Tour de France 2013 *spoilers*

[VamP]

It seems that (from a GC POV) this is going to be a letdown

Depends.

There are some big losers today. Cadel, Tejay, Purito and Schleck have all given away significant time to GC favourites.

 

[raindog]

It is very fast but to put it into perspective, some of the top amateur UK domestic testers are doing 25 mile (~40 km) TT's at speeds of 31-32mph SOLO.

Yeah, but not through a town centre with 90° corners like today.

 

[VamP]

Yeah, but not through a town centre with 90° corners like today.

I counted 7 sharpish corners, but it's not like they had to drop down to 10mph is it?

 

[beastie]

It seems that (from a GC POV) this is going to be a letdown

It was never going to be anything else, and at 20 summation Kms it ain't supposed to.

 

[beastie]

Depends.

There are some big losers today. Cadel, Tejay, Purito and Schleck have all given away significant time to GC favourites.

Haha, did you say Schleck was a GC contender?

None of the time gaps can be considered significant I don't think.

 

[VamP]

Depends.

There are some big losers today. Cadel, Tejay, Purito and Schleck have all given away significant time to GC favourites.

Aaargh and Mollema, he was supposed to be my fantasy secret dark horse.

 

[VamP]

Haha, did you say Schleck was a GC contender?

None of the time gaps can be considered significant I don't think.

20 seconds is not decisive but it definitely is significant. I didn't say Schleck was a contender I said he's given time away.

 

[thom]

Allez Le Pelvis - the Geraint Thomas fan club. Ted King of Cannondale, is out having missed the time cut - people on twitter are upset by this.

 

[iLB]

Looks like there might be some wiggle room for Ted King yet, here's hoping.

 

[Aperitif]

It is very fast but to put it into perspective, some of the top amateur UK domestic testers are doing 25 mile (~40 km) TT's at speeds of 31-32mph SOLO. So given that these guys are riding in a group and are the worlds top althetes in the sport, it is not that surprising to see such speeds.

Well I thought it was a bit underpaced by my standards - but there you go. Well done anyone who can clock that as an average. It's a demonstration of skill and commitment. 10 seconds difference in the top four is a good benchmark.

 

[rich p]

I am not suggesting his amazement is unfounded, just offering some perspective. People often are in amazement because the speeds they go are double or triple what many cyclists do on their club runs etc, but they really only have a couple of mph if that on the top amateur riders who are also holding down day jobs etc.

Yep, especially a novice like Aperitif!

 

[theclaud]

Yep, especially a novice like Aperitif!

A novice, and a wuss to boot...

 

[Speicher]

If Aperitif is a wuss, that is still no reason to boot him.

 

[Aperitif]

Yep, especially a novice like Aperitif!

Oi! Not so much of the 'no' - I've got loads of vices. (No, no no, threechiselsmcginty - I don't mean I can give a big squeeze in a variety of ways...)

A novice, and a wuss to boot...

Correct! A 'wuss' is a timid rider's version of 'whoosh!'

 

[Aperitif]

If Aperitif is a wuss, that is still no reason to boot him.

I'm going back to my roots and going to become a racine cyclist.