Tour de France Stage 12 - Alpe d'Huez - SPOILERS

[stev0]

Shame about Nibali - Don't get why flares are a thing at all as spectators.

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

I won't deny they have the best budget, superb focus, and do a good job of sourcing talent.

IIRC Sky's budget is more than double of most teams save Katusha (proof that it's not all about $$), and it's definitely a big factor.

But I'm with Heisenberg. I agree that they have many competitive advantages (much of which can be attributed to their outsized budget and "new" ways of thinking), and that helps attract talent, increases their ability to be selective and strategically better pieced together, etc. Hard to say that it really shakes out in the way that the results do on paper.

[Clean39T]

So, the point of sponsoring a professional team is for your brand to get exposure via TV and other media - and for that to translate to increased brand value.

Winning stages and the GC increases exposure, but if those wins come with raised eyebrows and boos, do they accomplish the goal of increasing brand value?

Sky is winning in the record books, but are they winning in the brand value game? If not, how much longer are they going to be around?

Put another way, would a robotic and uncharismatic Bardet that won more stages do as much for the brand value of AG2R as our beloved panache-filled Bardet does even when not taking the win?

Just food for thought.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by jlwdm

That decision had to do with the interference not with where it happened in the race.

Jeff

Is running into the police motorbike that slowed due to smoke not "interference"?

Nibali deserves his time back.


EDIT: Unfortunately, looks like he might have a fractured vertebra - probably done.

[cloudguy]

Originally Posted by jlwdm

Here are some of the things Sky was doing a few years ago:

It hired Honda's Formula 1 logistics manager Gwilym Mason-Evans to gut the inside of the team bus and completely redesign it. It employed a team of carers who would go to the hotels where the riders would be staying to remove mattresses, vacuum the beds underneath and replace them with mattresses and pillows made of elastic foam that had been individually customized so that the riders could maintain the same posture every night. It taught its riders how to wash their hands properly, made them carry hand gels at all times and forbade handshakes to prevent the spreading of illnesses during competition.

Jeff

Just stop, please. You can make believe all you want, but save the tired arguments for those who don't know any better.

[Heisenberg]

Originally Posted by jlwdm

Here are some of the things Sky was doing a few years ago:

It hired Honda's Formula 1 logistics manager Gwilym Mason-Evans to gut the inside of the team bus and completely redesign it. It employed a team of carers who would go to the hotels where the riders would be staying to remove mattresses, vacuum the beds underneath and replace them with mattresses and pillows made of elastic foam that had been individually customized so that the riders could maintain the same posture every night. It taught its riders how to wash their hands properly, made them carry hand gels at all times and forbade handshakes to prevent the spreading of illnesses during competition.

Jeff

None of these things vastly alter phyiosology and spur recovery rates far superior to every other rider in the peloton. The advantage Sky’s two top riders have over their competition, from a purely physical perspective, is staggering. I’m sorry Jeff, but there’s no cumulative legal marginal-gaining that adds up to that.

[cloudguy]

Originally Posted by Heisenberg

but there’s no cumulative legal marginal-gaining that adds up to that.

Everybody wants to know what Sky's on. What are they on? They're sleepin' on the same posturepedic mattress every night. What are you on?

[MattTuck]

d'oh. Dumoulin, why did you stop? Get as much time on Froome as you can, and then get rid of G in the TT.

[hokoman]

Originally Posted by jlwdm

Here are some of the things Sky was doing a few years ago:

It hired Honda's Formula 1 logistics manager Gwilym Mason-Evans to gut the inside of the team bus and completely redesign it. It employed a team of carers who would go to the hotels where the riders would be staying to remove mattresses, vacuum the beds underneath and replace them with mattresses and pillows made of elastic foam that had been individually customized so that the riders could maintain the same posture every night. It taught its riders how to wash their hands properly, made them carry hand gels at all times and forbade handshakes to prevent the spreading of illnesses during competition.

Jeff

This is really funny.

[Jaybee]

Originally Posted by MattTuck

d'oh. Dumoulin, why did you stop? Get as much time on Froome as you can, and then get rid of G in the TT.

1:17 of TD's debt to Thomas is a mechanical and subsequent penalty for drafting his team car while trying to reconnect with the field.

He is right in this, and should be breathing down Thomas' neck. Of course, I'm not sure what kind of mattress TD sleeps on or if he keeps some Purell handy so maybe this is all hopeless anyway.

[Bruce K]

Craddock finished 42nd today.

Looks like he is recovering...

BK

[stev0]

Originally Posted by Jaybee

I'm not sure what kind of mattress TD sleeps on or if he keeps some Purell handy so maybe this is all hopeless anyway.

will have fingers crossed that TD can close the gap in the TT

[benb]

I have no idea what most of the teams are like but if Sky doesn't mind-f**k their riders all season long like Vaughters is known for doing that would give them a huge performance benefit.

Give them a feeling they're secure in their spot on the team, give them a clear plan for the season, stick to the plan, do not have the team sabotage the plan, pay them well so they're not freaking out about what to do next year. Stress ruins riding performance and if Sky can reduce stress that should certainly help.

I am not of the opinion that the majority of teams "get" this. I think Postal/Discovery "got" it and that was their advantage over the rest of the dopers, and I think Sky probably "gets" it too.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by benb

I am not of the opinion that the majority of teams "get" this. I think Postal/Discovery "got" it and that was their advantage over the rest of the dopers, and I think Sky probably "gets" it too.

Read the book Lance Armstrong's War by Dan Coyle. Armstrong's teammates were in it for the cash. The book specifically talks about the pressure on Postal team members to perform.

Greg

[Big Dan]

Yeah Postal and Sky "get it".

[GregL]

And a sad goodbye to Vince Nibbles: http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/vinc...our-de-france/

Maybe ASO will start to take rider safety more seriously in the future? I doubt it...

Greg