2017 Tour de France

cycletrak9 · July 22, 2017, 06:35:48 PM

A great ride by Chris Froome in the final time trial. I was hoping he'd catch Bardet before the line but the Sky team bus might have been wrecked by angry Frenchmen if he had.

Sky have a decision to make - do they defy convention and try to make up the two seconds they need to get Landa onto the podium? If they do [and succeed] the boos you heard today will fade into insignificance. They might also face reprisals from French teams acting in concert in future races.

Thoughts, anyone?

Mike

daffy · July 22, 2017, 07:04:55 PM

Watching today's TT on ITV4 was a good way to spend a rainy afternoon. Froome once again showed his class, and though he has not won a Stage this Tour, he will be a worthy winner if he crosses the line with or ahead of the other GC contenders tomorrow.

BTW, I know the Paris final stage is considered to be a celebratory procession for the Yellow Jersey but isn't it a bit premature to declare him the overall Tour winner, as all the Press seems to be doing?

After all, anything can happen - though probably won't - to upset the result.

outofgauge · July 22, 2017, 07:59:59 PM

Froome -championie -hey ho never won a stage -but always there or there abouts ! Even the great Chris Boardman is happy -long live the yellow jersey!

njee20 · July 22, 2017, 08:14:05 PM

Quote from: cycletrak9 on July 22, 2017, 06:35:48 PM
Sky have a decision to make - do they defy convention and try to make up the two seconds they need to get Landa onto the podium? If they do [and succeed] the boos you heard today will fade into insignificance. They might also face reprisals from French teams acting in concert in future races.

Thoughts, anyone?

No chance. It's not just the ceremonial aspect of it, it's the sheer magnitude of it. He'd need to finish in the top 3 on the stage. The ultimate sprinters stage. The odds of any climber winning a bunch sprint are tiny, let alone tomorrow.

It's the equivalent of saying "will Mo Farah win the 100m to get an extra medal".

Quote from: Mito on July 22, 2017, 05:22:30 PM
Quote from: njee20 on July 21, 2017, 10:16:54 PM
But surely you can understand why there wasn't competition within the main field?

Tactics. In this case it did not make for a visually entertaining stage. That has been my gripe all along. At least it's all over now bar the shouting.

"At least it's all over" why watch it?!

It's not just tactics, it's like saying cricket is rubbish because they don't smash every ball for a 6, or football is dull because they don't shoot with every touch of the ball. Some stages there's nothing to race for. That was one for the bunch.

outofgauge · July 22, 2017, 08:28:38 PM

Landa signed a contract to do a job -lead Chris Froome to the fourth victory -period ! It's ok to say why didn't he go and win the tour -very capable -maybe next year - but not this one-Sky pay the bills and supply the gear-what's was he gonna ride? A mavic bike

Don't fit- one size fits all ?? Politics and French cheating rule -how else would a frenchman win ? You dont issue a penalty -then resind it unless you want the man to win !

njee20 · July 22, 2017, 08:39:53 PM

He's off to Movistar next year, so presumably Quintana's going elsewhere, or they've promised him a crack as a GC contender for at least one of the grand tours. Clearly a great rider.

Sorry to see Bardet so dejected after today, he'd clearly left it all on the road!

cycletrak9 · July 22, 2017, 08:44:25 PM

Sorry njee I don't follow your reasoning. Landa doesn't have to finish in the top three - he just has to finish two seconds ahead of Bardet. OK I admit it's unlikely but one could envisage a breakaway including Landa creating the gap. Sure AG2R would chase like lunatics to close it but if it occurred in the final kilometers it could work. My post was more to examine the ethics of Sky making the attempt than to suggest that it was a realistic possibility.

njee20 · July 22, 2017, 08:47:34 PM

But the odds of it being anything but a bunch sprint are tiny, I think it's been about 25 years since a breakaway won it, a breakaway featuring a top 10 rider...?! Not in a million years!

If he's not winning the bunch sprint he's got to stay ahead of the sprinters. I think it would be tactically allowable, but practically impossible sadly.

Newportnobby · July 22, 2017, 09:38:47 PM

If it's the same as last year remember Team Sky crossed the finish line in line abreast with linked arms so I would expect a repeat. Desperate shame Geraint Thomas can't be with them

To my mind Bardet blew it today by going all out too soon. I'm also not happy with the booing of Froome by some people (although it's not as bad as their antics last year

).
I'm sure they'd be the first to complain if French riders were booed in this country

cycletrak9 · July 22, 2017, 09:57:18 PM

njee - Team Sky's website seems to suggest that they have accepted the situation and will not try to elevate Landa in the GC.

We can look forward to some champagne moments tomorrow - predictions for the sprint winner?

njee20 · July 22, 2017, 11:05:44 PM

Quote from: newportnobby on July 22, 2017, 09:38:47 PM
If it's the same as last year remember Team Sky crossed the finish line in line abreast with linked arms so I would expect a repeat. Desperate shame Geraint Thomas can't be with them

Yes, if you've not got a sprinter then let them get on with it and do the ceremonial crossing of the line down the back.

Quote from: cycletrak9 on July 22, 2017, 09:57:18 PM
njee - Team Sky's website seems to suggest that they have accepted the situation and will not try to elevate Landa in the GC.

We can look forward to some champagne moments tomorrow - predictions for the sprint winner?

Yes, because it's a virtual impossibility

seriously, i'd bet my house on the chances of Landa getting in a breakaway and taking two seconds from Bardet. It is theoretically possible if Bardet were to crash before the final 3km, but that's still very unlikely, and he'll have so many riders pacing him back on even if it does.

Matthews or Griepel for the win I say, the latter has been off form all race, but should beat Matthews in an out and our flat sprint. As long as it's not Bouhanni I don't mind!

Webbo · July 23, 2017, 02:34:28 AM

Matthews I hope for the win on the Champs, but mainly because he is a home town boy. Luck in having Sagan and Cavendish cancel one another was key to his success.

Barring an accident, Froome was always going to win this TdF and looked pretty sure to me from the beginning. He is a great all round cyclist and together with his team was able to cover all the moves by the other teams. Not the best TdF I've seen for suspense and uncertainty regarding the winner. Still a magnificent spectacle to watch though and too bad it is coming to an end.

Webbo

BoxTunnel · July 23, 2017, 02:56:07 AM

Only 53 seconds though, I seem to remember Greg Lemond winning over Fignon on the final day when there were very few seconds in it. I've had a few glasses so my google fu seems to be suffering...

cycletrak9 · July 23, 2017, 08:53:40 AM

Greg Lemond won the 1989 Tour by 8 seconds from Laurent Fignon, beating him in a final time trial which finished on the Champs Elysees

Fignon notes wryly in his book "We were Young and Carefree" that he is remembered as the man who lost the Tour by 8 seconds rather than the man who won it twice.

Newportnobby · July 24, 2017, 09:36:23 AM

And so it is done. After 3,546 kilometres, 86hrs 20mins on the road Chris Froome won by 54 seconds. To win one TdF is a wonder but to have won 4 is just remarkable and I hope he has it in him, both physically and mentally, to go for another couple of seasons. The scenery has been stunning, the tactics sometimes perfect and at other times dubious, some (like Contador and Quintana) didn't live up to expectations while others rode out of their skinsuits.
I've lost 3 weeks of my life watching the full day every day but, like Edith Piaf, regret nothing

Roll on La Vuelta