# Stage 6 Chatter (spoilers)



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

ok, there is a chance this small break can get away, right? millar, chavanel, and Auge. columbia will wanna chase it down simply because millar is on slipstream. but that would mean pulling quickstep with them. and slipstream with farrar. so far this tour boonen hasnt been a factor, but if columbia pulls him over the hills today, he might.

do you think millar is looking at his chain right now?


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Well it looks like we had the same idea at the same time. I'll back out my thread and we will play here.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Pretty good uphill kick at the finish.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

I was thinking yesterday that if Garmin put a player in a break, Columbia might chase harder.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

gap is down to under 2:00. even with the rain i think they will be pulled back.
rats.
well, maybe it gives oscar f a chance today. but then again i saw flecha is from barcelona. where was that nugget of info when i made my pick yesterday?


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

David Miller is only 1:07 down on GC. They will have to chase him down.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

4kms worth of descent, in sh*tty weather...if this gets ugly, they might get away,


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Phil just said it's raining so hard at the finish that he can't see out of the booth.


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Astana is taking the lead for this decent.. Smart move but lets see if someone tries going past them..


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

jd3 said:


> David Miller is only 1:07 down on GC. They will have to chase him down.


i feel like a n00b. where was my freakin head?

but it adds that astana will need to work the chase just as much as columbia. highroad should be pretty rested if astana does help chase. so are we seeing the makings of another cav stage here?


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Augé just took over the lead in the King of the Mountains.


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

*astana wants to give AC a Spanish victory?*

astana seems to be trying to stay near the front, where they can avoid wipe-outs, plus be in striking position if anything funny happens. If LA is really confident he can win yellow over AC, he might agree to work to give AC a Spanish win today. Might reduce bad blood between them.


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

politics in a bike race... NEVER! haha


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## Len J (Jan 28, 2004)

Why would Astana bbe worried about Miller? Cancelerra maybe, but non of the GC hopefuls would chase him down.

len


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

what's that on the back of Millar's helmet? radio?


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Creakyknees said:


> what's that on the back of Millar's helmet? radio?


Phil just said that is a radio on Miller's head.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Creakyknees said:


> what's that on the back of Millar's helmet? radio?


Yep...


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## Snakebit (Mar 18, 2002)

Creakyknees said:


> what's that on the back of Millar's helmet? radio?


That was what I heard. 

Perhaps it is the control mechanism and the aliens didn't have time to properly implant it?


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Anyone see those little cyclist plastic toys the camera man showed off? Pretty cool:-D


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

ZoSoSwiM said:


> Anyone see those little cyclist plastic toys the camera man showed off? Pretty cool:-D


That was a cool shot.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

35k to go. rain starts again. gap still hovering @ 1:00. now there is a fourth rider with the break.
not sure how tight and technical the final 30k are.

EDIT: wait, is it 35k or 13k? CN has it all screwy...


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

weltyed said:


> 35k to go. rain starts again. gap still hovering @ 1:00. now there is a fourth rider with the break.
> not sure how tight and technical the final 30k are.


Down goes a few riders from Columbia...ouch


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## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

Marc said:


> Down goes a few riders from Columbia...ouch


Farrar down, but he's up and on the road quickly. Mick R. looks like he's hurting.


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## zeytin (May 15, 2004)

Poor Rogers, I remember him sliding down the mountain the last time.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

haussler went down, too.

didnt he fall and then come back and win a stage this year? maybe that was someone else...


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## Fredke (Dec 10, 2004)

WTF? Does Millar really think he can ITT as fast as the Peloton for 30 K?


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

millar breaks away solo


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

weltyed said:


> millar breaks away solo


It's a long way to go by himself.


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

Good luck on that wet descent.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

must be out for TV time and hoping for rain.
and that his chain doesnt break


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

jd3 said:


> It's a long way to go by himself.


1/2 the break gets caught....methinks Millar is sunk.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

At 25k Miller is up 1:00, Astana is chasing.


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## brentster (Jul 12, 2007)

weltyed said:


> must be out for TV time and hoping for rain.
> and that his chain doesnt break


Go David!!


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Peloton is gaining fast on Miller


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

brentster said:


> Good luck on that wet descent.


It looks twisty, should be fun


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## Andrea138 (Mar 10, 2008)

Gooooooooooooooooo Millaaaaaaaaaaar!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## RSPDiver (Jun 3, 2006)

Wow, Millar is pulling away now? 1:05 ahead


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

The bunch has really taken up the chase now


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## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

59sec... he could maybe do it. oh and crash! Big pile up from the peloton turning left.

Also quite funny to see a Columbia rider arguing with a Rabobank guy

"you chase!"

"No, you chase! You guys have the Cavenator!"


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Crash


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Crash was in the back of the pack, chase is still on


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## majura (Apr 21, 2007)

and another crash

Boonen down again. That's what you get when you take an aussie's place


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Another crash, Boonen down


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Millar @ 41"


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

6k, Miller @ 40 sec.


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

5 k! 37 seconds!!! Go go go!!!


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

The crowd is unbelievable, solid people on both sides of the road for the last 10k.


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## Andrew1 (May 27, 2009)

4k and 30 sec!

Freire and Flecha are there!


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Miller's caught


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

swept up so fast. damn!


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## RSPDiver (Jun 3, 2006)

Damn, caught.


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Thor wins


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

Great finish thor!


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## jpelaston (Jun 8, 2008)

Thor wins. Too bad for MIllar.. I was hoping for him to hold them off.

Exciting finish though..


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## ZoSoSwiM (Mar 7, 2008)

They finish the stage and the weather begins to clear up. haha


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## jd3 (Oct 8, 2004)

Question is, did Michael Rogers survive his crash?


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Thor!!


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## ewarnerusa (Oct 11, 2007)

Points Jersey note from Velonews ticker
CPelkey: Ohhh ho ho ho, look at the points standings now:

1. Mark Cavendish Team Columbia - Htc 106 points 
2. Thor Hushovd Cervelo Test Team 105 points 

Yeah, take Cav down a notch! I know he's still in first, but I'm glad the "juniors" showed him some quality junior racing. Did Boonen get hurt?


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## bmxhacksaw (Mar 26, 2008)

BMX likes Thor


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## Sojourneyman (Jun 22, 2007)

Wow. That was a huge amount of people out to watch the race.

Too bad for Millar. It was cool to see people in GC contention (currently) taking risks though.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

why do my meetings always seem to pull me in when the stage gets exciting?

1 point separating thor and cav? does cervelo try to send thor up the road to take an intermediate sprint or are they now concentrating on the mountains and hoping thor makes it over? then they will have it out. i imagine columbia will try to pacman all those intermediates...
could make the sprint in paris all that much more exciting.

tomorrow will probably see two jersey changes. but the biggest news story will be astana and saxobank.


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## JohnHenry (Aug 9, 2006)

Sojourneyman said:


> Wow. That was a huge amount of people out to watch the race.
> 
> Too bad for Millar. It was cool to see people in GC contention (currently) taking risks though.


Even ol' Cadel Evans tried to make a move.


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## JohnHenry (Aug 9, 2006)

weltyed said:


> why do my meetings always seem to pull me in when the stage gets exciting?
> 
> 1 point separating thor and cav? does cervelo try to send thor up the road to take an intermediate sprint or are they now concentrating on the mountains and hoping thor makes it over? then they will have it out. i imagine columbia will try to pacman all those intermediates...
> could make the sprint in paris all that much more exciting.
> ...


I wonder who has the best chance of getting over the mountains Thor/Cav?


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Damn. Great ending indeed. 

Millar was so close too.


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## uzziefly (Jul 15, 2006)

Fredke said:


> WTF? Does Millar really think he can ITT as fast as the Peloton for 30 K?


Yes. He almost made it too. He went a tad too early but that was his best shot. Too bad he was already cooked near the end though. If the break was bigger and he went, I'm sure he'd have won.


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## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

It stinks that I missed it all. Dashed out of the patient treatment area to catch the end though.

Go Thor! 

Sorry for Millar though, what a disappointment for him...so darned close!

Boo hoo for me...I'll miss all of _tomorrow's_ stage. That, is just unacceptable.


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## function (Jun 20, 2008)

I'm actually looking forward to the green jersey competition this year, its fun watching sprinters trying to get over mountains.


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## Mel Erickson (Feb 3, 2004)

JohnHenry said:


> I wonder who has the best chance of getting over the mountains Thor/Cav?


I may be wrong but I think Hushovd has finished every Tour he started. Cavendish on the other hand............

Unless injured I think there's no doubt Thor will be there to contest the sprint on the Champs-Élysées. With Cavendish there is some doubt.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

I'm a big fan of Thor, it is good to see somebody finally giving Cavendish a run for his money. After Hincapie's annual mechanical, I was really pulling for Thor in Roubaix; if he hadn't crashed I think he could have contested Boonen at the sprint. Thor is a great classics rider, but it is worth noting that Cavendish has dedicated a lot of time lately to strengthening his all-around skills. It will be a good match.

It seems that the much-hyped Cavendish/Boonen rivalry has fizzled out. Cavendish/Hushovd (maybe Farrar)? Sounds pretty exciting to me. 

If you look at stage races since Cavendish's breakout last year, nobody has beaten him as many times as Hushovd (3 that I have seen) and I think he is the only sprinter that has beaten him more than once. All it takes is for the slightest little thing to be off, which Thor can handle better than Cav. 

No doubt that Cavendish is the fastest guy in the sport right now, but if he were on a weaker team than he is on now, I wager that he would not dominate bunch sprints nearly as well as he does now.


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