Dulwich Hill Bicycle Club

This should be something that Huw would appreciate...

Looking at the finishing sprint in Stage 3 of TdF, CSC's Cancellara was over the hood the whole way and won.

I was just going to post that myself

Just shows that you have be yourself.

I am still amazed by their 60kph uphill finish. I can't even get close to 60kph on the flat.

They can put out a high wattage output for a very short time.

How steep was the finish?

What is the wattage, i think i heard Phil Ligget say it's 750-1000 watts?

I've heard the 1000 watt figure before, but is there actually some data floating around?

I heard someone commenting on a 3% grade for the finish but thought that was for stage 2. Haven't heard any specific data on that stage 3 finish.

Cancellara wasn't sprinting, so hands on the hoods is allowed!! All he was doing was very, Very Fast!!!

Anyway, he's just way too powerful. He did a similar thing in the Tour de Suisse, sprinting for 3rd in the second stage to maintain his lead. The sprints haven't been very predictable so far.

You know i'm not convinced that the quality of sprinting in this years tour is as strong as the last few years when there was the Mcewen-boonen-Petacchi dual taking place. Mcewen's sprint on stage one was absolutely magical, he won from about seventh place and made everyone else look like they were standing still. I'm very impressed with Gert Steegmans as well. I don't think you can detract from his stage 2 victory, he has got an incredible turn of speed & when he used to lead out Mcewen the pair were untouchable. But i am very critical of Quicksteps choice to continue to use Boonen as the number one sprinter in the team. I think Boonen should be leading out steegmans because to win the tour sprints you have to have a good lead out which is certain after Hushovd won last night. And as Steegmans was able to beat Boonen to the line as the leadout it shows Boonen is laking a final kick at present.

Thor Hushovd's win last night was also a great win. I mean i don't think he really has the speed or final acceleration at the moment or should of been able to win but the lead out from Julian Dean was just breath taking. They hit it absolutely perfectly to launch Hushovd. & when you look at the footage you wonder how Robbie Hunter didn't come through & win? He had so much acceleration, but just could get into the right position to execute it. Which just shows why one man cannot win a sprint in the tour de France. & it also shows why the same guys keep winning time & time again event though they lack form. In another race like a Heffron park saturday club race where there's no such thing as a lead out man Hunter would have won from Dean by a few bike lenghts but it's not possible in a team race....

Simon, I thought you said you weren't convinced of the quality of the sprinting? Your passions seemed to be quite clearly aroused by what you've seen this year.

I too was super-impressed at McEwen's win the other night, which I was lucky enough to see live. I've been sad to see that in the last couple of days he's been either complaining of feeling terrible, or just not a contender for the final placings. I've definitely become a McEwen fan and will follow his quest for the maillot vert closely.

Whatever Cancellara was doing, he was doing it right and his hands were on the hoods. Weiyun, I do feel redeemed to some extent.

What I have been impressed so far is how consistent those QS train are always at the front of the bunch driving towards the finish line, and the assistance Boonen is receiving. What happened to Predictor-Lotto? McEwen was assisted to get back up to the peloton in Stage 1 but I have not seen any of his team mates helping him in the last two toward the finish line. Seemed that he has had to struggle all by himself.

Robert Hunter looked to be totally pissed off for coming second in Stage 4. Anyone see the fit of tantrum he had with his right fist/arm after he crossed the line?

Predictor-Lotto have to save a bit to help Cadel Evans win overall. There are quite a few sprinters who aren't going well at the moment, Lampre have swapped from Bennati to Napolitano, Friere had some issues with a cyst, but seems to be just about over it, and there hasn't been any real consistancy shown by the big sprinters.

Hunter was just annoyed with himself for waiting too long, otherwise he would have had the win.

The thing about Robbie McEwen is he doesn't need a lead out train to win & i don't know if he would win if he had a lead out train like that of Quickstep or Milram. The reason being he relies on his kick rather than winding the speed higher than anyone else can, like boonen & particularly Petacchi or what Cipo used to do. With a kick it puts a gap between him & his opponents so that even if they finish with the same top end speed he has a couple metres in advantage by the finish line. His team is much more effective than what you may see. They are organised perfectly to meet McEwen's needs. He has Van Sumeran to keep the pace high so that no attacks go away & Freddie Rodriques to lead him out. He has one leadout man to position him off the pace line so that it is harder for the rest to grab his wheel, then he kicks clear.

If you remember Petacchi a few years ago when he picked up four stage wins, he was just too fast for everyone. He had his train wind up the speed then he would just launch finishing with a speed a couple of kms/hr faster than anyone else could manage & just rode the field off his wheel. of course once he lost bulk to win Milan San Remo, he also lost abit of horse power & the ability to ride everybody else off his wheel but he still does it very effectively. Tom Boonen is similar in his approach to Petacchi however he uses his kick abit more & doesn't need a team as much. While Oscar Friere i think on his day is the fastest man in the world, with one of the best kicks, possiby better than McEwen's, though after how McEwen won the other night i'm not as convinced of that anymore...

That sounds about right!! And look out for Friere winning his 4th World Championships later this year!!!!!