July 3, Stage 2: Les Essarts (TTT) 23km

ednwireland

Measuring just 23km and on flat roads all the way, this team time trial test is designed to split up the contenders for the yellow jersey but not to the point where any of them end up totally out of contention. The equivalent stage run over 19.3km on the opening day of May's Giro d'Italia ended with just 73 seconds separating HTC in first place and Euskaltel in last. On that basis the gap between top and bottom today shouldn't be as much as two minutes, but that same Giro stage also suggests that euskaltel leader Samuel Sánchez is likely to be the main loser here.

Sundy

So after tomorrow Samuel Sánchez's hopes of a podium finish could be over. Shocking really!

Hail 2 Da Thief

Time AG2R posted aint too bad. 25s down on Saxo/Contador.

Shame we haven't also got Dan martin to follow!

ednwireland

garmin 59.6km/h at first check :eek:

happytramp

Don't see Roche losing 1.00+, a pretty decent mid table finish I reckon.

mloc123

Stephen Roche defending contador... Suprise suprise

Inquitus

Sky rocking it atm.

Hail 2 Da Thief

Glad I backed Sky e/w now rather than to win!

Lemag

Aw man! There goes my €5. Looking good in the tennis though.

Hail 2 Da Thief

Lemag wrote: »

Looking good in the tennis though.

Nadal breaks serve just as you post! :pac:

Colmo52

Martin & Evans are the only two who can stop Thor taking yellow. (realistically)

Khannie

Khannie wrote: »

Stuck 7 euro on sky. Had money in a betfair account just sitting there from previous boxing win. May as well put it to some use says I.

Damnit! Really thought they had a chance after the first split.

Adds a bit of spice to the proceedings though.

Inquitus

Great Leopard Trek TTT dragging the 2 deadweights around, another 22 secs into bernie! Awesome!

Edit: Cancellara is a machine!

luapenak

Inquitus wrote: »

Edit: Cancellara is a machine!

The man is unreal

Lumen

Inquitus wrote: »

Cancellara is a machine!

luapenak wrote: »

The man is unreal

Lay-oh-pard Trek need a chain of these. Not sure if they're UCI-legal.

ROK ON

Haven't seen today's stage but from what I have read I can see why Vaughters left Dan Martin at home.

Inquitus

ROK ON wrote: »

Haven't seen today's stage but from what I have read I can see why Vaughters left Dan Martin at home.

Aye and I can see why Cervelo would desperately want to win the TTT, but personally I don't deem it worthy of leaving Martin out. After all buying bikes is all about looks, and I like the Team Sky Pinarello styling.....

kennyb3

Inquitus wrote: »

I like the Team Sky Pinarello styling.....

Personally think the bendy forks are hideous looking but anyway.

Very surprised by leopard doing so well, even with cancellara couldnt see that happening. He is some beast

Lemag

Hail 2 Da Thief wrote: »

Nadal breaks serve just as you post! :pac:

So I at the end of the day I made €1.50 from PP:) Probably not as much as macken04 did, however. Around about the time of his post PP were giving odds of 66/1 for BMC to win.

Hail 2 Da Thief

Well you trump me as I only made €1.05 by backing Sky e/w!

I hope you followed through with that bet macken04! Decent winnings if you did!

buffalo

heh! I made a whole euro! I blame Bernie Eisel for the amount not being greater!

ednwireland

buffalo wrote: »

heh! I made a whole euro! I blame Bernie Eisel for the amount not being greater able to stay upright!

fyp

TheBlaaMan

Inquitus wrote: »

Great Leopard Trek TTT dragging the 2 deadweights around, another 22 secs into bernie! Awesome!

Edit: Cancellara is a machine!

There's something a bit dishonest about this TTT business..... The two Schlecks are only a mere 4 seconds off the yellow jersey after that sacks-of-lard display yesterday where Cancellara saved their scrawny skins.......:rolleyes:

Lumen

TheBlaaMan wrote: »

There's something a bit dishonest about this TTT business..... The two Schlecks are only a mere 4 seconds off the yellow jersey after that sacks-of-lard display yesterday where Cancellara saved their scrawny skins.......:rolleyes:

It's a team sport.

Pherekydes

I just realized Frank Schleck is #18! Jeez, what a lazy baxtard. Even my 13 year-old daughter, who knows squat about cycling, kept asking me why #18 wasn't taking his turn at the front.

Team Leopard-Trek has just become, in my mind, Team Schleck-Trek.

Morrisseeee

It could be good team tactics aswell (oh wait, this is the Schlacks ), but I suppose if other team members can put the effort in then why should the 'other 2' waste their energy !!

TinyExplosions

Morrisseeee wrote: »

It could be good team tactics aswell (oh wait, this is the Schlacks ), but I suppose if other team members can put the effort in then why should the 'other 2' waste their energy !!

It's great tactics... you don't see everyone going "Oh, Cavendish, the lazy fucker, he hid in the back all day, only popping out to win at the end..." -you play the cards you have, and in Leopard Treks case, that's protecting the Schlecks in the TT, and they did that to perfection

mloc123

Award for slickest looking execution had to go to Sky, it was like watching a track team as they dropped off the front each time.

Lumen

Pherekydes wrote: »

I just realized Frank Schleck is #18! Jeez, what a lazy baxtard. Even my 13 year-old daughter, who knows squat about cycling, kept asking me why #18 wasn't taking his turn at the front.

Team Leopard-Trek has just become, in my mind, Team Schleck-Trek.

What on earth are you wittering on about? :pac:

The Schlecks are the team leaders and GC candidates. Keeping them sheltered and out of trouble is the highest priority.

Or maybe you're being ironic, I'm not sure.

ednwireland

TinyExplosions wrote: »

It's great tactics... you don't see everyone going "Oh, Cavendish, the lazy fucker, he hid in the back all day, only popping out to win at the end..." -

errrrrr, you do - all the time

TinyExplosions

ednwireland wrote: »

errrrrr, you do - all the time

I've not yet seen him called out for not doing work on the front in a sprint stage, that's not what he's there for

ednwireland

TinyExplosions wrote: »

I've not yet seen him called out for not doing work on the front in a sprint stage, that's not what he's there for

yeh but you get loads of people on internet forums complaining that he gets an easy ride and then pops out with a few hundred meters to go to win

(imo its b*ll*x you just have to watch some of his wins, i just love to see him ride off the front of a bunch going flat out )

mloc123

ednwireland wrote: »

yeh but you get loads of people on internet forums complaining

:eek:

Pherekydes

TinyExplosions wrote: »

It's great tactics... you don't see everyone going "Oh, Cavendish, the lazy fucker, he hid in the back all day, only popping out to win at the end..." -you play the cards you have, and in Leopard Treks case, that's protecting the Schlecks in the TT, and they did that to perfection

I think there's a difference between protecting your sprinter on a 4 and a half hour stage and letting your team leaders wheel suck on a 25 minute stage.

How many other team leaders took the day off yesterday? Answers on a postcard...

Here's another point: if the Schlecks played their part Leopard-Trek would surely have gone more than 4 seconds faster and taken the yellow jersey. There's no less than five of them on 4 seconds. Surely having 5 men at the front would do tons for the sponsor?

Lumen

Pherekydes wrote: »

Here's another point: if the Schlecks played their part Leopard-Trek would surely have gone more than 4 seconds faster and taken the yellow jersey. There's no less than five of them on 4 seconds. Surely having 5 men at the front would do tons for the sponsor?

...but having to defend the yellow jersey in the first week is a disadvantage if you want to win the GC.

TinyExplosions

Pherekydes wrote: »

I think there's a difference between protecting your sprinter on a 4 and a half hour stage and letting your team leaders wheel suck on a 25 minute stage.

How many other team leaders took the day off yesterday? Answers on a postcard...

How many other team leaders (of the top teams) are as rubbish at time trialing? Evans, Contador, Horner/Vandevelde, Wiggins at al are miles better against the clock, so have no need to take the day off.

It's a team sport, you play to your teams strengths, and in the case of Leopard, it's not letting Fränk or Andy near the front!

Pherekydes wrote: »

Here's another point: if the Schlecks played their part Leopard-Trek would surely have gone more than 4 seconds faster and taken the yellow jersey. There's no less than five of them on 4 seconds. Surely having 5 men at the front would do tons for the sponsor?

Unlikely imo, their TT is so poor, that it's better to have Cancellara dragging them most of the way. It'd be easier designing your training around having 7 riders pulling with your leaders safely at the back, than having them take a bit of a turn if they felt ok -it's all about consistency and rhythm in a TTT, and I think they did the best they could at it