# Tour Stage 5: 196.5



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Greipel gets it. But you have to wonder...Three things we did learn from this sprint: 
- Greipel has a strong train, and a great leadout by HEEEENDERSON! (shout out to sklarboro country)
- Pettachi just couldn't come around. If he had been able to with the first move he would have pulled it off.
- They were moving so fast in the run-up that they blew a spectators hat clean off. I was watching the replay of the crash and i thought it might have been started by the rider throwing a bottle. but upon further review it wasn't a bottle. It was a spectator's hat.

Stage 5 is pretty flat. If he is able to recover from the crash today I fully expect Cavendish to pull this one in. It looks like there might be a lil kicker at the end, but I dunno if it is enough to keep the manxman down.



















btw, of all years not to have a podium girl thread... the tour has some sweet new threads this year. i am comfortable enough to say the green jersey and white jersey podium girls have some impressive dresses. the green jersey dresses are mod, but the i keep thinking the white jersey dresses should be for the green jersey, what wit hthe lil green accent on the shoulder.


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## Dan Gerous (Mar 28, 2005)

For tomorrow's stage, I'll pick a podium girl then.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

THE VIEW OF JEAN-FRANÇOIS PESCHEUX
An awe-inspiring course

"I have already cited Jacques Anquetil, and now it is time to mention Jean Robic, since the stage will start at the foot of the Côte de Bonsecours, right where a stele commemorates his historic exploit. And what an exploit it was, with a 130 km breakaway to defeat Brambilla and take the yellow jersey in the last stage of the 1947 Tour de France! Having said that, today's stage to Saint-Quentin should play into the sprinters' hands. We expect the bunch to ride fast on an awe-inspiring course which is usually home to the Tour of Picardy. May I say that I am personally quite fond of this region?"

Stage 5 - Tour de France 2012


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## shoegazer (Nov 2, 2007)

Cav. 
and I'm hoping for a Cav / Sagan drag race


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## erj549 (Jul 26, 2008)

28 meter elevation gain in the last k, same amount of incline in the last k as Stage 1. Sounds false-flat-ish to me. Could be Sagan?


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## superjesus (Jul 26, 2010)

I'm sticking with Cav.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

Cavendish. But I'll be pulling for Greipel, Sagan and Farrar.


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

Anybody catch Cav's "fooking hell" on tv just now :lol:


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

erj549 said:


> 28 meter elevation gain in the last k, same amount of incline in the last k as Stage 1. Sounds false-flat-ish to me. Could be Sagan?


There's a bit of a difference between stage 1:









and stage 5:


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

EuroSVT said:


> Anybody catch Cav's "fooking hell" on tv just now :lol:




what happened? was this in an interview or during the stage?


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

weltyed said:


> what happened? was this in an interview or during the stage?


During the stage, about as soon as coverage started. The camera zoomed in Cav, crisp audio, and he let it fly although I didn't see what it was in regards to. Doubt they'll be airing that part later


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## superjesus (Jul 26, 2010)

weltyed said:


> what happened? was this in an interview or during the stage?


The NBC crew were chatting about Cav and cut to a live race camera on Cav, catching him cussing about something. The camera cut back to an apologetic Liam.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

superjesus said:


> The NBC crew were chatting about Cav and cut to a live race camera on Cav, catching him cussing about something. The camera cut back to an apologetic Liam.


Hehe. that is pretty funny


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

"If Fabian Cancellara keeps the yellow jersey after today’s stage, he will spend his 27th day in the lead of the Tour tomorrow (since he first won the prologue, in 2004). He will overtake Rene Vietto’s collection and become the rider with the biggest collection of Tour leader’s jersey for someone who hasn’t won the overall title. The men who have worn the yellow jersey for more than 26 days in the history of the race are:Merckx (BEL), Armstrong (USA), Hinault (FRA), Indurain (ESP), Anquetil (FRA), Magne (FRA), Frantz (LUX), Leducq (FRA), Bottecchia (ITA) and Bobet (FRA)."


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

EuroSVT said:


> Anybody catch Cav's "fooking hell" on tv just now :lol:


That was funny as all hell, "I need help", then the expletive - and it did sound like "fookin hell" which makes sense given where Cav is from.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Good grief. Who is the katusha rider in white with the red crotch? That looks awful.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Well, at least the Eurosport guys have been having a bit of fun on a yawner of a stage broadcast.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

the break might make it!


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

Wow, what a finish! Can't believe Cav sat out.


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

Was that crash within the 3km?


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

foto said:


> the break might make it!


Caught within 100m of the line. So close.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

That was a hell of a finish. 

Cav looked extremely uncomfortable.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

thechriswebb said:


> That was a hell of a finish.
> 
> Cav looked extremely uncomfortable.


Looked like he didn't go for it, judging by how he's sprinted up til now. Maybe he fractured something yesterday?


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

Looks like he sat out once he realized he couldn't win. Unfortunate for him because he could've gotten 3rd. He lost a few sprint points there.

You'd think he would have learned his lesson after sitting out of a sprint in the Giro, then losing the sprint jersey competition by 1 point.


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## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

Oh for Pete's sake! Wth, Farrar?

Tailor-made finish for him, looks like nerves got the better of him.

And Cav never came out of the saddle. Odd for him.

Big win for Greipel. Ha!


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## the mayor (Jul 8, 2004)

OldEndicottHiway said:


> Oh for Pete's sake! Wth, Farrar?
> 
> Tailor-made finish for him, looks like nerves got the better of him.
> 
> ...


A Lampre rider came across his front wheel while he was bumping shoulders with another rider. You can see his tire is off the rim as the bike goes air born. Don't know if that happened during the impact or a side effect of it. bummer for all...


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

gusmahler said:


> Looks like he sat out once he realized he couldn't win. Unfortunate for him because he could've gotten 3rd. He lost a few sprint points there.
> 
> You'd think he would have learned his lesson after sitting out of a sprint in the Giro, then losing the sprint jersey competition by 1 point.


right, because Cavendish is going for green jersey this year...

Which Giro sprint did he sit out of? I saw him sitting after hitting the deck, but I don't think he chose to crash.


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

foto said:


> right, because Cavendish is going for green jersey this year...


Well, in theory he *is* going for green. And that's he keeps telling the press.


foto said:


> Which Giro sprint did he sit out of? I saw him sitting after hitting the deck, but I don't think he chose to crash.


He sat out on stage 11. Finished 4th. Probably could have finished 3rd.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XSd3UY2ruuI

There was also a stage where J Rod could have finished anywhere from 11th to 15th, but didn't sprint and ended up 18th. So I guess it evened out anyway.


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## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

the mayor said:


> A Lampre rider came across his front wheel while he was bumping shoulders with another rider. You can see his tire is off the rim as the bike goes air born. Don't know if that happened during the impact or a side effect of it. bummer for all...


To me it looked like Farrar leaned into the guy on his right to avoid touching wheels with the Lampre rider. He got bumped back by the other rider who was having none of it, and the end result being a wobble into the Lampre rider's wheel.

Bummer indeed. 

Greipel was caught in that crash, managed to stay upright and still came up front for the win. That right there was bad @ss.


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## the mayor (Jul 8, 2004)

OldEndicottHiway said:


> Greipel was caught in that crash, managed to stay upright and still came up front for the win. That right there was bad @ss.


No one can argue with that...


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Yep. Some of the other sprinters from the old HTC Columbia team that wanted to get out of Cav's service and sprint for themselves haven't really been able to give him any sort of real competition. Greipel has.


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

Wikipedia lists Renshaw and Goss with 1 win each this year. It has Griepel with 16 wins. (Though, to be fair, both Goss and Renshaw have a points win and a team time trial win.)

Griepel looks like a huge guy. But he's only 6'0" and 180 lbs (1.83 m/80 kg). I guess he just looks big compared to cyclists.


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbVpWOYjk7Y&feature=player_embedded

Tyler looks all kinds of fired up here


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## ghost6 (Sep 4, 2009)

EuroSVT said:


> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PbVpWOYjk7Y&feature=player_embedded
> 
> Tyler looks all kinds of fired up here


Didn't take them long to pull the plug on that video. Tyler was fired up but he didn't "attack" anyone contrary to the video title.


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## EuroSVT (Sep 15, 2011)

Damn...I thought it was interesting. ASO, or whoever is regulating certainly do not play around with youtube footage


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

Cav looked a bit gased just b/4 Griepel launched his sprint. Still, when the german fast man launched, I sat in bewilderment for a couple od seconds over the fact that Cav didn't even try to hold his wheel


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## the mayor (Jul 8, 2004)

Hmmmm.....unless DZ has Farrar's bike here....a certain team needs to check their glue jobs...
http://www.cyclingnews.com/tour-de-france/stage-5/photos/230135


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## ghost6 (Sep 4, 2009)

AJL said:


> Cav looked a bit gased just b/4 Griepel launched his sprint. Still, when the german fast man launched, I sat in bewilderment for a couple od seconds over the fact that Cav didn't even try to hold his wheel


The slight incline might've played a role in keeping Cav back. He really likes those very flat finishes. Otherwise, he struggles.


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## Chainstay (Mar 13, 2004)

*It's here*



ghost6 said:


> Didn't take them long to pull the plug on that video. Tyler was fired up but he didn't "attack" anyone contrary to the video title.


Farrar attempts to steal Team Argos-Shimano trade secrets « Cyclismas | cycling satire and commentary


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

AJL said:


> Cav looked a bit gased just b/4 Griepel launched his sprint. Still, when the german fast man launched, I sat in bewilderment for a couple od seconds over the fact that Cav didn't even try to hold his wheel


The way I saw it, he was freire's wheel, and freire swung over to get on Goss, leaving Cavendish with a bike length of air between him and Greipel.


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## Chainstay (Mar 13, 2004)

AJL said:


> Cav looked a bit gased just b/4 Griepel launched his sprint. Still, when the german fast man launched, I sat in bewilderment for a couple od seconds over the fact that Cav didn't even try to hold his wheel


It looked to me like Boassen Hagen took Cav too far up to the front. Cav had to drop back to get a wheel but as he slowed the group behind surged and Cav had too much distance to close. 

Cav should have dropped off Boassen Hagen's wheel and told Eddie to nail it. Then he could have slipstreamed the Gorilla who would be forced to chase.


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

I was rooting for someone in the break to win it. That would have been awesome.


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## JSR (Feb 27, 2006)

OldEndicottHiway said:


> To me it looked like Farrar leaned into the guy on his right to avoid touching wheels with the Lampre rider. He got bumped back by the other rider who was having none of it, and the end result being a wobble into the Lampre rider's wheel.


That's not quite the way I saw it. Farrar and Veelers were leaning on each other argey-bargey style as they tried to hold position. They were going faster than the Lampre guy, who made a pretty sudden move into Tyler's line as they came up on him. Tyler had nowhere to go but down. 



OldEndicottHiway said:


> Greipel was caught in that crash, managed to stay upright and still came up front for the win. That right there was bad @ss.


True that.


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## dougydee (Feb 15, 2005)

OldEndicottHiway said:


> To me it looked like Farrar leaned into the guy on his right to avoid touching wheels with the Lampre rider. He got bumped back by the other rider who was having none of it, and the end result being a wobble into the Lampre rider's wheel.


That's the way I saw it as well. Farrar clearly saw it differently given the way he tried to jump on the Argos Shimano bus.


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

AJL said:


> Cav looked a bit gased just b/4 Griepel launched his sprint. Still, when the german fast man launched, I sat in bewilderment for a couple od seconds over the fact that Cav didn't even try to hold his wheel


It seemed like Cavendish went down hard in that crash yesterday. I'm sure he is hurting and that's part of the reason he just didn't have it today.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

foto said:


> The way I saw it, he was freire's wheel, and freire swung over to get on Goss, leaving Cavendish with a bike length of air between him and Greipel.





Chainstay said:


> It looked to me like Boassen Hagen took Cav too far up to the front. Cav had to drop back to get a wheel but as he slowed the group behind surged and Cav had too much distance to close.
> 
> Cav should have dropped off Boassen Hagen's wheel and told Eddie to nail it. Then he could have slipstreamed the Gorilla who would be forced to chase.


I'll re-watch it then.


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## roddjbrown (Jan 19, 2012)

Did cav say he was going for green? I thought he said he'd just take it as it came.

Anyway today was classic cav. When he knows he's not going to win he gives up altogether. I think he did it in 2010 which prompted that throw of the bike on the ground and the storm off to the bus.

My prediction is if he doesn't get gold in the Olympic road race he won't get any. Too much pride/ego


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

roddjbrown said:


> Did cav say he was going for green? I thought he said he'd just take it as it came.
> 
> Anyway today was classic cav. When he knows he's not going to win he gives up altogether. I think he did it in 2010 which prompted that throw of the bike on the ground and the storm off to the bus.
> 
> My prediction is if he doesn't get gold in the Olympic road race he won't get any. Too much pride/ego


I've seen several quotes where Cav says that the goal of Sky is to bring home yellow and green. Most people on this site simply don't believe Cav and believe that he will abandon sometime next week. Theory is that Sky and the other sponsors wouldn't be too happy if one of the main faces of the team announces ahead of time that he has no intention of finishing the race.


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## cale262 (Apr 28, 2010)

My bad, double post


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## MoonHowl (Oct 5, 2008)

gusmahler said:


> I've seen several quotes where Cav says that the goal of Sky is to bring home yellow and green. Most people on this site simply don't believe Cav and believe that he will abandon sometime next week. Theory is that Sky and the other sponsors wouldn't be too happy if one of the main faces of the team announces ahead of time that he has no intention of finishing the race.


IIRC I saw Cav getting interviewed where he talked about the team focus being on yellow and not winning sprints like his former HTC team.


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## erj549 (Jul 26, 2008)

gusmahler said:


> There's a bit of a difference between stage 1:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


look at the last k only. hope that helps.


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

erj549 said:


> look at the last k only. hope that helps.


What I obviously meant to say was that a 3% grade after a flat 4 km is completely different from a 3% grade after a 6% hill. Obviously, I was correct, because all the sprinters who weren't caught in the accident was there at the end.


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*me too*



MoonHowl said:


> IIRC I saw Cav getting interviewed where he talked about the team focus being on yellow and not winning sprints like his former HTC team.


Cav referred to himself as the 'bonus guy' for the team

if he's talking green he's just satisfying the P-R req's of the tour organizers


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## atpjunkie (Mar 23, 2002)

*contact the wrench*



the mayor said:


> Hmmmm.....unless DZ has Farrar's bike here....a certain team needs to check their glue jobs...
> Tour De France 2012: The Finale Of Stage 5 Did Not Go As Planned For David..., Photos | Cyclingnews.com


at Omega Lotto. Greipel does a 40 mph power slide to avoid Farrar and going down and his rear tire/ wheel carried him to victory

I too agree, Lampre rider cut across Farrar's wheel causing the crash. Farrar was going Argy Bargy with Veelers but Veelers was following his own leadout and defended his position


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## foto (Feb 7, 2005)

Garmin is having a great tour so far.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

Today's finish, with the last man from the break being caught at 150 meters to go, is (IMO) a classic example of race radios affecting the race.

First. All the breaks this year have gone from the first attack as soon as the flag is waved. A few no-hopers make the move, the pack lets them go, eventually RS goes to the front and starts tempo.

Second. Phil and Paul commented on it, how the break was varying their pace depending on how hard the pack was chasing. It's safe to assume every DS was watching live tv in the car. When Popo hits the front and tempo's along at 45kph, the call goes up to the break "hey guys keep it above 45 ok".

I'm not saying this break would or would not have "made it" without radios.

I'm saying, race radios change the way the race plays out. 

Any of you old-timers remember how riders always used to say "the first 2 hours are always flat-out until finally the elastic snaps and a break gets away" ?

Non-protour races have been running without radios this year. I wonder if anyone's done a detailed comparative analysis of how the races play out.


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

Well, I just saw NBCSports analysis. I think that Sky dropped Cav off a bit short. Cav had to sprint around a few riders to get almost onto Griepel's wheel, then the big German hit the jets and Cav just didn't have the legs for a second sprint. Griepel's train brought him right to the front. Having a train matters.

Since Griepel hit the deck early today, Cav will a much better chance today.


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