This years TdF pace slower, attacks fewer

hombredesubaru said:

The race is noticeably slower this year. Most of the flat stages before were raced at 50 km an hour for the first hour or two and same for the last hour.

All the attacks/breakaways this year got away on the first ten minutes of racing. In the past, with Disco controlling the race, attacks would last for an hour until the "right" break got away.

This year, no one controls the race, and then riders sit out front for four to five hours, fry, and get swalloed up, but very very late as if the peloton doesnt have the strenth it ususally does.

No sprinters team, especially Boonens have been able to set up the big lead out or control the last 5 km.

Doesnt anyone else notice this [censored]? What is going on?
Boonen absolutely looks like a different rider thatn I have seen the last two years. One day its a flat tire. OK. Mext day a mechanical. OK. What was wrong today...Tom says his lead out. Maybe it is the curse of the rainbow catching up with him....or something else.

I think a lot of the teams are attacking less and conserving energy because they think they have legitimate GC hopes. There is no clear favourite, so every team thinks they may have a podium guy. It will make for some interesting days in the mountains.

As for Boonen, I'm not sure what is wrong. I read where he praised his team for a good lead out today. He just didn't have it.

hombredesubaru said:

This year, no one controls the race, and then riders sit out front for four to five hours, fry, and get swalloed up, but very very late as if the peloton doesnt have the strenth it ususally does.

But isn't this what the sprinter teams in the peloton want to happen? So there is no evidence on this particular point that the peloton is weak.

They are definitely slower.

JRMDC said:

But isn't this what the sprinter teams in the peloton want to happen? So there is no evidence on this particular point that the peloton is weak.

They are definitely slower.

Yes, thats for sure what the sprinters teams want.
But besides QS, what teams would those be?
DLotto has to think of Evans so they'll let stuff go.
C Agricole for Hushvovd.

But why arent more guys trying to get away in the breaks?
Just let two guys get up the road, no struggle?

WHo are the real GC teams:
Phonak
Disco
Gerolst
Davitamon
and one or two others

Why dont other teams go for the breaks?
Anyway. certainly slower anf getting boring!!!!!!

Bring on the mountains!!

hombredesubaru said:

The race is noticeably slower this year. Most of the flat stages before were raced at 50 km an hour for the first hour or two and same for the last hour.

All the attacks/breakaways this year got away on the first ten minutes of racing. In the past, with Disco controlling the race, attacks would last for an hour until the "right" break got away.

This year, no one controls the race, and then riders sit out front for four to five hours, fry, and get swalloed up, but very very late as if the peloton doesnt have the strenth it ususally does.

No sprinters team, especially Boonens have been able to set up the big lead out or control the last 5 km.

Doesnt anyone else notice this [censored]? What is going on?
Boonen absolutely looks like a different rider thatn I have seen the last two years. One day its a flat tire. OK. Mext day a mechanical. OK. What was wrong today...Tom says his lead out. Maybe it is the curse of the rainbow catching up with him....or something else.

You're talking [censored] - again.

This TDF is exactly the same as previous T'sDF.

This first week has been the same as practically every other year.
Crashes.
Sprinters winning stages.

hombredesubaru said:

What was wrong today...Tom says his lead out. Maybe it is the curse of the rainbow catching up with him....or something else.

If you'd seen today stage - you'd know that there was nothing wrong with todays result.
Boonen was completely blindsighted when it came to Freire's attack.
Boonen was to the left and Freire attacked from behind and to the right.

Nothing too complicated in the move Freire made.

Turn down that TV volume - 'cause you're as bad as Liggett and Sherbert when it comes to calling a race.

I think this years Tour is very excited coupled with the uncertainty over who can take the race by the scruff of the neck on GC.

I think Boonen is not having the spectacular year we expected him to have at the TDF. I would think he is rather worn out after last fall and this spring. Deep down I doubt he even targeted the TDF. He is proud of that rainbow jersey and he has said as much. To peak at the Classics, to peak at the TDF and then at the Worlds is asking too much of rider in these specializing times.
McEwen did target this race. Thor is coming back after time off. And the other winners snuck by..... Also noticable is that Zabel only finished second once. He is usually there all the time. McEwen is underrated. I fully understand that this is Tom's year but let's not delagate McEwen to a lower place. McEwen is every bit as good a sprinter as anyone.

We will see tom Boonen at the front at the Worlds. He is proud of his jersey.

limerickman said:

You're talking [censored] - again.

This TDF is exactly the same as previous T'sDF.

Come on Lim, chill, hdsubaru is correct, the speeds are slower. Perhaps the entertainment value is the same, but the speeds are slower. So he raises a legitimate question, and you are flat out wrong. The speeds (km/h):

Stage 2005 2006
1 short TT 44.3
2 47.0 40.8
3 46.2 43.6
4 TTT 41.4
5 48.6 42.3

None of this year's five full length stages is as fast as the slowest of last years first full length stages. It's not even close. There are lots of explanations, heat, whatever.

One other possible explanation, reduced doping. 🙁

JRMDC said:

One other possible explanation, reduced doping. 🙁

I should clarify that the frown is because slower speeds may be an indicator of past doping, not that I would be displeased, should any doping have been eliminated. 🙂

limerickman said:

This first week has been the same as practically every other year.

I thought you weren't interested and couldn't be bothered to tune in.

Or are you opining based on what you read in the papers?

JRMDC said:

One other possible explanation, reduced doping. 🙁

I don't see how reduced doping could be the explanation. Communidad-Valencia was kicked out but they are not exactly a team that would be hammering on the front. The same thing is true of Liberty-Seguros. The other riders that were ejected are too few in number to make a difference and several of them would be expected to be hiding in the pack during the first week. Why would riders using doping clinics other that the one in Madrid decide not to get their transfusions? The disruption of their rivals medical preparation gives them a better chance than ever of achieving good results.

Average speed is an extremely poor metric to use. On flattish stages like the first week the average speed is primarily determined by the speed of the escapees.

Bro Deal said:

I don't see how reduced doping could be the explanation. Communidad-Valencia was kicked out but they are not exactly a team that would be hammering on the front. The same thing is true of Liberty-Seguros. The other riders that were ejected are too few in number to make a difference and several of them would be expected to be hiding in the pack during the first week. Why would riders using doping clinics other that the one in Madrid decide not to get their transfusions? The disruption of their rivals medical preparation gives them a better chance than ever of achieving good results.

Average speed is an extremely poor metric to use. On flattish stages like the first week the average speed is primarily determined by the speed of the escapees.

My simplistic thinking - and, to be clear, it was purely speculative and without prior deep reflection, which of course means it should have an honored status in this forum - is that, if riders have been unable to dope during the TdF itself, and they were able to do so last year, and a high fraction of the peloton was doping last year, then necessarily average speeds would fall. Just tossing a thought out there, that's all...

I understand that average speed might be a poor metric, but I do find the speed differences surprising large. Another (partial?) explanation might be the fact that breaks are being established quickly this year, without the first hour of 50 km/h that was being ridden last year before the proper break was established.

It has been HOT! Try racing for 5 hours when it's 99 degrees like it was yesterday.

Boonen has been modest about his teamates' leadouts. The fact is they've been riding at the front for hours and hours to protect his yellow jersey and they're too tired to make a good leadout. And there is no Fassa train to make it go right.

It's the Heat... it's freak'n 100F/35C... just look at the long line of riders draging their tongues on the ground at the end of stages...

Does anyone have info on the tempeture last year in comparison to this years?? The graph on the speeds were interesting . The differences in speed is significant. I thought going into the TDF we would see faster speeds and more breakaways then we have. With the main contenders eliminated, you would think it would open the race up for others to try for a stage win. But we haven't really seen that. I'm getting a feeling that we have a somewhat 'Passive" TDF with the usual amount of crashes.

The heat could be part of the reason for slowness too. It is really hot. The doping issue...... I would think that the riders who are doping with other doctors had no intention of getting caught even before the scandal broke. So I doubt they changed their plans. Except for maybe a rider who may be doping on T-Mobile because for some reason they are being watched close. But T-Mobile took a stage.

This TDF is not predictable. I would have to say that in all the years I have followed the TDF, this is the hardest year to pick the podium in advance. Right now, I do not have a clue.

doctorSpoc said:

It's the Heat... it's freak'n 100F/35C... just look at the long line of riders draging their tongues on the ground at the end of stages...

And they don't have that little bit of extra "blood" to help dissipate the heat.

wolfix said:

This TDF is not predictable. I would have to say that in all the years I have followed the TDF, this is the hardest year to pick the podium in advance. Right now, I do not have a clue.

my roommates keep asking me who is winning. i tell them every day that i have no idea or i say wait until saturday then we might know. i guess they expect it to be like a basketball game....

wolfix said:

I would think that the riders who are doping with other doctors had no intention of getting caught even before the scandal broke. So I doubt they changed their plans. Except for maybe a rider who may be doping on T-Mobile because for some reason they are being watched close. But T-Mobile took a stage. .

The cheating with blood transfusions is virtually undetectable, and so, was widely used, along with small amounts of EPO. Now, with so much scrutiny and people watching everything, you can imagine how difficult it would be for any rider to undertake the blood transfusions DURING the Tour that they would need to get that help for the mountains. So, far less cheating this year, regardless of team.

This is another possibility for slower speeds.

Cadel Evens......" In other years you had a team like Discovery who would ride the first 100 km at a good tempo. "

It does seem like the breakaways have stayed out much longer than expected. If 5 or ten riders really went for it they would have a good chance of staying away.

wolfix said:

This is another possibility for slower speeds.

Cadel Evens......" In other years you had a team like Discovery who would ride the first 100 km at a good tempo. "