Tour de France 2013 *spoilers*

[smutchin]

 

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[smutchin]

There you go. Handy stage profiles for reference. With breaks between posts for rest days.

 

[smutchin]

Oh, and if anyone fancies printing them out and sticking them up on their wall, see attached pdf. (I've left off stage 21 to make them fit on the page better - but we all know how that one ends anyway, ie with Cav winning on the Champs-Elysees.)

 

[Strathlubnaig]

RSN scraping the barrel for tour leaders this year.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

This site is pretty good for the overviews: http://www.cyclingthealps.com/#tour-de-france-2013-stage-1-stageprofile

 

[smutchin]

RSN scraping the barrel for tour leaders this year.

That's certainly an "experienced" squad they're sending.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

ITV4's television schedule here -> http://www.itv.com/tourdefrance/tour-de-france-2013-live-on-itv-full-tv-schedule/

 

[The Couch]

That's certainly an "experienced" squad they're sending.

Last year with Horner in there as well, it might have even been worse . But still (as a team) they did a surprisingly good job (and won the team classification I believe).

Still - as a rider for Radioshack - wouldn't you have issues with the fact that you'll be a domestique for someone who hasn't had one decent result in 2 years time? (Unless you are counting a 15th place in 1 stage of the Tour de Suisse as something decent )
Personally, I might give the youth the reigns this year and let Gallopin and Jungels (who hasn't even been selected) do whatever the hell they will and give them the chance to absorb as much experience as they can

(and perhaps it wouldn't harm to try to get some more youthful talent in the team as well)

 

[smutchin]

Personally, I might give the youth the reigns this year and let Gallopin and Jungels (who hasn't even been selected) do whatever the hell they will and give them the chance to absorb as much experience as they can

I suspect the decision is largely political - we saw the problems Sky were having with their plan to send the reigning TdF champion to the race in a domestique role. OK, so it wouldn't have been quite so controversial to send Schleck as a domestique, but he was always going to be team leader on paper, though we might well see Gallopin become de facto leader by the time the race hits the Pyrenees.

Garmin could find themselves with a similar dilemma if Hesjedal is fit to ride. If!

Blanco/Belkin don't have quite the same problem with making Mollema team leader because Gesink hasn't won a GT (plus Mollema is a better prospect anyway IMO).

 

[thom]

I suspect the decision is largely political - we saw the problems Sky were having with their plan to send the reigning TdF champion to the race in a domestique role. OK, so it wouldn't have been quite so controversial to send Schleck as a domestique, but he was always going to be team leader on paper, though we might well see Gallopin become de facto leader by the time the race hits the Pyrenees.

Garmin could find themselves with a similar dilemma if Hesjedal is fit to ride. If!

Blanco/Belkin don't have quite the same problem with making Mollema team leader because Gesink hasn't won a GT (plus Mollema is a better prospect anyway IMO).

I think the GC riders other than Contador, Froome or Cadel Evans are likely not too concerned about who specifically is the team leader. You go in the best shape you can get to and expect someone else will win, so it is easier to ride for a team-mate who happens to be doing really well. Schleck obviously gets the formal nod as RSN leader and Hesjedal might too for Garmin, but if either lost massive time relative to a team mate I don't think there would be much gnashing and wailing of teeth within those teams. When the big prize is not really at stake, it's easier to say to a couple or 3 good guys in a GC team that they get the support from the rest of the team and ultimately the road will show who's strongest and capable of the highest finish. Most teams don't have to manage Wiggo's ego & propensity to lock horns within the team.

 

[smutchin]

Most teams don't have to manage Wiggo's ego & propensity to lock horns within the team.

Indeed. The only team I can see having similar problems to Sky is Movistar, with Costa and Quintana.

But as you say, it will probably all sort itself out on the road.

 

[The Couch]

I think the GC riders other than Contador, Froome or Cadel Evans are likely not too concerned about who specifically is the team leader. ...

You believe that Evans would have made a big issue of it, if Tejay would have been named the team leader?

(Personally I am not that convinced about it.. I think he - secretly - prefers the underdog role more -and he seems to ride better in this role as well-)

 

[thom]

You believe that Evans would have made a big issue of it, if Tejay would have been named the team leader?

(Personally I am not that convinced about it.. I think he - secretly - prefers the underdog role more -and he seems to ride better in this role as well-)

Well yes, I think he'd see that both him and Tejay ought to be given a fair crack of the whip but I do think after his Giro performance that he has a legitimate claim not to be a super-dom for Tejay from the start.
The issue is also partly Sky specific because of the way they ride - all lined up in order of preference. True, Tejay tried to help Cadel in the La Toussuire stage, going off the front to give Cadel something to bridge to but that was perhaps a specific race situation. For most GC riders, I think they will expect Sky and Saxo-Tinkoff to do the heavy lifting on the front and their own GC riders trying to stay with that front. There's less of an imperative to pick between your 2 best guys at the point.