Tour de France 2015 - may contain nuts and SPOILERS

[HF2300]

Well, an eventful stage it wasn't, but that last 5 km was really tense. Pushing it on the timing by the peloton. Sagan must have just run out of legs. Wonder if going to GVA's left and then having to come back round him just made the difference?

 

[mjr]

Am I the only person who finds the constant nitpicking at the commentary really boring? Is the race not interesting enough?

Not today, no... the commentary is half the amusement on days like this.

Right now, we've got a really fascinating finish here...

Are you sure you're watching today's stage?

 

[coffeejo]

Nibali finished with Froome.

 

[Dogtrousers]

(I don't like Sagan.)

I do.

Let's have a big slanging match.

 

[coffeejo]

I do.

Let's have a big slanging match.

How about I just pip you to the post instead?

 

[Flying_Monkey]

Are you sure you're watching today's stage?

Err, yes. If you didn't like today's final few kilometres, I'm not sure why you're watching Grand Tour cycling. It had everything: the breakaway that might just make it, but there's the infighting and hedging of bets; the teams trying to set up their protected rider of the day for the finish, which in this case was one of those short sharp uphills that would make the day look more like a one-day classic, were it not for the fact that the riders have three days of mountains in their legs; and a great two-man battle for the line in which an experienced rider slapped down a young pretender through a combination of guile and power. But apart from that, yeah, it was terrible...

 

[mjr]

...and a great two-man battle for the line in which an experienced rider slapped down a young pretender through a combination of guile and power. But apart from that, yeah, it was terrible...

We seriously weren't watching the same race. Sagan didn't look like he was going to win, no matter what P&P said.

It wasn't awful but it wasn't one I'll treasure...

 

[Crackle]

Cracking finish, really exciting. I don't know what fine nuance separates first from 2nd but whatever it is it must be in Sagan's head because he's got the speed, he just seemed to ease off at the wrong moment and then chose to try and go up GVA's inside as the gap was closing which forced him to back off and then he'd lost it. He had every right to feel 'pissed' with himself as he said after

 

[HF2300]

Nibali finished with Froome.

I didn't realise they were seeing each other. Was that why Froome kept going to Nibali's bus?

 

[smutchin]

So that was the last 5 minutes, what about the 4 hours before ?

That's the set-up, all part of the narrative of the stage. It may not seem like much is happening, in fact it's a collection of lots of little things that aren't important in themselves but add up to the circumstances that make the finish what it is.

The obvious parallel is with Test match cricket - you don't get a thrilling final session run chase without the first four and a half days build-up. Well, OK, you do - it's called Twenty20, but any connoisseur knows that Twenty20 is shite and dull. (If it weren't dull, they wouldn't have to glitz it up with noisy music and fireworks.)

 

[HF2300]

Cracking finish, really exciting. I don't know what fine nuance separates first from 2nd but whatever it is it must be in Sagan's head because he's got the speed, he just seemed to ease off at the wrong moment and then chose to try and go up GVA's inside as the gap was closing which forced him to back off and then he'd lost it. He had every right to feel 'pissed' with himself as he said after

Seemed to me a bit like Cav's alleged 'not what he used to be' moments in the first week - his positioning and timing weren't quite as good as GVA to start with, Gaultier wobbled and threw Sagan off line as he passed, he backed off and sat behind GVA when perhaps if he had the legs he should have flown past him, then went left of GVA and had the door closed on him. Just a few small things going slightly wrong rather than any major psychological issue.

 

[coffeejo]

Seemed to me a bit like Cav's alleged 'not what he used to be' moments in the first week - his positioning and timing weren't quite as good as GVA to start with, Gaultier wobbled and threw Sagan off line as he passed, he backed off and sat behind GVA when perhaps if he had the legs he should have flown past him, then went left of GVA and had the door closed on him. Just a few small things going slightly wrong rather than any major psychological issue.

Ah, the old "I'm not a machine, I'm only human" defence. Shocking. How dare people we put up on pedestals dare to have bad days or make mistakes?

(Still glad Sagan didn't win though. Sorry @Dogtrousers.)

 

[HF2300]

Ah, the old "I'm not a machine, I'm only human" defence. Shocking. How dare people we put up on pedestals dare to have bad days or make mistakes?

(Still glad Sagan didn't win though. Sorry @Dogtrousers.)

Sorry, I won't defend him again.

 

[Flying_Monkey]

On Cav - he ended up in the first group, only 58 seconds back in around 38th place, ahead of many others who one might have expected to beat him on a course like this. It really seems increasingly like he is in some kind of transition away from being a pure sprinter.

 

[mjr]

Wasn't it something like, 'And Sagan races for the line and ... loses.'?

I will be able to say in half an hour or so after the replay... but it didn't look like Sagan was racing for the line in earnest today. 90% but maybe that is just the mountains and how he gets over them well compared to many. Compare to how he looked last week. Although he didn't win then either but I feel he looked more dangerous somehow.