I am wondering if Evans will attack tomorrow with the support of some other teams? this sure would break with tradition and there are enough pissed off riders around. Somehow I have a feeling that this year’s tour will end with another bang. I am not sure though what it will be. Crossing the finish line with a minute delay would be kind of lame.
Any thoughts?
no, tradition will be respected, however, I’m interested to see what goes down prior to the finish on the champs, I’m mixed as to whether there will be enough riders to protest and actually stop the peleton. my guess is that there will be some handshaking, some champagne drinking, and maybe some serious sprints by the green jersey guys. It will probably play out to be just another day on the cobbles.
according to chris horner, why not?
If i were contrador i’d allow levi to take the jersey. I think Levi deserves it more than anyone. And contrado’s only 24! he has plenty more years to come.
Though I would have been very happy to see Levi win the TdF, how does he “deserve” it more than Alberto? He could not climb nearly as well and certainly not as explosive as Contador and was(Levi) a better TTer. It almost evened out but Alberto showed overall to be a stronger rider if by only seconds.
I realize that Levi has been around longer and was designated as team leader but no one deserves anything. You should earn it!
Levi was very classy in saying that Alberto should win the Tour.
I want Evans and the Lotto boys to give it plenty!! I would love to see the boys shake it up on the last stage and go for the win. Evans has raced a good race on a team that is set up to support the Green jersey and not the chase for GC. Maybe the Lotto boys and Quickstep can work together and bring in some time bonuses along the run into Paris so the last sprint really means something.
Evans you are an Aussie Champion. 2nd or 1st you have rideen an amazing race. Finish it of and grind those Disco boys into the cobbles!
Go the Aussie!!!
I would like to see a showdown rather than the usual procession. It’s the one stage of the tour that I don’t bother to watch, but I can’t imagine there being any attempts to change the GC.
I want to see it too, but I don’t think they’ll do it.
It’s sort of a weird prisoner’s dilemma thing. If Evans attacks Contador, then Disco has to protect him and they have to go after the sprints. That means that Disco, including Levi, will be fighting for the time bonuses. So then maybe Evans pushes Levin into some sprints where Evans could wind up 3rd. Similarly, if Levi tries to take 8 seconds away from Evans, then Lotto will be fighting to protect themselves, and Evans may get some time bonuses and could possibly unseat Contador. I think that with all the f’d up things that have happened in the tour, the teams will probably accept the GC positions that they have, and stroll into Paris and let the sprinters have their day.
But if they do fight for time bonuses, Lotto will be sorely missing McEwen and Rodriguez.
And yeah… Evans raced a great tour.
I think he deserves it because hes been working for the longest time. and he’s had the most experience on the team. If your teammate was going to retire in a year or two and he has never won a race would you let him win if he was a couple seconds down? or would you take the win even though you still have around 10 years of racing left?
Though I would have been very happy to see Levi win the TdF, how does he “deserve” it more than Alberto? He could not climb nearly as well and certainly not as explosive as Contador and was(Levi) a better TTer. It almost evened out but Alberto showed overall to be a stronger rider if by only seconds.
I realize that Levi has been around longer and was designated as team leader but no one deserves anything. You should earn it!
Levi was very classy in saying that Alberto should win the Tour.
You forgot to write that in pink.
It’s the 4th quarter of the super bowl, does the team that is behind just concede?
It’s game 7 of the world series, 8th inning, other team is ahead. Do you throw in the towel?
Why is it for the biggest bike race in the world does the winner get a pass on the last stage?
“It’s the 4th quarter of the super bowl, does the team that is behind just concede?”
It’s the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl, inside the two minute warning. Down by 31 with the ball do you go into a hurry-up offense?
7th game of the NBA finals. Down by 25 with 30 seconds on the clock. Do you deliberately foul the other team?
Are you saying down by less than 30 seconds is the same as four touchdowns with 2 minutes?
On a stage like this, it’s more like 5 touchdowns ;^)
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I’m not a student of cycling racing so forgive my dumb questions. If you have teams, why can’t it be done? I mean especially this year’s race, who can say who really deserves to wear yellow?
sure it can be done but only an asshole of the highest order would WANT to win that way
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The final stage is flat and ceremonial. Even if a GC rider wanted to win a stage like this and gain the time bonuses needed to overcome the 23 second deficit (which would mean not only the stage win but also a top 3 at one of the intermediate sprints) it would mean he’d not only be competing against Team Discovery but the other sprinters and their teams as well.
This is THE stage the sprinters want and feel somewhat entitled to given the backseat they’ve taken for the past 2 weeks. There’s no way they’d allow a guy or his team in 2nd on GC win a stage like this. Any other scenario would require something extraordinary to happen-like a crash or mechanical with Evans not waiting.
But it can be done. Just like a team down 5 touchdowns can come back. I’ve done it in Techmo Bowl many times.
Oh, OK.
I think the question about why Evans didn’t appear to try is valid.
OK Jackmot: why would a last minute win in the TDF make you an asshole versus a hero in any other sport. Manchester United winning the chamions league in injury time in 1999, John Elway would be a serial asshole if he did the same in cycling as he did throughout his career in football. MJ, the Shot and his game winning jumper against the Jazz would be abhored by cycling fans? OK it’s tradition, but if its tradition, then how come in '89 they held a TT on the last stage and Greg LeMond actually did win one of the many TDFs that he would have won. I’ve got to admit I was really hoping for some kind of attempt today from Evans. 3-4minute lead, OK, Impossible… but 20 seconds away from winning the TDF, do you just give that up?
But really even 20 seconds is a huge assignment in the circumstances.
- The Sprinters and their teams (all comparatively fresh now) are going to 1) dominate the action and 2) remove the realistic chance of picking up any bonus points.
- The nature of the last 50K up and down the champs elysees makes any break away a difficult proposition. Those 10 guys got 40+ seconds away with about 12K to go and when the peloton was ready they just got reeled back in. Those cobble stones are a bugger to generate and maintain any speed, the sharp turns and the down and up under the tunnel all put the brakes on. Whenever I’m on the Champs Elysees I always think that this is the absolute last surface that I would want to ride a bike on.
- Contador has an awesome team protecting him and Hincapie, Popovich et al were keeping tabs on Evans and PL all the way through. In fact at the end, even in the mass finish, Contador placed 1 placed behind Evans.
SO I agree that it was really like a 2 minute 5 touchdown scenario. But what I love about the NBA, NFL etc is that certainly in the playoffs, they NEVER give up trying no matter how improbable the deficit is. And sometimes, just sometimes, Reggie Miller gets 2 steals, drains a couple of treys and scores 8 points in 10 seconds and beats the Knicks in the playoffs. The Bills score 35 unanswered points in 20 minutes beat the Oilers. Sometimes it does happen, but it Never Happens it you give up.
I think it was worth the effort for Evans and his team to try, as a spectator I would have expected it. if he had succeeded then I would not have considered him an asshole
thanks for your post. makes sense.
Don’t forget two other things:
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How many teams would work against a team that decided to defy tradition? At least a few.
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With the battle for the green jersey and a prestigious stage going on, no team is going to be able to get a top GC rider very far in front…even early on.