TDF Discussion - here be spoilers

[papaver]

You can't, unless you want to be the "other woman". He's married and got a kid already I think.

Veronica

detail detail

[Jo-n-NY]

My work from home day just by chance was today. It was a very exciting day!!!

This and a lunch hour ride, life was good, now it is pouring with some major thunder.

[Eden]

all this chatter and no spoilers

Well I for one am quite happy I did not see the outcome of stage 4 before watching it. WOW - Astana take the win, but Cancellara keeps the yellow with NO actual time lead - well, must be 10ths or even 100ths of a second, but the official results on the letour web page don't go out that far. I love the close, close, close ones.

Honestly I think this is very good for Contador - gives him time up on pretty much all of the other favorites before the race even gets into the mountains (and plenty - nearly 3 min on Sastre and Cadel) and shows how strong the team is, but Saxobank is still in the position to have to defend yellow, rather than the pressure being on Astana.

[jobob]

Absolutely.

I kind of wonder if Astana breathed a collective sigh of relief when they ended up just missing out on the yellow. Takes the onus off of them until they hit the climbs.

Interesting how many riders were shed over the course of the TTT - especially in the case of Team Garmin! I wonder if any riders (on Garmin or otherwise) were eliminated by time cutoffs. I poked around a little but didn't see anything to that effect. (I *think* riders that are shed off are given the times that they actually cross the line, rather than the team time of the 5th rider across, but maybe that's not correct)

I feel bad for Denis (splat) Menchov and Cadel Evans, it looks like they might be well out of contention now. Poor Cadel.

Yes, things are looking a bit grim for Sastre as well. In theory he is capable of making up lots of time in the mountains, but still.

[Eden]

Riders left behind got their actual time! The rules did not mention time cuts, but during the race there was some talk about worrying about this (when they were in the Garmin car and talking about leaving Tyler Farrah behind), so I think being time cut may have been a possibility. The rules this year definitely made the TTT stage very, very tactical.

[limewave]

I was a little worried because I've been so busy that I haven't had a chance to watch or read anything TdF lately. It's my favorite part of the year and I thought I was missing out.

Fortunately, I worked from home today and had it on in the background. It was so exciting! I love TdF. So much drama. Every move Lance makes is so calculated, I really enjoy watching him race.

[jobob]

Ah, OK, I thought I heard that (about the actual times given to riders left behind) on the broadcast, but I wasn't positive.

I wouldn't be surprised if Saxo Bank would have liked to be able to shed their weak TT'ers as well, although that would have meant shedding their GC contender. ooops. So I guess Cancellara just figured he'd pick up the slack. That said, Andy Schleck did pretty well in Stage 1 so maybe Bobby J's tutelage is working.

[SadieKate]

http://www.letour.fr/2009/TDF/LIVE/us/reglements.html

Team time-trial stage: no dawdling about
The riders reach the most impressive average speeds when they ride in groups. In the latest team time-trial stage organised between Tours and Blois in 2005, the Discovery Channel riders set a record: 57.32 km/h on a 67.5 km-long stage. Team time-trials are back on the Tour de France this year during the Montpellier stage. For the occasion, the rules have undergone a major change: the time recorded for a team will be the time of the fifth rider. For those riders who are left behind during the team time-trial stage, their own time (real time) will be applied and taken into account for the individual general standings. The organisers have decided to go for a relatively short stage (39 km) around Montpellier to limit the consequences of the cancellation of this “comprehensive insurance”.

[jobob]

Thank you dear.

[Trekhawk]

I sat up late to watch this stage and I am sure glad I did. What an exciting stage. Lance predicted it would be carnage on the course and he was right with lots of nasty spills.

[Zen]

It came from Bike Snob so it's highly dubious.But the post included a photo

"But while Cavendish's victory salute may have been sub-par, his sprint certainly wasn't... This would explain why Cavendish forsakes the usual crabon fribé frame and instead opts for riveted alumin(i)um:

(I'd link to the relevant Cyclingnews page but their new site is even more confusing than my pannier.)"

[Veronica]

Is what true?

That Cavendish won? Yes.

That he looked like he was pretending to be ET and phoning home? Yes.

Veronica

[Zen]

Not sure if that was intended as sarcasm but that wasn't the question.

[KnottedYet]

Zen, I don't think it's true.

Cavendish Cycles is a company in UK (maybe where Snob got that picture).

Here's what MC is riding, according to my little google search: http://www.bikeradar.com/gear/articl...t-addict-19867

But wouldn't it be nifty if someone DID ride an alu, ti, or steel bike in the TdF? (rivets would just add to the fun, don't you think?)

[Reesha]

I want to have Fabian Cancellara's children. That is all.

I'll fight you for him