70% chance of rain from 4pm onwards.
CF starts at 3.33pm.
It's raining now...
CF starts at 3.33pm.
It's raining now...
The Pro Cycling Thread (Part 2)
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Originally Posted by Lucidia2011:
“70% chance of rain from 4pm onwards.
CF starts at 3.33pm.
It's raining now...”
“70% chance of rain from 4pm onwards.
CF starts at 3.33pm.
It's raining now...”
Rain drops on the camera lens already, Bollocks.............
Hopefully it does rain from now to the end as at least it will be more equal for the GC guys. Not so good in the event of falls.
Who's in with the best chance of a catch? Vroome-Mollema?
Who's in with the best chance of a catch? Vroome-Mollema?
The rain just to the S looks pretty heavy on the rainfall radar, if that area crosses the course, which it might do, I can't see it drying out as one or two commentators are hoping, it could become torrential before the GC guys finish!
No signs of lightning in the area on the detectors as yet.
No signs of lightning in the area on the detectors as yet.
Originally Posted by Lucidia2011:
“http://europa.buienradar.nl/gmapstat...om&x=381&y=437
http://www.weathercast.co.uk/radar/france.html”
“http://europa.buienradar.nl/gmapstat...om&x=381&y=437
http://www.weathercast.co.uk/radar/france.html”
Radar option shows recent rainfall areas. Weather stations shows wind direction: http://www.wunderground.com/wunderma...v=0&mm=0&hur=0
Rain disappearing, ready for the GC guys, hopefully it even dries up a bit by the time Vroome starts..
Even if the rain's disappearing, the roads will be wet, and Sky have said Froome isn't going to take any risks, even if it means he loses a bit of time.
Van Garderen could end up the winner now.
Van Garderen could end up the winner now.
Apparently...
Norwegian TV talked to ASO, they said AdH will be raced only once if the weather doesn't change.
Norwegian TV talked to ASO, they said AdH will be raced only once if the weather doesn't change.
Originally Posted by divingbboy:
“Jens Voigt making a lot of sense on ITV4 right now about whether to switch bikes: he argues that it's not worth the risk: there are only 8kms left in the stage after the second climb, so you're talking about, maybe, being able to pick up 30 seconds using a TT bike, but then the rules stipulate that you can't have someone standing by the side of the road with a bike. The bike has to be taken off the roof of a car when required. So, the bike switch will take around 20 seconds, even if it goes completely smoothly. Is it really worth it?”
“Jens Voigt making a lot of sense on ITV4 right now about whether to switch bikes: he argues that it's not worth the risk: there are only 8kms left in the stage after the second climb, so you're talking about, maybe, being able to pick up 30 seconds using a TT bike, but then the rules stipulate that you can't have someone standing by the side of the road with a bike. The bike has to be taken off the roof of a car when required. So, the bike switch will take around 20 seconds, even if it goes completely smoothly. Is it really worth it?”
Yes, it could be for some of the top GC guys, even if it only gets them 10 seconds or so - 10 seconds would take Kreutziger above Contador, and 12 seconds would take Contador above Mollema.
Contador's not switching bikes, so that's all irrelevant, but the point is that for some of the other small gaps slightly further down it might be.
The rain's probably neutralised the effect of changing bikes though, I wouldn't be surprised if Froome doesn't bother now.
Van Garderen had a quick chat with the cameras after his ride today. Here's what he had to say: “The way Froome is riding right now I think that, even if it's raining, he might just beat me but who knows, I might just be the luckiest guy here today. Things haven't really gone my way from the start of this Tour but I wanted to take something away and have something to be proud of and hopefully today is the day.”
Originally Posted by Lucidia2011:
“Van Garderen had a quick chat with the cameras after his ride today. Here's what he had to say: “The way Froome is riding right now I think that, even if it's raining, he might just beat me but who knows, I might just be the luckiest guy here today. Things haven't really gone my way from the start of this Tour but I wanted to take something away and have something to be proud of and hopefully today is the day.””
“Van Garderen had a quick chat with the cameras after his ride today. Here's what he had to say: “The way Froome is riding right now I think that, even if it's raining, he might just beat me but who knows, I might just be the luckiest guy here today. Things haven't really gone my way from the start of this Tour but I wanted to take something away and have something to be proud of and hopefully today is the day.””
Yes, but the point is that Sky have said Froome will NOT be taking any risks, so might not be riding the way that he has in the Tour so far, meaning that Van Garderen's time has a good chance of standing.
All depends on how much the course does actually dry out of course, and how confident Froome feels about where the line is between riding for time and taking too many risks.
Yeah, getting back safe and keeping up with the GC guys means much more than the stage, although it would be nice 
Are all the other Sky riders back now?
They would be giving road status reports back to the car so decisions on the way Froome rides can be made.
They would be giving road status reports back to the car so decisions on the way Froome rides can be made.
Yeah, Porte is in, he was last up before CF...
Matt Slater, BBC sports news reporter in Chorges
"Interesting views from early starters about changing bikes on course. Jens Voigt didn't & thought it would cost too much time. Van Garderen changed & more than made up time with descent. None of Garmin-Sharp guys will change, mixed messages on Froome plan. The weather is big variable. Thunder but dry at finish. Last descent has at least one treacherous bend, could get slick."
Matt Slater, BBC sports news reporter in Chorges
"Interesting views from early starters about changing bikes on course. Jens Voigt didn't & thought it would cost too much time. Van Garderen changed & more than made up time with descent. None of Garmin-Sharp guys will change, mixed messages on Froome plan. The weather is big variable. Thunder but dry at finish. Last descent has at least one treacherous bend, could get slick."
Originally Posted by Mystical123:
“Yes, it could be for some of the top GC guys, even if it only gets them 10 seconds or so - 10 seconds would take Kreutziger above Contador, and 12 seconds would take Contador above Mollema.
Contador's not switching bikes, so that's all irrelevant, but the point is that for some of the other small gaps slightly further down it might be.
The rain's probably neutralised the effect of changing bikes though, I wouldn't be surprised if Froome doesn't bother now.”
“Yes, it could be for some of the top GC guys, even if it only gets them 10 seconds or so - 10 seconds would take Kreutziger above Contador, and 12 seconds would take Contador above Mollema.
Contador's not switching bikes, so that's all irrelevant, but the point is that for some of the other small gaps slightly further down it might be.
The rain's probably neutralised the effect of changing bikes though, I wouldn't be surprised if Froome doesn't bother now.”
The thing is, though, the maximum upside is 10 seconds. That assumes everything goes completely smoothly. I'm not sure that the potential 10 seconds is worth it given the risk that it might not go smoothly and may take a lot longer.
Originally Posted by divingbboy:
“The thing is, though, the maximum upside is 10 seconds. That assumes everything goes completely smoothly. I'm not sure that the potential 10 seconds is worth it given the risk that it might not go smoothly and may take a lot longer.”
“The thing is, though, the maximum upside is 10 seconds. That assumes everything goes completely smoothly. I'm not sure that the potential 10 seconds is worth it given the risk that it might not go smoothly and may take a lot longer.”
Well, it is if you believe what Voight said, I'm sure others would probably say differently - depends on the rider.
And the current leader, Van Garderen, changed bikes and leads by 34 seconds, so I think that says more than a hypothesising rider who didn't change!
I think whether Froome will bother changing his bike or not will depend on how the weather conditions affect the early part of his run. If he's got a chance of winning the stage, then he'll change his bike. If not, he probably won't bother.
There's still rain in the area but also dry patches, so anything could happen. Some rain on some of the course for some of the time, by the look of it.
Va Va Vrooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooome!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 
Originally Posted by Lucidia2011:
“Surely Vroome can top TJ and Valverde?”
“Surely Vroome can top TJ and Valverde?”
His name is Froome.
Winning the stage isn't a priority for him, getting through safely is. So if that means taking fewer risks and not winning, so be it. It's not worth going all out to try and beat Valverde if it means risking a crash.
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