# Stage 8:157k - 7 Climbs



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Stage 7. Fun. At the start it was tough to tell if the GC guys were going to attack that last hill first or a break of mountain goats would take the stage. Personally, I thought climbers would get away and take the stage. What a prognasticator, eh?

This was like a final week stage at the end. Sky had Froome leading Wiggins. Behind that Evans, Nibali, and for a while Menchov in the mix. I thought for sure Froome would pull off and let the GC duke it out. Evans did his patented late-stage attack. This has worked in the past, but the rise was too much for him. Froome swung back in and covered. Wiggins stayed cucumber cool and let it all come back together. I don't think Evans counted on Froome counter-attacking. I'm not sure if there was Sky radio communication, but Froome went and nobody could go with him. In some teams this would be a major faux pas. You risk leading out the competitors and dropping your own GC man, thus opening a time gap. Evans looked over-geared and couldn't cover, Wiggins stuck with him, and Nibali lost more time on both Evans and Wiggins. Froome gets the stage and a hug from who could possibly be the 2012 Tour champion, Wiggins sees what Evans can do and takes the Maillot Jaune, Evans burns some matches, and Nibali slips a few seconds further back.

Excellent ride by Froome. In the post-race interview he mentioned they knew the course. He was expecting someone to attack just where Evans did. Anticipating the move, he was able to cover. He didn't expect to go for the stage, but he saw Evans in trouble, had the legs, and drilled it. 

Wiggins shows that not only can he climb, but his team is strong, smart, and unselfish. It is hard not to start looking at this as a race for second. Early, I know. But Stage 7 could be the telling stage. We shall see if BMC can get Evans more help in the mountains.

Chapaeu to Cancellara. Yellow for a week. Not sure how much time he lost today, or how much he could lose Sunday, but there is still a chance to get it back Monday. Slim, but it is there.

Stage 8 doesn't look as butal as Stage 7, but it has seven climbs, starting about 15k in they hit a Cat4/Cat3 pair of stairs. Quick descent, then a Cat2, border crossing, Cat2, lunch, Cat2, sprint, long slow downhill, Cat2, Cat1, then 16k downhill to the finish. With those decents I would normally pick Nibali, but he is still too much of a GC threat to let him get away. I can see a break surviving this. Is the French Prince in this race? This is something he could tackle, but his form has been off and there may too many climbs for him. Voeckler finished a resectable 2:07 down on the day, so maybe. But the stage ends in Switzerland, not FRance...

I have read about Chavanel on these roads, but he seems a bit off right now. The Schlecks have down well on stages like this, but that was when they were together, neither were physically or emotionally damaged, and they had Contador trying to stick it to the Hog. Scarponi is nearly 5:00 back...



















It was great to see on the NBC mothership. I just hope the casual viewer was able understand the excitement of the stage. It would be nice to see the gradient compared to something the average person could understand. "This is a 10% gradient. That is like riding your bike a mile up Pike's Peak. On climbs like this it is ossible the motorbikes will overheat." 

I totally expected to see the Specialized angel at the summit, what with the name and all. Also, anyone else see that Rabaobank arm whip? Sweeeeeet.


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## allison (Apr 19, 2006)

Dumb to pick Sagan from the bunch?

Maybe a small break away stays away and sprints it out for a win this time.


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## 88 rex (Mar 18, 2008)

Just wondering what advantage it would have served for BMC to even have a guy with Cadel today. Seemed that Sky wanted it pretty bad and went all in. Cadel just needed to glue himself to Wiggens wheel and the Sky team pulled him to the top. No BMC guy could have helped him, IMO. All of BMC got a "rest" today, and I'm just wondering if that was tactic. 

I'm going with a break for the win on stage 8.


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## BassNBrew (Aug 4, 2008)

I hope to see someone put up a fight but tactically these guys are clueness. Garmin will probably ride tempo for Sky again. Radioshack should be trying to get any of their riders in a break. TJ, Levi, Jani, etc should be joining in and blowing up Sky.

As much as I dislike the guy, wish Contrador was in the mix. The tour used to be about attacks and counterattacks. Now it's about attrition of the pack.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

BassNBrew said:


> As much as I dislike the guy, wish Contrador was in the mix. The tour used to be about attacks and counterattacks. Now it's about attrition of the pack.


it still is about attacks and counter attacks. while today there was attrition, there were still attacks in the final k. serious attacks will happen later. i am just surprised evans was attacking today. he considers himself a racer, but that needs to be put in check for fear of burning out too early.

having an additional man in that group could have helped evans. evans is a strong rider, and if they had another man in the break they could have upped the tempo a bit more on wiggo. i know that would add stress to evans, but having a friendly always helps with the mind. 

sky now has the yellow. this puts them in defense of the jersey, and it is pretty early for that. sky must feel they can hang in the mountains and control the race. two weeks is a long time. but they also have the strongest GC time trialist this year.

attacks will happen in the mountains. especially with all the mechanicals keeping guys down the hill today.


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## MattSoutherden (Jun 24, 2009)

BassNBrew said:


> The tour used to be about attacks and counterattacks. Now it's about attrition of the pack.


Attacks aren't against the rules nowadays. Riders can go off the front if they wish. 

I agree that, barring, Bertie's antics, winning a Grand Tour has generally become a case of being up there in the mountains, and beating the other contenders in the TT. But given the last 2 days, have put all but 5 or 6 guys outside of a podium shot already, then maybe we'll see the likes of Gesink, Sanchez, Brajkovic, Valverde, and Rolland taking-off earlier the stages - which could make things more exciting. Someone will have a go out of the main bunch in the Côte de la Caquerelle tomorrow, and try to stay away over the Col de la Croix to the end.


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## LauraM (Oct 27, 2010)

88 rex said:


> All of BMC got a "rest" today, and I'm just wondering if that was tactic. .


Evans didn't have much help last year from teammates hauling him up climbs. Looks to be a repeat of that this year.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

BMC's strategy seems to be all about making 100% sure that Evans is protected, in the front, and safe from the stupid crashes in the flats that take out GC guys every year and letting him fight it out himself in the mountains. It is a bit unorthodox but it does make some sense. It worked perfectly last year, as numerous GC guys crashed out in the flats while Cadel was in the middle of a BMC armada of classics guys. He showed that he was strong enough to take on the entire peloton in the mountains by himself. On the other hand, I thought that Tejay was brought to this Tour to be Cadel's partner in the mountains..


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## Tschai (Jun 19, 2003)

88 rex said:


> Just wondering what advantage it would have served for BMC to even have a guy with Cadel today. Seemed that Sky wanted it pretty bad and went all in. Cadel just needed to glue himself to Wiggens wheel and the Sky team pulled him to the top. No BMC guy could have helped him, IMO. All of BMC got a "rest" today, and I'm just wondering if that was tactic.
> 
> I'm going with a break for the win on stage 8.


No way was it a tactic. If they could have had a BMC rider with Cadel, he would have been there. I think BMC expected at least Tejay to last longer.


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

A few of the Europeans I follow on Twitter were comparing Sky to the USPS train today, and it is pretty similar the way Sky just pounded the pedals and ended up with people there to still support Wiggins while Evans, Nibali, and Menchov had no teammates left on the last climb. For Evans in particular that may not be a good sign since I think you could argue his team should have lasted longer than they did.

On the other hand, I'm still not convinced about Wiggins. In particular when I look at Stage 8 I wonder, can he descend? You have to be able to do it all to win the Tour de France. I'm still not sold and give the advantage to Evans for both the descents and climbing during the third week of a grand tour. Of course, I was completely wrong about Evans last year and thought he was too old, so I could easily be wrong about Wiggins this year.

I'm not sure who will win this stage, but I think Evans and Nibali will be watching closely to take advantage. They won't take any undue risks so early in the race, but if they see an opportunity they may test Wiggins a bit on the final climb and descent. I don't think they'll take big risks unless they see that Wiggins is weak.


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## RoadBoy1 (Oct 1, 2011)

After the DI-2 shifting fiasco in the intermediate sprint today I have a feeling there are a bunch of rider who are telling their directors and mechanics to: "get that electronic crap off my bike now . . ."

My feeling is that just like over priced carbon frames we do not need electronic shifting and all of its pitfalls and faults. Why do you think Mavic was never successful with their efforts to bring electronic shifting to market and it has taken this long for others to even try? Some things are just meant to be mechanical. It is insanity to try and save maybe 10 grams and in the process introduce batteries that fail in the middle of a race, connectors that come apart, thin wires that can break or get pinched, and a lot of other liabilities. To top it off we now have to have special electronic compatible frames made to accomodate all of this electronic crap.

I don't remember the name of the rider who had the shifting failure but he is one of the heavy hitters in the Tour and could have easily taken the intermediate sprint had his equipment held up. Had it been me I would stood by the side of the road and waited for my Team car to bring me a replacement fully mechanical bike.


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## flyrunride (May 2, 2012)

you might be talking about Goss though I heard it could be the shifting from the broadcast, I'd wait till he or someone confirms that something is wrong with the e-shifting that caused him to sit during his leadout.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

This might be a good day for a breakaway. How about Michael Morkov or Philippe Gilbert...


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Sanchez out in a slowspeed crash, with a snapped collarbone. Geeze.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Marc said:


> Sanchez out in a slowspeed crash, with a snapped collarbone. Geeze.


i'm gonna guess this is LL Sanchez, since you are talking about crashes.


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## Len J (Jan 28, 2004)

That was a very weird accident that took out Sanchez.

Lots of racing left....it only takes one bad day in the mountains to change everything.

Yesterday was revealing......but la lot can still happen. 

Len


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## Drummerboy1975 (Mar 14, 2012)

So who does everyone feel will win stage 9?


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## Ridin'Sorra (Sep 7, 2004)

foto said:


> i'm gonna guess this is LL Sanchez, since you are talking about crashes.


Live commentary says Samuel Sanchez.

Another gem in the live commentary... 

"And speaking of Klöden, he seems to have a disagreement with the RadioShack PR folks. In fact, he tweeted, “I don't know what bull$hit they write in the RSNT press release”." :lol:


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

long solo ride for kessiakoff. ouch.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

What a finish for the French :thumbsup: !!


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## PJay (May 28, 2004)

*Pinot = White.Cadel holding back for TT, or getting old?*

Pinot looked great at that ending - good form all the way. I thought he would get swallowed up by either a small pack, or by Cadel bridging to a clear lead.

Wiggins and Cadel were fighting at the end hard, but neither took the opportunity to be definitive. The wise move would be to stick to the status quo, with so much of July left. But Cadel is powerful and could have, I believe, mopped this up a bit. Similarly, the other day, Cadel could not or would not squeeze out a final burst.

So, I am wondering if Cadel, at 35yo, is losing a bit of top end, or is wisely holding back. We'' see.


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## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

That little French kid had me jumping up and down off the couch cheering him on. 

Maddiot was a hoot!

Evans almost getting away.

Horner up there too.

Great last few KM's today.


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## MarkS (Feb 3, 2004)

OldEndicottHiway said:


> That little French kid had me jumping up and down off the couch cheering him on.
> 
> Maddiot was a hoot!
> 
> ...


The best ending of the year so far.:thumbsup:


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## Ridin'Sorra (Sep 7, 2004)

PJay said:


> So, I am wondering if Cadel, at 35yo, is losing a bit of top end, or is wisely holding back. We'' see.


Probably both.


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## KenS (Jan 28, 2004)

OldEndicottHiway said:


> Maddiot was a hoot!


Watching Marc Madiot go crazy in the last couple of K's was a lot of fun.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

KenS said:


> Watching Marc Madiot go crazy in the last couple of K's was a lot of fun.



Listening to the Brit commentators regarding Marc (While watching the Tour on the 'net) was really funny, too!


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

WTF happened to sammy sanchez?

Stupid gawd damn crashes!

stupid spectators! These people should be slapped in the head!

"it was apparently caused by a elderly male spectator sitting at a table too far out in the road."

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/samuel-sanchez-withdraws-from-the-tour-de-france


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Being able to go to a pro race and see the action so close is an incredible experience that is perhaps unique to our sport. On the other hand, the spectator hazard needs to be mitigated somehow. It makes my blood boil every time a champion like Sanchez (or anyone for that matter) has their race determined for them by idiot spectators.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

thechriswebb said:


> Being able to go to a pro race and see the action so close is an incredible experience that is perhaps unique to our sport. On the other hand, the spectator hazard needs to be mitigated somehow. It makes my blood boil every time a champion like Sanchez (or anyone for that matter) has their race determined for them by idiot spectators.


Spectators should be off the road. Gendarmes should be batoning fans in the head if they step foot on the road when the riders come by. Isn't that the point of a Gendarme? To beat on people? They need to be doing their job.


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## grandprix (Jul 8, 2012)

I was in a car driving the course ahead of the peloton today, and when we passed that guy someone else in the car said he'd probably cause a crash. 

The gendarmerie are usually more on top of things than that, but it seems like every one of them that exists is already strung along the course and there is only so much they can do.


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## paredown (Oct 18, 2006)

MarkS said:


> The best ending of the year so far.:thumbsup:


^^This^^

Love the French team director looking like he was going to have a coronary, yelling out the window at his protege. Nice ride Thibault.

Nice to see the Radio Shack boys up front in force, and loved Cadel's acceleration off the front to try for his 10 seconds.

The surprising thing to me is that Kessiakoff only finished a few seconds off the pace--which means he was able to hook on with the big boys and last almost to the end, despite that epic solo ride.


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## cda 455 (Aug 9, 2010)

foto said:


> Spectators should be off the road. Gendarmes should be batoning fans in the head if they step foot on the road when the riders come by. Isn't that the point of a Gendarme? To beat on people? They need to be doing their job.



Yep, just like that idiot spectator with a camera who was on the road despite the railings that were up to keep said idiot from doing what he did. He caused a big accident involving several GC riders  .


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