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Chris Froome proved to me today that he will win the tour. Contador and the others fell away. I don't think there's enough climbing left to really take time out of Froome.
I wonder if Froome emptied his tank today, he certainly looked it. At the end he didn't look like a man under control, he looked desperate to finish. To stick enough time between himself and his rivals.
I don't think Froome will win with the margin he has. I think it will shrink a little. If any of the contenders have anything left, they will throw everything they have at Sky and try to dismantle the machine. If he truly did gas out, then all he can do is hold the wheels until the end. Which really is all he needs to do.
So congrats to Froome. Job well done. I'll be honest, not a fan of his. I don't think it's that I wanted to see him fail as much as I didn't want him to win so easily. Maybe my own selfish reasons for wanting excitement in the tour. This feels like we're going to slide to the end with Froome comfortably not having to "work" anymore for his win.
Unless he feels like pulling a Lance Dopestrong move and continue to decimate the field... Just to prove a point.
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On another note, "F**king Quintana. That creep can roll." I just love watching him ride off the front of the peloton. Effortless. He's young, and hopefully has a lot of climbing left in those legs to continue to light up the tour in the mountains. A few years of experience and he'll start riding smarter races.
I think my excitement really stems from the idea of making the polka dot jersey relevant again. What this tour has lacked, in my opinion since Richard Virenque, is a pure climber. Granted Verinque may have been on dope, but he wasn't going for the yellow jeresey.
Quintana may be it for the next few years. While I love this kid, I don't think he'll ever be a yellow jersey contender. The G.C. men have always been adequate climbers and top time trial guys. Quintana seems too slight to be good against the clock. Once the road turns up however, he just seems to sprout wings. It's truly a joy to watch.
The green jersey has gotten a bit of a make over in recent years with the changing of the points tally in the intermediate sprint. Perhaps the ASO can do something to make the polka dot jersey more competitive. I think the biggest problem is bonus points awarded for the last climb and for mountain top finishes. I think all rated climbs should have the same exact point values. G.C. riders are always going to try hard on the last climb and one of them are, more often than not, going to win the stage. And thus the highest point tally on the day. Today was a perfect example with Froome moving into the polka dot jersey solely because he won the stage.
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In terms of our pool, if the tour ended today the standings would be as follows:
Derek would win because Contador finishes third.
Marc - Rodriquez (8th)
Manny - Martin (11th)
Arnold - Valverde (15th)
Dave - Evans (16th)
Dan - Porte (26th)
Tom - Van Garderen (47th)
Kevin - Pinot (52nd)
Blaine - Taaramae (89th) FYI - Peter Sagan, a sprinter, is ahead of you at 68th place.
Craig - Froome in first regulates you to last of the finishers
Toby - Van Den Broeck (DNS stage 6th)
I think this will be the final tally unless someone else fails to start or finish a stage.
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Tomorrow I'll work on a rest day recap of the week I missed. There was a lot to talk about, all of which now seems irrelevant, but exciting at the time.
Happy riding.
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