Pro Cycling Thread

[Craig]

After Stage 3:

Håkon Mørk 106 (71st) [58]
Mathew Mitchell 100 (129th) [43]
Neil Pickup 100 (129th) [58]
Manjunath Reddlapalli 80 (316th) [41]
Craig Walsh 70 (405th) [37]
Greg Thomas 64 (448th) [32]
Jeff Rangers 46 (534th) [22]

First number - Total points
Second number - Overall Rank
Third number - Points earned into today's stage.

No concerned just yet though. Although if Boonen or McEwen win it will be handy for me. My lot should come into fore during the Alps, and Pyrennes.

 

[thewizard1o1]

As Mitchell said and you never know what could happen. This break nearly succeded but as typical nobody is going to help anybody, and why would you? Why do a big long turn on the front and only for the rest of the break to go past you and get the win? If there were two guys from the one team in a break then it is a different story, but not if it is four rival teams. There are some guys who base their whole careers on being in random crazy breakaway attempts, Jacky Durand being the most notable one. And besides it is an unwritten rule for a smaller team to send guys up the road anyway.

Fair play to Cancellara though, deadset his tighs must be bigger then your average flyweight Spanish climber.

It reminded my of the good old CM4 days (just riding away from the front of the bunch at the end of the stage .

Would it be fair to say that Cancellara is some what similar to pre cancer lance? (in terms of body size and shape as well as favourite terrain...)

 

[Johnners]

As Mitchell said and you never know what could happen. This break nearly succeded but as typical nobody is going to help anybody, and why would you? Why do a big long turn on the front and only for the rest of the break to go past you and get the win? If there were two guys from the one team in a break then it is a different story, but not if it is four rival teams. There are some guys who base their whole careers on being in random crazy breakaway attempts, Jacky Durand being the most notable one. And besides it is an unwritten rule for a smaller team to send guys up the road anyway.

Fair play to Cancellara though, deadset his tighs must be bigger then your average flyweight Spanish climber.

Thought he was Swiss?

 

[Craig]

Thought he was Swiss?

He is.

Spain has a history of producing climbers (since there are a lot of mountains there) and then not weighting a great deal.

 

[Matteh]

No concerned just yet though. Although if Boonen or McEwen win it will be handy for me. My lot should come into fore during the Alps, and Pyrennes.

Did notice that your team wasn't quite as sprinter friendly as mine. Thinking Haakon will struggle in the mountains given that he has 8 out of the 15 as sprinters.

 

[Craig]

Did notice that your team wasn't quite as sprinter friendly as mine. Thinking Haakon will struggle in the mountains given that he has 8 out of the 15 as sprinters.

I'm banking on the two big time trials in Albi and Cognac, the near certainty that Jens Voigt will either be in one of the transation stages or Stage 7 to Le Grande Bornand when the race hits the Alps. After that I should be ok.

Interesting break has gone clear: Juan Antonio Flecha (Rabobank), Gorka Verdugo (Euskaltel - Euskadi), Matteo Tosatto (Quickstep), Sébastien Chavanel (Française des Jeux), Christian Knees (Milram) and Paolo Longo Borghini (Barloworld).

Considering Tosatto and Knees acts as lead out men for Boonen and Zabel and Freire has a key man in the break, this will have to put a lot of pressure on Credit Agricole and Predictor-Lotto.

 

[Craig]

Big crash and echelons have been formed. Valverde's team-mate Xabier Zandio has quit.

 

[Matteh]

Big crash and echelons have been formed. Valverde's team-mate Xabier Zandio has quit.

Broken collar bone.

 

[alternative]

****, and i forgot all about the race today.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Yeees. Well done is-hofd.

Good day for non-dominant cricketing nations, really. Dean (NZL) did THE perfect lead-out, Hunter (RSA) finish second, and Freire (ESP, team from NED) makes third.

 

[Matteh]

Early reports say that i've picked up a load of points.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Early reports say that i've picked up a load of points.

McEwen missed top ten, though.

 

[Matteh]

McEwen missed top ten, though.

Looking at it, my 51 is dwarfed by your 68.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Interesting...

  London-C'bury    Dunkirk-Gent      Waregem-Compiégne   V'C-Joigny
1 McEwen   AUS PRL Steegmans BEL QSI Cancellara  SUI CSC Hushovd NOR C.A
2 Hushovd  NOR C.A Boonen    BEL QSI Zabel       GER MRM Hunter  RSA BAR
3 Boonen   BEL QSI Pozzato   ITA LIQ Napolitano  ITA LAM Freire  ESP RAB

Excluding prologue because it's a different beast to all these flat stages: ten different riders, four different stage winners, nine different teams and eight different nations. Pretty well spread out overall.

 

[Matteh]

McEwen missed top ten, though.

Finished 16th, obviously didn't make it through for whatever reason.

 

[Spitfires_Fan]

Nice work from Hushovd and Dean today - great to see Credit Agricole getting an early stage win. Hopefully Hushovd can pick up another stage or two, I think he'll cope better in the mountains than most sprinters, so maybe he'll do well on the flat stages between the Alps and the Pyrenees.

Hunter was impressive again today though, he almost had Hushovd at the end. Much like Zabel and Napolitano yesterday, he just timed it too late.

I'm looking forward to the stage tomorrow - it's always nice to get the first non-4th category climb! The scenery should start getting more interesting as well...

 

[Matteh]

After Stage 4:

Håkon Mørk 172 (44th) [66]
Neil Pickup 157 (98th) [57]
Mathew Mitchell 151 (140th) [51]
Manjunath Reddlapalli 118 (329th) [38]
Craig Walsh 92 (451st) [22]
Greg Thomas 82 (489th) [18]
jeff rangers 58 (550th) [12]

 

[Craig]

Finished 16th, obviously didn't make it through for whatever reason.

Still suffering from his crash the other day?

Don't know what is up with David Zabriskie as he is finishing at the back every day, unless it is a cunning plan to lose a fair bit of time so he can get in a break and they won't chase him down.

Useless fact of the two day: Two riders in the top twenty used to ride for US Postal - Dean and Boonen.

 

[Matteh]

Still suffering from his crash the other day?

Don't know what is up with David Zabriskie as he is finishing at the back every day, unless it is a cunning plan to lose a fair bit of time so he can get in a break and they won't chase him down.

Useless fact of the two day: Two riders in the top twenty used to ride for US Postal - Dean and Boonen.

Knackered from being at the front all day probably. Same reason we've not seen O'Grady at the front.

 

[Burgey]

Guys, are you able to answer a questin for me please?

McEwan had a 1st, a 7th and I think a 12th after three stages and was ranked overall 50 somethingth.

How can that be? Is it because of points, etc? I thought if u finished wherever in an overall stage, that would reflect your overall position in the race.