[ebonho]

Originally Posted by mp417

In yesterday's sprint finish, these guys must have touched the top speed of 70 kmph

Just noticed something for the first time on Cavendish's bike - riser drop bars!

Honestly, never seen such a design before. Like MTB bars mated with road bike Drop bars.

Or is it so that the cycle computer sits flush with the bar for extra streamlining? He's even holding them different to the other three - forward curve rather that on the drops.

[mp417]

Stage 8 Result

The last 2 kms were really difficult as anticipated. The peloton was down to 20 to 30 riders in last 2 kms. Alexis Vuillermoz delivers the first French stage victory of the 2015 Tour de France. He counter-attacked after an acceleration by Chris Froome 800 metres before the top of Mûr de Bretagne and surprised Dan Martin who started his effort too late and came second. Froome retained the yellow jersey ahead of the team time trial.

Alexis Vuillermoz (AG2R-La Mondiale) showed his intentions under the flamme rouge but Chris Froome accelerated just after that as Vincenzo Nibali was in trouble. The tiny French climbers responded to the lanky Brit and rode away solo. Dan Martin (Cannondale-Garmin) rode after him but a bit too late. Already third atop the Mur de Huy, Vuillermoz, a former mountain biker, claimed his first stage victory at the Tour de France at the age of 27.

Chris Froome: Yet again he proved why he is the most favorite to win this years tour.

Tejay Van Gardren: The dark horse. He has a strong team behind him and finished next to Froome today.

Peter Sagan: What a ride by this man. Finished in fourth place. He takes the Green Jersey from Greipel and retains the White jersey.

Contador and Quintana: Both finished with the main group and didn't lose any time.

Nibali: I think he cracked a bit today and lot around 5 seconds to the leader.

[download2live]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Just noticed something for the first time on Cavendish's bike - riser drop bars!

Honestly, never seen such a design before. Like MTB bars mated with road bike Drop bars.

Or is it so that the cycle computer sits flush with the bar for extra streamlining? He's even holding them different to the other three - forward curve rather that on the drops.

More details on this cycle here: http://road.cc/content/news/155944-t...cialized-venge

[mp417]

Stage 9 – 12th July 2015

Stage Profile



Last Kilometer



Stage Map



Summary of today's stage

A twenty-eight kilometer team time trial awaits.

After Stage 1’s short, 14 kms race against the clock, there are no more individual time trials in the 2015 Tour de France, which makes this team time trial all the more important. Teams will need to measure their efforts carefully. If they go too hard too soon they will fade before the climb to the finish. Teams that fare well will give their riders a solid cushion heading into the Pyrenees. Teams that don’t will be forced to go on the attack to try and make up time.

BMC is the current Team Time Trial World Champion and is the top favorite to win Stage 9.

Start City/Location: Vennes, France

End City/Location: Plumelec, France

Local start time: 03:00 pm (6:35 pm IST)

Total Distance: 28 kms

Type of stage: Flat, Team Time Trial

TV Schedule for India
7:05 pm Live on Ten Sports and Ten Sports HD.

[mp417]

What is a Team Time Trial?

A team time trial (TTT) is a road-based bicycle race in which teams of cyclists race against the clock.

Teams start at equal intervals, usually two, three or four minutes apart. Starting sequences will usually be based on individuals' times in previous events, but in TTTs conducted as part of a multi-stage road race (such as the Tour de France and the Giro d'Italia) the highest ranked teams will normally start later. Later starters have the advantage of knowing what times they need to beat (and this also makes the event more interesting to spectators).

Unlike individual time trials where competitors are not permitted to 'draft' (ride in the slipstream) behind each other, in team time trials, riders in each team employ this as their main tactic, each member taking a turn at the front while team-mates 'sit in' behind. After their turn, the lead rider will swing over, allowing the next rider to take the lead, while the leader goes to the back of the team.

A Team car follows the entire team very closely to help in mechanical failure. Team use different bikes and head gear than usual stages.

The coordination between the team members plays crucial role. The time is recorded when last member of the team crosses the finish line. Watching the team time trial is completely different experience

[ebonho]

Froome showed he's a serious threat to Contador and Nibali. Nibali is sliding anyways. But one never knows. In the Tour, mountain legs are the seperator.

Really was rooting for Froome's team. They were out and out faster throughout and had it not been for his No. 5 rider bonking at the last climb they would have had a great upset.

They hit the base of the climb 5 whole seconds ahead of world champions BMC, but finally finished 0.6 seconds down.

I was disappointed.

[mp417]

Originally Posted by mp417

The time is recorded when last member of the team crosses the finish line.

Correction from my previous post:
The team's time is recorded when the fifth rider of the team crosses the finish line.


Stage 9 Result

Team Sky came so close to beat the TTT champion Team BMC. Froome retains the yellow jersey.

Britain's Chris Froome retained the overall leader's yellow jersey after a closely fought team time trial on stage nine of the Tour de France in Brittany.

Froome's Team Sky were last out on the 28 kms route and finished in second place, 0.62 seconds slower than BMC Racing
The 2013 champion now leads BMC's American rider Tejay van Garderen by 12 seconds in the overall standings. Froome gained more time on two-time winner Alberto Contador, Nairo Quintana and defending champion Vincenzo Nibali. Italian Nibali was the day's biggest loser in the battle between the so called 'big four' with his Astana team finishing 35 seconds adrift of the winners. He now trails Froome by two minutes and 22 seconds. At one point Astana team looked completely disorganized and lost two riders mid-way.

Yesterday saw the team’s attaining max speed of 60 kmph on few straights

BMC Racing Team at 52.09km/h

Team time trial world champions BMC Racing Team was the first squad to clock in more than 52km/h average with Tejay van Garderen, Rohan Dennis, Damiano Caruso, Greg van Avermaet and Samuel Sanchez.

Wout Poels, Richie Porte, Chris Froome, Geraint Thomas and Nicolas Roche finished the job for Team Sky but missed out on the victory by one second after being equal with BMC at the first check point and leading by one second at the second check point.

Prior to the mountain stages, Froome leads the overall ranking with 12 seconds over Van Garderen while Alberto Contador is at 1.03, Quintana at 1.59 and Nibali at 2.22.

Today is a much needed rest day as the entire circus flies to Pau, France.

Team Cannondale


Team Ettix Quickstep


Team Moviestar


Team Astana


Team BMC




Team Sky








Stage 9 winner: Team BMC

[mp417]

Originally Posted by ebonho

Froome showed he's a serious threat to Contador and Nibali. Nibali is sliding anyways. But one never knows. In the Tour, mountain legs are the seperator.

Really was rooting for Froome's team. They were out and out faster throughout and had it not been for his No. 5 rider bonking at the last climb they would have had a great upset.

They hit the base of the climb 5 whole seconds ahead of world champions BMC, but finally finished 0.6 seconds down.

I was disappointed.

Yes, even I was disappointed. Sky Team and Froome thoroughly deserved to win the TTT. Like a true leader Froome kept his entire team together and even leading from front. Last two kilometers were difficult yesterday and many teams lost in the final climb. Usually having such a climb in TTT is not usual IMO.

Sky lost by 0.62 seconds difference
We only see such time difference in Formula 1 and not in Cycling
This sport is definitely changing for good.

[mp417]

Stage 10 – 14th July 2015

Stage Profile



Stage Map



Summary of today's stage

The Pyrenees are here.
After a much deserved rest day, we come to the real mountains.
All the top contenders are still in the hunt, with Tejay Van Garderen showing very promising performance in the first 9 stages.

Chris Froome who was expected by many to be in trouble in the crosswinds, on the cobblestones, has not only emerged unscathed but he leads the Tour de France even before the first serious climb with an advantage of 12 seconds over Van Garderen, 1.03 over Alberto Contador, 1.59 over Nairo Quintana and 2.22 over Vincenzo Nibali. In that category, the defending champion is the biggest loser of the first chapter but in reality, he isn't very far down and his chances to contest the yellow jersey remain intact. A second race begins in Pau for someone like Thibaut Pinot, third overall last year and now 8.05 adrift. He wants to win a mountain stage and the polka dot jersey. Both goals are combined as uphill finishes like the newcoming site at La Pierre-Saint-Martin in the col du Soudet. It's not a big mountain stage yet but the finale is very demanding. It's the first opportunity for the dark horse contenders to emerge.

Today we will witness a monster climb in last 15 kilometers. With 7.4% gradient it is going to be difficult for riders but exciting to watch. The top contenders will have to time their attack well and their team's support will play crucial role. Having a mechanical failure on the climb is very difficult to cover up. So having one or two team members around you is very important.

Start City/Location: Tarbes, France

End City/Location: La Pierre Saint Martin, France

Local start time: 12:35 pm (3:05 pm IST)

Total Distance: 167 kms

Type of stage: Mountain

66.0 kms - Côte de Bougarber- 1.4 kilometre-long climb at 6.2% - category 4
90.0 kms - Côte de Vielleségure - 1.7 kilometre-long climb at 5.9% - category 4
134.0 kms - Côte de Montory - 1.8 kilometre-long climb at 6.3% - category 4
167.0 kms - LA PIERRE-SAINT-MARTIN - 15.3 kilometre-long climb at 7.4% - category H



TV Schedule for India
6:30 pm Live on Ten Sports and Ten Sports HD.

Eagerly awaiting

[ebonho]

Aaaah the mountains are finally here. Now the real fun and games begin. I guess the good mountain legs should make their presence felt straight away, unless there is some strategy at play in lulling the competition into a fall sense of security before really laying down the hammer big time on a big stage and making up bags of time.

Say what you will about Lance, but I shall miss his dancing shoes.

[mp417]

Stage 10 Results

It was an epic battle yesterday.

The ascent started at around 17 kms to finish with the real climb kicking in at 15.3 kms to finish. Team Moviestar of Quintana had all the strategies in place for an attack. In the initial part of the climb, Moviestar set good pace due to which the peloton reduced to 40 from a big bunch of 100+. All the big names were there in the peloton with Team sky in second place. In the first third of the ascent, a few dark horse riders got dropped: Rui Costa, Dani Navarro, Wilco Kelderman, Michal Kwiatkowski, Andrew Talansky, Dan Martin, Romain Bardet, Thibaut Pinot, Jean-Christophe Péraud and even Vincenzo Nibali (last year's tour winner).

Valverde tried to attack team Sky twice but was bought back in the peloton by Geraint Thomas and company. Then Contador cracked due to the rapid pace. This made Richie Porte to put the hammer down. Due to this even Gardren, Valverde and few others could not keep up the pace and what remained was a select group of three riders; Porte, Froome and Quintana. Now you know the real contenders of this year’s tour.

At around 6.5 kms to finish, Froome attacked. Boy oh boy, what an attack it was. Boom boom boom Quintana could not respond and Froome quickly built up a gap of 30+ seconds. Froome was pedaling at a cadence of 90+ and was riding at the speed of 40 kmph at such a nasty climb He won the stage in grand style with 1 min 4 seconds ahead of Quintana. Froome simply devastated all his rivals in the first real mountain stage.

With around 1.5 kms to finished, Porte overtook Quintana. Porte deprived Quintana of the second place, which gives him the honor to wear the polka dot jersey in the second Pyrenean stage. The overall classification evidences huge differences. After only one climb in the 102nd Tour de France, Van Garderen is 2.52 adrift. Quintana is at 3.09, Contador at 4.04 and Nibali at 6.57.

Froome and Team Sky are the real winners of yesterday’s stage.
As I had mentioned in my earlier post, having a good team is very important and team sky proved it. They top the team classification as well after three of their riders (Froome, Porte, Thomas) finished in top 10 yesterday.

Sagan lost the green jersey to Greipel yesterday. The monster was too fast for other sprinters at the mid way sprint and grabbed valuable points.

[alfafan]

@mp417 - Again excellent narration and coverage from you on yesterday's stage. Just by the look of Chris Froome's and Team Sky's performance there is absolutely no way anyone is going to step them now

[mp417]

Stage 11 – 15th July 2015

Stage Profile



Final kilometer



Stage Map



Summary of today's stage

Another monster stage awaits the riders.

Now that Chris Froome has confirmed in the mountains, his dominance in the flat part of the race, he'll be even keener to let a breakaway go from far. Starting in Pau, stage 10 features two legendary climbs with the col d'Aspin and the Tourmalet prior to the final ascent to Cauterets. It's a climbers' paradise but probably more suitable for one of them who is quite far down on GC and will take place in a breakaway on the flat part of the race. Chris Froome has knocked his rivals out in such a significant way that they might wait for a while before they find the resources to hit back. The likes of Jean-Christophe Péraud, Romain Bardet and Thibaut Pinot who all missed out on Bastille Day have some freedom to target a stage victory now but a second mountain stage isn't only about the will, it's more about the legs.

We can definitely expect lot of firework in today's stage

Start City/Location: Pau/Cauterets, France

End City/Location: Vallee de Saint-Savin, France

Local start time: 12:05 pm (2:25 pm IST)

Total Distance: 167 kms

Type of stage: Mountain

1) 48.5 kms - Côte de Loucrup - 2 kilometer-long climb at 7% - category 3
2) 61.5 kms - Côte de Bagnères-de-Bigorre - 1.4 kilometer-long climb at 6.1% - category 4
3) 74.5 kms - Côte de Mauvezin - 2.7 kilometer-long climb at 6% - category 3
4) 117.0 kms - Col d'Aspin (1490 m) - 12 kilometer-long climb at 6.5% - category 1
5) 147.0 kms - Col du Tourmalet (2115 m) Souvenir Jacques Goddet - 17.1 kilometer-long climb at 7.3% - category H
6) 184.5 kms - Côte de Cauterets - 6.4 kilometer-long climb at 5% - category 3

Climb no. 4



Climb no. 5



TV Schedule for India
7:05 pm Live on Ten Sports and Ten Sports HD.

[mp417]

Stage 11 Results

Rafal Majka claimed his first victory of the 2015 season as he repeated his two stage victories in Risoul and Saint-Lary-Soulan at the first Tour de France he took part in last year. The Polish climber rode away solo from a breakaway group to clinch the prestigious Souvenir Jacques Goddet at the top of the Tourmalet. A surprise King of the Mountains last year, he confirmed his status as a great Tour de France contender once he got freed from his duties at the service of Alberto Contador. Chris Froome kept the race under control and retained the yellow jersey.

[ebonho]

I think its safe to say that Nibali does not have the legs this here. He cracked again yesterday, after the exertions on Tourmalet.