Kišerlovski Crash ! We were speaking to Vik, the other day. We shan’t use the word which he did to describe Brad’s opponents on the road to Limoux, but it wasn’t complimentary.
After yesterday’s display, it’s hard to disagree; whilst there was drama at the end with Brajkovič’s crash – more of which later – when we drove the course it seemed to us a perfect opportunity for Nibali and his descending skills.
There was little valley road between the technical descent off the first col and the second climb; the second climb was steep, narrow, over-run with hyper fans and very difficult to organise a chase on; whilst the near-40 K from the top of the second col to the finish was virtually downhill all the way.
But there was no ‘exploit’ from Vincenzo – but perhaps he’s happy to defend his podium place?
Today is a transition stage, tomorrow is a rest day and a refreshed Wiggins only has to cling on two more days in the mountains before we’re back to a sprinters’ stage and then the TT, where he’ll blast even more time in to the rest.
If Vik – and we – are proved wrong and the two stages in the Pyrenees see Brad under huge pressure, we’ll be delighted – but it’s hard to imagine.
And whilst we’re not generally into the ‘conspiracy theories’ – what was Luis Leon Sanchez saying to Peter Sagan as they ground up the Mur de Peguere?
We watched the ascent on the big screen TV just over the top of the Mur and were puzzled by their exchange – Sagan was coming back up after initially being distanced by Casar’s aggression on the ramp.
Maybe there’s nothing in what we’re saying – but it would be interesting to know what they were actually chatting about.
But on the other side of the coin, was it really a conspiracy with the punctures?
Having spent my life in the building trade I can’t remember how many times I’ve seen van doors opened and nails, glass, paint spilled out on to the road – the reaction from the perpetrator is usually a shrug and a half hearted attempt to tidy up.
Perhaps it’s as simple as that – or was it a Sandy Casar fan trying to help his boy on his way?
The Tour organisation says it’s unlikely we’ll ever know; and that’s true, yesterday’s Tour drama is just that – yesterday’s.
Unless it’s the Froome saga, that is – or should we say ‘Froome Dog?’
One thing we’re with Lance on, is that half-baked nicknames make me cringe; the French are the worst with ‘Pin Pin’ – Pensec, ‘Du Du’ for Durand and so on, ad nauseum.
Bruyneel, who, whatever your opinion of the man knows more about winning Grand Tours than just about anyone on the planet had this to say:
“Froome was also better than Wiggins at the Vuelta last year (the ‘Dog’ was second to ‘Wiggo’s’ third) and at that time he received many proposals from different teams.
“But he chose to sign a new, big two-year contract to ride at the side of Wiggins.
“Since that day he knew that he would need to ride this Tour for Bradley. The situation that Sky finds themself in is extremely comfortable.
“If Wiggins cracks, there is Froome.
“But I can’t see Bradley falling through the ice.”
For us, that sums it up; one of the definitions of a professional is; ‘a person who is paid to undertake a specialized set of tasks and to complete them for a fee.’
Froome’s ‘specialized task’ was to help Wiggins win the Tour – period.
The other factor in this Tour is that the press have to find headlines, and apart from French glory and Sagan’s antics, there’s little to write about, now that Wiggins is firmly ensconced in yellow.
Maybe it’s because I’m from a soon-to-be-extinct generation, but we really don’t care about Wiggin’s and Froome’s spouses twitter exchanges.
‘But what did you do, yesterday?’ we hear you say.
We drove the parcours; as we’ve said before, we’re as much about transporting the readers to France as we are talking racing – and the only way to get the best parcours and fan pics is to drive the course.
But at the top of the Peguere we spotted a big screen TV and burger stall – ‘arrêté!’ as we say en France.
It was a wise move; we try to avoid using the word ‘literally’ – but a nasty crash happened literally at Martin’s feet.
Janez Brajkovič punctured – a victim of ‘tack gate’ – and Robert Kišerlovski stopped to give him a wheel.
In the heat of the moment, he pulled up too quickly. Levi Leipheimer was on his wheel, couldn’t avoid him and cannoned straight in to the wee Croatian.
Both were pretty badly knocked about – and it reminds you what a tough sport this can be, as Kišerlovski sat on the floor, cried in pain and held his shoulder… minutes later, his race over, he climbed painfully into the ambulance.
It also reminded us why riders like Brajkovič are team leaders, there wasn’t a word or a look for his stricken team mate, it was a case of; ‘well, he’s out, best change the wheel myself.’
Check out this sequence – we were right there, folks.
