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2017 Tour de France

mikel

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Guess I'm odd man out but I'm not in Froome's corner. Yes he will probably kill the TT. I think Aru might have a shot though. Froome looked pretty beat at the end of today. It will be interesting to see how tomorrow's quick stage will go.

Now there may be the additional media/drama element in the mix. They will be relentless with questions for Sky. The photos of the exchange between Portal and Landa are already out there. Landa himself kinda threw out there he might of / could of won today. The comparisons of Wiggins/Froome to Froome/Landa have actually made headlines. Maybe this will unite Sky more ... or maybe not
 

markojp

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Uran is a better TT guy, no?

(And no, I'm not a Froome guy... He just rides ugly. ogsmile )
 

LKLA

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Uran has not had a good time trail in a while and Bardet can barely get off the start ramp. The one guy who can really motor in the TT is Landa, who was second the Spanish TT race behind Castro.
 
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graham418

graham418

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Bit of a turn around regarding the illegal water at the end of yesterdays stage. As some video of Bardet showed him taking a bottle , and drinking at the same time as Uran and Bennet, they didn't punish Bardet (he's French, of course they couldn't!) so they have rescinded the time penalties for the other two. All in the spirit of Bastille Day, I guess.
 
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graham418

graham418

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This is the most exciting stage so far. .Landa and Contador going for the win.. Landa could get the yellow..
 

LKLA

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1
F. Aru
image
55h 30' 06''

2
C. Froome
image
06''

3
R. Bardet
image
25''

4
R. Uran
image
35''

5
M. Landa
image
1' 09''

6
D. Martin
image
1' 32''

7
S. Yates
image
2' 04''

8
N. Quintana
image
2' 07''

9
L. Meintjes
image
4' 51''

10
A. Contador
image
5' 22''
 
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graham418

graham418

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Some interesting team tactics on this stage. Will Landa continue to fight for GC or will he still work for Froome? He's going to Movistar next year, so loyalties may be out the window.
 

LKLA

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In my humble opinion Sky is "using" Landa to tire out riders like Quintana, Bardet and Martin, and in a way Landa himself so that Froome can get some relief. I think Froome is still a notch or two above everyone and that Sky is "managing" Froome so he has something left in the tank for the upcoming mountain stages and the TT on the second to last day.

As you point out Landa will be going to Moviestar - interesting how Quintana showed him today who the top dog at Moviestar is.
 

mikel

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I was really interested in today's stage and it did not disappoint. I think it showed a lot. When it comes to the discussion between Bobke and Christian today, I agree with Christian. Brailsford was blowing some smoke today. I have now become a serious Aru fan. Aru vs Team Sky and Cannondale. At least Uran should have some help. The big problem for me is when the TT is. I think Froome can be beat but something is going to have to happen before the TT.
 

markojp

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I think Froome isn't feeling well. No snap at all.
 

fatbob

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It feels a bit like Astana, a team who I definitely have no love for given their chequered past are disrespecting the yellow a bit by not riding for it as a team. Now I know a lot of that is attrition driven but it seems the GC group is still largely treating Froome/Sky as the holders of yellow and Aru is just on for a free ride.

The format this year has certainly flushed out some interest.
 

fatbob

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Looks like the jiffy bag arrived in time for the last 500m while Aru had taken a sleeping pill or two. Poor defence of tbe jersey.
 

markojp

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Aru has no team.... what do you expect? :)
 

fatbob

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Aru has no team.... what do you expect? :)

Him to go wherever Froome goes if he was serious about yellow. Today's stage wasn't that hard that a couple of Astana guys couldn't have hung around. Taking yellow as a solo effort looks like it's only a sideshow if you're a one man team. They are also only 2 men down which is fairly normal 2 weeks into a grand tour.
 
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graham418

graham418

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Aru's new team UAE was up pulling at the front of Aru's group. Was that coincidence?
 

Muleski

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Which one of the Astana guys was interviewed after the race finish, and when told that Froome was back in yellow, responded by enthusiastically saying something like "That's great!"

Some of the teamwork in this year's TdF has been "unique." In fact the whole race has been "unique."

Enjoying it lately much more than I had anticipated a week ago.
 

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