Minor Races Thread 2015 - [SPOILERS]

[huwsparky]

FFS - the trophy
can't imagine what that might get used for in the future.

I thought it was an egg timer!

 

[huwsparky]

Disappointed for Thomas.

I agree, gutted for him. Should have gone all out and gone with Pinot on the mountain stage.

 

[The Couch]

Lutsenko looked like a machine today in the TDS. Didn't even let Bakelants take a turn. Made it all. Very impressive.

Bakelants said to him after the finish: "You were like a motorbike"

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Pleased for Spilak - he's one of my favourite riders, a guy who seems to thrive when the conditions are terrible or in tough, lumpy races.

 

[rich p]

Greipel took the overall in the Ster ZLM, with Matt Brammeier of Ireland winning the final stage for MTN Chewbacca

 

[400bhp]

5 seconds, to be exact. Shame.

Well done Spilak, though. Great ride. Thomas looked like he was really suffering for most of the second half of that.

Dumoulin wins the stage and pips Pinot to third place on the podium.

Great racing. Do you think sky will put Thomas in the tour? I'm hoping they don't but throw him in the vuelta instead. I'm only saying that because it's likely porte will be in the tour and will be froomes lieutenant and be plan b. So he will have little chance of a pop at a top 20 place.

 

[400bhp]

It shows a serious fallibility of Pinot's on his future GT aspirations

It does but he's young and has time to put it right.

I think its a typical french disdain for time trialling. It does not help them.

 

[400bhp]

Pleased for Spilak - he's one of my favourite riders, a guy who seems to thrive when the conditions are terrible or in tough, lumpy races.

He's deffo a 7 day specialist. Next rung on the ladder is to go for a high gc spot.

 

[RobNewcastle]

Great racing. Do you think sky will put Thomas in the tour? I'm hoping they don't but throw him in the vuelta instead. I'm only saying that because it's likely porte will be in the tour and will be froomes lieutenant and be plan b. So he will have little chance of a pop at a top 20 place.

I'd say Thomas is a dead cert because of his classics ability on the cobbles and his excellent climbing ability. In Poels and Thomas Sky have two serious sufferers for Froome and they would take the pressure off Porte to a degree.

 

[smutchin]

Great racing. Do you think sky will put Thomas in the tour? I'm hoping they don't but throw him in the vuelta instead.

G is a definite for the Tour and will be a very valuable domestique for Froome. I used to think he had GC potential himself but I can't see it now.

 

[Andrew Br]

................ I used to think he had GC potential himself but I can't see it now.

Yes, I wonder whether he's a victim of his versatility; powerful enough to win a one day classic but, perhaps, too heavy for GC on a major tour.
Perhaps he needs to target one or the other ?
If he chooses the classics, he could still play an important role supporting Sky's lead rider in the tours although I suspect that he'd need to "build up" to have the best chance in the classics. That might compromise his tour role given Sky's focus on getting GC on those events.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Two other fairly big stage races are taking place while the TdF is on: Saturday sees the start of the Tour of Austria, and over in China the next day, the Tour of Qinghai Lake rolls out. While Austria will see the World Tour 'B-Teams' in action, Qinghai Lake will almost innevitably be won by a suspiciously powerful Iranian...

 

[rich p]

Qinghai Lake will almost innevitably be won by a suspiciously powerful Iranian...

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

... Qinghai Lake will almost innevitably be won by a suspiciously powerful Iranian...

It's all kicking off at Qinghai Lake

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015...tween-kump-and-gavazzi-at-qinghai-lake_378008

 

[400bhp]

It's all kicking off at Qinghai Lake

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015...tween-kump-and-gavazzi-at-qinghai-lake_378008

How come that bloke who looks in his 60's doesn't have a biological passport??