Tour de France 2013 *spoilers*

[RobNewcastle]

I thought Saxo and Movistar had an ideal opportunity to take Froome on today, they had the numbers and legs to do it. They may not have another opportunity to have Froome in a position with no support, and potentially they blew it big time. I realise there's a long way to go and that they also need to consider "other things" but ... FFS!!

Yeah I think a few teams will be regretting things a bit. Like you say saxo should've really pushed things on with Movistar. Rare that the yellow jersey will get so utterly isolated like that in the mountains

 

[smutchin]

The one rider who didn't make the cut was Kiryienka so that is another blow for Sky.

I just saw that when I was looking down the standings to see where Taaramae finished (he lost another 26 mins, btw).

Anyone know what happened? He was the last Sky man to fall before Porte, so that was a big surprise.

Kennaugh finished alongside Thomas, 22.43 down - any news on his injuries? EBH, Stannard, Lopez and Siutsou were another few minutes behind, in the Cav group.

 

[Crackle]

I await explanations of what happened to the Sky team, perhaps they were abducted by aliens the night before. One thing Kennaugh said on interview the other day is that he's never seen Froome have a bad day, thank feck is all I can say because as bad days go, that was reminiscent of a PDM/Motorola showing and I imagine there's already a few people blowing a gasket over it.

Great day though and perhaps Moviestar were just totally unprepared for Sky to fold like that.

 

[Noodley]

Great day though and perhaps Moviestar were just totally unprepared for Sky to fold like that.

If a middle-aged duffer like me can see what Movistar (and Saxo) should have been doing, ill-informed as I was by Liggett and Sherwen, then surely Movistar (and Saxo) should have been able to see it as well and respond accordingly.

 

[smutchin]

What they should have done and what they were able to do may not be the same thing.

 

[Noodley]

What they should have done and what they were able to do may not be the same thing.

True, however they had strength in numbers and failed to make the right call in my opinion. Both teams could have driven a few nails into Froome and Sky's coffin today if they had worked together - they could have quite easily done so with neither team upstaging the other in terms of gains made. Other than the huge gain of sticking it to Froome and Sky.

 

[Noodley]

That's not taking anything away from Fromedawg, as I thought he rode a very composed and effective stage today. And he may have been able to cover any attacks launched by Movistar and/or Saxo...but we'll never know.

 

[RobNewcastle]

That's not taking anything away from Fromedawg, as I thought he rode a very composed and effective stage today. And he may have been able to cover any attacks launched by Movistar and/or Saxo...but we'll never know.

Yeah some good points made mate. Given that Froome will probably put time into everyone on Wednesday in the TT then not making Sky pay today may come back to haunt them. I mean no riders to support him, Brailsfords should be doing a war dance in the team bus. Like the abducted by aliens comment, haha

 

[smutchin]

I await explanations of what happened to the Sky team

We look for explanations when they win, we look for explanations when they don't win...

Could it be that there's a link between their exceptional performance yesterday and their looking tired today? Is losing Kiryienka the price they pay for blowing the race apart yesterday? (And let's not forget that blowing the race apart yesterday was a move they were pretty much forced to make by Movistar.)

Movistar's tactics over the last two days have left Sky weakened, that's for sure. It says a lot about Froome's strength and form that they've failed to hurt him individually. Still two weeks of racing to go though...

 

[dellzeqq]

Perhaps they should fit Marathon Plus tyres to Froome's Pinarello. Had he punctured today, the headlines would probably have been very different.

 

[Crackle]

We look for explanations when they win, we look for explanations when they don't win...

Could it be that there's a link between their exceptional performance yesterday and their looking tired today? Is losing Kiryienka the price they pay for blowing the race apart yesterday? (And let's not forget that blowing the race apart yesterday was a move they were pretty much forced to make by Movistar.)

Movistar's tactics over the last two days have left Sky weakened, that's for sure. It says a lot about Froome's strength and form that they've failed to hurt him individually. Still two weeks of racing to go though...

I do looking for explanations best. You keep knocking your punditry but believe me it's streets ahead of mine. I predicted the Lions to lose and Murray to capitulate....

I suspect you're right, fatigue, heat, combined with some bad luck which saw Kennaugh go truffle hunting, may well be the explanation but at the back of my mind I wonder if their training camps have gone a bit wrong and whether the team selection was right.

Anyway tomorrow I'm predicting Froome to stay in yellow......

 

[Noodley]

I thought "the young rider from the Isle of Man" (as Liggett and Sherwen refer to him, no doubt as they have not a clue how to pronounce his name - it's ok to get "foreigners" names wrong but not our own it seems) had gone for a quick p*ss when I saw him climbing back up the hill from the bushes...

 

[Crackle]

I thought "the young rider from the Isle of Man" (as Liggett and Sherwen refer to him, no doubt as they have not a clue how to pronounce his name - it's ok to get "foreigners" names wrong but not our own it seems) had gone for a quick p*ss when I saw him climbing back up the hill from the bushes...

Kennoy or kennow they keep saying.

 

[Noodley]

Kennoy or kennow they keep saying.

I have heard various attempts from them: Kennow, Kanook, Kennoy, Kenyick, Vocht...

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

He was Kennug yesterday.