# Tour Stage 15: 158k



## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

Something is rotten in Denmark, but don't blame stage winner and Rabobank rider LL Sanchez.

We saw Evans attempt an attack. Then we saw Cadel, and nearly everyone else, puncture. Wiggo heard all the punctures over radio, tried to play gentleman and slow the pace. Everyone seemed to agree. Except Pierre Rolland. Then Wiggins and Sky were the only ones smart enough to get a fresh bike (by the way, I haven't read if Wiggins actually punctured or just said he did. Maybe his team decided to swap the bike out just in case. Maybe they played he had a puncture hoping Rolland would hold up. All conjecture). Why Evans did not swap out his bike is beyond me. But, on the bright side, we were treated to a BMC Team Time Trial.

Allow me to play armchair Race Official. As soon as you know something is amiss, neutralize the race. Allow the break to race for position, stage and points, but announce over the radio everyone BUT the break will get the same time. The break will get their official times. This would allow the break to duke it out and prevent d-bag moves like that of Rolland.

I think the biggest winner of the day was everyone associated with Sky. From slowing the pace, allowing Pierre Rolland to douche it out as long as they could, and making the descision to swap Wiggins' entire bike.

TeeJay gate? I believe he thought Evans was shouting about an attack. Who knows. I haven't read an interview. 

Tacks? They say there are pictures. The only thing I have seen is a picture of a nail in a motorbike. Not sure if that is what the riders encountered, but part of me thought it was a drunken fan who shattered a beer bottle that caused the mess.

Enough drama. I will take off my foil hat and get on to stage 15.

158k of jagged riding. There are a few climbs, but they shouldn't really amount to much. Heck, after watching Cavendish lead up a climb one can't discount him. But I think Sagan could take it. He has been on fire. He will be watched, though. Sanchez played it well on Stage 14. Of course the others in the break may have thought everyone was supposed to slow and pace.

The only thing I am certain of is nobody from EuropCar is getting away. And Rolland might find himself in the gutter, like Contador last year.


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## roddjbrown (Jan 19, 2012)

Uk tv showed the race director showing two tacks


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## allison (Apr 19, 2006)

I'd LOVE to pick Sagan, and would love just as much to say Cav, but, Sagan I don't think has the experience in bunch sprints yet, and Cav I think is playing consummate teammate.

Greipel from the group. Goss. Sagan.


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## tricycletalent (Apr 2, 2005)

I wonder how come teams haven't thought of this before. An excellent way to deliberately take out the competition.


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## nate (Jun 20, 2004)

It was tacks/nails, not glass. Here are some pictures that a couple folks from Eurosport posted on Twitter. I've seen others as well.

The pictures of today (various sources) #tdf12 #tacks on Twitpic
The pictures of today (various sources) #tdf12 #tacks http://... on Twitpic
The pictures of today (various sources) #tdf12 #tacks http://... on Twitpic
The pictures of today (various sources) #tdf12 #tacks http://... on Twitpic


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## AJL (Jul 9, 2009)

What a strange tour.... Greipel FTW.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Greipel. Cav will be fetching bottles.


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## vagabondcyclist (Apr 2, 2011)

Bad scene all around. 



weltyed said:


> Then Wiggins and Sky were the only ones smart enough to get a fresh bike (by the way, I haven't read if Wiggins actually punctured or just said he did. Maybe his team decided to swap the bike out just in case. Maybe they played he had a puncture hoping Rolland would hold up. All conjecture). Why Evans did not swap out his bike is beyond me.


I agree. I don't think Wiggins had a flat, but decided to change out his bike to be safe. At that point Evans had flatted both his rear tire and his front tire. Chances are good that Sky wasn't risking Wiggins flatting and going down as they were still descending. Things had to be pretty fluid and chaotic at that point.


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## erj549 (Jul 26, 2008)

I would LOL if Rolland gets Karpets-ed a la Contador last year. Is that wrong? Although without Karpets in the race, who would do the Karpets-ing? Maybe Rolland will be Hincapie'd?


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## JohnHenry (Aug 9, 2006)

One might call Rolland's move, rather,...how shall we say? "tacky"


Lolz


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## wilki (Jun 9, 2004)

Teejay admited in post-race inteview that he had heard Cadel had punctured but believed there would be another teamate near by to help him so he carried on. His demeanour sure seemed guarded and different from is previous 'I'm hear to make sure Cadel succeeds' statements.


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## JohnHenry (Aug 9, 2006)

I think Sagan will try again go out on another adventure break away.


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## il sogno (Jul 15, 2002)

I think Greipel will win it in a sprint. I think Cavendish is tired and Sagan doesn't have the power to beat Greipel.


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## yurl (Mar 31, 2010)

Cav. Sky will reward him for the effort he put in yesterday


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

I would love to see Sky win a stage for Cav. Farrar has to be hungry too in the Flame Rouge.


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## tazzmacd (Feb 24, 2012)

Cav, Sagan spent too much getting to the finish yesterday I think


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## erj549 (Jul 26, 2008)

spookyload said:


> I would love to see Sky win a stage for Cav. Farrar has to be hungry too in the Flame Rouge.


Lol. Farrar...


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

spookyload said:


> I would love to see Sky win a stage for Cav. Farrar has to be hungry too in the *Flame Rouge*.


lantern rouge?

has a lantern rouge ever taken a stage?


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

If Cav actually tries...It seems like he's taken to only using the TdF as training miles for the Olympics. Strange going 3 weeks without hearing shouts from Phil/Paul about the Manx Missile.


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## Skewer (Sep 13, 2011)

After stage 14. Sagan is a beast. He breaks out of the 2nd place finish streak and gets to show off his new victory celebration that he has been dying to show the world today.


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## chriscookz (Jul 2, 2012)

Just saw the peloton is only moving at 20 kph... I know these stages are long, and it's the 3rd week, and they're probably taking a break, but that seems incredibly slow to me! But this is also the first TDF I'm trying to follow so what do I know? Nothing.


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## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

Farrar.

Allez Lanterne Rouge!


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

chriscookz said:


> Just saw the peloton is only moving at 20 kph... I know these stages are long, and it's the 3rd week, and they're probably taking a break, but that seems incredibly slow to me! But this is also the first TDF I'm trying to follow so what do I know? Nothing.


I guess you missed the 50km all out racing up to that point? They were racing their balls off until the break stuck. Then they let the gap open up.


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## L_Johnny (Jul 15, 2006)

this so far is boring.... 40km to go


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

L_Johnny said:


> this so far is boring.... 40km to go


Wasn't that boring at the start...once the break solidified and settled into 6' territory then yets.


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## roddjbrown (Jan 19, 2012)

I'm amazed Lotto and Orica have let this go. Were they expecting Sky to do all the work?


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

Skewer said:


> After stage 14. Sagan is a beast. He breaks out of the 2nd place finish streak and gets to show off his new victory celebration that he has been dying to show the world today.


Unless the peloton gets a burr up its tail again...the break will get 9' free on the GC.


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## L_Johnny (Jul 15, 2006)

I missed the start, will catch that tonight...


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## den bakker (Nov 13, 2004)

Marc said:


> Unless the peloton gets a burr up its tail again...the break will get 9' free on the GC.


and who would give a damn? Voeckler going from +56 to +47, wooohooooo, bring out the bubbly.


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

den bakker said:


> and who would give a damn? Voeckler going from +56 to +47, wooohooooo, bring out the bubbly.


Well, that race organizers have, on occasion, sent out orders to race before.


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## chriscookz (Jul 2, 2012)

den bakker said:


> I guess you missed the 50km all out racing up to that point? They were racing their balls off until the break stuck. Then they let the gap open up.


I did, yes. By the time I got to work and got it streaming they were at around 85km to go. I usually miss the first 1/3 to 1/2 of the race.


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

I missed the start also. But the race is super boring now.


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## tetter (Jun 28, 2008)

CVV come on.


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## Local Hero (Jul 8, 2010)

Boring!

I miss HTC.


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## thechriswebb (Nov 21, 2008)

Good ride for CVV; I really wanted to see him win but going to the line with Fedrigo it just wasn't possible.


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## mtnroadie (Jul 6, 2010)

Meh... what a borefest and no real sprint a the end, I want my 4 hours back!


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## roddjbrown (Jan 19, 2012)

Well that was disappointing. For a team that are apprently just hunting a stage win I'm really surprised by Orica GreenEdge today. I guess everyone was just thinking green jerseys gone, rest day tomorrow etc. First stage of this year's tour I thought was a little dull but I'm expecting things to heat up nicely Wednesday and Thursday. Can't wait!


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## Skewer (Sep 13, 2011)

No Sagan victory celebration again. Bummer.


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

Cav is really disappointing. Surely he'll try on Sunday, right?


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## Marc (Jan 23, 2005)

gusmahler said:


> Cav is really disappointing. Surely he'll try on Sunday, right?


I'm almost expecting not...I don't know what his game has been, unless it is simply training miles for the Olympics.


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## roddjbrown (Jan 19, 2012)

gusmahler said:


> Cav is really disappointing. Surely he'll try on Sunday, right?


Disappointing? There wasn't anything for him to compete today. Cav wants stage wins and training miles. Sky couldn't chase down the breakaway alone today, so no chances for him. 

I think he's sandbagging ready for the Olympics as even though he's dropped 4kg Greipel seems to be going over climbs better. Also, I think his plan was always to compete in a few intermediates to get sharp, surf the pack for stage wins where possible and aim to win on the Champs Elysees. I'm sure he wants the final stage win and Sky will be able to support him for it


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## FlandersFields (Jul 16, 2010)

First two hours where absolute greatness. I think there where 40 attempts to get away. A great one with Millar almost made it. Lotto has worked to hard already to have chased these guys down. Liquigas and GreenEdge could have helped.


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## OldEndicottHiway (Jul 16, 2007)

I didn't see the stage, but sounds like it was a big snooze fest.

Maybe they're all feeling a little deflated after yesterday's stage.

Buh dum bum.


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## Creakyknees (Sep 21, 2003)

FlandersFields said:


> First two hours where absolute greatness. I think there where 40 attempts to get away. A great one with Millar almost made it.


This. You guys should watch the first 2 hours, it's when the racing really happens. The peloton was absolutely on the limit, guys getting dropped, abandoning, attack after attack. 

Then the break finally got away with 5 guys, missing Sorensen (Saxo). 

That's where it got interesting. Sorensen was chasing alone, 30-45 sec's down on the break, but 6 minutes up on the field which had sat up. But Sorensen was fading, looking like he wasn't gonna catch the break. 

So... Team Saxo back in the field, hits the front and just drills it. Single file peloton, guys getting dropped all over again, time gap starts coming down rapidly. 

At first I was like, wow that's brutal, if your guy can't make it across then chase him and the whole break down. But then it dawned on me. Saxo was blackmailing the other teams in the break: "if you guys don't wait for our guy, we'll bring the whole break back"

A couple minutes later, voila, Sorensen catches the break and Saxo sits up again back in the field.

Race radios at work.


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## CalgaryDave (Jan 7, 2002)

Creakyknees said:


> This. You guys should watch the first 2 hours, it's when the racing really happens. The peloton was absolutely on the limit, guys getting dropped, abandoning, attack after attack.
> 
> Then the break finally got away with 5 guys, missing Sorensen (Saxo).
> 
> ...



Nice analysis Creaky. I didn't watch the race until the last hour but will try finding a replay of the earlier portion if only for that segment, seems worth digging up.


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

roddjbrown said:


> Disappointing? There wasn't anything for him to compete today. Cav wants stage wins and training miles. Sky couldn't chase down the breakaway alone today, so no chances for him.


I realize that he's just getting his miles in before the Olympics. But he was right there for the intermediate sprint against Sagan, but chose not to try. He was in the lead group of the peloton with 2km to go. And again, he didn't try. No, there's nothing that he could have won by racing Griepel today. But Griepel still sprinted even though I'm just as likely to win green this year as he is. I assume it was a pride thing. He wants to show Sagan and the world that he's faster than Sagan. Thought Cav would feel the same way. Guess not.


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## weltyed (Feb 6, 2004)

creaky with the csi analysis!


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## spookyload (Jan 30, 2004)

Creakyknees said:


> This. You guys should watch the first 2 hours, it's when the racing really happens. The peloton was absolutely on the limit, guys getting dropped, abandoning, attack after attack.
> 
> Then the break finally got away with 5 guys, missing Sorensen (Saxo).
> 
> ...


Eurosport commentators said the exact same thing. Sean Kelly was actually putting down race radios for that exact reason. It is controlling the race. Has nothing to do with rider safety. They went further to show that the break away slowed for him to catch on. What a joke.


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## roddjbrown (Jan 19, 2012)

gusmahler said:


> I realize that he's just getting his miles in before the Olympics. But he was right there for the intermediate sprint against Sagan, but chose not to try. He was in the lead group of the peloton with 2km to go. And again, he didn't try. No, there's nothing that he could have won by racing Griepel today. But Griepel still sprinted even though I'm just as likely to win green this year as he is. I assume it was a pride thing. He wants to show Sagan and the world that he's faster than Sagan. Thought Cav would feel the same way. Guess not.


I think Cav's ego means he only tries for the stages he knows he can win. I think it was two years ago he sat up during the sprint when he knew he wasn't going to win it therefore dropping more green jersey points. 

Sprinter's egos are generally big. I think Cav wants that final stage. And if he doesn't get it I'm expecting to see his usual pragmatic, upbeat attitude!


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## gusmahler (Apr 7, 2012)

roddjbrown said:


> I think Cav's ego means he only tries for the stages he knows he can win. I think it was two years ago he sat up during the sprint when he knew he wasn't going to win it therefore dropping more green jersey points.


He does that often. He did that at the Giro, which he ended up losing the points jersey by 1 point. He even did it on a stage at this year's Tour.

He hasn't even been trying to sprint this past week.


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## L_Johnny (Jul 15, 2006)

Creakyknees said:


> This. You guys should watch the first 2 hours, it's when the racing really happens. The peloton was absolutely on the limit, guys getting dropped, abandoning, attack after attack.
> 
> Then the break finally got away with 5 guys, missing Sorensen (Saxo).
> 
> ...


Crap, they completely cut this from the recap this evening. They showed Sorensen behind around 45 secs, then went into commercials, When they put the race back on, Sorensen is with the breakaway. NO comments or mention of the dynamics... sucks


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