Bump. Great racing today.

Bikes of the ToF: http://road.cc/...bikes-tour-de-france
3 Spesh- Tinkoff saxo, OPQS & Astana
2 Canyon- Katusha & Movistar
2 Scott- Orica & IAM
1 Cervelo- Garmin Sharp
1 Cannondale- Cannondale
1 Ridley- Lotto Belisol
1 Merida- Lampre
1 Giant - G-S
1 Colagno- Europcar
1 Look- Cofidis
1 Focus- AG2R
1 Fuji- Net App
1 BMC-BMC
1 Trek- Trek
1 Pinarello- Sky
1 Bianchi- Belkin
1 LaPierre- FDJ
1 KEMA- B.S.E.

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res, non verba

"Sh!! happens. I was really unlucky. It wasn't even raining at the moment of the crash," he said, with his anger seemingly aimed at himself as much as the rider who went down in front of him.

That was some funny stuff. Unfortunately its also quite true.

I don't know who Trek expected to end in the top 10 GC...
As for a stage win - only Cancellara has a chance in the Stage 5 cobbles and the ITT. And both are long shots.

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

Interested on views on cavendish vs kittel - assuming that cav hadn't gone out so early this year, seems like it would have been an epic battle in the 'true' sprint stages. Early days, but Kittel looks well set to keep on banking stage wins - can cav match him next year?

Great stage! I wish Andy Schleck was alive to see this!

Looking at rosters for stage 5 winner. Lots of guys can do the rocks. Pick one and only one. Cadillac car, bubbee.

My podium picks for stage 5 are:

1. Sep Vanmarcke
2. Spartacus
3. Kwiatkowski

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

Uhhhhh....Cancellara is a long shot for those two stages?

OK, then.......

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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

anyone else think the amount of crashes in the final sprints will disappear since Cavendish is out.

Every crash it seems either Cavendish or Farrar are involved.

Looks like the green jersey is locked up by stage 4?

Bikes of the ToF: http://road.cc/...bikes-tour-de-france
3 Spesh- Tinkoff saxo, OPQS & Astana
2 Canyon- Katusha & Movistar
2 Scott- Orica & IAM
1 Cervelo- Garmin Sharp
1 Cannondale- Cannondale
1 Ridley- Lotto Belisol
1 Merida- Lampre
1 Giant - G-S
1 Colagno- Europcar
1 Look- Cofidis
1 Focus- AG2R
1 Fuji- Net App
1 BMC-BMC
1 Trek- Trek
1 Pinarello- Sky
1 Bianchi- Belkin
1 LaPierre- FDJ
1 KEMA- B.S.E.


What value is this sponsorship? How influential is it to bike consumers? Have you bought a bike/brand it because it sponsors Team-X?

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Trek would probably say that they got a pretty good ROI for their sponsorship of teams over the years. I can think of one rider/team that is most likely responsible for 90% of Trek's growth

Terpstra, FC, Sagan, Sep, GvA, Kristoff--there are quite a few cobbled classics guys. Even worse for GC contenders is that none of those dudes are protecting leaders, and will go flat out like P-R.

Leaving aside the Trek outlier, many brands have profited immensely from sponsoring professional cycling teams......Cannondale may be the best example. They struggled to get a foothold in Europe in the 90's. NO one wanted big, fat aluminum American bikes in the land of Italian steel.

Then Cannondale sponsored the Saeco team.....and won the Giro d'Italia and Cipo won sprints in bunches. Cannondale hit the proverbial goldmine and sales skyrocketed.

Now, sponsoring a team does not mean automatic success, either (see Litespeed, GT et al), but when executed properly, it is an excellent investment (especially as it pertains to European sales).

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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

I can think of one rider/team that is most likely responsible for 90% of Trek's growth

I recall being in Trek's largest and #1 dealer in the U.S. about a year after Lance Armstrong's first retirement. They told me that, Trek sales had dropped off a cliff!

At that level, I can see a bike sponsorship being highly influential, with great ROI - the after-effect with the ending of that relationship, is telling.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Would you rank him as an odds-on favorite on either stage?

I think he's likely to be top 5 in either or both stages but not the favorite. Unlike 5 years ago, he's no longer the King of TT. Martin is. Plus there are a number of guys capable of beating him if they have a good day. I don't know what odds the British bookies are giving but I'd be surprised if the odds of him winning are above 20%
As for the cobbles, Cancellara's powerful legs and wily mind certainly make him a one of the more likely, but it still is a long shot. The field of potential winners is large here - there are about 25 guys who could take the stage. Luck plays some role on pave races. I'd be surprised if the odds of him winning were above 10% (though I doubt the odds were much higher for any one individual).

My point was that the Trek team's goals are unlikely to be met: I wouldn't take an even odds bet of them getting a top 10GC and a stage win.

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

despite what some people say, i think it has some effect. I have a scott roadie (green edge edition) and im an aussie, so i have a bias towards OGE. Scott have a bit of a presence. Tri bike is a trek SC 2014 and im massive cancellara fan. However, Trek as a road team kinda sucks in terms of the tour. The new SC just represents the best value atm.
I dont seen many people rushing to buy merida bikes either. Now if merida had a sky like presence, i think merida sales would increase.

Anyone else notice how far back Rafal Majka is in the standings? Contador is the team's GC lead and its clear that Majka's role will be to be his mountain shepherd but still... anyone who grabbed him for his Fantasy team will not be happy.

I read an interesting article in the Polish sports news about him. Apparently he is pissed at Bjarne Riis (GM of Tinkoff-Saxo) for pulling him out of vacation and pressing him into service for the TdF. Apparently Roman Kreuziger's Bio-Passport has 'anomalies' and Bjarne had to pull him out and decided to use Majka instead. Majka apparently expressed dissatisfaction with Riis in Polish on his Facebook page (later deleted) - he said the team did not care about his health and future, and despite his protests that he felt too tired from his 6th place efforts at the Giro they were pressing him into service. Apparently he was saving himself for GC results at the Tour de Polgne and the Vuelta. His contract ends in 2015 - I wonder if he will be looking for a new team?

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Remember - It's important to be comfortable in your own skin... because it turns out society frowns on wearing other people's

I would put him, along with Sagan and Vanmarcke, as the 5 star favorites for tomorrow. Especially now that Andy is out, Trek will realize that this is one of their best shots at a stage win.

I would rank him as a four star favorite for the TT, behind Martin.

But to say he is a "long shot" for either stage is really kinda silly.

As for Trek's goals, as I noted in the thread baout Trek's new lightweight bike, my guess is that they were planning on sending Andy on a day long break on the first day in the mountains. This would highlight the new frame 9even though it would have extra weight tacked onto it) and give Andy a great shot the maillot pois. They will now have to reassess what their TdF goals are.....

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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

Now if merida had a sky like presence, i think merida sales would increase.

I must confess that locally, here in the Toronto area, I do see more than a few Pinerello's. Although they tend to be under, riders who would appear to be very well off financially. I higher-end customer if you will.

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

Merida is an interesting example.....their distribution is very scattered. They have a European presence, but are non-existant in North America (dunno about OZ) and have a very strong Asian presence. While I have never had this confirmed, I believe their lack of NA distrobution is mostly due to the fact that they don't want to compete directly with their customers. They are primarily an OEM supplier and a brand second.

Too often we gauge the return of sponsorship based on our NA view of things......

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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

What he said. There is going to be some fur flying. Giddy up!

None of those other than GvA I guess. Going to be a tough day for Froome after crashing today, serious bad luck for him.

Watching Kittel and Sagan move forward in last 2k was a thing of beauty today. Around every corner Sagan would go forward while others hesitated.

Sagan makes up 5 spots in one corner.

I say Greg van A in yellow tomorrow.