Look at those war marks on his legs - he's not afraid of going for it. I can barely do a trackstand, much less a hands free wheelie while having a bite to eat. Most impressive.

After Contador's crash, Froome tweeted that he would see AC at the Vuelta.

Talansky is one tough nut......

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Chicago Cubs - 2016 WORLD SERIES Champions!!!!

"If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin." - Samuel Adams

Makes sense, North America races aren't really hard enough for guys like Froome.

And that's after a 100 mile race with who knows how many feet of elevation gain...10 days into a Grand Tour in which he finished top 10 in something like all but 2-3 stages...

Which is why he must be even more frustrated after today's stage. I have not watched it yet but from the play by play transcript it seems that it was just a little hesitation in the last few K's that saw him lose the opportunity to contest the win vs. his actual 9th place finish. I'm bummed for him so I can't imagine how pissed he is!

He's tired of hauling people around. That's how good he is. A field sits on his wheel.

Good bit of irony in this

Sure...it's probably fair to say that he got some free rides in the past but that's probably 3 years ago now. Everyone knows who he is so you can't attribute his successes to other people's hard work. You don't build a 150 point lead halfway into a grand tour by riding someone's wheel. He's got a huge engine, spectacular handling skills and races pretty smart for how relatively young he is.

How sorry a team to you have to be not only to hammer the pace but not send one rider back for your captain. Talk about lack if appreciation and respect.

We do not know what happened. For all we know Andrew said not to send anyone back. Considering they kept a team car with him for almost the whole stage says that they were supporting him, when that car could have come in handy closer to the other riders.

+1

The photo at the bottom of Tilford's post may top that.
http://stevetilford.com/...r-sagan-ass-grabber/

Because of the race dynamics, though he's not really the "captain" at this point for Garmin. He's just another rider now, and the goal changed from getting him top GC spot to now stage hunting.

Now of course I think because of his lack of actual results in his past, he doesn't necessarily garner the respect of say if this happened to an LA or Cadel Evans. You bet someone would drop back for a rider because of their history, respect.

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@brooksdoughtie
USAT-L2,Y&J; USAC-L2
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Kwiatkowski was the one who seemed to botch that up. He was Sagan's threat in small group, but looked to be sitting on. Surprising since you'd think he would take any opportunity to grab a few GC seconds, especially since he initiated it.

Quick look inside the mechanics truck of Team Sky, dream on you wrenchers
http://www.roadbikereview.com/reviews/tour-de-france-video-inside-team-sky-mechanics-truck

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res, non verba

How did that work out for them? Did they even have anybody that finished with the front group? Pretty bad move unless you are not planning to support him in the future. What did they gain?

True. He kept thinking Sagan would jump on the attack. A lot like FC, Sagan is put in a tough spot bc he's so strong in these situations, everyone wants his wheel. He says no, the attack gets the stage. However, it looked like he had enough road left where he could have marked Gallopin, kept the group together, recovered, then sprinted.
Easy from where I'm sitting.....
11 days of racing changes reactions.

True, the ride is pretty smooth from our ST armchair.

Wonder if Sagan would have put more into break staying away had he known that Degenkolb was back on. He was truly stuck in no-man's land.

Did I miss something about lack of results in his past? Or were you just talking about the tour?

http://velonews.competitor.com/...m-du-dauphine_331972

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Remember Luddites are people too...

There is something going on within this team, I'm not sure what though. I'm Dutch and follow the Tour closely. Yesterday evening on the Dutch tv show that reviews that days stage they interviewed two of his Dutch teammates, Sebastian Langeveld and Tom Jelte Slagter. There was no sign of compassion whatsoever, nothing. They were just talking very casually about the fact that 'nothing could be done about it', were not really interested. As if they totally didn't care for their teammate.

It seems to me that it was not an option not to have at least one teammate with Talansky, yet they decided to abandon him and started pushing at the front. I don't know...very, very weird. And if they figured Talansky would abandon the race anyway, why talking to him for minutes trying to get him on his bike again? I hardly believe it is because - as the team stated - they can decide after the stage in peace and quietness if Talansky will abandon the race rather then making that decision on a mountain.

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If it's hit, it's history.
If it's missed, it's mistery.

Responding to your second point I think they can't just ignore their rider and drive away.

I didn't see it live and have only watched the 5k finish. The 4 were all pulling their brains out and then Gallopin went (not a dramatic attack) clearly none of them took it seriously and Rogers looked to really sit up. I just don't think they saw Gallopin as being able to stick it. Good for him.

Other, I'm guessing Talansky might not be the most loved rider within Garmin's troops given his tempestuous nature. But his sacroiliac issues that took him out- I couldn't drive a car much less race a bike with those issues. Tough kid.

I think you impllied it but just thought I'd confirm - Talansky has abandoned and didn't start todays stage. Tough experience for him, hope he comes back stronger for it.

Seems that Sagan is stuck in nomans land all the time. Yesterday Dutch television dropped a statement to discuss saying that Sagan is just too good. I disagree to that, but it is true that no-one wants to go to the finishline with him and he can't do it all alone all the time.

As for Talansky, Tom Jelte Slagter said to a newspaper that it was his job to win one stage this Tour and that he had good legs yesterday. He finished at 14.27 , what a lame excuse that was! Further more, I can't recall situations where the whole team needed to stay with a rider that had 'good legs' when one rider of the team - though in bad shape - suffered at the back.

Respect for Talansky (and not because I feel sorry for him because he was crying during the stage and during the press conference, although it did classify him as human)

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If it's hit, it's history.
If it's missed, it's mistery.

One of the problems for Sagan seems to be the fact that he just has too many ways to win and doesn't seem to fully commit as he always has another option if caught.

+1

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If it's hit, it's history.
If it's missed, it's mistery.