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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 18:19:59 GMT
Final stage safely completed today - Chapeau Froomey !!
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Post by salopstick on May 27, 2018 18:31:30 GMT
Final stage safely completed today - Chapeau Froomey !! A great giro Froome grew into it and won it with a shit or bust tactical move on Friday. Dumolin rode too conservative through out. Always there but lack of risks lost it for him Yates came from nowhere but learnt a harsh lesson that’s its a three week tour. I still believe he thought he had it in the bag after the TT. Froome must be the most tested cyclist of the last 4/5 years. This asthma will be sorted worthier way next week or so. You don’t have a grand tour like he did then suddenly dope up the night before a massive hill stage to win massively. On to the Le Tour
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Post by RichieBarkerOut! on May 27, 2018 20:58:19 GMT
I don't think Tom was at all conservative, he's not a natural climber by any means, he gave it his all but Froome's performance was exceptional. Lot's of riders cracked in week three, but Tom managed to hang in there better than anyone except Froome.
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Post by salopstick on May 27, 2018 21:09:38 GMT
I don't think Tom was at all conservative, he's not a natural climber by any means, he gave it his all but Froome's performance was exceptional. Lot's of riders cracked in week three, but Tom managed to hang in there better than anyone except Froome. From the start he wanted to hang on to the tails of the pink jersey as opposed to defend it.
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Post by RichieBarkerOut! on May 27, 2018 21:18:52 GMT
I don't think Tom was at all conservative, he's not a natural climber by any means, he gave it his all but Froome's performance was exceptional. Lot's of riders cracked in week three, but Tom managed to hang in there better than anyone except Froome. From the start he wanted to hang on to the tails of the pink jersey as opposed to defend it. That's one way of looking at it, but I did not see anyone else having a go at Yates.
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Post by Gifton on May 27, 2018 21:34:33 GMT
I hope to fuck he's clean and I'm confident he is. It's just that I've had so many hero's over the years that have let me down. Anyway,
Allez Frommey, Chapeau
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Post by salopstick on May 27, 2018 21:58:25 GMT
I hope to fuck he's clean and I'm confident he is. It's just that I've had so many hero's over the years that have let me down. Anyway, Allez Frommey, Chapeau It’s a numbers game. Froome knows how much watts he can push out for how long and times it to perfection. He’s the master tactician, it helps having some of the best donestiques around too. I think most of the hate comes from the French hating the fact a British team is currently the best. Cycling snobbery if you wish. David Walsh reckons he’s clean, I do believe though that all the teams (and sky with their marginal gains are the bests) are close to the bone onwhat is legal and not. From David Walsh “I'm not backing everybody. You look at each case and you make up your own mind. Why would David Millar go to such lengths to lie about Chris Froome? He's doped. He got caught and served a suspension, most people accept that when he came back he rode clean. "Millar knows what people can do clean and can do dirty and he has 'not one atom' of doubt about Chris Froome." Sooner TUEs are outlawed the better though they just form clouds of doubt
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Post by salopstick on May 27, 2018 22:00:36 GMT
From the start he wanted to hang on to the tails of the pink jersey as opposed to defend it. That's one way of looking at it, but I did not see anyone else having a go at Yates. Because he knew Yates would crack but he also thought froome was not really in contention. With hindsight he could have made up those 40 seconds over the course. No way would the well drilled sky machine lose yesterday. Dumolin should and could have been ahead going into yesterday’s stage
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Post by RipRoaringPotter on May 27, 2018 22:05:15 GMT
That's one way of looking at it, but I did not see anyone else having a go at Yates. Because he knew Yates would crack but he also thought froome was not really in contention. With hindsight he could have made up those 40 seconds over the course. No way would the well drilled sky machine lose yesterday. Dumolin should and could have been ahead going into yesterday’s stage Dumoulin's undoing was the minute he lost on the descent of Colle Delle Finestre. With about 75kms to go he thought he could galvanise the chase group to reel Froome back in. At the time I was undecided whether it was the right thing to do - in hindsight it failed, as only Pinot did any work and Froome put enough time into him to win the Giro.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 22:06:58 GMT
I reckon Froome is 100% clean. He's being tested day after day and there has been no indication of any wrongdoing apart from the one instance of the Salbutamol, which isn't even a banned substance anyway.
David Walsh spent a year with Team Sky, at Brailsford's invitation and gave them a glowing report (see his book "Inside Team Sky"). If there was/is even the slightest thing I believe Walsh would have uncovered it by now.
As Salop says, the sooner TUE's are banned the better.
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Post by salopstick on May 27, 2018 22:09:18 GMT
Because he knew Yates would crack but he also thought froome was not really in contention. With hindsight he could have made up those 40 seconds over the course. No way would the well drilled sky machine lose yesterday. Dumolin should and could have been ahead going into yesterday’s stage Dumoulin's undoing was the minute he lost on the descent of Colle Delle Finestre. With about 75kms to go he thought he could galvanise the chase group to reel Froome back in. At the time I was undecided whether it was the right thing to do - in hindsight it failed, as only Pinot did any work and Froome put enough time into him to win the Giro. That was funny. The two young guys just preserved energy and made Tom and pino do the hard work. Jack bastards I hope quintana is thinking froome will be spent in France.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 22:10:39 GMT
I think Dumoulin thought he could overhaul Yates and was incorrectly complacent in thinking Chris Froome was out of contention. So he did just enough to beat Yates, not considering any Froome attack, until it was too late to respond after Froome had done the damage on stage 19.
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Post by Deleted on May 27, 2018 22:13:03 GMT
Dumoulin's undoing was the minute he lost on the descent of Colle Delle Finestre. With about 75kms to go he thought he could galvanise the chase group to reel Froome back in. At the time I was undecided whether it was the right thing to do - in hindsight it failed, as only Pinot did any work and Froome put enough time into him to win the Giro. That was funny. The two young guys just preserved energy and made Tom and pino do the hard work. Jack bastards I hope quintana is thinking froome will be spent in France. I hope Froome is still on form and in peak condition for the TdF but if he isn't I hope somebody (anybody) beats the odious little swine Quintana. I think Richie Porte will be right in contention this year.
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Post by salopstick on May 27, 2018 22:33:03 GMT
That was funny. The two young guys just preserved energy and made Tom and pino do the hard work. Jack bastards I hope quintana is thinking froome will be spent in France. I hope Froome is still on form and in peak condition for the TdF but if he isn't I hope somebody (anybody) beats the odious little CUBT Quintana. I think Richie Porte will be right in contention this year. He’s got 6 weeks to recover and get ready and a shake up of the team he will be fine. 5 le tours will put him up there with the greats 4 grand tours consecutively even more so 3 in a season history It must be on his mind. He would not have entered the giro had he nor won last years vuelta. If he wins France it will be with a heavy heart to G That he says I’m doing Spain.
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Post by RichieBarkerOut! on May 28, 2018 6:57:24 GMT
That's one way of looking at it, but I did not see anyone else having a go at Yates. Because he knew Yates would crack but he also thought froome was not really in contention. With hindsight he could have made up those 40 seconds over the course. No way would the well drilled sky machine lose yesterday. Dumolin should and could have been ahead going into yesterday’s stage That sounds like hindsight to me, Yates was looking invincible and Tom nor anyone else could touch him. I did not hear a single voice that suggested that Yates was a a two week wonder.
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Post by Gifton on May 28, 2018 11:16:28 GMT
I hope to fuck he's clean and I'm confident he is. It's just that I've had so many hero's over the years that have let me down. Anyway, Allez Frommey, Chapeau It’s a numbers game. Froome knows how much watts he can push out for how long and times it to perfection. He’s the master tactician, it helps having some of the best donestiques around too. I think most of the hate comes from the French hating the fact a British team is currently the best. Cycling snobbery if you wish. David Walsh reckons he’s clean, I do believe though that all the teams (and sky with their marginal gains are the bests) are close to the bone onwhat is legal and not. From David Walsh “I'm not backing everybody. You look at each case and you make up your own mind. Why would David Millar go to such lengths to lie about Chris Froome? He's doped. He got caught and served a suspension, most people accept that when he came back he rode clean. "Millar knows what people can do clean and can do dirty and he has 'not one atom' of doubt about Chris Froome." Sooner TUEs are outlawed the better though they just form clouds of doubt I didn't realise David Walsh had said that, it definitely makes me more confident. I also trust David Millar's opinion, hes the most remorseful ex-doper in the sport. I can't be the only person who instantly thought of Landis after stage 19 though.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2018 11:46:30 GMT
I don't know if it's just me but it's always an anti-climax when a Grand Tour has finished. I get into the routine and settle down to watch the stages.
Still not long till the Critérium du Dauphiné starts next weekend and it should give a pointer towards TdF form for some of the main GC contenders. Looks like Sky have Kwiatkowski and G in their team, together with Chris Froome. Nibali, Bardet and a few others have already been confirmed so it should be a good week's racing ! Then it's not long till the TdF starts.
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Post by salopstick on May 28, 2018 13:28:01 GMT
It’s a numbers game. Froome knows how much watts he can push out for how long and times it to perfection. He’s the master tactician, it helps having some of the best donestiques around too. I think most of the hate comes from the French hating the fact a British team is currently the best. Cycling snobbery if you wish. David Walsh reckons he’s clean, I do believe though that all the teams (and sky with their marginal gains are the bests) are close to the bone onwhat is legal and not. From David Walsh “I'm not backing everybody. You look at each case and you make up your own mind. Why would David Millar go to such lengths to lie about Chris Froome? He's doped. He got caught and served a suspension, most people accept that when he came back he rode clean. "Millar knows what people can do clean and can do dirty and he has 'not one atom' of doubt about Chris Froome." Sooner TUEs are outlawed the better though they just form clouds of doubt I didn't realise David Walsh had said that, it definitely makes me more confident. I also trust David Millar's opinion, hes the most remorseful ex-doper in the sport. I can't be the only person who instantly thought of Landis after stage 19 though. millars account of his own doping is quite sad he didn’t want to do it. And he had stopped before getting caught. The sad thing is froomes asthma drug test is either the fault of the team doctor or an abnormal test I don’t know. What I do know is for someone with this hanging over him he is quite humble. Unlike a certain brash arrogant Texan. Froomes whole demeanour is not of someone high and mighty claiming innocence but confidently consistent that he has done nothing wrong. I don’t believe it’s a front either
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Post by Gifton on May 28, 2018 14:03:37 GMT
I didn't realise David Walsh had said that, it definitely makes me more confident. I also trust David Millar's opinion, hes the most remorseful ex-doper in the sport. I can't be the only person who instantly thought of Landis after stage 19 though. millars account of his own doping is quite sad he didn’t want to do it. And he had stopped before getting caught. The sad thing is froomes asthma drug test is either the fault of the team doctor or an abnormal test I don’t know. What I do know is for someone with this hanging over him he is quite humble. Unlike a certain brash arrogant Texan. Froomes whole demeanour is not of someone high and mighty claiming innocence but confidently consistent that he has done nothing wrong. I don’t believe it’s a front either Yeah I agree with this, I can forgive Armstrong for doping, just about, I can't forgive him for his bullying etc. I think that's why I'm so sceptical. I wish I could say that I'd been a cycling fanatic all my life, that I'd watched the Greg Lemond/Laurant Fignon time trial through Paris etc. The truth is I was very ill in hospital about a decade ago and during my recovery someone had given me a copy of "it's not about the bike". Lance became a real hero to me and I bought myself a Specialized Allez Elite. I had to learn to walk again, step by step, once I'd done that I got on the bike, within six months of coming home from hospital I'd gone from a couple of steps to 100 mile rides. Lance's story and that bike inspired me to recover. I'll always be grateful to him for that. I also became obsessed with the professional sport. Before then football was king to me, after that I found myself turning soccer Sunday off to watch whatever race I could find, particularly the spring classics like the Amstel Gold Race, Tour of Flanders and my favourite, Paris Roubaix. I knew Armstrong had doped long before he admitted it, it was still so hard to take though. In a stupid way he kind of broke my heart. I love cycling but I hate the fact that I'm instantly cynical anytime someone puts in an incredible ride.
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Post by salopstick on May 28, 2018 14:58:13 GMT
millars account of his own doping is quite sad he didn’t want to do it. And he had stopped before getting caught. The sad thing is froomes asthma drug test is either the fault of the team doctor or an abnormal test I don’t know. What I do know is for someone with this hanging over him he is quite humble. Unlike a certain brash arrogant Texan. Froomes whole demeanour is not of someone high and mighty claiming innocence but confidently consistent that he has done nothing wrong. I don’t believe it’s a front either Yeah I agree with this, I can forgive Armstrong for doping, just about, I can't forgive him for his bullying etc. I think that's why I'm so sceptical. I wish I could say that I'd been a cycling fanatic all my life, that I'd watched the Greg Lemond/Laurant Fignon time trial through Paris etc. The truth is I was very ill in hospital about a decade ago and during my recovery someone had given me a copy of "it's not about the bike". Lance became a real hero to me and I bought myself a Specialized Allez Elite. I had to learn to walk again, step by step, once I'd done that I got on the bike, within six months of coming home from hospital I'd gone from a couple of steps to 100 mile rides. Lance's story and that bike inspired me to recover. I'll always be grateful to him for that. I also became obsessed with the professional sport. Before then football was king to me, after that I found myself turning soccer Sunday off to watch whatever race I could find, particularly the spring classics like the Amstel Gold Race, Tour of Flanders and my favourite, Paris Roubaix. I knew Armstrong had doped long before he admitted it, it was still so hard to take though. In a stupid way he kind of broke my heart. I love cycling but I hate the fact that I'm instantly cynical anytime someone puts in an incredible ride. I started a new job exactly 3 year ago. Most of the staff there rode and said sarcastically “you need a bike” for the previous 6 years through injury, life and other stuff I’d let my self go and was pushing 18 stone. I bought a cheap bike started enjoyed it. 3 years down the line I’m riding at least 150 miles a week. Fast 15s and enduring 100s and everything in between.small changes elsewhere and down to just under 13 stone (that had helped me start to run again). The bike changed my life. Don’t watch too much one day cycling but I love the grand tours. I love that routine for three weeks finding time to watch the stage live or the highlights in a routine. And the week long events that build up.
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Post by salopstick on May 28, 2018 15:01:44 GMT
The thing with stage 19 is that the roads were narrow, the pelaton was never going to catch a decent breakaway.
Froome managed an attack at the time and place he knew he could catch the rest out. Once he got on the descent and built a lead he was uncatchable. He could descend alone with more risk and he had that unbelievable will to win that great sportsman have to keep pushing. As discussed earlier as the two young guys were not helping dumolin or pinot he was never getting caught
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Post by Gifton on May 28, 2018 15:16:03 GMT
Yeah I agree with this, I can forgive Armstrong for doping, just about, I can't forgive him for his bullying etc. I think that's why I'm so sceptical. I wish I could say that I'd been a cycling fanatic all my life, that I'd watched the Greg Lemond/Laurant Fignon time trial through Paris etc. The truth is I was very ill in hospital about a decade ago and during my recovery someone had given me a copy of "it's not about the bike". Lance became a real hero to me and I bought myself a Specialized Allez Elite. I had to learn to walk again, step by step, once I'd done that I got on the bike, within six months of coming home from hospital I'd gone from a couple of steps to 100 mile rides. Lance's story and that bike inspired me to recover. I'll always be grateful to him for that. I also became obsessed with the professional sport. Before then football was king to me, after that I found myself turning soccer Sunday off to watch whatever race I could find, particularly the spring classics like the Amstel Gold Race, Tour of Flanders and my favourite, Paris Roubaix. I knew Armstrong had doped long before he admitted it, it was still so hard to take though. In a stupid way he kind of broke my heart. I love cycling but I hate the fact that I'm instantly cynical anytime someone puts in an incredible ride. I started a new job exactly 3 year ago. Most of the staff there rode and said sarcastically “you need a bike” for the previous 6 years through injury, life and other stuff I’d let my self go and was pushing 18 stone. I bought a cheap bike started enjoyed it. 3 years down the line I’m riding at least 150 miles a week. Fast 15s and enduring 100s and everything in between.small changes elsewhere and down to just under 13 stone (that had helped me start to run again). The bike changed my life. Don’t watch too much one day cycling but I love the grand tours. I love that routine for three weeks finding time to watch the stage live or the highlights in a routine. And the week long events that build up. Next year mate you really need to watch the classics, one day racing can be absolutely amazing to watch. Trust me.
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Post by salopstick on May 28, 2018 15:20:04 GMT
I started a new job exactly 3 year ago. Most of the staff there rode and said sarcastically “you need a bike” for the previous 6 years through injury, life and other stuff I’d let my self go and was pushing 18 stone. I bought a cheap bike started enjoyed it. 3 years down the line I’m riding at least 150 miles a week. Fast 15s and enduring 100s and everything in between.small changes elsewhere and down to just under 13 stone (that had helped me start to run again). The bike changed my life. Don’t watch too much one day cycling but I love the grand tours. I love that routine for three weeks finding time to watch the stage live or the highlights in a routine. And the week long events that build up. Next year mate you really need to watch the classics, one day racing can be absolutely amazing to watch. Trust me. I stick them on don’t get me wrong it’s like cricket I prefer long drawn out tests to exciting smash and grab 20/20
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2018 16:25:39 GMT
Sorry to interrupt guys, but I watch the lot, one day races, spring classics, 4 or 5 day tours, especially the grand tours, and I absolutely love the lot !
The Grand Tours are my favourites and I find that they sort of take over and I almost end up organising my social activity around the coverage (sad I know !).
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Post by salopstick on May 28, 2018 16:43:56 GMT
Sorry to interrupt guys, but I watch the lot, one day races, spring classics, 4 or 5 day tours, especially the grand tours, and I absolutely love the lot ! The Grand Tours are my favourites and I find that they sort of take over and I almost end up organising my social activity around the coverage (sad I know !). I’m usually out on my bike
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Post by Gifton on May 28, 2018 18:35:21 GMT
Sorry to interrupt guys, but I watch the lot, one day races, spring classics, 4 or 5 day tours, especially the grand tours, and I absolutely love the lot ! The Grand Tours are my favourites and I find that they sort of take over and I almost end up organising my social activity around the coverage (sad I know !). Don't get me wrong I love the grand tours, and in particular le tour dominates three weeks for me but I do love a one off race. That said, nothing beats a good mountain stage.
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Post by Clem Fandango on May 28, 2018 19:16:59 GMT
Sorry to interrupt guys, but I watch the lot, one day races, spring classics, 4 or 5 day tours, especially the grand tours, and I absolutely love the lot ! The Grand Tours are my favourites and I find that they sort of take over and I almost end up organising my social activity around the coverage (sad I know !). I'm the same mate. thankfully I work from home a lot so I'm able to tune in most days. Weekends is often where I struggle unless my other half takes my daughter out. The cycling bug for me came out of nowhere. I'd shown little to no interest in the sport (apart from learning about doping as part of an A'level in Sport Science) until a flu bug had me flat out on a sofa for 2 weeks during the 2011 tour. A friend recommend I watch it and he explained on various stages what happened and the tactics etc. I loved that stage where Schleck won with Tommy V going deep to try and retain the jersey. I just love how rock hard they are when you see some of the smashes they have then the next minute they are back on the bike with some sort of wound or broken bone trying to finish the stage/ race.
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Post by Deleted on May 28, 2018 19:56:12 GMT
Sorry to interrupt guys, but I watch the lot, one day races, spring classics, 4 or 5 day tours, especially the grand tours, and I absolutely love the lot ! The Grand Tours are my favourites and I find that they sort of take over and I almost end up organising my social activity around the coverage (sad I know !). I'm the same mate. thankfully I work from home a lot so I'm able to tune in most days. Weekends is often where I struggle unless my other half takes my daughter out. The cycling bug for me came out of nowhere. I'd shown little to no interest in the sport (apart from learning about doping as part of an A'level in Sport Science) until a flu bug had me flat out on a sofa for 2 weeks during the 2011 tour. A friend recommend I watch it and he explained on various stages what happened and the tactics etc. I loved that stage where Schleck won with Tommy V going deep to try and retain the jersey. I just love how rock hard they are when you see some of the smashes they have then the next minute they are back on the bike with some sort of wound or broken bone trying to finish the stage/ race. I'm showing my age now but the first TDF that got me hooked onto cycling was the Laurent Fignon-Greg Lemond battle in 1989 when Lemond won by just 8 seconds overall and he gained the time on the time trial on the final stage in Paris. I used to be a keen cyclist until a badly broken leg, and botched operation gave me a lot of pain. Nowadays it's osteo and rheumatoid arthritis in my leg and knee that stops me so since I took early retirement I make do with watching as much as the missus let's me which to be fair to her is every race that's shown. Absolutely love it, particularly nowadays as we've got a dominant British team and rider.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2018 6:09:04 GMT
A few bits of news.
I see Geraint Thomas crashed yet again this time during the prologue at the Criterium du Dauphine - he doesn't seem to have much luck does he ?
It's also being reported that Chris Froome's Salbutamol case will now not be decided before the TdF after he and Team Sky provided 1500 pages of supporting technical evidence to the UCI. It'll be interesting to see if he's going to be able to ride in the TdF as previously ASO had said they wouldn't let any rider take part if they have an ongoing drugs case.
There's also been news of the TdF stage 17 where it seems riders will be started in waves or groups depending on their GC positions, with the leader and top 20 starting first, and so on. Presumably this is to stop Team Sky or Movistar or whoever dominating the climbs with 4 or 5 domestiques plus the race leader sitting on the front. It'll be interesting to see if the climbers just go for it or if they sit up and wait for their domestiques to regroup as usual.
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Post by Deleted on Jun 4, 2018 6:55:34 GMT
Because he knew Yates would crack but he also thought froome was not really in contention. With hindsight he could have made up those 40 seconds over the course. No way would the well drilled sky machine lose yesterday. Dumolin should and could have been ahead going into yesterday’s stage That sounds like hindsight to me, Yates was looking invincible and Tom nor anyone else could touch him. I did not hear a single voice that suggested that Yates was a a two week wonder. Even halfway through, Team Sky were still not considering Yates to be the main threat as they were so assured he wouldn't go the distance. He went for too many stage wins, too many bonus points and that extra effort takes huge toll... All of which Team Sky were keeping track of. Nobody else was voicing this as nobody else was actually studying Yates' workrate and outputs the way the Team Sky boffins were!
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