Originally Posted by Virtual Paul:
“Poor showing for GB. None in the top 70 less than half way through the 10 circuits, then all but one or two DNF soon after. Could it be they were all out of form having had different targets and priorities for the season, or that the bad weather put paid to any ambitions?”
The weather must be a massive factor, if you look at the names who have retired - Dan Martin, Nicholas Roche, Ritchie Porte etc - it's full of people who've got great pedigree on the type of course that they're on today. They've also all had good runs in a Grand Tour this year, so that must be a factor as well.
But the number of crashes is insane, even the likes of Contador's been on the deck!
The distance is far, far too long as well. It's going to end up at over 7 hours, which is ridiculous.