Wiggo

Thrugelmir

Maybe Sky are playing bluff for le Tour. Wiggo is so obviously going to be targeted on the climbs. That they are letting Froome ride his own race in the mountains. Wiggo can focus on the stages that are his strengths either way. Sky gets one of their guys on the top of the podium.

purch

The route of the 2013 Tour is far tougher than last year, and is unlikely to suit Sir Brad,

7 flat stages for Cav and Greipel
5 hilly stages for breakaways, Voekler etc
6 big mountain stages with 4 huge summit finishes including Ventoux and Alp d'Huez
2 individual time trial stages of 33 and 32 km for Sir Wiggo to gain time
1 team time trial stage of 25km for Team Sky
2 rest days for Contador to eat dodgy steak :eek:

Generali

Ventoux is a great climb, probably the best in France. It's ridiculously exposed at the top.

I couldn't ride the past the final bend as I was worried I was going to get blown off my bike. When I was descending I did the first part on one pedal to make as little area as possible for the wind to hit. There were a couple of dicey moments on the way down too when I came out of tree cover and the wind hit me.

It psychologically a tough climb too as you can see the top pretty much all the way up and you can see how slowly you're getting up. I'd love to go back and have another shot at it.

I notice they've had to move the finish of the Giro today because of avalanche risk on the Col de Galibier. That's another tough climb. It's not that steep but it's really high. This is me at the top:

purch

Apparently the finish today will be at the Marco Pantani monument about 5km from the summit, so it will still be a stiff climb.

The first cat 1 climb of the day (Col du Mont-Cenis) might be missed out as well.

Nibali must be a nailed on certainty now.

Kennyboy66

purch wrote: »

The route of the 2013 Tour is far tougher than last year, and is unlikely to suit Sir Brad,

You could add that Wiggo is 33, probably not as well motivated as last year, is clearly not as well prepared / in form & the opposition is tougher.

I'd be surprised if he was on podium in Paris.

He will surely want to finish the course, but can see him having a bad day and losing a good few minutes (Ventoux finish perhaps) at least once. Contador, Foome and Rodriguez all better climbers and with no one to pace him back, it will be mentally very hard for him to limit his losses.

The time trials (one short, one mountain) don't suit Wiggins either.

Can't wait to see the double ascent of Alpe Duez on stage 18 - but climbing it once, then descent to have to climb it again should see Wiggins lose time as well.

Generali

Kennyboy66 wrote: »

You could add that Wiggo is 33, probably not as well motivated as last year, is clearly not as well prepared / in form & the opposition is tougher.

I'd be surprised if he was on podium in Paris.

He will surely want to finish the course, but can see him having a bad day and losing a good few minutes (Ventoux finish perhaps) at least once. Contador, Foome and Rodriguez all better climbers and with no one to pace him back, it will be mentally very hard for him to limit his losses.

The time trials (one short, one mountain) don't suit Wiggins either.

Can't wait to see the double ascent of Alpe Duez on stage 18 - but climbing it once, then descent to have to climb it again should see Wiggins lose time as well.

Well you were right that Wiggo wasn't on the podium. Froome, Britain's favourite Kenyan, was though! He may have the winning of a couple more TdFs (or Vuelta/Giro) in him too.

Quintana is one for the future possibly (too much of a pure climber?) as is Richie Porte I reckon.

michaels

We have some good knowledge on this thread. Were Froome's power output levels in the 'unlikely without artificial enhancement' category as seems to be being suggested by his detractors?

Generali

michaels wrote: »

We have some good knowledge on this thread. Were Froome's power output levels in the 'unlikely without artificial enhancement' category as seems to be being suggested by his detractors?

Something we can say from observation is that Froome didn't spend the whole time in the mountains in front groups. He gained time some days and lost it on others.

I remember watching Miguel Indurain (who I don't think ever tested positive) and later Lance destroy races for day after day with little help from the domestiques.

This, with apologies for the music:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LOyvswnEBTo

is Marco Pantani setting the record for riding up Alp d'Huez in about 1 hour less than I did it (he'd ridden for 200km by the time he got to the bottom, I'd ridden about 200m). He's followed by, I think, Bjarni Riis (self-confessed doper) in yellow and Richard Virenque in the red polka dot King of the Mountains shirt. There is no way that you can dance on the pedals (when they get off the saddle and churn the pedals round with the bike rocking beneath them) like that so much of the way up such a brutal mountain.

Froome didn't ride like that during the Tour. He probably spent a total of 5 minutes during the 3 weeks out of the saddle.

purch

Personally I am quite surprised that Froome is happy to be the 2nd "British" TdF winner rather than the first African/Kenyan winner. He is clearly proud of his roots in Kenya, and I did read an article recently where it was claimed that he would rather be riding under a Kenyan or South African licence, but unfortunately it is far easier for him to ride under a British one.

I think this Tour has shown that the methods of Dave Brailsford and his team, that so transformed the British track team have done the same miracle with road racing.

Whatever methods they are I am sure the rest of the sport wants/needs to know, and quick.

In 2008 Froome was a run of the mill maker up of the numbers for the Barloworld team, whilst guys like Andy Schleck, Jarni Brajkovic, Robert Gesink, Tejay van Garderen, Jurgen Van den Broeke, Roman Kreuziger, Peter Velits and Vicenzo Nibali were considered the up and coming, great riders of the future.

Of them Nibali has won 2 grand tours, Schleck was given one, Gesink has fallen off his bike in every one he has contested and the rest are still waiting to take the step forward. Yet Froome has come from nowhere, over the last few years, and it is team Sky and Brailsfords methods that have taken his raw athletic talent and turned him into the #1 cyclist in the world.

Quintana will be a force in the future, as will the other Columbian Rigoberto (D)Uran (D)Uran if he leaves Sky and is allowed to compete.

Valverde as usual managed to lose 10 minutes on a stage in the tour, although this year it was a flat stage and not on a mountain, Purito came from nowhere to get on the podium, Contador is a spent force clearly now.

Cav didn't look at 100% at all this year and was totally dominated by Kittel. The Omega leadout train was a farce, and lost out with Tony Martin being hurt and unable to drive the peleton up to the 1km banner, and after that Cav's leadout men were always missing.

Cadel should retire, this has to be the first TdF that I have ever seen any of his team mates even bothering to try and give him support.

Thrugelmir

Generali wrote: »

Something we can say from observation is that Froome didn't spend the whole time in the mountains in front groups. He gained time some days and lost it on others.

On the second ascent of Alp d'Huez he was visibly human. Anothwer kilometre from the finish and the time loss would have been considerable. Only Porte in the Sky team showed any real climbing ability. Some of the best racing in years overall. With Cavendish knocked off his perch.

Movistar team to follow next year. Like Sky developing good young talent.