Tour de France 2015 - may contain nuts and SPOILERS

[jarlrmai]

I thought it helped slightly that the finish was on a slight bend and Cav was on the inside.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

I thought it helped slightly that the finish was on a slight bend and Cav was on the inside.

And that he's wily too. Sagan, I think it was, wanted Greipel as a windbreak too but Cav nicked it.

 

[User169]

2, no?

There's a third early one from 2007 that wasn't made public at the time (according to wiki!).

 

[Haitch]

3 separate positives for cocaine!

That's not very positive, is it?

 

[raindog]

He may not have the pure speed any more but he still has the killer instinct

He's still got the speed - no way could someone beat Greipel, who is at the top of his game, without speed, but this time he got the timing right. Cav is still in the top three pure sprinters and could go on for years picking up wins like that. Time to get rid of the train though - just keep Rensh to look after him in the last part of the stage, and then let him get on with it by using other people's wheels as he knows how to do so well. Yesterday's win made me think of Robbie McEwan.

 

[RobNewcastle]

Interested to see the outcome for the GC today. I can't see there being major time gaps but Contador, Nibali etc can't afford to concede anymore time to Froome who looked punchy on the Huy the other day. Watched the finish of the 2011 stage yesterday, good win for Evans that day.

Ed: oops wrong thread

 

[robertob]

Should be a smashing day.... it'll be interesting to see whether a breakaway can go all the way today... with the TT looming, it may be an excellent chance. Probably not too many teams want to be working too hard today. But then Dan Martin would have an excellent opportunity today, but is his team strong enough to bring a break back? Valverde too could feature... but would Movistar work for him? We'll probably find out sooner rather than later the fate of the day, depending on who is in the break. Does Gallopin take an aggressive approach and will try to win in a break as some pundits suggested, reading through all the different previews? Not sure. I could see Wellens featuring in a group for Lotto, though. Fedrigo, for sure will show his face. What about the GC boys? If it all comes together towards the end, Nibali might be trying something. Ahhhh it's exciting, isn't it?!

 

[Pro Tour Punditry]

Does Mr Bardet think he'll be on the podium as stage winner today? He'll be looking his best if he does:

 

[oldroadman]

That was evident today. Plus he got the timing right.

He may not have the pure speed any more but he still has the killer instinct. Needs a few of attempts to get it right though, which is always going to hamper any green jersey ambitions.

Put it like this - if he's lacking "pure speed" then how come he ends up in the top four of the sprinter's stages? There's plenty of "fast men" in the peloton would love to have his finishing speed. The top end does fade a little as sprinters get older - this is compensated for with experience, pride, outright cunning, and determination. Cav has a few more years of battering people yet, and as noted, does look a little lighter, so the slight rising finishers will suit him very nicely. 30 stage wins in the TdF alone is possible with 26 in the bag so far. In my view he has nothing to prove. I recall a silly reporter posing some question about proving himself, the straight faced reply "25 stages and a world championship, I don't need to prove anything". Lucky reporter, a few years ago he would have been in serious danger of a much more robust response! Right, off out for a little potter and "sprint" (ahem..) for a few village signs - so long as they are not uphill!

 

[Louch]

Too many people quick to write people off too quickly. Just because others have gotten to a level to match or beat cav doesn't mean cav is sh1t or past it. It's two years as he crashed out on first stage last year, just an easy way to try and make someone look shoot unfairly.

 

[Dogtrousers]

We saw him sprinting very uphill in the British champs. While Kennaugh won, which was kind of expected, Cav wasn't far off.
I'd love to see Cav repeating things like his MSM victory. I don't know whether that's a realistic hope.

 

[martint235]

Too many people quick to write people off too quickly. Just because others have gotten to a level to match or beat cav doesn't mean cav is sh1t or past it. It's two years as he crashed out on first stage last year, just an easy way to try and make someone look shoot unfairly.

Yep it's a weird way of reporting. I was chatting to my FiL today (a Daily Fail reader) and he was like "Cav did well considering he's past it". "What makes you think he's past it?", "Well he's not won anything for 2 years". "Errm, no he's not won a TdF stage for 2 years and that's because he won one of the last available to him in 2013 and missed out on 2014"

 

[psmiffy]

Warner 52 lbw bowled Moeen - give with one hand and take with the other

 

[jarlrmai]

I have officially determined that me not listening has been the cause for both wickets so now I can no longer have it on the radio.

 

[smutchin]

Put it like this - if he's lacking "pure speed" then how come he ends up in the top four of the sprinter's stages?

All I meant was he's not quite as fast as he used to be. Clearly still very fast compared to almost everyone else. Maybe not as fast as an in-form Kittel though?