I've got a question re: breakaways. In the last couple of sprint stages, the breakaway have had a ~30s lead with say 20km left to go. Both times I noticed in commentary that they've said the peloton doesn't want to catch the breakaway yet. Why? I can understand they don't want to waste energy reeling them in as they'll be caught eventually, but the way they talk about it in commentary is if they're deliberately maintaining the gap.
Pro Cycling Discussion 2017
- Thread starter Jonny69
- Start date
They do leave them dangling and choose to do so.
Once the break is caught then it is up to a team to take up duties and nobody wants to do that until they choose to.
On the sprint stages the team will know who they have for leadout both from numbers and strength POV. It's this that will determine how far out they want to be to form their leadout and take up duties of driving the race for their sprinter.... Of course, as soon as one team decides this, the other teams have to then commit and throw out their leadout and it's at this point you see the breakaways doomed fate occur amongst all the leadouts trying to dictate the front of the bunch and it all getting a bit chaotic.
When the breakaway makes it, this is pure error on behalf of the sprint trains for the teams. Either left it too late, or something like a crash occurs at the latest moment and shatters the bunch behind meaning trains are waiting for riders rather than chasing down and they simply run out of time.
It's really not a case of them not wanting to expend energy as it really is not such a done deal that they'll always get caught. The bunch absolutely has to put the work in to catch the break, but they just want to do it as efficiently as possible.
Soldato
Nobody wants to attack out of the main peloton when there is already a breakaway in front. As soon as the break is caught, riders will start to think about attacking. If the break is caught with 5-10k to go, it's easy for the sprinters teams to hold the pace very high for that time so that nobody can go any faster and attack. If they catch the break with 20-30k still to race, they wouldn't be able to hold the pace high enough for that distance to stop more attacks.
It's much easier to chase down a break of tired riders who have been out front alone for 150-200k than it is to catch a break of fresh riders who've just got away in the final 30k.
Soldato
To add to that, there's also the fact that half of the teams don't actually want to catch the break.
Team Sky, for example, need to keep the break fairly close to defend Froome's yellow jersey but it's much safer for them if the break wins by a few minutes and the rest of the bunch rolls slowly over the line behind them.
Team Sky, for example, need to keep the break fairly close to defend Froome's yellow jersey but it's much safer for them if the break wins by a few minutes and the rest of the bunch rolls slowly over the line behind them.
Soldato
How on earth was it possible to call a winner in today's sprint?
I guess Tissot have some higher quality / more accurate software than the majority of internet armchair timekeepers out there?
Soldato
It was a genuine question as to how they decided a winner when it all but looked a dead heat as all the photo finish pictures doesn't really say otherwise either. Not sure it deserved a sly dig?
Soldato
I'm not convinced by that.
I guess it's possible they could have better quality images but it doesn't make sense that they would release the lower quality ones to the broadcasters and not give access to the other images. And I cant think of any other "line timing" technology that would be more accurate? The transponders on the bikes certainly wont be.
Soldato
http://www.velonews.com/2017/07/tour-de-france/figure-won-stage-7_443075
Good read if you want to understand it. I have seen a few people arguing that at some point you should just be able to call it a draw though, when the precision you can measure is greater than the variation in things like the angle of the finish line and the camera itself. It's a move they made in swimming, could be a debate worth having.
Good read if you want to understand it. I have seen a few people arguing that at some point you should just be able to call it a draw though, when the precision you can measure is greater than the variation in things like the angle of the finish line and the camera itself. It's a move they made in swimming, could be a debate worth having.
Soldato
Struggling to get into the Tour this year possibly because the parcours is awful. Good ride from Calmejane today though.
Soldato
Love it when a breakaway makes it, bunch sprints are so boring normally.
Soldato
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You think? It's been slow burning so far with lots of sprint stages but the next two weeks are full on interesting routes that aren't just sky train up the biggest hill to finish. Like today
No offence intended. I just saw the other media comments about it and thought it was a bit crazy how everyone seemed to think they could read the photo better than the tech team. It does seem weird they decided to release a photo at all though.
Soldato
Hell of a stage.
Soldato
Hope Porte is OK that looked awful, he really is an unlucky guy 
Associate
no update for an hour from bmc about the crash.
I dunno how he managed it, why was he so far left and into the rough edge?
Its like he just wasnt looking where he was going and cut the corner?
I dunno how he managed it, why was he so far left and into the rough edge?
Its like he just wasnt looking where he was going and cut the corner?
Soldato
I was thinking the same, however he managed it, it looked awful.
Soldato
Apparently he had to brake to avoid someone in front of him, and Martin said in an interview that his rear wheel locked up.
Soldato
That looked really bad, I thought initially he was trying to do what Froome did to him in the Dauphine and cut in on the inside of someone but he took such a big chunk out of the corner that it must have been something else.
Gutted for G as well but what is with him this year? Any reason for him to come off his bike and he'll be off it .