# Tour de France 2010 **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [July 3, 2010, 3:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387 "2010-07-03T03:18:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/41 "2010-07-11T21:08:28Z")
> [@FordTaurusSHO94](#): > > Will he ride for Levi? If he has a chance here and there to make up time, I can’t see him passing it up. He is 13 mins down on two people who can seriously outclimb him. He only makes up time if they (schleck and contador) let him. Lance is incredibly arrogant but not stupid. He knows this. Levi has a shot at a decent placing (although zero shot at winning). Lance needs to help him or else risk serious damage to his image. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 2:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/42 "2010-07-12T02:20:04Z")
I think he will help Levi, but I don’t think it’s impossible for the other GC people to have problems the way Lance has. That’s the only reason he’s lost so much time. There’s a 99% chance they won’t have as much trouble as he has had though. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 4:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/43 "2010-07-12T04:12:16Z")
So, Schleck the Younger “does a Contador” on Contador and dances away uphill. Possibilities: a/ Contador is happy for Schleck to have a minor victory, planning on totally whomping him on the truly big climbs, later (can’t see any real reason for this) b/ Contador isn’t quite on top form yet or had a bad moment or it wasn’t hard and long enough for him, but he will come good by next weekend on the HC climbs c/ Holy shit someone can beat Contador uphill. I can’t decide between b/ and c/ but lean towards c/ for some reason. Opinions? ---
**Author:** ![DragonAsh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/db5fbb/32.png) [@DragonAsh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DragonAsh)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/44 "2010-07-12T13:23:20Z")
Schleck is no slouch - he’s won ‘best young rider’ twice, was second overall in the general classification last year in the TdF, and I think he might have seriously given Contador all he could handle, except in one of the stages (was it Mt Ventoux?) he basically held back to help his brother. With Frank unfortunately out, Andy’s free to ride his own race. And I don’ t think Astana is really all that strong. Personally? I don’t think for a moment that Contador would just let Andy have a minor victory - not at this stage in the race. Maybe later when he has the race all but wrapped up. But on the first real big mountain stage? I don’t see it; this is when riders like Contador do everything they can to suck the soul out of their rivals, tryng to pound out any signs of confidence. Contador hasn’t looked quite as sharp as last year. I think Andy could really give Contador a run for the GC. As for Lance - it does look like he’s completely out of it; no way he’s making up 10 minutes on the other top riders unless he pulls a Landis. It would have been great to see him make a run at the podium in his last TdF. Hopefully we’ll see RadioShack rally around Levi and try to get him into a decent GC finish. Anyone think Menchov could make some noise? He’s only a minute back. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/45 "2010-07-12T13:56:57Z")
> [@Princhester](#): > > So, Schleck the Younger “does a Contador” on Contador and dances away uphill. Possibilities: > > a/ Contador is happy for Schleck to have a minor victory, planning on totally whomping him on the truly big climbs, later (can’t see any real reason for this) > > b/ Contador isn’t quite on top form yet or had a bad moment or it wasn’t hard and long enough for him, but he will come good by next weekend on the HC climbs > > c/ Holy shit someone can beat Contador uphill. > > I can’t decide between b/ and c/ but lean towards c/ for some reason. Opinions? Like you said, the conventional wisdom is that Contador is better during the long steep beyond classification climbs and that being the case, I’ll feel a little more comfortable making a call in the Pyrenees during the third week. He didn’t seem to be on top of his game in the Dauphine, certainly, so maybe he isn’t at the top of his game. He also said he wasn’t really going for the victory there anyways so who knows. I hope the answer is C because I’d like Schleck to have a minute or two on him before the final time trial. That would make for one hell of a finish. Re: Menchov…he won a Giro against some pretty tough competition last and is peaking for the tour this year (not the cast last year) so yes, I really think he is a threat. He also has Gesink, who is pretty solid support and can also time trial. He doesn’t need time on Contador or Cadel Evans so if he can make time on Evans and keep Schleck within reach, we may have a very interesting Time Trial with three or four riders with a chance to win. The two I’m really wondering about are Kreuziger and Basso who are 1’45 and 2’41 back respectively. I would love to see Kreuziger go near the top of Saint-Jean-De-Maurienne on stage 9 as he could pick up serious time on the descent. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 12, 2010, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/46 "2010-07-12T23:56:03Z")
Today’s stage may be interesting. An HC climb then a very rapid twisting descent, then only 13km to the finish on the flat. It may hurt Basso. He is a notoriously bad descender. If the other GC’ers lose him on the descent he may well not have time to get back, particularly if they put the heat on Liquigas on the way up so that he has no teammates around him to get him to the finish. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/47 "2010-07-13T09:43:59Z")
I wish they did finish on the Madeleine, I am not a big fan of those stages that end in a rapid descent. I’d rather see someone win because they had the character to withstand the torture of the mountain than because they had the recklessness to let themselves plummet their way down the mountain fastest (and maybe pull a Casartelli on the way). ---
**Author:** ![Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/3d9bf3/32.png) [@Tapioca\_Dextrin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tapioca_Dextrin)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/48 "2010-07-13T10:00:31Z")
I wish they did, too, but reality takes a different view. From a logistics point of view, putting thirty or forty buses, grandstands, podiums, corrals for flunkies etc takes a lot of space. Mountain passes don’t have that. The second reason is money. A town pays something in the region of a million euros to stage a finish. The three goats that live on top of the Cote du Madeleine don’t have that kind of cash. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 10:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/49 "2010-07-13T10:50:37Z")
No I disagree. I think that winning the GC of a GT should be about a mix of skills. It shouldn’t be simply a case of “the best climber wins the GC”. That’s the end result of too many mountaintop finishes. I think there should be mountaintop finishes, and sprint stages and long TT’s and short TT’s and stages with rolling hills and stages with cobbles and stages where descending well is an advantage. ---
**Author:** ![footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/9f8e36/32.png) [@footballisplayedwithyourfeet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/footballisplayedwithyourfeet)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/50 "2010-07-13T10:58:22Z")
I actually think it might add an extra dimension to have a descent before the finish (as long as it is right after the descent, none of this having to go another 40k after getting down). if we’d had the same thing sunday, I’m sure Sami Sanchez would have won. It gives some of the better descenders a chance (too bad Nibali isn’t riding) to win a mountain stage. Also if you gain a minute on the climb, there is no way they are getting you back, unless you crash or something. I think this year there is a nice mix of hill top finishes and finishes at the bottom. ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/51 "2010-07-13T14:56:58Z")
So incredibly annoying how the French continue to overlook the group with Leipheimer, Menchov and Gesink for the much less interesting group with Basso and Armstrong.:mad: ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/52 "2010-07-13T15:52:23Z")
Glad I got this week off work, that was a hell of a stage. It should’ve been clear from the outset but either Andy or Alberto are going to win the tour de france but people fall into the Lance Armstrong trap. It’s sad to see that happen to Cadel, I really thought he had good enough form to at least hang around with the big guys. It’ll be a long couple weeks. Menchov may be headed for a podium! ---
**Author:** ![RedFury](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ec9cab/32.png) [@RedFury](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RedFury)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 3:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/53 "2010-07-13T15:56:57Z")
Interesting stage, one that confirms what most experts advanced: this is a Tour of two, Alberto & Andy. Who’ll prevail? Andy’s looking mighty good on the climbs so I wouldn’t be surprised if he held on to the Maillot Jeune through the Pyrenees – though I’m ready to watch a hell of a battle between the two – and have it all come down to the long (50K) TT – where, depending on the distance between the two, Alberto could/should be able to put The Tour away. Vamos Conta! ---
**Author:** ![phungi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/phungi/32/395_2.png) [@phungi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/phungi)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 4:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/54 "2010-07-13T16:04:04Z")
I wonder, if the Tour and sprint points are wrapped up before the final stage, if they let Armstrong lead the final lap around the Champs-Elysées… ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/55 "2010-07-13T16:11:49Z")
Stop wondering. It’s not going to happen. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [July 13, 2010, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/56 "2010-07-13T16:14:58Z")
> [@phungi](#): > > I wonder, if the Tour and sprint points are wrapped up before the final stage, if they let Armstrong lead the final lap around the Champs-Elysées… Not a chance, people love to win that sprint. If Cavendish makes it over the mountains, it’s allll his. ---
**Author:** ![fiddlesticks](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fiddlesticks/32/18129_2.png) [@fiddlesticks](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fiddlesticks)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/57 "2010-07-15T15:22:02Z")
They sometimes let the old man of the Tour lead the first lap of the Champs-Elysées…I remember Ekimov getting that honor. ---
**Author:** ![Dag\_Otto](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/439d5e/32.png) [@Dag\_Otto](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dag_Otto)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/58 "2010-07-15T18:36:14Z")
Renshaw disqualified for the head butt. I thought it would be for blocking Farrar, but I guess either action might have done it. Surprised that Cavendish wasn’t relegated for Renshaw’s actions. ---
**Author:** ![Busy\_Scissors](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/d78d45/32.png) [@Busy\_Scissors](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Busy_Scissors)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2010, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/59 "2010-07-15T20:01:33Z")
That is well harsh on Renshaw. Dean tries to mix it up with him and gets it given right back with interest - that, plus the moving onto Farrar’s line and Renshaw’s got to expect some feedback. Demotion to last place for example. Throwing him off the tour is way OTT. Seems a bit amateurish into the bargain, the decision was made immediately - some reflection is in order for a decision like that. Have to admire the bike handling skills of someone throwing the coal down, going 40 odd mph, and sticking a triple headbutt onto a competitor. ---
**Author:** ![FordTaurusSHO94](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f07891/32.png) [@FordTaurusSHO94](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FordTaurusSHO94)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2010, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387/60 "2010-07-16T04:00:17Z")
I’d have given him a backhand full of knuckles for that move. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tour-de-france-2010/545387.md?page=4)