Maybe cobble can correct me here, but doesn't Sep have team obligations as well? It would surprise me if he left Mollema unprotected to go chase down FC.

Technically he does.....but I think Belkin is also realistic that Mollema is a Top 5 guy, at best and they need a new sponsor. So Sep may be given the freedom to chase a stage win, if Mollema has other guys around hi.

The ideal situation would be that Mollema is in his group, obviously......

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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

Good pick on Kristoff. Degenkolb is also racing. So two sprinter types who do well on cobbles. Chavanel may also be able to do something special, as does Langeveld. Real long shots go to Demare or Ladagnous on FDJ.

I'm hoping GvA would be able to do something special.

Hey diddle diddle marcel kittel up the middle.

Correct. Merida [arguably the worlds second largest bike co.] owns 49% of Spesh, and doesn't need to compete with itself in the NA market.

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res, non verba

Have to say Kittel is looking awesome. I'd have expected Greipel to put up a better show than he has done so far though. I think Cav would have been a lot more competitive than last year when he was tired after the Giro and his train wasn't really working. Great shame that he's gone.

I definitely think he can match Kittel next year - he'll be hugely motivated to get himself back on top after 3 relatively poor Tours in a row and he's got one of the smartest tactical brains in the peloton so am sure he'll be working on strategies to combat Kittel's outright speed. I remember a few years back Cav saying he'd deliberately sacrificed some top-end speed to become more of an all-rounder who could to compete for points jerseys and in one-day races such as the World Champs and Olympics. That was at a time when he was winning Tour stages for fun (20 in 4 years) and was being accused of being a one trick pony - having now won a World Champs and the points jersey in all 3 Grand Tours and after "only" winning 5 Tour stages in the last 3 years I suspect he might just be thinking it's time to focus everything on stage wins again.

Riding with a bad wrist over cobbles is going to be absolutely miserable.

But even before they owned 49% of Specialized, they had no interest in the NA market.

Outside of Specialized, I'm not certain who they are building bikes for in the US anymore.....they used to have a fair amount of trek's business, as well as Schwinn's among several smaller brands.

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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

But there is no cure for Cav's sprinticuscontactuscrashitis.

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Madison photographer Timothy Hughes | Instagram

No doubt about that, today was probably the worst possible time for Froome to go down. Will be really interesting to see if he can get through tomorrow, and if the GC teams even contribute to making the stage as hard as possible.

I think Nibbles and Conti will be killing it so hard

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Kat Hunter reports on the San Dimas Stage Race from inside the GC winning team
Aeroweenie.com -Compendium of Aero Data and Knowledge
Freelance sports & outdoors writer Kathryn Hunter

Yup, they have a really good shot to put time on Froome. He's no Wiggo on the cobbles for sure......

With all that staring at his stem, he's almost certain to crash...never going to see the pesky cobbles that are popped up higher than the others. They may have to run MTN bike tires on his bike to try to make up for the stem staring

Did he lose any time?

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How does Danny Hart sit down with balls that big?

Any of the contenders could crash and end their Tour tomorrow, especially if they get overly ambitious and try to play with the big boys.

If the Wiggo decision kept Brailsford awake last week, today he's lamenting wtf he was thinking listening to Froome on team selection.

Any of the contenders could crash and end their Tour tomorrow, especially if they get overly ambitious and try to play with the big boys.


Indeed.


It will be an interesting day tomorrow - that's for sure.


There is going to be offense and their is going to be those on the defensive - possibly with some major time losses.


Cancellara for the win and Sagan in Yellow, when the dust settles.


As for Sky/Froome - could be a very challenging day for them. They have some guys like Bernie Eisel, who are at home in this sort of stuff, but can Froome keep up? What shape is he in after todays tumble?

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Weather is going to suck. GC guys will sit in, survive, limit damage, the pounders will pound it looking for the stage win.
But then......GC guy attacks GC group, a la Niboli, in an attempt to pick up some time.
Going to be fun, in most any scenario.

Also, while not a Sky fan, Froome is one tough, mean, competitive bwana. He will hang in and then some.

The smart play for GC guys is to agree to not got ape-sh*t, let the classics beasts do their thing on cobbles, and get through it in one piece. But hard to see that happening. Throw a Belgian in the mix plus chance to give Froome a kicking and all bets are off.

I hear selfies are an obstacle to look out for!

http://www.cnn.com/...index.html?hpt=hp_c3

Some of the comments at the bottom of the page made me LOL:

--- Just hash tag #selfiefail when you get run over by a cyclist, so the rest of us can see what a tool you are.
--- Or when a cyclist pimp slaps a person as they drive by. #roadrage #tourdeforce

The smart play for GC guys is to agree to not got ape-sh*t, let the classics beasts do their thing on cobbles, and get through it in one piece. But hard to see that happening. Throw a Belgian in the mix plus chance to give Froome a kicking and all bets are off.

Agreed.

Crowds will be HUGE. Emotions will be running high. If time can be gained, for a lower ranking GC guy, then why not have a go at it - I am thinking of a cagey vet here like a Valverde or a Dutch or Belgian rider( home turf for them). There may be some detente to start, but I am guessing when the race breaks wide open, all that will go out the window!


They are already talking this up like a big mountain stage - Phil & Paul going so far today to call it, "The Queen stage of the first week of the Tour"!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I'm hoping some of the GC guys actually attack. They'll know Froome will put time on them in the ITT and possibly the mountains so if they have the guts and the skill I hope some try to put time on the others who wants to play it safe. FC or Sep VM for the win and maybe Sagan/GVA for the Yellow.

Gravity is a harsh Mistress, and Speed is insatiable Temptress

That's puts you in the middle of a devastating threesome

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

I think Froome's injury could cause some GC teams to change their plans. Even if they do not gain any time on Froome, they will have in the back of their mind, "I am feeling pretty miserable, but at least I know Froome is feeling worse, so lets get more miserable." It is maybe a bit too predictable for Garmin to be unpredictable, since it makes sense for a GC guy like Talansky that is not quite at Contatodor/Froome level to use this sort of stage to get time to use this sort of chaos to grab time, so I think people will be watching Garmin. I would love for BMC to realize they are not Sky and do something unexpected.

I think you're right about BMC: they have GvA, Schar and Burghardt at the ready to make a move with Tejay. Arguably the best GC group for tomorrow

Really excited for tomorrow! Maybe Tony Martin could be a darkhorse. He has the power but hasn't been interested in the cobbles in the past.