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Post by ospelgull on Jul 25, 2010 12:03:47 GMT
Contador in tears after yesterdays stage. He had to dig deep to keep Schleck off his back and it was there for us all to see what it means to him. Chapeau monsieur Contador! Had Contador waited when Schleck's chain came off then it would have been a completely different 3rd week in the Tour. We probably would have seen Contador in the attack on the flanks of the Tourmalet. And Schleck also because he would have felt that his 31 seconds were never going to be enough with the time trial still ahead. Schleck is getting closer to Contador and some day he will win the Tour de France. It makes you wonder what he could have achieved this year if his brother Frank would have stayed on his bike... Merse, I think it doesn't matter if they ride the Alpe d'Huez or not. Thousands of Dutchmen and women 'lock' themselves on a random mountain to watch their favorites cycle by. ;D It's mostly the Spanish, Dutch, English and the Belgians whom you see on the Cols. The crowds on the Tourmalet were unbelievable, they made so much noise and narrowed the road. An accident waiting to happen but gladly it didn't. Robert Gesink , for example, couldn't overtake anyone in the final kilometers because of the huge crowds. And Merse, the Manx Express is still waiting for his 15th win in the Tour, he'll probably have to wait a few more hours  |
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 25, 2010 12:19:10 GMT
Had Contador waited when Schleck's chain came off then it would have been a completely different 3rd week in the Tour.
And Merse, the Manx Express is still waiting for his 15th win in the Tour, he'll probably have to wait a few more hours  Yes, it's a little like kicking the ball into touch in a football match isn't it. My pereference is to see no quarter given, when it's a situation like that on the mountain; but to take the honourable path when outside influences hamper a rider and THAT is precisely what happened this year isn't it? ...................and yes, "sums" never were my strong point...............it's 14 isn't it. I had a very early Sunday morning job ywo years ago picking someone called "Mr Cavendish" from the Malmaison Hotel in Smithfield and of course it was the Manx Express himself! He had been riding in the annual Smithfield Nocturn Criterium the night before, and was en route to Gatwick and a flight home to Isle of Man for Sunday dinner with mum before another flight to Florence and preparation for the Giro d'Italia, The Tour and The Olympics in Beijing. Talk about "have bike will travel"! |
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Post by ospelgull on Jul 25, 2010 14:25:11 GMT
I don't agree on the "outside influences". Schleck himself made the mistake while changing gear. If your back ringset (?) is on the smallest ring and you swich your front ringset from small to big you've got a bg chance that the chain comes off.
ps Don't know if I used the right words?
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Post by chrish on Jul 25, 2010 15:48:52 GMT
Well, that was some finish. "Where is the Manx Missile?" said the commentator and whoooshhh like an exocet he zooms past. Very impressive from Mark Cavendish and all the more impressive without his lead out man Renshaw.
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 25, 2010 15:51:08 GMT
Yessssssssssssss! Who needs a lead out man? Cavendish once again, victoire etage numbre quinze! The outside influences I referrred to Ospel was the oil on the road, not the chain coming off ~ very much a constituent part of cycling I'm afraid
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 25, 2010 16:05:41 GMT
.....................and in direct contrast to the exocet finish was the halting of the race at Kilometre 0 this morning so that the Radioshack team could change back into their correct racing tops and not the special edition cancer awareness ones they had signed on and ridden the "depart fictell" in, as ordered by the race commisars who had threatened to disqualify the lot of 'em, including departing all time legend Lance Armstrong. To see riders sitting at the side of the road pinning on their own race numbers reminded one of a Sunday morning club event.................oh, it was Sunday morning!
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Post by ospelgull on Jul 26, 2010 6:40:54 GMT
Yessssssssssssss! Who needs a lead out man? Cavendish once again, victoire etage numbre quinze! The outside influences I referred to Ospel was the oil on the road, not the chain coming off ~ very much a constituent part of cycling I'm afraid Merse, re-read and re-read your post and now it's clear what you meant. Must work a bit more on my English  Cavendish superiority is almost scary, that boy can ride like hell! Also good to see that he can finish without the help from his team. |
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merse
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Post by merse on Jul 26, 2010 7:54:53 GMT
Cavendish superiority is almost scary, that boy can ride like hell! Also good to see that he can finish without the help from his team. ........................and that's one rider the scrutineers could justifiably check for having a "motor" generated by pedal power in his bottom bracket. The boy is a phenominum,what if he had shared his career with Abdoujaparov and Cippolini? Imagine those three scorching down the final metres!  |
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Post by chrish on Jul 26, 2010 9:24:42 GMT
Cavendish superiority is almost scary, that boy can ride like hell! Also good to see that he can finish without the help from his team. ........................and that's one rider the scrutineers could justifiably check for having a "motor" generated by pedal power in his bottom bracket. The boy is a phenominum,what if he had shared his career with Abdoujaparov and Cippolini? Imagine those three scorching down the final metres! I think he'd wipe the floor with them as well on current form! |
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