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ms55401
Trad climber
minneapolis, mn
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Jul 25, 2018 - 07:25pm PT
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Quintana comes alive!
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 25, 2018 - 07:37pm PT
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Yes, Quintana comes alive like a fine vintage wine, riding with a relatively calm, quiet face, showing just a hint of steely determination. That's how it's done ...
His countenance cracking only at the very top, probably more out of emotional release.
Dan Martin gutting it out in front of God and everyone.
G Thomas going like a tank!
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 25, 2018 - 07:41pm PT
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NAIRO!
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jul 25, 2018 - 08:16pm PT
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Hope Nairo will be going well Friday.
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10b4me
Social climber
Lida Junction
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Jul 25, 2018 - 09:31pm PT
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Glad to see a win for Nairo. Reminds one of the great Colombian climbers.
Sagan looked pretty beat up at the end of today's race.
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ddriver
Trad climber
SLC, UT
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Jul 26, 2018 - 06:46am PT
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Looking good now for a new champion. Would like to see Primoz Roglic get on the podium.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 26, 2018 - 08:59am PT
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Today, Quintana and Yates went down but remounted.
Sagan says he had a few scratches, hit his ass muscle pretty hard. Also remarked that it's not a pleasure, but he must keep going.
The Tour is a lot like life: everything bad that can happen happens to someone, and somebody always wins.
Demare takes the win in the sprint finish today, after making the time cut only by minutes in recent stages.
Always entertaining to watch them organize and execute for those finale.
I was hoping to see Alexander Kristoff get this one. Sagan 8th, Phinney, 9th.
...............................................
Bruce, what do you have for us regarding tomorrow's stage, the Tourmalet and etc.?
Most certainly appreciate your expert input.
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
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Jul 26, 2018 - 10:14am PT
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Anyone got details on how Sagan got tangled up in a crash from yesterday? Looks like he had a good deal of road rash. As for today, it was smart that he stayed upright and finished in the top 10. He looked sore for sure.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 26, 2018 - 11:13am PT
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Mooch,
I just heard what Sagan told Steve Schlanger on TV. He said he just went too fast into a corner and crashed.
Tar,
this is a weird stage in that the Tourmalet from the east side is a pretty steep, tough climb, but the relatively long slog down the valley from Luz St. Saveur to Argeles-Gazost makes it hard to stay off the front. Teams like Movistar and Sky have the depth to get riders over the top and then work the flats(well, it's slightly downhill), but the other GC riders would either have to get in an early breakaway(which isn't going to happen) or work together off the front(which most likely isn't going to happen either).
If Chris Froome wants to launch an attack like he did on the Finestre in the Giro the Tourmalet would be perfect, but there's that little problem of having a teammate in yellow.
With the flat, 31km TT the next day, if riders like Quintana want to move up, especially past good TT riders like Roglic and Froome they are going to have to take out massive amounts of time on this stage and that isn't going to probably happen either.
So, I think all these factors lead me to believe that it will be a stalemate until they reach Argeles-Gazost. The Borderes/Sulour/Aubisque will be where all the action is. The Froome/Roglic battle for the final podium spot could see some action as they both would probably like to add some buffer time so the time trial isn't down to a few seconds.
If the big climbs were closer together it would be an entirely different stage.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 26, 2018 - 11:40am PT
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An artist added their touch of the Tour de France to the walls and parapets of medieval city of Carcassonne. You can only get this view from one specific location.
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 26, 2018 - 01:01pm PT
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The Tour de France goes over the Col du Tourmalet tomorrow. Here is an article I wrote for Peloton Magazine about riding the dirt road that starts at the top of the Tourmalet and heads up to the Pic Midi de Bigorre almost 3000' higher.
https://pelotonmagazine.com/features/beyond-the-tourmalet/
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mooch
Trad climber
Tribal Base Camp (Riverkern Annex)
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Jul 26, 2018 - 02:55pm PT
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Thanks for the info Bruce.
So, I think all these factors lead me to believe that it will be a stalemate until they reach Argeles-Gazost.
Money is on the man in yellow......who will stay that way when they head to Paris. Nairo may move up a notch after the TT but not enought to make a threat to yellow.
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dee ee
Mountain climber
Of THIS World (Planet Earth)
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Topic Author's Reply - Jul 26, 2018 - 03:00pm PT
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Thanks for the explanation of the yellow paint on the castle Bruce. I kept thinking it was more of an abstract and I liked it but I didn’t know what it really was.
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phylp
Trad climber
Upland, CA
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Jul 26, 2018 - 03:41pm PT
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The thing I found so interesting about that art work is how it was applied. I couldn't imagine it could be a type of paint, and it wasn't. We toured the castle and from a number of places you can see (and touch) the material. It's some kind of very thin metallic foil with a layer of yellow plastic feeling film on the surface and a very sticky back. It's like a very soft tin foil. It was applied in fairly small strips and pressed into the rough surface of the stone so that there are no air gaps. How I was able to determine this is that on the edges the strips are peeling back a bit here and there, so I could see the back and front. I leaned out and pressed it back in place at one spot and it re-adheared quite well. I imagine there is periodic maintenance to do this.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 26, 2018 - 03:56pm PT
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So, Bruce, beyond being a journalist, you can do narrative; this a fun read!
Good sign posting here, as well as a mischievous jab at Internet culture to boot:
An Internet search (always a reliable source of information) indicated that a dirt road from the top of the Tourmalet to the summit of the peak did, indeed, exist.
And after this gem, without spoiling the fun, I'll leave the intrepid reader to collect the rest of the bounty:
Once again, my bike proved to be a decent makeshift ice axe and I gingerly crossed up and over the obstacle and headed upward. https://pelotonmagazine.com/features/beyond-the-tourmalet/
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Reilly
Mountain climber
The Other Monrovia- CA
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Jul 26, 2018 - 05:21pm PT
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That ‘art’ is an abomination of a World Heritage site. 😔
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BruceHildenbrand
Social climber
Mountain View/Boulder
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Jul 26, 2018 - 10:05pm PT
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I don't think you will see Quintana on the attack on Friday. He has just too much time to make up, remember he probably needs an additional two minutes above and beyond what he needs to catch the riders in front of him because Roglic, Froome, Dumoulin and Thomas are all good time trialists and Nairo isn't.
My guess is that he will be satisfied with his stage win and just hang out in the pack.
It will also be interesting to see if Dumoulin goes on the attack. All the top pros are very good at watching their competition for weakness. I remember Tyler Hamilton telling me that at the 2002 Giro when he saw that Cadel Evans, who was in pink, was having trouble following his teammate, Dario Cioni, on the final climb of the final mountain stage he immediately attacked. Unfortunately, so did Paolo Salvodelli, but Tyler still ended up 2nd overall.
So, if Dumoulin sees any weakness in Thomas on the final three climbs(Borderes/solour/Aubisque) he will attack as he did on the Portet when he saw Froome was in trouble. Dumoulin needs to get back some time on Thomas, a minute would be nice, before the final TT.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 27, 2018 - 09:36am PT
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Okay, so stage winner Roglic (unavoidably?) caught a draft off of the moto bike near the end, which prompted Dumoulin to say on global television that he was f*#king pissed …
Well, I don't know so much about bike racing, but to my eyes that was a glorious display of competitive athletics today in the Pyrénées – thrilling racing in a fantastic setting: massive craggy walls and shark-toothed limestone summits all around, with the best racers in the world hanging it out on a high-speed descent through the mist.
Time trial coming!
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StahlBro
Trad climber
San Diego, CA
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Jul 27, 2018 - 10:06am PT
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Regardless of the moto, Roglic earned it. You can see he got a gap from the draft, but not his fault.
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Tarbuster
climber
right here, right now
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Jul 27, 2018 - 10:59am PT
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Also fun to see G Thomas stomp on the gas for second place, nabbing the time bonus.
Roglic in podium position. Yes, he looked strongest and smartest, going up and coming down.
Bardet maybe needs to eat a little more ...
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