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The Tour

My first Tour and it looks like tactics during this need to be adapted from the usual fayre.

Still over a week and a half away, which is less than ideal.

If you're new please join in and if you have questions pop them below and the forum regulars will answer as best we can.

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52 comments

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livestrongnick | 9 years ago
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Purist is couple GC riders with the rest making up those riders who always go in a break at some point......  26  4

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thefatcyclist | 9 years ago
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Ok my starting team barring withdrawals. Yep it's crap.

Marcel Kittel (GSH)
Simon Gerrans (OGE)
Michael Albasini (OGE)
Sep Vanmarcke (BLK)
Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ)
Tom Dumoulin (GSH)
Mark Cavendish (OPQ)
Jeremy Roy (FDJ)
Heinrich Haussler (IAM)

I know Cav should be out but hey only a game.

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thefatcyclist | 9 years ago
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Ok my starting team barring withdrawals. Yep it's crap.

Marcel Kittel (GSH)
Simon Gerrans (OGE)
Michael Albasini (OGE)
Sep Vanmarcke (BLK)
Matthieu Ladagnous (FDJ)
Tom Dumoulin (GSH)
Mark Cavendish (OPQ)
Jeremy Roy (FDJ)
Heinrich Haussler (IAM)

I know Cav should be out but hey only a game.

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JAndrewHill | 9 years ago
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Wondering if Orica Simon might escape on the cote du Jenkin Road, and time trial to the finish.

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JAndrewHill | 9 years ago
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Wondering if Orica Simon might escape on the cote du Jenkin Road, and time trial to the finish.

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Joelsim | 9 years ago
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My Purist has changed

Jose Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (TNE)
Marcel Kittel (GSH)
Arnaud Demare (FDJ)
Sacha Modolo (LAM)
Mark Cavendish (OPQ)
Andre Greipel (LTB)
Arnaud Gerard (BSE)
Florian Vachon (BSE)
Paul Voss (TNE)

Hunting.

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thefatcyclist | 9 years ago
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For the Tour, If you are prone to a small wager, then look outside the "ourights", and look at the jerseys some decent value there. It is a very very small chance, and depends on results up to rest day 1, but I got Sagan at HIlls 250 to 1 for the young rider, a few quid e/w.

I have Talansky outright e/w at 40/1 and Rui Costa e/w at 66/1 backed just after the Dauphine and TDS. I think they are 33/1 and 50/1 now.

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thefatcyclist | 9 years ago
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For the Tour, If you are prone to a small wager, then look outside the "ourights", and look at the jerseys some decent value there. It is a very very small chance, and depends on results up to rest day 1, but I got Sagan at HIlls 250 to 1 for the young rider, a few quid e/w.

I have Talansky outright e/w at 40/1 and Rui Costa e/w at 66/1 backed just after the Dauphine and TDS. I think they are 33/1 and 50/1 now.

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Joelsim | 9 years ago
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Is 250/1 for Sagan good value? Oh.

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sanderville | 9 years ago
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Response on the team picking page is a bit slow tonight. I can almost hear the tinkering and fiddling and swapping and jiggling and cries of "argh! still just 0.1 points short!"

I'm just polishing a spot on the matlepiece for my next lanterne rouge.

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STEVESPRO 79 | 9 years ago
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Tinkering done... So many choices...

Gone with Cav in the end, probably a case of heart ruling head... With the weather and the roads I feel much road rash coming on for the front of the peleton on this stage..

Good Luck to all...

My GC prediction....
1. CONTADOR
2. VALVERDE
3. TALANSKY
4. MOLLEMA
5. FROOME

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Ghedebrav | 9 years ago
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Picking the purist is a real thumbsucker. The main question is whether to plough the big bucks into sprinters or GC guys (or one or two of each?!) and then finding the value elsewhere. My usual tactic is to blow out on three big names then a bunch of Matalan-esque bargains. However, that hasn't worked that well.

This time I'm going for a more balanced team, the only 30+ guy I've got is Sagan (who is, despite his huge price, probably the safest bet for rolling in a lot a points through the whole tour). Then there are a couple in the 3-4 range (who I suspect lots of others will have spotted as very good value...) and everyone else is in-between. The one guy who I cant seem to fit in is Bakelants; I might regret not taking him. I also wanted Kwiatkowski but think he's a little overpriced for this comp (in the end I've no OPQS guys, nor Orica, both of which decisions I'm unhappy with).

Oh, and I've gone for Frank Schleck too. It was either him or Voeckler  31

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Joelsim | 9 years ago
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Either hundreds of changes needed, or you compromise is what it boils down to. There are many WTF stages, including at least 2 if not 4 in the first week.

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Ghedebrav replied to Joelsim | 9 years ago
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Joelsim wrote:

Either hundreds of changes needed, or you compromise is what it boils down to. There are many WTF stages, including at least 2 if not 4 in the first week.

I'd argue that stage 1 is verging on a WTF stage. Narrow roads, massive crowds, 'technical' fnish, first day nerves. All we need is a bus stuck under the finish gantry.

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Joelsim | 9 years ago
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My Purist team is on a stage win hunt. No other possible reason for its existance in this competition. I'm rubbish with a cap R at Purist.

Heinrich Haussler (IAM)
Marcel Kittel (GSH)
Arnaud Demare (FDJ)
Sacha Modolo (LAM)
Mark Cavendish (OPQ)
Andre Greipel (LTB)
Arnaud Gerard (BSE)
Rein Taaramae (COF)
Jose Joao Pimenta Costa Mendes (TNE)

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Condor Andy | 9 years ago
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The majority of my purist teams this year have been pants. Too much of trying to pick the best riders in each category and running out of cash. So for Le Tour I've gone for value for money for the more mountainous stages, zero sprinters. Might see if I can squeeze Sagan in there though.
Standard team is doing my head in (based on what I've read here), now looking in detail at each stage on Le Tour website for assistance.

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Joelsim replied to Condor Andy | 9 years ago
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condor_rider_1988 wrote:

The majority of my purist teams this year have been pants. Too much of trying to pick the best riders in each category and running out of cash. So for Le Tour I've gone for value for money for the more mountainous stages, zero sprinters. Might see if I can squeeze Sagan in there though.
Standard team is doing my head in (based on what I've read here), now looking in detail at each stage on Le Tour website for assistance.

I think you may find that if you look into each stage more closely it will do your head in even more. It did with mine.

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Condor Andy replied to Joelsim | 9 years ago
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Just finished looking through aaaaaaaaaaaaand I have no idea  17

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DanTe | 9 years ago
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I ride the Tour roads out in Essex a lot, I'd say that stage 3 might have some nasty surprises.
The riders are not going to enjoy the roads on the lower sections before you get into Epping. They're narrow and still utter sh##e.
They've filled into a few of the worst holes but not particularly well. The roads are pretty much just joined up patches of different tarmac.
Riding around there yesterday in the rain it was hard to imagine the worlds biggest bike race doing the same.
Could be crash central.

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stevemarks replied to DanTe | 9 years ago
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DanTe wrote:

I ride the Tour roads out in Essex a lot, I'd say that stage 3 might have some nasty surprises.
The riders are not going to enjoy the roads on the lower sections before you get into Epping. They're narrow and still utter sh##e.
They've filled into a few of the worst holes but not particularly well. The roads are pretty much just joined up patches of different tarmac.
Riding around there yesterday in the rain it was hard to imagine the worlds biggest bike race doing the same.
Could be crash central.

I rode the route from Finchingfield to Willingale yesterday, and there are some sections that are very bumpy and rough, still some quite big holes in places too especially towards the sides on some of the narrower stretches.

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Stumps | 9 years ago
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Degenkolb is getting better at the lumpy stages such as stage 2, wouldn't put it past him to have a go there.

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Joelsim | 9 years ago
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A little something to get you in the mood.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mxNA3Hc93mM

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Joelsim | 9 years ago
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There are about 50 riders who could win stage 2. Cav and Kittel aren't two of them.

Degenkolb has his own stages to chase.

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Ghedebrav | 9 years ago
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I tend to follow the betting, but - showing my hand - I would prefer Sagan for stage one ahead of Cav/Kittel/Greipel.

Kristoff I think will be up there, maybe even podium. Demare is a bit of a question mark, as is Degenkolb (anyone else find it odd that Giant have brought him to essentially ride for Kittel? Or have they targeted other stages for him?).

My stage one squad has half an eye on stage two as well. That stage two looks amazing, and should mix things up on GC very early on.

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livestrongnick | 9 years ago
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I have no cav, kristoff or kittel  13

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Joelsim | 9 years ago
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I'm tempted to go without either for stage 1

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thefatcyclist | 9 years ago
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Cavendish has bronchitis, I would think that it might be a problem for the first days maybe. Depending on how bad, probably hands day 1 to Kittle. There again if a breakaway gets really organised.

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Joelsim | 9 years ago
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I suspect most in the peloton could sort out a little help.

But given everyone else doing it, and the small matter of several thousand kms up damn great big mountains over 21 days, it's hardly surprising.

(And not as if it isn't rife in every other sport either).

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Stumps | 9 years ago
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Part of his comments on facebook:

"Since my return from Italy I have not trained much, I was very tired and still feel the effects of this 3-week race. I do not feel ready to compete in the Tour de France. Yesterday I got a phone call from Bjarne Riis, who said that my start in France has already been decided and that I have to go.

"I'm not happy with this decision. I believe that the Tinkoff-Saxo management does not care about my health. I'm 24 years old and I believe that riding two Grand Tours in a row at my age is too much. I hope I am wrong. However, I have concerns"

Obviously Tinkoff Saxo have the riders health at heart, perhaps Bertie could sort him out a little pick me up.

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