Tour de France Stage 11 - First Mountain Finish - SPOILERS

[simpsonn]

Originally Posted by paredown

Sky burned off one their own riders (of the 6 starting up the last climb)--and that meant that Kwiatkowski had to even do more work on the front--did you see when he switched off, he looked like he was going to fall off his bike. He'll be hurting tomorrow.

I felt sorry for Nieve--a brave ride. He looked too depressed to compete for second, or maybe he was gassed.

Kwiatovski has a habit of essentially shutting it down 100% after his pulls. I think he'll surprise a few people tomorrow by still supporting GT and Froome on the climbs.

[tctyres]

Originally Posted by kramnnim

Sounds like he will DNF today

Cav's out.
Kittel is out.

[Seamus]

Originally Posted by marciero

Froome's remarks a few days ago seemed to indicate being open to the possibility of supporting Thomas if things worked out that way.

Froome's ruthless, he's not going to "support" Thomas, only let Thomas soften up the rest and ride their wheels. Recall the end of the Vuelta last year where he sprinted for the Green jersey or the Dauphine when he attacked simply to scupper Richie Porte's chances.

[stev0]

disappointed how easily sky put this one away. hats off to nieve and dumoulin for giving it a go.

looks more and more like cav is completely finished - wonder how much longer he'll go for.

[MattTuck]

Originally Posted by GregL

Finish line quotes from Thomas stated that his attack was not planned. I think he saw an opportunity to win both the stage and the yellow jersey. This also puts Sky in the position of supporting both Thomas and Froome. As long as Thomas doesn't falter, the team is obligated to support him.

This is a little insurance against being asked to sacrifice too much for Froome. Sky is clearly a well oiled machine, with a clear pecking order. And yes, even with G ahead on the G.C., I'm certain that the team was still riding for Froome. I'm not sure that will change very much, but atleast G can ride for himself (if he chooses) -- and Sky probably needs to make a symbolic effort to support G.

As for the race today. Dan Martin is the man. If that guy could put together 3 weeks of good luck, I'm pretty sure he could finish top 3 at the tour.

Good for Tom Dumoulin too, nice to see that some riders still have guts and don't roll over when team Sky gets into battle formation.

[ergott]

The race is for second place, again.

Great things to watch per stage, but it's pretty conclusive Froome will win another.

[fignon's barber]

Maybe tomorrow we see Froome and Thomas finish hand in hand on Alpe D'Huez, ala Lemond/Hinault.

[redir]

I really thought Nieve had that one in the bag. The poor little guy just cracked. I love Dan Martin's fighting Irish spirit but it might not have been the best thing to drag Froome up there. In the end though it paid off for him jumping all the way up to 10th on GC. My prediction, if Martin hangs in there he's got 3rd over all.

[GregL]

Originally Posted by fignon's barber

Maybe tomorrow we see Froome and Thomas finish hand in hand on Alpe D'Huez, ala Lemond/Hinault.

I was thinking the same thing. This tour is shaping up to be similar to '85, '86 and '12. Froome may be the designated leader, but Thomas has his own ambitions. Going to be interesting to see how it plays out tomorrow and in the Pyrenees.





Greg

[MattTuck]

For what it's worth, I was expecting (hoping for) more from Landa. I wanted him to stick it to his old team -- like Nieve tried to do.

[denapista]

Originally Posted by PNW

Wow! Thomas really proved his strength. I thought Quintana would attack harder in this stage.

Movistar had the best chance to liven this race up... The peloton pushed to bridge Valverde, and that was the perfect moment for Quintana to take off.. Maybe he's waiting for Alp d'Huez... He just sat in that group and lost anoter casual .40 seconds on Froome and Sky. He's the biggest let down to me..

[johnmdesigner]

I guess I'm just losing interest in bike racing because it's all rather boring to me.
Tacky orca shirts always in the front.
You can't compare Froome and Thomas to Greg and the Badger. Now that was a feud.
Unless he gets hit with a bucket of pee or someone sticks a hypodermic needle in his arse we all know who's going to win.
I did enjoy the scenery today though.

[Heisenberg]

What a troubling thing to watch.

Was kind of hoping the charade would last a little bit longer...ah well. Cycling will never learn.

[jlwdm]

I thought it was a wonderful stage to watch. Lots of great strategy for stage and GC.

Sky showed they weren't worried at all about Valverde going from so far out.

And Lawson Cradduck finished before the cutoff.

Jeff

[mktng]

eh. i thought it was a fantastic last 5 km's !