Maxou 66 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Froome is better than Wiggins imo. I hope he'll be in another team next year so that there would be more suspense ! Also congratulations to Voeckler who will be in his maillot à pois in Paris !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Wiggins has 3 or 4 teammates around him at all times. Their job is to protect him from potential falls, especially on the flat sections. But their most important job is to keep him in their slipstream, which allows him to conserve a lot of energy. That's why you get Rogers, Porte and Froome in front of Wiggins, when the climbing begins with the rider in front taking the brunt of the wind. Helpers also get water bottles, energy gels and food for him and others from the team car, so he doesn't have to go back. If there's a puncture and no team car in sight, they may also give him their tyre. And if a team leader is dropped or has suffered a puncture or a fall, then his teammates drop back to ride in front of him to help him get back into the main group with a minimum energy loss.It's definitely not every man for himself, hierarchy matters in cycling. Of course there are guys, who are out there racing just for themselves, that's mainly from weaker teams, whose main goal is to get guys in the breakaway or go for stage wins in order to get maximum exposure for their sponsors.General classement contenders have their entire teams working for them, a couple of guys to help on the climbs, a couple to work on the flat etc.Sprinters have their teams do most of the riding in front on flat stages, setting up a so called train, where the idea is for the team to pull their main sprinter to the front, where they peel off one by one, while he stays in their slipstream for a final attack and sprint in the last couple hundred meters.If you take a look at today's and yesterday's stage, during the final climbs Nibali, main Sky rival, had Ivan Basso dictating a strong pace at the front, which lead to a lot of the riders being dropped, he was preparing the ground for a Nibali attack, which never came as yesterday the Sky boys had him covered and today he didn't have the legs for it and ended up being punished, when Froome and Wiggins pulled away.Great summation. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 19, 2012 Author Share Posted July 19, 2012 Froome is better than Wiggins imo. I hope he'll be in another team next year so that there would be more suspense ! Also congratulations to Voeckler who will be in his maillot à pois in Paris !! Froome is better on certain climbs, Wiggins is better in the Time Trials, however, Wiggins is in yellow - as planned since the start of the year. Also, Froome could have been in another team this year but chose to sign a deal with Sky, and in doing so, he took advantage of that team's superior training methods. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingledtrout 7 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Excellent write up yoghurto!I enjoyed todays stage despite nibali struggling,i think it was a good showcase for the casual fan.I disagree with froome being better than brad,when you look at brads c.v. he is one of the top cyclists of all time imo. He reminds me of indurain,does enough in the mountains and kills on the TT's.Froome has had a good year but has a lot to prove before being better than brad.I thnk people forget how much brad has on his shoulders this year,that can take alot of of a man,while froome can ride as he wishes, He will be a star but at the moment wiggins is the man. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davey_RFC 122 Posted July 19, 2012 Share Posted July 19, 2012 Froome is better on certain climbs, Wiggins is better in the Time Trials, however, Wiggins is in yellow - as planned since the start of the year. Also, Froome could have been in another team this year but chose to sign a deal with Sky, and in doing so, he took advantage of that team's superior training methods.How are Sky's training methods different from other teams' Casey? I've seen this mentioned a few times but I don't really follow cycling so have no idea about training methods etc. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 They are just meticulous in every area, whether that be the bikes; the suits; diet; rest etc.Jens Voigt, a veteran of the professional sport, summed it up brilliantly for me. He said that Sky managed to find maybe one percent more than the other teams, which doesn't sound like that big a deal.....but when they do that for each aspect, it soon becomes nine or ten percent - and that is a huge advantage. Much of the credit for the meteroric rise of British cycling, firstly on the track, and latterly on the road and in mountain-biking, must go to Dave Brailsford. He is now Performance Director for British Cycling as well as managing Sky Procycling. He has amassed a brillant support staff from all over the world including coaches, sports scientists and nutritionists and working with the likes of NASA and McLaren to advance the technological side of it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoghurto 9 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 That was some sprint by Cavendish in the final 300-400m. Great work by Wiggins as well on the front to help reel the escape group in the last 2km. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 That was some sprint by Cavendish in the final 300-400m. Great work by Wiggins as well on the front to help reel the escape group in the last 2km.Missed everything. What happened today, mate? Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoghurto 9 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Only caught the final 15km. There was a breakaway of 5, Vinokourov riding like a mad man to win the stage, attacked on the 4th category climb about 11km from the finish, 3 riders left on the downhill, then 3 more jumped across from the peloton including Leon Sanchez, the gap was only 30 seconds, but the peloton didn't really show signs of being bothered too much with the chase. Then Liquigas stepped up for Sagan, but gave up quite quickly. So the gap remained somewhere between 10-15 seconds for most part of the final 5 or 6km. And the group was ahead even in the final 2km, Vinokourov at this point dropped to the back and it was Leon Sanchez and Roche, who went at it for what seemed like the stage win. But with about 1.5km to go Wiggins moved to the front with Boason Hagen behind him trying to prepare the sprint for Cavendish. But even with about 500m to go it didn't look too good, but then Cav went for it and just stormed past Roche and Sanchez like they weren't there winning with incredible ease. One of the best sprints I've ever seen, even if Roche and Leon Sanchez seemed to be calculating a bit, they finished 4th and 5th with Goss and Sagan overtaking them as well in the final meters. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Only caught the final 15km. There was a breakaway of 5, Vinokourov riding like a mad man to win the stage, attacked on the 4th category climb about 11km from the finish, 3 riders left on the downhill, then 3 more jumped across from the peloton including Leon Sanchez, the gap was only 30 seconds, but the peloton didn't really show signs of being bothered too much with the chase. Then Liquigas stepped up for Sagan, but gave up quite quickly. So the gap remained somewhere between 10-15 seconds for most part of the final 5 or 6km. And the group was ahead even in the final 2km, Vinokourov at this point dropped to the back and it was Leon Sanchez and Roche, who went at it for what seemed like the stage win. But with about 1.5km to go Wiggins moved to the front with Boason Hagen behind him trying to prepare the sprint for Cavendish. But even with about 500m to go it didn't look too good, but then Cav went for it and just stormed past Roche and Sanchez like they weren't there winning with incredible ease. One of the best sprints I've ever seen, even if Roche and Leon Sanchez seemed to be calculating a bit, they finished 4th and 5th with Goss and Sagan overtaking them as well in the final meters.Sounds like a great finish. Cav-Wiggo-Cav in the final three stages. Thanks, bud. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingledtrout 7 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Great finish,cant help but smile when i see the sky boys doing stuff like that for each other,they seem to e goof friends aswell as team mates.sagan may be in yellow,but he is a long way behind cav! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
maverick1200 2,988 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Just watched the highlights and that was unbelievable racing. Cav came through like a train at the end Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 Just watched it. Awesome! The power in that finish by Cavendish must have been frightening for his rivals. Also good to see Wiggins leading out the train to show his gratitude for the sacrifice that the Manxman has given. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
showtime69 514 Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Wiggins has 3 or 4 teammates around him at all times. Their job is to protect him from potential falls, especially on the flat sections. But their most important job is to keep him in their slipstream, which allows him to conserve a lot of energy. That's why you get Rogers, Porte and Froome in front of Wiggins, when the climbing begins with the rider in front taking the brunt of the wind. Helpers also get water bottles, energy gels and food for him and others from the team car, so he doesn't have to go back. If there's a puncture and no team car in sight, they may also give him their tyre. And if a team leader is dropped or has suffered a puncture or a fall, then his teammates drop back to ride in front of him to help him get back into the main group with a minimum energy loss.It's definitely not every man for himself, hierarchy matters in cycling. Of course there are guys, who are out there racing just for themselves, that's mainly from weaker teams, whose main goal is to get guys in the breakaway or go for stage wins in order to get maximum exposure for their sponsors.General classement contenders have their entire teams working for them, a couple of guys to help on the climbs, a couple to work on the flat etc.Sprinters have their teams do most of the riding in front on flat stages, setting up a so called train, where the idea is for the team to pull their main sprinter to the front, where they peel off one by one, while he stays in their slipstream for a final attack and sprint in the last couple hundred meters.If you take a look at today's and yesterday's stage, during the final climbs Nibali, main Sky rival, had Ivan Basso dictating a strong pace at the front, which lead to a lot of the riders being dropped, he was preparing the ground for a Nibali attack, which never came as yesterday the Sky boys had him covered and today he didn't have the legs for it and ended up being punished, when Froome and Wiggins pulled away.cheers mate wouldnt have thought so much went into itwill look out for all these wee things, see if i can pick it upjust a shame its nearly over Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 cheers mate wouldnt have thought so much went into itwill look out for all these wee things, see if i can pick it upjust a shame its nearly overThe Vuelta a Espana(Tour of Spain) starts on August 19. You can get your teeth into that. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Stage 19 - Time Trial - Bonneval~ChartresA 53.5km long stage consisting of flat, exposed roads. Not much more to say other than:Wiggins>Froome>Van Garderen. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amac9 2,060 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Been a pretty boring Tour IMO.Not a lot happening but delighted for Wiggins. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Evans being humiliated by Van Garderen in this TT. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 Wiggins putting on a show here. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 1. B. Wiggins2. C. Froome3. L.L. Sanchez4. P. Velits5. R. PorteWiggins takes another 1'16" off of Froome heading to Paris tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
mingledtrout 7 Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 Woooof, thats why he is team leader!excellent show by a real good guy.Allez wiggins.2 brits and the shark on the podium,nice result Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
weshallnotbemoved! 714 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 We British seem to excel at cycling..Cavendish, Froome and Wiggins dominated the Tour this year.Expecting big things at the Olympics. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
weshallnotbemoved! 714 Posted July 22, 2012 Share Posted July 22, 2012 I just wish Wiggins would shave those sideburns off..Wins the Tour and looks mental... Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 I just wish Wiggins would shave those sideburns off..Wins the Tour and looks mental...Seems quite apt! Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
caseyjones 3,009 Posted July 22, 2012 Author Share Posted July 22, 2012 Stage 20 - Victory Parade( +a wee sprint at the end) - Rambouillet~Paris120km which will be little more than a relaxed procession until the normal eight laps of Les Chams-Elysees commence. Then there will be numerous breakaway attempts followed by them being chased down by the teams who are out to lead their sprinter to the most prestigious of stage wins.There couldn't be a better sight than Wiggins in yellow leading out the Sky train on the last lap and for the world champion, Mark Cavendish to launch himself for the line and complete a hat-trick of British victories. Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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