Tour de France 2013 *spoilers*

[smutchin]

Is wind likely to be a factor on today's stage? The forecast is for a 14mph northeasterly, so they'll be heading into the wind as they run up towards the coast, then there's a sharp change in direction with about 20km to go, and it's a tailwind all the way to the finish.

Not sure what the implications of that might be... It should suit Cav, but it could get interesting if there are any splits in the peloton after that Cat 4 climb (about 50km before the finish) or after the turn just after Cancale - and it's a slight downhill gradient from 4km to go too, with a pancake flat final kilometre, so it should be a very fast finish...

 

[kedab]

have those that watch on itv4 played a game of 'wrong rider bingo' with uncle phil and paul? it is quite extraordinary...i know phil's getting old but what's sherwen's excuse?! i don't like either of them if i'm honest and i'm sure they don't like me and i know i have options to watch it elsewhere but i just can't resist playing the game with them. i'm beginning to think they're aware of my armchair amusement and now do it on purpose, after all, they can't always be that ignorant and stupid can they?

 

[Crackle]

Someone tell me how to pronounce Kennaugh. The different variations are beginning to infuriate me now. Surely it's Kenna?

 

[kedab]

Someone tell me how to pronounce Kennaugh. The different variations are beginning to infuriate me now. Surely it's Kenna?

kenorg / ken ah! / ke nn ow g / kenawf - that's all i've got

i go with kenna, same as you. that makes it the correct pronunciation

 

[thom]

Someone tell me how to pronounce Kennaugh. The different variations are beginning to infuriate me now. Surely it's Kenna?

Ken-ee-uch was what I think Dave Harmon settled on at one race after talking to someone connected to his family

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

New jersey idea Mk II:
One for the worst descender of the race. It's colour ? Italian grey, or grigio...

Ooh yes, we could design a Pinot 4 dress too!

 

[zizou]

One of the highlights of the media coverage every year is the Big Picture feature in the Boston Globe, here is the first part http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2013/07/tour_de_france_100th_edition_p.html

 

[Flying_Monkey]

More reflections from the Science of Sport people on Froome's performance in the Pyrennees. Basically: Froome remains suspicious (and almost no-one else) but that's all - he is certainly not in 'impossible' territory, and the results from Stage 9 would suggest that Sky as a team had basically used themselves up on Stage 8 with almost disastrous results - definitely not what you would expect from a team that was 'prepared'.

 

[wakou]

kenorg / ken ah! / ke nn ow g / kenawf - that's all i've got

i go with kenna, same as you. that makes it the correct pronunciation

Someone tell me how to pronounce Kennaugh. The different variations are beginning to infuriate me now. Surely it's Kenna?

Kennuck.
Mark Cavendish was asked this question, and as a Manxman, should be listened to.

 

[smutchin]

More reflections from the Science of Sport people on Froome's performance in the Pyrennees. Basically: Froome remains suspicious (and almost no-one else) but that's all - he is certainly not in 'impossible' territory, and the results from Stage 9 would suggest that Sky as a team had basically used themselves up on Stage 8 with almost disastrous results - definitely not what you would expect from a team that was 'prepared'.

I was just about to post exactly the same link! Really good piece that. Proper level-headed assessment. Also backs up what I said after Saturday's stage about Sky not being able to ride like that every day and why...

 

[jarlrmai]

so flat as a pancake today, stealth second rest day unless the breakaway gets some time on the group?

 

[Shadow]

so flat as a pancake today, stealth second rest day unless the breakaway gets some time on the group?

No chance of a breakaway lasting out the day. OPQS, Argos, Lotto et al will reel them in.

 

[VamP]

More reflections from the Science of Sport people on Froome's performance in the Pyrennees. Basically: Froome remains suspicious (and almost no-one else) but that's all - he is certainly not in 'impossible' territory, and the results from Stage 9 would suggest that Sky as a team had basically used themselves up on Stage 8 with almost disastrous results - definitely not what you would expect from a team that was 'prepared'.

I don't really want to turn this into a doping discussion, but this whole approach of evaluating a rider's 'cleanliness' based on performance data, particularly derived performance data, is fraught with pitfalls. How do you account for a genuine outlier performance - you can't. How do you account for a masterful race strategy and pacing - you can't. How do you take conditions on the day into consideration? You can't. Even the uncertainty boundaries on their calculation are huge. 6.2 watts/kg is clean and 6.5 w/kg is doped? Bollocks. The uncertainty boundary is that large.

I bet there's doped riders in the race this year, who haven't even broken through 6 w/kg up Ax 3.

Pub chit chat is all it is. Performance biomechanics is much more complex then these guys try to reduce it to.*

* - by these guys I'm more referring to Vayer then the Science in Sport guys, but they too are too quick to endorse this approach.

 

[rich p]

Sky are nearer the front than they have to be. The sprinters' teams will bring this back

 

[tigger]

@ VamP I find the biggest variable for performance (time) when I ride is the weather. Wind speed and direction, pressure, humidity, temperature etc. I've not been training so hard this year but I smashed my old PB on one of my courses by a wapping 4% the other evening when conditions were perfect