzeqq (14 Jul 2009)

Chuffy said:


> I wonder what impact the radio ban will have? Probably not much if it's flat.


Radio ban? I've missed that entirely...
(whoops - just seen thread...)


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## Noodley (14 Jul 2009)

There's a thread about it....(whoops, just seen that you've seen the thread!)

....I reckon Cav will get today's win, but would quite like to see Romain Feillu make it on Bastille Day.


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## Crackle (14 Jul 2009)

I'm going for the long early breakaway, especialy without radio for insruction. My only doubt is the long flat run-in and the fact people might be nervously covering everything without the radio for instruction but then again they are pro racers capable of making their own decisions.


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

Flying_Monkey said:


> And whatever Cav says, he wants it back, so he might have to start contesting those intermediates or hoping a breakaway without Hushovd happens.



This, in all honesty, was one of my biggest doubts for Cavendish taking the green jersey - he looked to be relying on stage wins. I asked the question (here? I think) whether the green jersey had ever been won on stage wins alone, because I really don't know. But I would doubt it.

It will certainly be interesting to see if Hushovd goes for the points in today's intermediates, because Cavendish wont and that's for sure. Not today. There's 18 points on offer, Hushovd has 11 on Cavendish at the moment, so he could potentially have 29 before today's finish. It certainly would put the pressure on!

Columbia have the best lead out going, it's almost infallible. If Cavendish and lead out are there and working come the 5km mark then he has to be odds on to take it and the 35 points (if it's deemed flat today, and the finish definitely is!)

That's if it goes to plan, a successful breakaway (and this stage probably appeals to many riders, particular French riders on Bastille Day!) could see that all go out of the window.

As much as I rate Cavendish, I have always thought that this year is too soon to talk about him taking the green jersey. He needs to have more to his game.


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## marinyork (14 Jul 2009)

If Hushovd were to take the most out of the intermediate sprints he'd only need to be 9th in a sprint at the end to take the same number of points from the stage. 9th!


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## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

I know that the green jersey is iconic but I think Cav is correct in placing stage wins above it at this moment in his career. 
When Cav dropped out last year he had won 4 stages to Freire's zero but Freire was well ahead of him in points at the time. Much of the time the sprint points are uncontested by a group of breakaways or won by a bloke who happens to be there. They are rarely fought over by the best sprinters whereas the bunch finishes are. The points (not sprint) jersey is a bit of a sideshow compared with winning stages IMHO.


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

I'd love to see a breakdown of where the points came from in the previous green jersey wins.


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## dellzeqq (14 Jul 2009)

rich p said:


> I know that the green jersey is iconic but I think Cav is correct in placing stage wins above it at this moment in his career.


not least because they're a decent source of income for his team.


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

Snippet from another forum...



> The 14 teams who were opposed to the banning of radios for today's stage have told their riders not to race today.



Possible I guess, difficult to say at the moment, but I can't see the sprinters not going for a win.


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## alecstilleyedye (14 Jul 2009)

i reckon team colombia hsc will let the breakaway mop up all the sprint points before they decide to reel them in.


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

They're passing through my neck of the woods now.

I reckon you're right alecs... makes sense.

Edit: it's odd seeing the roads you know well on the tele!


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## Haitch (14 Jul 2009)

Milram team leader Gerrie van Gerwen has just said on Dutch radio that the race is being kept "deliberately dull" because the riders can't listen to their MP3s.


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## johnnyh (14 Jul 2009)

Hahaha the snails, so funny


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## RabbitFood (14 Jul 2009)

Did you see one of the lead riders in the break away stop and smooth his missis great fun


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

johnnyh said:


> Hahaha the snails, so funny



I was hoping they wouldn't get splatted!


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

A bit of local knowledge; the next bit of road (to Le Chatre) is incredibly boring! A long straight roller coaster of a road... I avoid it like the plague because it's usually quite busy with trucks, etc but more that it's just thoroughly unpleasant and tedious to ride.

The town they've just gone through, Crevant, has a potato fair every year. I've never been. It sadly always seems to clash with a prior engagement....


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## johnnyh (14 Jul 2009)

yello said:


> I was hoping they wouldn't get splatted!



haha was the most tense part of the day!


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

Breakaway at 1'42" with 45km to go... no way will they stay away.


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

The DS of AG2R just interviewed, teams were on a go slow as a protest but they will be sprinting. Talk of allowing only 2 riders to have radios for the next 'radioless' stage. If that's so, who'll be the lucky recipients in Astana! 

Still, nice to know there's a reason for such a dull stage!!


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## dtp (14 Jul 2009)

Surely Ignatiev is going to get slammed after todays performance?


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

No, he's hardly contributing is he?


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## dtp (14 Jul 2009)

I meant by the rest of the break away. 

unless you're taking the piss & i'm being thick, in which case, ha!


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

Yes, I know what you meant! He's not contributing to the breakaway.


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## dtp (14 Jul 2009)

*Sigh* Need to increase my sarcasm spotting skills...

Even though it never looked like it would be particularly effective I'd be pretty angry if I was in the front bunch.


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## alecstilleyedye (14 Jul 2009)

yello said:


> Yes, I know what you meant! He's not contributing to the breakaway.



if in the unlikely event that the break succeeds and he nips it on the line, he'll be as popular in france as a fart in a spacesuit…


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

alecstilleyedye said:


> if in the unlikely event that the break succeeds and he nips it on the line, he'll be as popular in france as a fart in a spacesuit…



VERY unlikely!

Peleton starting to close in.


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## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

27 secs. It should come back despite Ignatiev deciding to ride


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

We should have a decent finish here! All the teams are there!!

Ladies & gentlemen, place your bets!


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## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

Cav with the French riders guillotining Ignatiev!


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## RabbitFood (14 Jul 2009)

watching the main pack close in on them 4 up front is amazing, must sounds like a stampeed behind the poor souls


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

gonna be Cavendish!


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

Cav takes it! but Hushovd 2nd hangs on to green


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## RabbitFood (14 Jul 2009)

cav won that easy


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## zimzum42 (14 Jul 2009)

Cav, too cool, cleaning his specs as he wins!


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## kennykool (14 Jul 2009)

Gonna be fiorst chance for all the Big boys to sprint against cav

I'm going for Big Tom Boonen


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## zimzum42 (14 Jul 2009)

Was that Ignatiev who fell?

fair dos if it was.....


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## kennykool (14 Jul 2009)

Ach well Cav it is - well done

I'm watching text online - Was Tom Boonene even at in the running? Anyone?


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## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

kennykool said:


> Gonna be fiorst chance for all the Big boys to sprint against cav
> 
> I'm going for Big Tom Boonen



It's finished Kenny!

Sorry, mate, online is a bit slower


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## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

zimzum42 said:


> Was that Ignatiev who fell?
> 
> fair dos if it was.....



Let's hope so!


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

kennykool said:


> Was Tom Boonene even at in the running? Anyone?



Nope.


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## kennykool (14 Jul 2009)

Cheers Rich - Like I said I was watching it via live TEXT on Letour.fr website so I was a bit behind


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## kennykool (14 Jul 2009)

yello said:


> Nope.




Boonen is finished now I think


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## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

kennykool said:


> Cheers Rich - Like I said I was watching it via live TEXT on Letour.fr website so I was a bit behind



You've got to see the Ventoux stage live, Kenny, in case your best boy comes up with the goods!


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## RabbitFood (14 Jul 2009)

Hushovd never even looked close to getting passed cav did he


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

kennykool said:


> Boonen is finished now I think



For the tour I presume you mean. I wouldn't rule him out for a stage win but I think we can safely say that his head's probably not in the right place at the moment. He'll come right.


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## PpPete (14 Jul 2009)

Never mind going past - Thor couldn't even hold Cav's wheel


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## mr-marty-martin (14 Jul 2009)

get in cavnedish...he wants the green now


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## marinyork (14 Jul 2009)

Well done Cav. Even if he doesn't get the green he's accumulated some great wins and based on that maybe more to come this year.


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## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

Stephen Roche is talking some serious nonsense on Eurosport now


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## stumpy (14 Jul 2009)

how close is the points comp???? does that put chav back in front????


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

porkypete said:


> Thor couldn't even hold Cav's wheel



It is possible he wasn't trying to.


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## zimzum42 (14 Jul 2009)

he's 6 points behind now....


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## RabbitFood (14 Jul 2009)

yello said:


> It is possible he wasn't trying to.



would he not want the stage win then and just go for the green?


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

stumpy said:


> does that put chav back in front????



Nope.



yello said:


> Cav takes it! but Hushovd 2nd hangs on to green


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## Halfmanhalfbike (14 Jul 2009)

If Cav gets his 2 out of 4 stages that he's targeting then he'll get the Green Jersey as well. 

The Champs Elysees with Cav in mix is going to be unbelievable


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## zimzum42 (14 Jul 2009)

Eurosport went straight off air out here.

Can anyone whose programming has lasted a little longer tell me who it was who fell right at the end?


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

RabbitFood said:


> would he not want the stage win then and just go for the green?



He's got green and defending it. He may have decided he can't beat Cavendish in the sprint so doesn't bust a gut trying. I could get my head around that!


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## Taba (14 Jul 2009)

zimzum42 said:


> Eurosport went straight off air out here.
> 
> Can anyone whose programming has lasted a little longer tell me who it was who fell right at the end?




Apparently it was Vladimir Karpets, but as long as he isnt injured he wont lose any time.

Interestingly i've heard that Husovd might target intermediate sprints in breakaways whilst in the alps, which along with second and third places behind cav in the sprint stages could prove enough for Green...


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

Halfmanhalfbike said:


> If Cav gets his 2 out of 4 stages that he's targeting then he'll get the Green Jersey as well.



Depends who takes the other 2! It's not over yet!


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## RabbitFood (14 Jul 2009)

yes true but id always try go for the win means he got to rely on cav not winning all the flat stages


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## Taba (14 Jul 2009)

Wiggins lost some time, he is a minute ish down and is 7th overall, must have got caught out somehow...


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## zimzum42 (14 Jul 2009)

The field split, the second group came in 15 seconds down. Seems most of Garmin got caught, as did Cancellara


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

Taba said:


> Wiggins lost some time, he is a minute ish down and is 7th overall, must have got caught out somehow...



Wow! I thought they all finished together! I didn't even think to look for stragglers. I wonder what happened? Poor Bradley, that's a real pisser!


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## garrilla (14 Jul 2009)

Good finish. I though Tyler Farrar was going to cause big pile-up when he tried to force the sprint on the fina bend.

The rest of the stage was bit boring. Do you thik this was the so called 'radio protest' or the geography of the stage?


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## Will1985 (14 Jul 2009)

Farrar pulled a very stupid move - I was waiting for them all to stack it on that corner because of that.


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

garrilla said:


> The rest of the stage was bit boring. Do you thik this was the so called 'radio protest' or the geography of the stage?



A bit of both. The stage was never going to offer much, except to the sprinters or maybe an exceptional breakaway effort. That's probably why it was chosen for the 'no radio' test. 

I think ultimately this 'no radio' test will be abandoned because it will back fire. The idea is to make for more exciting races but if the riders decide not to race.... it's a kind of 'lead a horse to water' argument.


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## accountantpete (14 Jul 2009)

zimzum42 said:


> The field split, the second group came in 15 seconds down. Seems most of Garmin got caught, as did Cancellara



I was watching the replay and there was a 3-4 yard gap in the middle of the peloton which presumably accounts for the time difference - have seen bigger gaps go unpunished though.


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## yello (14 Jul 2009)

I must admit, I was stunned that there was a gap. I assumed that there must gave been an off or something but I've just watched a highlights package and they didn't even mention a gap! I'd be spitting tacks if I were Wiggins.


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## accountantpete (14 Jul 2009)

Just looked at it again and it is very harsh - the gap was about 3 bike lengths which was also the gap between 3rd & 4th and then 4th & 5th and all the top 10 were given the same finishing time.


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## mr-marty-martin (14 Jul 2009)

if thats the case then maybe the teams caught out will put in a protest...


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## Chuffy (14 Jul 2009)

yello said:


> A bit of both. The stage was never going to offer much, except to the sprinters or maybe an exceptional breakaway effort. That's probably why it was chosen for the 'no radio' test.
> 
> I think ultimately this 'no radio' test will be abandoned because it will back fire. The idea is to make for more exciting races but if the riders decide not to race.... it's a kind of 'lead a horse to water' argument.


I think it'll be a case of who blinks first. Today was never going to be much of a stage, radio or not, and the peloton could afford to amble along. If ASO want to run it like this again they'll need some evidence that it makes a significant difference in the big stages and that means they'll have to stare down the teams. Friday could be a lot more interesting, wot with there being some serious lumpy bits. The teams won't be able to take it easy if someone goes off the front on a climb. Sitting up would be waaaaaaay too much of a gamble. 
I did think that Jens Voigt's moan that 'they might as well cut our brake cables' was hilariously over the top. You'd think a hard-as-nails old pro like him would be less diva-ish.


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## Bigtwin (14 Jul 2009)

Bradders said he loved not having a radio.

Must really spoil a nice day in the saddle all that yabbering on.


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## Chuffy (14 Jul 2009)

Bigtwin said:


> Bradders said he loved not having a radio.


It was Millar who said that, or did Wiggy say it too? Interesting that Garmin were one of the few teams not to sign the petition.



> Must really spoil a nice day in the saddle all that yabbering on.


Wouldn't you be tempted to plug in your iPod and crank up some decent tunes instead?


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## Bigtwin (14 Jul 2009)

Chuffy said:


> It was Millar who said that, or did Wiggy say it too? Interesting that Garmin were one of the few teams not to sign the petition.
> *
> Yeah, that's him - Millar - we used to call him "Bradders" just to annoy him when we were whipping his ass at hill climbing practice.*
> 
> ...



....


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## Chuffy (14 Jul 2009)

Bigtwin said:


> I'd sing along - like to see the peleton decide to reel me in then!


While you're doing it, why not sh*t yourself? They won't come within a hundred yards!


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## Chuffy (14 Jul 2009)

In fact when Bertie attacked on Arcalise, what he actually did was release half a pound of semi-digested apricots into his shorts before accelerating. LA _could_ have kept up, he just couldn't bear to get any closer.


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## Bigtwin (14 Jul 2009)

Chuffy said:


> While you're doing it, why not sh*t yourself? They won't come within a hundred yards!



Think that would be automatic as 70 pros in lycra close rapidly on me....


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## Chuffy (14 Jul 2009)

Bigtwin said:


> Think that would be automatic as 70 pros in lycra close rapidly on me....


When you say '70 pro's in lycra'......


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## Bigtwin (14 Jul 2009)

Chuffy said:


> When you say '70 pro's in lycra'......



I can tell you, you don't make that mistake twice in one life-time. Nice bar in Thailand or not...


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## Chuffy (14 Jul 2009)

Bigtwin said:


> I can tell you, you don't make that mistake twice in one life-time. Nice bar in Thailand or not...


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## rich p (14 Jul 2009)

I think it was Vandevelde on interview who said that their radios hadn't worked all week anyway!


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## andrew_s (15 Jul 2009)

accountantpete said:


> Just looked at it again and it is very harsh - the gap was about 3 bike lengths which was also the gap between 3rd & 4th and then 4th & 5th and all the top 10 were given the same finishing time.


It's a 1 second time gap that constitutes a split, not a distance gap, and that far back in the bunch they were rolling over the line fairly slowly. They all have transponders on their bikes, so everything is automatic.

Carelessness on the part of Wiggo - if you have GC ambitions you shouldn't be that far back in the bunch, just for this reason.


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## zimzum42 (15 Jul 2009)

Crazy! Wiggo sticks to Lance like glue through the mountains, then messes up on a stage like this!


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## Flying_Monkey (15 Jul 2009)

True, though I get the feeling that 15 seconds isn't going to matter much when it comes to the Alps and Ventoux...


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## zimzum42 (15 Jul 2009)

Too true!

Anything in the top ten would be a great achievement!


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## dellzeqq (15 Jul 2009)

zimzum42 said:


> Too true!
> 
> Anything in the top ten would be a great achievement!


it would be, but you can imagine that Wiggy has a Dave Brailsford tape running in his head, and Brailsford wouldn't be pleased - particularly since the gap was just a few bike lengths ahead, and he could have closed it.


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## zimzum42 (15 Jul 2009)

He was nowhere near the front of the second group though, so may have been unaware....

Still, he should have been sniffing Astana ass....


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## andrew_s (15 Jul 2009)

dellzeqq said:


> particularly since the gap was just a few bike lengths ahead, and he could have closed it.


That's what I thought at first, but the Garmin rider near the front of the second bunch was Julian Dean, not Wiggo.


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## Bigtwin (15 Jul 2009)

andrew_s said:


> That's what I thought at first, but the Garmin rider near the front of the second bunch was Julian Dean, not Wiggo.



Wiggo said that everyone was sitting up and ambling over the line as per, so he had no view of anything.

It's just a random silly bit of officiating that no one could have reasonably predicted.


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## zimzum42 (15 Jul 2009)

I'm sure if there had been a Frenchman in yellow and he had lost the jersey cos of this there would have been something done about it....


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## yello (15 Jul 2009)

...on Bastille Day, you could guarantee it.


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## dellzeqq (15 Jul 2009)

andrew_s said:


> That's what I thought at first, but the Garmin rider near the front of the second bunch was Julian Dean, not Wiggo.


I stand corrected.


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## biking_fox (15 Jul 2009)

TdF site claims that 15s gap has been declared void - GC remains unchanged. Lucky old Wiggins.


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## Chuffy (15 Jul 2009)

biking_fox said:


> TdF site claims that 15s gap has been declared void - GC remains unchanged. Lucky old Wiggins.


Yay!


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