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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jul 15, 2017 - 08:49am PT
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I feel bad for Aru. Astana just doesn't seem to be able to defend the jersey.
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10b4me
Mountain climber
Retired
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Jul 15, 2017 - 03:13pm PT
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I'm not sure if it was me, but yesterday's stage was the best Tour Footage ever.....
The angles and persistence of staying with the riders for longer sequences
and the downhills....
they are virtual roller coaster rides
my wife can't watch, she says it makes her car sick
I can't get enough
both thursday, and friday had excellent finishes.
I feel bad for Aru. Astana just doesn't seem to be able to defend the jersey.
Astana just doesn't have a team. Aru lost 24 seconds today.
looks like the race is Froomes's to lose.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 15, 2017 - 10:25pm PT
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I know Sky has as awesome a team as has ever been assembled, although Lance had some pretty darn good Spanish climbers supporting him.
But given the number of contenders within striking distance, the Alps and final TT upcoming and Froome having shown vulnerability, I don't think it's over. Boy I wish Landa could ride for himself! I have to admit, that Froome has grown on me. He's really shown spunk. D. Martin has to be one of the luckiest/un-luckiest person ever, he (along with the rest of them) has totally captured my admiration.
Bruce HB; I don't know, out of all of those below, is Froome likely to be the most powerful in the final, TT?
# Rider Name (Country) Team Result
1 Christopher Froome (GBr) Team Sky 59:52:09
2 Fabio Aru (Ita) Astana Pro Team 0:00:18
3 Romain Bardet (Fra) AG2R La Mondiale 0:00:23
4 Rigoberto Uran (Col) Cannondale-Drapac 0:00:29
5 Mikel Landa (Spa) Team Sky 0:01:17
6 Daniel Martin (Irl) Quick-Step Floors 0:01:26
7 Simon Yates (GBr) Orica-Scott 0:02:02
8 Nairo Quintana (Col) Movistar Team 0:02:22
(in edit: I'm wondering if Uran might be serious contender for Yellow in Paris, just 'cause I don't have clue how he TTs)
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 16, 2017 - 12:46am PT
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Darwin,
unfortunately, none of the other riders in the top 10 are very good time trialists compared to Chris Froome. Of all the GC contenders for major tours only Richie Porte(who crashed out on stage 9), Gerraint Thomas(who crashed out in stage 9) and Tom Dumoulin(who won the Giro and isn't racing) are in Froome's class.
Vincenzo Nibali is an OK time trialist but he's not riding. Alejandro Valverde(who crashed out on stage 1) used to be pretty good but he has slipped a bit in the past few years as has Alberto Contador.
BTW, it appears that the organizers tried to make this a Tour that others beside Chris Froome had a chance to win. Normally, the Tour has a couple of time trials in the 40km range. This year there are TT's of 15km and 22km. That's a significant difference and not by accident.
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rbord
Boulder climber
atlanta
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Jul 17, 2017 - 01:19pm PT
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Astana just doesn't have a team.
Did you see Valgren's interview? After learning that his team leader lost time and the yellow jersey to Froome, Aru's teammate said "good." With teammates like that, agreed, Aru doesn't have a team.
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Jul 18, 2017 - 09:40pm PT
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Stage 17 will be the last opportunity for someone to dethrone Froome. I have to give Chris a huge amount of respect, even though I am rooting for a dark horse . . . is there anybody out there? The time gaps are close for the top GC as we say goodnight, perhaps tomorrow will bring a miracle.
Bye to Sky? Only the shadow knows.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 18, 2017 - 10:24pm PT
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Interesting history about Wednesday's stage which finishes in Serre Chevalier(they used to hold a World Cup climbing competition there). In 1993 there was a stage very similar to this one that also finished in Serre Chevalier.
Back then, Miguel Indurain and Tony Rominger were the heavy hitters. In fact, they were so much better than everyone else that they made a secret pact for the stages in the Alps. Rather than beat each other up, they agreed that if they were together at the finish of the two big alpine stages that they would split the stage wins.
So, on the first day when they came into Serre Chevalier, Indurain, always the gentleman, let Rominger win. Unfortunately, on the next day's finish at Isola 2000, Rominger let his excitement get the better of him and when he came to the line with Indurain he won that stage, too. Obviously, there was not much that Indurain could do. News of such collusion between two supposed rivals would not have gone over well with the public. There is an epilogue to this story, but that' for another day.
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Darwin
Trad climber
Seattle, WA
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Jul 18, 2017 - 11:16pm PT
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Thanks Bruce.
I will not bring up doping, I will not bring up doping ... .
As an aside, I came close to idolizing Indurain back then.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 21, 2017 - 08:23pm PT
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The final TT should be interesting. Going into the final weekend Froome has yet to win a stage. It is considered a bit of a letdown if the Tour de France winner doesn't win at least one stage.
Other than maybe Tony Martin and Primoz Roglic, Froome is probably the best time trialist still in the race. He is only has about 30 seconds ahead of Bardet and Uran, but both are so-so time trialists. But, even if those two don't think they can beat Froome, they are locked in their own private battle for second and third place on the podium so they both have motivation to dig deep.
They are all starting within four minutes of each other(2 minute intervals) so it will be difficult for Froome to gauge his effort since by the time he gets the first time check on his two main rivals he will already have been out on course right behind them.
So, does Froome try to ride a less risky, more controlled TT. Or does he look at all the factors and feel that he really can't especially if he wants the stage win as well as yellow. If Tony or Primoz smokes the course that might answer one question, but not the other, especially if someone like Uran finds some wings. It's should be great!
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10b4me
Mountain climber
Retired
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Jul 21, 2017 - 09:12pm PT
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Bruce, isn't the TT course a little technical? Might Froome be a little conservative?
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 21, 2017 - 11:11pm PT
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The course is highly technical. But, if Uran and Bardet are willing to take risks to try to win then the gap to Froome isn't big enough that Chris can afford not to take risks as well. And, if Chris has to take risks, then maybe he decides to go for a stage win as well to "legitimize" his tour win. Froome has enough days in yellow and stage wins, but is he really concerned that he needs to win at least one stage to really win the Tour?
If the start times for these guys were separated by 30 minutes like you might have in a prologue at the beginning of the Tour, then Froome, if he started after Uran and Bardet, could figure out what he needed to do to win. But, since they all start one after another, I am not sure the split times, unless they are really bad, will have any affect. They are all going to have to ride pretty flat out.
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Kalimon
Social climber
Ridgway, CO
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Jul 21, 2017 - 11:33pm PT
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As much as I have been a Froome detractor, I must give the man ultimate respect. He is the most probable winner of the Tour and has been for pretty much the entire ride. I expect him to win the TT and vanquish any doubts regarding his superiority. The early losses of Cav and Sagan had a huge impact on the sprint classification . . . the highs and lows for Kittel, wow. Kudos to team Orica for their "Backstage Pass" . . . a wonderful insight and tribute to all things Tour de France.
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drF
Trad climber
usa
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Jul 22, 2017 - 08:12am PT
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The course is highly technical.
L0L. Clueless. Lots of long, flat straightaways with a mini-climb
Froome will ride at 80% and increase his advantage. Bardet and Uran will ride to not lose their spot to Landa.
Froome is the epitome of "class act"
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jul 22, 2017 - 08:38am PT
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Bardet pulled himself inside out to stay on the podium.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Jul 22, 2017 - 09:13am PT
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Pretty exciting finish for Bardet (and us) staying ahead of Landa by 1 second!
I knew Rigoberto would bump Bardet for 2nd but still hairy with his near dismount at the end.
I'm stoked for Bodnar and Bora since they got screwed in the first week.
I have a feeling the podium battle isn't over yet.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 22, 2017 - 10:29am PT
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I think one of the reasons why the TT course didn't look very technical on the TV is that there were several sections, such as the descent off the Notre Dame de la Garde, where there was no TV coverage so you didn't see the technical nature of the course. Also, this course was on downtown, city streets and not country roads. Constant vehicle traffic can lay down a thin film of oil on the roadway. Lastly, there were many cobblestone sections, some in turns. If it had been raining cobbles and the oil would have been very treacherous.
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