CYCLING

[Cards13 9,117]

Ps Tommy Vockler is nuts and I love him.

[Jack Jack 415]

Ps Tommy Vockler is nuts and I love him.

He was a bit nuts. Did he really think he could stay out front the whole race?

The Froome crash could make things interesting. Particularly considering the next stage is the Roubaix lite. He could find it difficult over the cobble stones with his injured hand, and his competition I would expect to attack, to really test it out.

[Cards13 9,117]

Ah f me Sky's tour again, most of the cobbles have been removed as its to wet. Not much chance To attack Froome over 5ks of cobbles now.

[Cards13 9,117]

How the hell is the team car allowed to do what Sky did after Froome fell again??? Seriously the UCI needs to pull there finger out.

[Macca 16,173]

How the hell is the team car allowed to do what Sky did after Froome fell again??? Seriously the UCI needs to pull there finger out.

Missed that bit ... what happened? ... he's certainly not having a good time of it regardless.

It looks as if they've only removed a couple of kilometres of the cobbled sectors after all (down to 13 klms from 15 klms)

7 cobbled sectors remain with the first of these to be encountered with about 70 kilometres remaining in the stage (around about 11.30pm tonight)

[Macca 16,173]

Froome crashes again and he's out of the tour ... first Cavendish and now the race favourite is forced to quit.

Looked a sick and sorry lad before getting into the team car - such a shame

[Cards13 9,117]

It was just nuts from the get go Macca, decent group broke away early and people in the pack just started chucking the bums on the road in the soaking wet. Nibali amd team were huge, Porte salvaged something for Sky, the rest lost time.

I'm really interested to see how Richie Porte goes as team leader now... This is why I love the tour a day like that. Rain, aggressive riding and a big change.

Hasn't the Shleck decline been dramatic over the last few years. Andy is out again and Frank a shell of his 2nd to Cadel.

At this stage Movistar should have had Quintana in the squad although he may have struggled in the wet and cold last night.

Lastly why do they not have elbow or wrist guards for wet stages to protect them from broken wrist and elbows and how can they not have carbon fibre shorts as yet that don't rip as easily causing less injuries?

Edited July 9, 2014 by Cards13

[Jack Jack 415]

It's certainly going to make things very interesting for the rest of the tour. Nibali is going to have to watch Cancellara, Porte, Valverede and Contador, I imagine they'll be on the attack to make up time. Can he hold them off?

Go Porte!

[hardtack 10,127]

It was just nuts from the get go Macca, decent group broke away early and people in the pack just started chucking the bums on the road in the soaking wet. Nibali amd team were huge, Porte salvaged something for Sky, the rest lost time.

I'm really interested to see how Richie Porte goes as team leader now... This is why I love the tour a day like that. Rain, aggressive riding and a big change.

Hasn't the Shleck decline been dramatic over the last few years. Andy is out again and Frank a shell of his 2nd to Cadel.

At this stage Movistar should have had Quintana in the squad although he may have struggled in the wet and cold last night.

Lastly why do they not have elbow or wrist guards for wet stages to protect them from broken wrist and elbows and how can they not have carbon fibre shorts as yet that don't rip as easily causing less injuries?

Wrist guards in teh wet wouldn't have helped Froome as he did his wrist in the dry in what appeared to be a really innocuous fall. The commentators last night were speculating that it may actually have been broken.

But what riveting viewing that stage was! I thought the ride of the stage was (and I forget his name) Porte's team mate in dragging him up to within 1:54 (I think it was) of Nibali by the finish. The way Nibali rode the cobbled sections was also beautiful to watch.

[Cards13 9,117]

Wrist guards in teh wet wouldn't have helped Froome as he did his wrist in the dry in what appeared to be a really innocuous fall. The commentators last night were speculating that it may actually have been broken.

But what riveting viewing that stage was! I thought the ride of the stage was (and I forget his name) Porte's team mate in dragging him up to within 1:54 (I think it was) of Nibali by the finish. The way Nibali rode the cobbled sections was also beautiful to watch.

The arm and wrist (and hip/leg) that caused him to retire were hurt in the wet last night. It wasn't the left wing he was holding in pain last night HT even though it was heavily strapped/in sort of cast.

Was that Gerant Thomas? He is huge for Sky, last year getting through the race witha broken pelvis... he is clearly a man who they will heavily rely on to complete what was Porte's role for Froome now that Porte is number 1.

[Macca 16,173]

Here's a summary of last night's stage from the official site ...

... Boom wins, Nibali triumphs, Contador struggles, Froome pulls out

The legendary stage of the north of France including some cobbled sections has seen the defending champion Chris Froome abandon the tour ( he crashed on two occasions... before the pavés) On a rain soaked day of racing, Lars Boom took a valuable victory in Arenberg-Porte du Hainaut, Vincenzo Nibali retained and increased his lead in the overall ranking while Alberto Contador lost more time than most of the other GC contenders.

Nibali made a huge impact on the race and gained almost three minutes over Contador while challengers Andrew Talansky (Garmin), Rui Costa (Lampre), Tejay van Garderen (BMC) and Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) limited the damage at about two minutes, as well as Richie Porte who became the new captain of Team Sky after the sad exit of Chris Froome from the Tour de France.

Another flat stage tonight but again, there's a bit of rain about so the riders may need to be quite cautious (especially after the events of yesterday)

I guess a lot of attention now goes onto a number of other riders (with Froome being out) but from an Aussie point of view, it will be fascinating to see how Porte goes and how his team reacts to yesterday's setback ... the race has really opened up in many ways but a realistic goal may be a overall podium finish for Porte. He's got a strong team behind him so you just never know.

Nibali won the Giro in 2013 and Contador is sure to challenge once they get into the mountains. Valverde and Talansky have claims as well. Contador isn't the time trialist he once was but that may not matter.

The race is up for grabs.

SBS tour tracker & live coverage from the official site

[Axis of Bob 10,251]

Last night's stage was compelling viewing. Wet weather, cobbles and riders taking risks to take time off each other when vulnerable. The crashes were caused as much by the aggressive riding than anything else. The conditions were slippery, but they were going flat chat, which wasn't what the conditions called for. High risk, high reward. Nibali rode fantastically, especially to stay at the front and away from the danger of the middle of the peloton in those conditions. It really opened the tour up.

[Cards13 9,117]

How quick were they going AoB, it was amazing to see 50, 60ks in and they were gaping for air with still so far to go.

[Macca 16,173]

A preview of stage 8 from cyclingnews.com

Jean-Christophe Péraud says... "This is an important stage because it's a day where leaders will want to score against opponents and I expect the final three climbs will open gaps. This is where the Tour really starts and an opportunity for the climbers to avenge their losses on the pavé."

Live coverage from the official site

The climb to the Col de Grosse-Pierre involves a steep 1.2 kilometre stretch which has an average gradient of 12% with a passage of 16%

Also, the last climb (La Mauselaine) has an average gradient of 10% for the final 1.8 kilometres (with a maximum gradient of 15%) and ... it's all uphill to the finish.

Edited July 12, 2014 by Macca

[Cards13 9,117]

Thrilling again last night. The 3 main GC contenders were at the pointy end and the Nibali Contador stare off was a high point. Nib looks like a grinder in the Evan's mode and might not be able to match Contadors powerful break away's on the hills.

Really intersted in tonight as it goes straight up from virtually the outset.

[Macca 16,173]

Yep, tonight and tomorrow night they continue to climb in the 'Vosges' ... I get the feeling that Contador has a need to bridge the time gap to Nibali so he might go on the attack tonight. Porte is already up to overall 3rd and he may be more watchful for the time being.

Tomorrow night's stage is arguably more difficult so as a contrast, I'll post up both profiles. Regardless of what happens in the next 2 days, both these stages will be fascinating to watch.

Here's a write up of tonight's stage (stage 9) from the official site ...

The second of the three stages in the Vosges only offers twenty kilometers of flat terrain – the last twenty! As soon as they'll leave Gérardmer and put the beautiful lake behind, the riders will have to climb. Col de la Schlucht is the first of six categorized hills with the most difficult being the Markstein, prolonged by the Grand Ballon, 46km before the finish in Mulhouse. This is a typical stage for attackers, similar to stage 13 of the 2009 Tour de France won by Heinrich Haussler in Colmar.

Climbing abilities are required but the GC contenders won't be eager to fight from far out as they'll probably prefer to keep their energy for the grueling stage to Planche des belles filles on Bastille Day.

Tonight's profile ...

Tomorrow night's profile ...

[Biffen 12,342]

Hird could inject something into one of those teams.

Or maybe he is. "Studying" them.

[Macca 16,173]

Now Contador has crashed - bandaged up and a bit knocked around, he struggles on. Apparently the frame on his bike snapped and it was quite a nasty crash.

3 and half minutes behind the peloton with 5 decent climbs ahead. His teammates have dropped back to help him.

Edit: Contador abandons the tour - he didn't look right when he got back on the bike. The attrition rate in this tour is quite something. The conditions haven't helped but we're in the dark about what actually caused Contador to crash the way he did.

Edited July 14, 2014 by Macca

[daisycutter 28,589]

Hird could inject something into one of those teams.

Or maybe he is. "Studying" them.

think he's "networking" biffo. nothing like checking out the real pros

[Cards13 9,117]

Nibali's to lose now, he looks a long way ahead of the rest at this point. Hopefully Porte is holding fire until Fri, Sat to put some pressure on Nibs and Astana but at this stage they have looked comfortable.

[hardtack 10,127]

Nibali's to lose now, he looks a long way ahead of the rest at this point. Hopefully Porte is holding fire until Fri, Sat to put some pressure on Nibs and Astana but at this stage they have looked comfortable.

Apparently Porte has the best time trial times of all in the top 10, so hopefully if he can maintain position until the second last stage without losing too much ground on Nibali, he may be in with a shot for a podium finish (if not outright victory).

[gsmith12 491]

In any event Tim it's nice to have an Aussie in genuine contention again.

Makes the early morning viewing much more enjoyable.

[Macca 16,173]

Nibali's to lose now, he looks a long way ahead of the rest at this point. Hopefully Porte is holding fire until Fri, Sat to put some pressure on Nibs and Astana but at this stage they have looked comfortable.

There are 5 mountain stages left involving twelve category 1 climbs. We're in the 'Alps' tomorrow night and Saturday night and ... next Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, we're in the Pyreness. All 3 of the stages in the Pyreness are tough.

I don't reckon it's done yet - it may come down to who has the better team and besides all that, it only takes one bad day for any cyclist to lose valuable time. We may even have someone else as the leader in the next week. Porte or Nibali could hit the wall and an opportunist might take advantage.

However, I do agree with you Cards that Nibali looks the likely winner but ... he's got a truckload of work ahead of him to make sure of it.

Here are the next 3 profiles but there's 3 more similar outlooks (like the last 2 profiles posted) when they're in the Pyreness next week. Tonight's stage shouldn't present too many problems but the fun begins on Friday ...

Tonight ...

Friday ...

Saturday ...

Edited July 17, 2014 by Macca

[Macca 16,173]

Tonight's first climb begins from Saint-Égrève at about 11.10pm. The summit of 'Col de Palaquit' should be reached about 30 minutes later.

The 2nd climb from Saint-Martin-d'Hères should commence at about 12.05am. The summit of 'Chamrousse' should be reached about 40 minutes later.

Times are approximate only but it's doubtful whether they will start these 2 category 1 climbs much earlier than the approximate times that are given.

Niboli has indicated that he may attack Porte tonight and/or tomorrow night but Porte may well have his own plans. Should be a fascinating night and tomorrow night should be just as interesting.

Edited July 18, 2014 by Macca

[Cards13 9,117]

Nibali looking in a class of his own without Froome and Contador or even a Wiggins, Quintana in the hills. Ritchie struggled badly unfortunately and wont be able to make up that much time. Sky will have to question the leave Wiggo at home call, but that's why they're paid the bug bucks.

Brutal stage the last 20Ks straight uphill on a hot day, tonight a few more will crack badly.