Critérium du Dauphiné 2-9 June [spoilers]

[The Couch]

Still... you gotta give it to Bertie, even as a vegetarian he does not give up easily
Surprisingly (to me) actually Valverde went for it as well... so far I was always assuming that he would save his powers for the Vuelta (while Quintana was "preparing?" himself in Colombia for the Tour)... don't know what to think of it now

But what happened today to the likes of VdB, Purito, Nieve (who I am assuming will be the spearpoint of Euskaltel in the Tour), Cunego and De Gendt. OK, none of them have lately been really looking strong, so - with the exception of Purito - I didn't have real high expectations for them, but these time gaps are a bit ridiculous.

The performance of Rolland I guess is no surprise, he doesn't seem to be interested in showing much form throughout the year (maybe he prefers keeping his cost low to be able to pick him in TdF Fantasy games)

 

[smutchin]

The performance of Rolland I guess is no surprise, he doesn't seem to be interested in showing much form throughout the year (maybe he prefers keeping his cost low to be able to pick him in TdF Fantasy games)

Probably that he doesn't see himself as an overall contender, so he'd rather save his energy for when he's on a good day, then he can launch an attack and get a stage win without the risk of the big guns chasing him down because he's no threat in GC.

If he's thinking like this, it's a sure sign he's been hanging round Tommy Voeckler too long. You won't see such fecklessness from Thibaut Pinot.

 

[smutchin]

But what happened today to the likes of VdB, Purito, Nieve (who I am assuming will be the spearpoint of Euskaltel in the Tour), Cunego and De Gendt. OK, none of them have lately been really looking strong, so - with the exception of Purito - I didn't have real high expectations for them, but these time gaps are a bit ridiculous.

I don't know if it's a case of form or just not being good enough to compete with the likes of Froome and Contador. Purito will never win a GT, and it's looking increasingly unlikely for VDB. Very pleased to see Taaramae showing some good form though - seems to be properly over his problems of last year, at last. He's shown such promise in the past and it would be great if he could become a serious contender in the long term.

(Cue RichP telling me he's under investigation for hanging round with dodgy doctors...)

 

[Pedrosanchezo]

You do know what Clenbuterol is used for tho don't you? And that it is a banned substance. And you are not being an apologist for Dirty Bertie? He is an unrepentant drug cheat - end of. Anything he does or did is of no value.

It's not just the Clenbuterol, it's the speculation of how it got there, the plasticizer that was reported with it, leading most to surmise that it was a re-infused blood bag he took during the race, taken out from an earlier period in his training calendar. Speculation but far more plausible than Spanish steak which no one ever produced a chain of contamination for. No, Beefy Bert was deffo cheating, who knows if he still is.

Just going on the facts gents. We can of course speculate (and i do plenty of that myself) that he has used other substances but what he was banned for was Clenbuterol. It is a banned substance and he got punished. This makes him a drug cheat indeed.

I do like Berti as a cyclist but not as a person or from a moral standpoint. I don't invest any thought in him that way. I like the way he can light up a race that appears dead or the way he climbs almost always out of the saddle. I find it entertaining to watch. I am not going to look away from the tv every time the camera shows his chops.

We would be as well assuming most have cheated anyway. Lance Armstrong never got caught by testing, he got caught by eye witness testimony. He also, as we all know, eventually confessed. How many other cyclists post millenium have doped but not been caught? How many are still doping?

 

[Herzog]

...I am not going to look away from the tv every time the camera shows his chops.

It was in the pork as well...?

 

[Monsieur Remings]

Great stage today, you have to admire the dominance of Sky on the front and how much it seemed touch and go as to whether the breakaway would be caught, until Sky took the reins. As for Bertie vs Froome, what a spectacle to watch and the yellow is a bonus with Sky placed 1 and 2. Porte is looking seriously good.

 

[jdtate101]

Froome didn't need to go for the win, but what a great way to play mind games with Bertie...

"I can beat you in time trials AND I've got you in the mountains too...."

That's got to be seriously crushing for Contador (not to mention all the other contenders who were.......nowhere to be seen today!!!).

 

[jifdave]

Purito lost over 5 mins today.....

 

[rich p]

I find it all rather perplexing.
A cynic might think that these large time gaps and relatively poor performances by certain riders might indicate that they are waiting for their final preparation or are once dirty/now clean. It will be interesting to see how fit some of them are in a couple of weeks in la Tour.
Other explanations are possible

On another note I was pleasantly surprised to see Kennaugh doing the last climbing pace before Porte. Maybe he will go to the TdF. Lopez was noticeably absent from the Valmorel effort but maybe there's a reason.

 

[jdtate101]

I find it all rather perplexing.
A cynic might think that these large time gaps and relatively poor performances by certain riders might indicate that they are waiting for their final preparation or are once dirty/now clean. It will be interesting to see how fit some of them are in a couple of weeks in la Tour.
Other explanations are possible

On another note I was pleasantly surprised to see Kennaugh doing the last climbing pace before Porte. Maybe he will go to the TdF. Lopez was noticeably absent from the Valmorel effort but maybe there's a reason.

Maybe they are saving Lopez and resting him up to do tempo duty on a later stage.

 

[Strathlubnaig]

What seems strange to me is that many pundits on here take the view that (i) Sky are superior in all aspects and very impressive with half the squad in the top 10, but are of course clean as a whistle, and(ii) all other riders are either on the juice or if they did well at some point in the past but are not so good today then they were doped up then. Sounds awfy double standards to me sorry.

 

[400bhp]

Froome - "I'm not in 100% shape yet and still have work to do"

 

[400bhp]

What seems strange to me is that many pundits on here take the view that (i) Sky are superior in all aspects and very impressive with half the squad in the top 10, but are of course clean as a whistle, and(ii) all other riders are either on the juice or if they did well at some point in the past but are not so good today then they were doped up then. Sounds awfy double standards to me sorry.

Sky have the money to buy the best.

Not dissimilar to a top football team.

Perhaps certain ex dopers are doing crao because they aren't doping.

 

[smutchin]

What seems strange to me is that many pundits on here take the view that (i) Sky are superior in all aspects and very impressive with half the squad in the top 10, but are of course clean as a whistle, and(ii) all other riders are either on the juice or if they did well at some point in the past but are not so good today then they were doped up then. Sounds awfy double standards to me sorry.

It's interesting to see Mick Rogers up near the top of GC. No longer with Sky but maybe he learnt something while he was there (like the names and numbers of the best doctors ).

 

[rich p]

What seems strange to me is that many pundits on here take the view that (i) Sky are superior in all aspects and very impressive with half the squad in the top 10, but are of course clean as a whistle, and(ii) all other riders are either on the juice or if they did well at some point in the past but are not so good today then they were doped up then. Sounds awfy double standards to me sorry.

If you don't find it surprising that Rodriguez finished 5 minutes down on a lot of journeymen then you may not have been following pro-cycling very closely of late!