one other interesting tidbit... Quintana is slated to go around 5 pm (local time). All the rest of the big GC guys are slotted around or after 5 pm. They're expecting showers to roll in around 5. Could be big.
if you don't follow cycling much, today is an interesting stage to watch to get a feel for Dutch roads. They are famous for their 'road furniture' such as poles in the middle of the road, small elevated platforms, etc. They might cause an incident or two today, but its really key for the next two stages when the roads are full of nervous riders going full gas. I wouldn't be surprised to see a big name get roughed up in the next two days.
Luke Durbridge going off the ramp now. He should set the best time and it may hold up for a while. He's a beast.
That's about what I expected from Quintana. He will lose a good bit of time to the other three today. FYI... Rohan Dennis set the record for the fastest prologue on record. 55 kph /34 mph.
surprisingly so. Dumoulin looked amazing. I thought he was going to beat Dennis. Tony Martin is up now. Probably the only one left who could take yellow. If Dennis gets this, he could keep the jersey for a week. That wouldn't be so great for Tejay.
Is there a good way to watch on-line? I cancelled ESPN from my Directv months ago b/c I hate them, and it took NBC Sports with it. Really don't want to pay ESPN or miss the Tour.
you're right. the cobbles and crosswinds, combined with this stage, might though. Nibali is by far the best of the big 4 on cobbles. i watch pirate streams from Europe. want a few links?
another thing to look for is how the teams get to the team TT. teams who are missing riders will have a huge disadvantage.
great point. i like how they have the TTT as stage 9 instead of stage 1 like GTs in the past. teams can/will struggle because of the potential atrrition you mentioned. The experience that Saxo-Tinkoff brings to this race is insane and they could benefit big-time at the TTT if they make it there in full force. They have a tremendous # of GCs between all of their riders. Its one of a few reasons why I think Contador and Co might have a better shot at pulling off the double than many think. of the 4, he is the most unpredictable climber. he can beat any of them on a good day though just because he takes flyers on climbs, descents and on the cobbles.
Where the GC guys stand after stage 1: Wilco Keldermann (Lotto-Jumbo) +30 Robert Gesink (Lotto-Jumbo) +33 Bauke Mollema (Trek) +37 Rigoberto Uran (Quick Step) +40 Thibault Pinot (FDJ) +41 Tejay Van Garderen (BMC) +42 Vincenzo Nibali (Astana) +43 Chris Froome (Sky) +50 Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) +56 Alberto Contador (Tinkoff-Saxo) +58 Jean Christophe Peraud (Ag2R) +59 Nairo Quintana +1:01 Ryder Hejesdal +1:15 Andrew Talansky +1:15 Joaquim Rodriguez +1:26 Romain Bardet +1:34
I'll miss most of tomorrow's stage. It could be really boring and end in a bunch sprint, or it could be carnage. Looks simple, right? Tomorrow's stage is all about 4 things: 1. Crosswinds - the forecast right now says wind speeds of 13-20 mph across tomorrows course. This has the potential to blow the race apart. Some teams excel in crosswinds and others are dogshit. If crosswinds are present, I expect to see the following teams do well: Lotto-Jumbo, Trek, Quick Step, Giant Alpecin and Katusha. Of the teams of the big 4, all are pretty solid. I personally don't think one has an edge over the other. I've seen experts say that Movistar and Tinkoff-Saxo are the best fits for a windy day. 2. Rain - its in the forecast for the start of the race. uh oh. 3. Road furniture - on its own, its tough, especially if the group is all together and the speed is high. In that case, there's little room to move around to avoid the random raised sidewalk in the middle of the road. Mix this factor in with the first two things on the list and the shit can hit the fan real quick. 4. Nervousness - a number of riders and teams are going to see the first two things on this list and freak out. when the peloton gets nervous, things get exciting for TV viewers. All of this could be moot though if conditions are calm. If that's the case, it'll be a bunch sprint between Cavendish, Greipel, Nacer Bouhanni (Cofidis), and Kristoff (Katusha).
HOW in the world did Sagan get back, holy shit thats impressive. Sky should be ashamed, just dicking around not helping worth a dick.
I don't know how it works for you over there, but it'd be great if they'd breakway from commercials here to show us.
pretty cool to see how impending weather has turned what was a sprinter's stage into a gc battle. mind you I am watching from behind with still 100km left.
well i he just powered through didnt even look that difficult. yea they have a news break with commercials on each end of it so theres like a 15 minute break but thats it. i'll just change the channel to eurosport and watch it during that time.
Yeah, someone on r/peloton said they watched Sagan's catch on one of the motocams you can watch on Eurosport, and they claim he followed the team car the whole way back. That's basically how all catches after a mechanical go, though. Technically he could be disqualified for it, but that would never happen.
didn't catch todays stage but I'm following up on stuff right now. looks like the splits happened eh? That's Holland for you.
Gonna spoiler this since I guess I'm the only one watching live: Spoiler Didn't know "neutralizing" the race was a thing. This is weird. Edit: and actually stopping it. Wow.
I say no spoilers, people shouldnt go in here if they want to watch later. radio tour is blowing up. they want to kill prudhomme right now. i dont blame them to be honest it shouldnt be allowed to neutralize because of a crash.
It doesn't seem particularly fair, but I do have some sympathy for the second crashers who were apparently were unable to get quick medical attention or bike changes. And Cancellara was on his car's bumper the entire way back, which seems off too.
wots is that they neutralized it because all the medics were busy with the crash and there would be no help if a new crash happened. Bjarne Riis said just now on danish tv that its a bs excuse though.
NBCSN just did a promo for Mur de Huy, featuring various riders talking about it. One of the riders they used was Talansky. Only thing is, they've pointed out at least 5 different times today that Talansky has never done the climb.
Jean-Ralphio with Sagan being a Classics guy, can he hang on here? Seems like he should be in line for the yellow today if so, with Cancellara falling off, Dumoulin out, and I don't know where Martin is. Edit: Looks like Tony Martin is on it. Shame.