# TdF'16 Stage08 Jul09 Discussion Thread - Spoilers.



## PJay (May 28, 2004)

TdF'16 Stage08 Jul09 Discussion Thread - Spoilers.

--On Friday, Nibali did try to use the breakaway as a stepping stool to be a major contender making a big move. It worked. Kind of.

I thought Cancellara might make a move, and for a moment it seemed like he would - this would have been a good day for it.

Valverde continues to show up like a bad penny.

Froome is in the proverbial catbird seat, probably surfing social media on an Apple Watch as his team expertly shepherds him along. Like last year, TJ is in the mix...

This stage has climbing. Major fall-out and shelling ahead...


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## Skewer (Sep 13, 2011)

Sagan for the win.


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

OK, I have looked over the finish. This looks familiar - I will have to see if they ran a stage this way, or opposite direction, in the last couple of Tours.

For those who survive Tourmalet, after 60 miles of pedaling, then survives three more categorized climbs, the reward will be a cool downhill of about 8 miles, from Col de Peyresourde, a descent of about 1,000 metres, that does not look too daunting, then a fairly pleasant left turn and a decent mile and a half to the finish line in Bagneres de Luchon.

So, anyone hoping to sustain a lead on the final 10 miles will have to follow Rule #5; it will not be easy to hold off challengers.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

And for the first course, we have this nice leisurely climb up the Tourmalet!










Personally, I wish this stage was ending on the Peyresourde - though that might be considered cruel and unusual ;-)


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

You're right it does look like a fimiliar route.

Unless Valverde gets around to loosing that time he keeps claiming he's going to loose because he wants to get in a breakaway and go stage hunting, he'll be there at the end of this stage sa well. Apparently Movistar has again stated that Quintana needs to follow Valverde on decents to have any confidence in going down them.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

I find that so weird - I guy who lives in the high mountains of Columbia can't descend well - WTH?


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## geekjimmy (Mar 26, 2012)

NBCSN is showing Mecam car auction today instead of The Tour. Grrrrrr... 

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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

It's,on the main NBC channel.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Good ol' Froome dog. Using time honored tactics today.

Not sure where the quote or saying came from initially, but it goes something like:

"When training climbs, don't coast over the top. Train to put it in the big ring as you crest and hammer it down. Train to bury your opponents when they are in the red, at the top of the climb. That's when you attack, when they are hurting the worst. Train to kill."

[video=dailymotion;x4jw4pn]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4jw4pn[/video]


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

[video=dailymotion;x4jw4xj]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4jw4xj[/video]


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

[video=dailymotion;x4jw58t]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x4jw58t[/video]


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## Frankenbiker (Jul 2, 2015)

Got to love the wack he gave the fan that crowded him on the climb.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

Frankenbiker said:


> Got to love the wack he gave the fan that crowded him on the climb.


Ya think his head is in the game?


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

One of the greatest descents ever. Wow. 

LOL at Kelly saying "Oh my God...I'm scared" so you know it's a good one. 

He must have been practising that pedal style on Mallorca, it looks impossible. Quintana and Valverde will be kicking themselves for being caught off guard by a rookie mistake. Coasting over the top and getting a bottle while your rival takes off. They were not worried for a while, still chatting, must have been sure they could catch him. Wrong!


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

Well, my guess was close. I thought there would be one non-threatening winner, then this rare-air group of contenders, with one or a few trying to break off the front for the final downhill, where there obviously was an opportunity, but a narrow one.

Well-played, Froome - and chapeau to his team, getting him this far with the energy to go into time-trial riding for the final few KM.

Who was drinking at the final crest? Was that Quintana? I was like, 'you cannot be drinking now!'


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

2014, stage 16 ended in the same town, but came down from a different peak - from Port de Bales. That's why it looked familiar.


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

PJay said:


> Who was drinking at the final crest? Was that Quintana? I was like, 'you cannot be drinking now!'














Nairo Q said:


> "When he goes, it's hard to stay with him but I've trained specifically to respond to his attacks and not lose ground," Quintana told Gazzetta dello Sport.
> 
> "In the past, on Mont Ventoux, and La Pierre Saint Martin, I was the rider who lost least time to Chris but that's not enough anymore. I think I've improved as a rider and matured too. I've learnt how to manage my strength and understand the moment when I've got to be 100% ready, while also being relaxed and confident."
> 
> 'I've trained specifically to respond to his attacks'


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## MMsRepBike (Apr 1, 2014)

Frankenbiker said:


> Got to love the wack he gave the fan that crowded him on the climb.


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## thumper8888 (Apr 7, 2009)

Another satisfying stage. great tour so far. now we need an injection of drama, some sort of substory.
That punch was likely deserved... some of the fans have really been jackasses in recent years, and that guy was close enough to brush riders or worse. And Froome for one has had to put up with more than any other rider from the bad ones (urine). But it may come back and haunt him a little, in part because he connected so well. If the guy is a whiner he could file assault blah blah blah.


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## AlanE (Jan 22, 2002)

I have to say that I've never been much of a Chris Froome fan. I certainly recognize that he's a great cyclist, but I always thought that he was kind of boring to watch. His main strength is his climbing ability, but he mostly just stays in the saddle and powers his way up. Well that certainly changed today - he was definitely out of the saddle on that final descent. And punching out that idiot fan on the road was the icing on the cake.


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## BCSaltchucker (Jul 20, 2011)

Brilliantly played man.

Froome must have properly scouted this descent - though it is commonly in the Tour and well known. Not a twisty descent, more gradual and with long straights. So with Froome's higher mass he knew he'd descend faster than the lightweight Quintana and Valverde. And yet lucked out - none of the other guys helped Quintana! They were not on their top tubes pushing it like they should have been.

wonderful win. Like a Merckz or Hinault would cheekily pull out of nowhere. nice. And I doubt it took much out of Froome compared to a real mtn climb attack.

all these Brits snagging stages. 2 Brits on an African team winning 4 stages. Brit from Africa winning now too. And a Brit likely to win Wimbledon tomorrow too


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## Fireform (Dec 15, 2005)

That was one for the ages. Nerve, skill, tactics and power. I wasn't such a fan of Froome before, but damn. Chapeau. 


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

I think my appreciation for Froome's win is less enthusiastic than others'. He was clearly on form, but this stage should have been ridden to a draw. Froome road hard at the top of the final climb, but, as mentioned by MMsRepBike above, that is a Racing 101 tactic that every one of those on his wheel should have been using. Especially given that Froome had jumped Quintana at the top of the previous climb Movistar should have been on him like white on rice.

Froome made a great move and descended brilliantly, but the win was a gift, IMHO.


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## jlwdm (Nov 7, 2009)

JSR said:


> I think my appreciation for Froome's win is less enthusiastic than others'. He was clearly on form, but this stage should have been ridden to a draw. Froome road hard at the top of the final climb, but, as mentioned by MMsRepBike above, that is a Racing 101 tactic that every one of those on his wheel should have been using. Especially given that Froome had jumped Quintana at the top of the previous climb Movistar should have been on him like white on rice.
> 
> Froome made a great move and descended brilliantly, but the win was a gift, IMHO.


A gift? I could not disagree with you more. Froome went full gas from the summit to the finish. He showed how great a descender he can be today.

Jeff


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## Oxtox (Aug 16, 2006)

JSR said:


> Froome made a great move and descended brilliantly, but the win was a gift, IMHO.


Froome gifted himself with a ferocious downhill effort.


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## BCSaltchucker (Jul 20, 2011)

JSR said:


> I think my appreciation for Froome's win is less enthusiastic than others'. He was clearly on form, but this stage should have been ridden to a draw. Froome road hard at the top of the final climb, but, as mentioned by MMsRepBike above, that is a Racing 101 tactic that every one of those on his wheel should have been using. Especially given that Froome had jumped Quintana at the top of the previous climb Movistar should have been on him like white on rice.
> 
> Froome made a great move and descended brilliantly, but the win was a gift, IMHO.


NOT a gift. You try that, holding off a pack of contenders alone in the final kms. This is bicycle racing. The first one across the line wins. Going fast means not just being a time trialer or mindless endurance athlete. It involves bike handling skills, and chess-like strategy using the course and the elements in your favour.

This win was far riskier and harder to pull off than if he had done an attack 1km from the top of a mountain top race, imho.

The stage was a boring fricken write-off until Froome turned it into a proper spectacle worthy of the Tour de France today.

A great win by the nicest, most polite, well spoken and hard working pro cyclist on Tour.


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## upstateSC-rider (Aug 21, 2004)

Halfway up that final climb I was thinking "When is someone going to grow a pair and attack?".
Never in a million years would I have guessed froome as they crested.  
Thought Yates would've tried to help pull back froomey but nope. 
Would've like to have seen Nibali up there too.


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## Cinelli 82220 (Dec 2, 2010)

Movistar were not paying attention and were too confident they would catch him. Valverde is a terrific descender.
The win was not a gift. Froome held off a group of the very best riders. Nobody let him win.
How can anyone pedal when they are crouched down like that? It hurt just looking at it!


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## 32and3cross (Feb 28, 2005)

JSR said:


> Froome made a great move and descended brilliantly, but the win was a gift, IMHO.


Your opinion is wrong then or you didn't actually watch the stage or don't know much about bike racing.


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## NEO Dan (Jun 10, 2010)

Link


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

“I let my guard down,” Quintana admitted as he sat on the step of the Movistar bus. 

"When we got over the top, I realized that Froome was opening up a gap,” Valverde said at the finish line. “I don’t know why Nairo didn’t follow"

"When I started to work, it was already too late and it was complicated to cut the gap to Froome,” Valverde said

"I’ve never seen Froome attack like that. It was something spectacular, but it’s also our obligation to be paying attention,” said Movistar boss Eusebio Unzué.

"You always have to be paying attention, and when you’re not, you pay for it,” said Movistar sport director José Luis Arrieta. 


Read more at Quintana lets down his guard, pays the price - VeloNews.com


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

JSR said:


> “I let my guard down,” Quintana admitted as he sat on the step of the Movistar bus.
> 
> "When we got over the top, I realized that Froome was opening up a gap,” Valverde said at the finish line. “I don’t know why Nairo didn’t follow"
> 
> ...


fcking up and gifting are not the same thing.


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## proclaimer888 (Jul 24, 2010)

Fireform said:


> That was one for the ages. Nerve, skill, tactics and power. I wasn't such a fan of Froome before, but damn. Chapeau.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Yep.......Tip the hat 4 Froome!


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## JackDaniels (Oct 4, 2011)

I don't like the obnoxious fans, but a punch in the face was a little overboard.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

Cinelli 82220 said:


> The win was not a gift. Froome held off a group of the very best riders. Nobody let him win.


Well, I obviously have not expressed myself clearly. I did not mean to imply that the opposition purposely let Froome win, only that inattention at the top of the climb resulted in a gap which should not have happened had the riders been more alert. From that advantage Froome was never caught and was able to earn a win.

The word "gift" in this case was metaphorical, requiring a logical leap from the tactical lapse to the well-earned win.



den bakker said:


> fcking up and gifting are not the same thing.


A distinction without a difference in this circumstance, given that the win went to Froome when not fcking up might well have resulted in the draw that I posited. But this is clearly my first time at the bike rodeo (rodeo = another stretched metaphor, the subtleties of which I hope not to have to describe), so what do I know?


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

JSR said:


> Well, I obviously have not expressed myself clearly. I did not mean to imply that the opposition purposely let Froome win, only that inattention at the top of the climb resulted in a gap which should not have happened had the riders been more alert. From that advantage Froome was never caught and was able to earn a win.
> 
> The word "gift" in this case was metaphorical, requiring a logical leap from the tactical lapse to the well-earned win.
> 
> A distinction without a difference in this circumstance, given that the win went to Froome when not fcking up might well have resulted in the draw that I posited. But this is clearly my first time at the bike rodeo (rodeo = another stretched metaphor, the subtleties of which I hope not to have to describe), so what do I know?


a distinction with a very big difference, especially on a us based board. 
'No gifts': Armstrong shows no quarter on march to Tour history | ACTIVE


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## pdh777 (Oct 7, 2005)

Froome also put on a 55 T big ring before todays stage - probably why the others were having such a hard time finding his wheel on the descent.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

Yeah, but that didn't actually happen because .... You know, the thing which shall not be named.

But it was sure an awesome day of racing!


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

pdh777 said:


> Froome also put on a 55 T big ring before todays stage - probably why the others were having such a hard time finding his wheel on the descent.


54 T. 
less than 2% higher gear


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## dgturc83 (Jul 18, 2010)

If Quintana's strategy this year is watch Froome and respond to him instead of take the initiative and race his race they he will be #2 again.


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## Mapei (Feb 3, 2004)

I've never liked Froome but I liked him today. He rode like a demon. He delivered a punch for good measure.


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

Blame Quintana and the other GC guys on this one all you want, but don't blame Valverde for this one. He had been dropped on the climb and had barely gotten back to that group when Froome attacked. You also have to remember that Valverde is not near peak form. He's coming off a podium at the Giro and is trying to peak for 2 weeks after the Tour at the Olympics. Here's Valverde's quote from after the stage: Alejandro Valverde: "I attacked into the final slopes of the Peyresourde, just like I was told, and later on lost a bit of distance because I was struggling after such a strong move. When I dropped back, Nairo was still there with Froome; I didn't see his move live, I just saw Froome away seconds later, and when I realized that was the situation, I went to the front of the group as fast as I could, even before the first turn of the descent, and went downhill with all I had left in the tank. The other GC contenders started working when it was too late; everyone wants to win the Tour, but at the end, we always end up working alone. Froome took a beautiful victory - hats off to him."


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## KoroninK (Aug 9, 2010)

AJL said:


> I find that so weird - I guy who lives in the high mountains of Columbia can't descend well - WTH?


I thought that was odd also when I first hear Movistar talking about Quintana needing Valverde at his side for decents (or techinically leading) for Quintana to have confidence in decending. They talked about that last year and apparently Quintana still needs Valverde to have confidence in decending.


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