Cobblestone on the Tour?

[Yaype]

Stage 3 of this year's Tour de France has two sections of cobblestone road--the first is 1.7 miles long, the second nearly 3/4 of a mile.

First of all, what is cobblestone road doing in a cycling race? I mean, riding a mountain bike over cobblestone is one thing, but having to ride a road bike over it is completely different. I for one would not relish having to deal with it in a race.

And secondly, does anybody think it will affect the race? Or will everybody play it safe enough that nothing of importance will occur?

 

[MCdread]

Well, one of the greatest races in the world, the Paris-Roubaix, has dozens of kilometers of cobblestone, so yes, cobbestones are part of road cycling as well, and they were much more a part of it in the past even, back when roads were not so good and many of them were precisely cobbblestones.

If it will affect the race? No, maybe they'll slow down a bit during it, but it is a very small sector and it won't affect the race at all, and even if it did, there would be nothing wrong with that.

 

[Shabbaman]

Unless it's raining...

 

[Rik Meleet]

It adds too much danger and an unfair element of luck which shouldn't be part of a 3 week race. I don't like it.

 

[Stapel]

Well, as analists say: You can't win the tour on cobblestone, but you can loose it.

Iban Mayo just did so. The peloton broke in two parts......
Mayo was unlucky. He got a flat tyre, right before the 2nd cobble stone track. This caused him to end up in the 2nd peloton.

BTW: Nazon won the stage.

 

[Hitro]

But Mayo didn't lose because of the cobblestone, the fall happened before that and split the peloton. The larger group with US Postal was making the pace, the small one that still had to form itself wouldn't have catched up without the cobblestone either.

Still sucks that Mayo's already pretty much out of the general classement.

 

[Stapel]

But Mayo didn't lose because of the cobblestone, the fall happened before that and split the peloton. The larger group with US Postal was making the pace, the small one that still had to form itself wouldn't have catched up without the cobblestone either.

Still sucks that Mayo's already pretty much out of the general classement.

which is what I said .
He indeed fell. No flat tube.

 

[SanPellegrino]

yes, this stage proved decisive for some riders already, cobblestone or not. Zubeldia and Menchov were also in that group. USP reacted immediately. that looked pretty unfair, but I can't blame them, it is the usual business. btw LAs first win 1999 had a similar situation were Zülle lost 5 minutes on the 2nd day.

 

[Aggie]

Cobblestones are part of cycling. And part of the Tour when the organisation puts them in. They are perfectly OK to ride over. I did it many times. Mayo may have been unlucky with the fall, but he clearly lost more time on the cobblestones, so I'm sure that he would be behind anyway...

It is a shame for the Spanish riders (except Heras), but why should a Tour always be standard? Today's stage was simply great to watch!

There was no unfairness in the actions of USP, T-Mobile and Phonak. Mayo was just unlucky that he was behind when a group of other favorites couldn't keep up on the cobblestones. It would have been foolish to wait.

 

[Aggie]

btw LAs first win 1999 had a similar situation were Zülle lost 5 minutes on the 2nd day.

That was different. On that day they rode over a road that is covered by the sea half of the time. That road was slippery because of the seaweed growing on the stones. No-one with half a brain would cycle there...

 

[Shabbaman]

It is a shame for the Spanish riders (except Heras), but why should a Tour always be standard?

I agree. And there's nothing that prohibits the south europeans to compete in Paris-Roubaix (la redoute), to name something

 

[Rik Meleet]

Cobblestones are a part of cycling; and a fun part indeed. The Tour-de-Flanders and Paris-Roubaix are 1 day events which attract the specialists.
But a multiple-day cycling-match is designed to be won by the strongest rider over the time-span. Not by the 1 having the most luck on rough terrain. The riders which cab win the multiple-day events are a different kind of riders, with specialties in climbing and time-trials. This speciality is incompatible with that style and only luck and bad-luck are brought into the tour because of the cobblestones. I prefer the tour to be won by the strongest, not by the most luckiest.

 

[Stapel]

yes, this stage proved decisive for some riders already, cobblestone or not. Zubeldia and Menchov were also in that group. USP reacted immediately. that looked pretty unfair, but I can't blame them, it is the usual business. btw LAs first win 1999 had a similar situation were Zülle lost 5 minutes on the 2nd day.

Yeah, the stage into the sea! Boogerd fell behind too. (Us Dutch considered Boogerd a candidate after his 5th place in 1998).

Though that was far worse than cobble stone, any rider knew he should be up front!

 

[Aggie]

Only Mayo had bad luck, because he fell just before the cobblestones. The other riders just weren't strong enough to survive the 4 km of cobblestones (only 4 km!!). Last year Beloki fell and had to leave the Tour. He might have been the strongest one, but he got stuck in the melting asfalt. THAT was unlucky, just like Mayo was unlucky today. Someone like Menchov just wasn't good enough today.

 

[MCdread]

It has to do with positioning in the péloton. Mayo, Zubeldia, Menchov, Moreau, Bettini, etc. were all in a bad place. Armstrong, Ullrich and Hamilton were smarter and were placed near the front, where the risk is smaller. It is a lesson that Mayo has learned today...

Tomorrow's stage will be very interesting, and this year there is a strange rule in the TTT. Well, the time gaps at the end of it won't matter at all because, no matter how big or small they are, the 2nd placed team will get a 20 seconds deficit, the 3rd 30 s and so on. The highest possible gap will be 2:30 minutes. In theory and before the race, everyone thought that the Basque team of Mayo and Zubeldia would be the one taking advantadge of it, because this would limit their losses usually much higher than the said 2:30 minutes. However, now that they are already 4 minutes down, Mayo has prety much abandoned his hopes of winning the Tour this year, unless he pulls a major miracle in the mountains.

 

[Stapel]

I had the impression the time gaps have a limit. Meaning that if one team is behind 2 seconds, the gap will be 2 seconds too.

 

[Aggie]

Like Stapel said. If Phonak wins and USP is 3 seconds behind, Armstrong will lose 3 seconds on Hamilton. And when T-Mobile is 4 seconds behind as 3rd, Ullrich will lose 4 seconds on Hamilton. If then Rabo comes in 4th, 5 minutes behind they will lose 3x20 = 60 seconds.

It will be interesting to see which team suffered most from yesterday's time trial.

 

[MCdread]

Okay. I stand corrected.
Well, US Postal showed all their power today. More than a minute better than the main rivals. However, looking closer, both Phonak and CSC at least had a lot of problems, including Basso crashing and Hamilton waiting for Santiago Gonzalez. T-Mobile didn't have a perfect race either, but I think they disappointed, and Ullrich is now 55 seconds away from Armstrong I believe, before any mountain stage, which is an important deficit.

 

[MCdread]

Here are the differences that Armstrong now has on the main rivals:

36'' on Hamilton
55'' on Ullrich
1'01'' on Mancebo
1'08'' on Leipheimer
1'17'' on Basso
1'45'' on Heras
3'22'' on Simoni
4'46'' on Menchov
5'27'' on Mayo
5'33'' on Zubeldia

Some huge gaps between some of the most important riders already. I continue disliking this event.

 

[Shabbaman]

They can call themselves very lucky that it didn't rain like this yesterday... Why did the organization put that dumb last corner in the circuit btw?