re: 2015 Tour de France Thread

quote:

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Let's talk about the stage that determined the tour.....stage 2, the flattest stage of all time. That's disappointing.

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Froome also whipped Quintana in stage 10, when he beat him on a climb by 1:04.

It sure looked like Quintana was stronger in the later mountain stages, but maybe Froome was being conservative and making sure he did not blow up. He hinted at that in an interview about the impact of stage 2.

LINK

"When asked if Quintana was stronger on the climbs, and how much the stage 2 echelons affected the race, Froome demurred."

“If I didn’t have quite an advantage, maybe the race would have been different. Maybe we would have been more aggressive on other climbs,” Froome said. “People can give ‘what ifs,’ but that was the way it turned out. Nairo pushed me all the way to the end. He’s chosen his moments well. Chapeau to him.”