[Jayhawk]

Burkni, on 20 July 2011 - 03:11 PM, said:

amazingly enough it seemed to be the Schlecks doing most of the work. Evans sat on of course.

Hoo boy, I can just hear it now: "We had to do all the work while Evans sat on..." Schlecks whining cue in 3, 2, 1...

[The Rake]

Would be interested to know if the locals were advised to leave their gates open just in case the riders missed the bends. Expect to see that man's back yard on e-Bay tomorrow

[Jayhawk]

The Rake, on 20 July 2011 - 03:17 PM, said:

Would be interested to know if the locals were advised to leave their gates open just in case the riders missed the bends. Expect to see that man's back yard on e-Bay tomorrow

[Strategy]

Very dissappointed that Contador and Sanchez got caught. What a superbly gutsy move those two and Voeckler had started. A pity that the latter went off the road - glad no one got hurt. I suppose that - unlike the GC candidates - he hadn't recced the descent.

I've had questions about Contador's descending skills in the past - I think we can conclude that he is easily one of the better descenders in the peloton. He actually looked better than Sanchez on some of those corners, IMO.

Anyone else noticed Sanchez and Contador exchanging a handshake as they crossed the line. Definitely a pre-planned attack by those two.

[Jayhawk]

I hope Sammy can at least get the KOM title. He deserves something for his aggressive riding.

[MrHarm]

Tour de Norvège!

[Strategy]

MrHarm, on 20 July 2011 - 03:43 PM, said:

Tour de Norvège!

Yeah. What a completely fantastic Tour they've had. Fantastic ride by Edvald Boasson Hagen - one wonders how many more breaks he will be allowed to go on, but he's so strong that he'll find some way to win. Great rider.

[Leafcake]

Burkni, on 20 July 2011 - 03:00 PM, said:

What an amazing disappointment that Contador and Sanchez couldn't stay away

yup

Double R, on 20 July 2011 - 03:03 PM, said:

I prefer Nina Hagen...

uhh...

The Rake, on 20 July 2011 - 03:17 PM, said:

Would be interested to know if the locals were advised to leave their gates open just in case the riders missed the bends. Expect to see that man's back yard on e-Bay tomorrow

Strategy, on 20 July 2011 - 03:20 PM, said:

Anyone else noticed Sanchez and Contador exchanging a handshake as they crossed the line. Definitely a pre-planned attack by those two.

sure thing.


Strong man Hagen nets his second. What a Tour for Norway!
Love seeing Hagen attack\accelerate; it shudders through his whole body.

Held my breath, but thankfully all came down in one piece.

Contador put the pressure on and bombed the descent, but this time the Schlecks weren't having a siesta. S.Sanchez and Contador appeared to have a few seconds gap at one point, but that seems to have vanished on the straighter sections. Not sure how the descent evolved, but it seems that Evans was the one leading the chase for a while. This bigger group must have had their numbers working to their advantage later. So Contador managed to put time into Basso and Voeckler – who is increasingly showing signs of pressure – while practically clearing the way for Evans in the process.

For all their efforts Roche and De Weert only managed to get 26” on the favourites group.

[Burkni]

Leafcake, on 20 July 2011 - 04:05 PM, said:

Strong man Hagen nets his second. What a Tour for Norway!
Love seeing Hagen attack\accelerate; it shudders through his whole body.

I love his sprinting style too ... very efficient, hardly any rocking from side to side. Reminds me of Zabel.

[MrHarm]

Getting all nationalist here. Even though I never liked Hushovd.

[smug]

this tour went from dull to awesome in just two days.

[Leafcake]

Strategy, on 20 July 2011 - 03:20 PM, said:

I've had questions about Contador's descending skills in the past - I think we can conclude that he is easily one of the better descenders in the peloton. He actually looked better than Sanchez on some of those corners, IMO.

McGee quoted on Tour ticker -
“Alberto is one of the best descenders in the world. If he really decides to hit it hard he might not match some guys on the downhill but he’s still has an air of caution considering he has quite a lot to lose if he does drop it on a corner.”

[bodomaniac]

smug, on 20 July 2011 - 08:19 PM, said:

this tour went from dull to awesome in just two days.

Agreed, however it needed a "tame" second week after the craziness of the first. I'd rather have it this way than a boring/predictable first week followed by an even more sedate last once the GC has been sewn up.

[buddy]

Well I think Evans made his first real mistake toaday. He said he got caught behind Andy Schleck at the top. Now that could have been a huge mistake. He also has said he didn't want to take the risk to get passed coz he knew there were some flat roads into the finish that they could use to pull back Contador and Sanchez.

Now I am sure that Evans did his fair share of work in the chase. The coverage was pretty sketchy at best.

And if Evans did sit on ..... well done him for getting a ride to the finish and saving his legs for stage 18 where he will need them. Afterall it was Andy Schleck who got in his way to start with

Thanks,

Buddy