ryder - today's (July 19) TdF

[leftcoaster]

I watched this morning's stage (16) and it was great to see Ryder riding well.

However, when he was in the lead and Edvald Boassan Hagan and Thor Hushovd were chasing him on the decent of the Col de Manse, Hushovd should have been sitting behind Boassan Hagan. But before they caught Ryder, Hushovd, a fellow Garmin rider had taken the lead. What happened to supporting your team.

Hushovd should have stayed behind until Boassan Hagan had pulled into the lead.

Garmin team members have been supporting Hushovd. He did not return the favour.

[jeremy]

Ryder is not a sprinter, if thor didn't go for the win edward boss hoagan (a sprinter) would have beaten Ryder, they played this stage perfectly.
And Thor didn't do any pulling until they caught up to Ryder on the decent

[leftcoaster]

'And Thor didn't do any pulling until they caught up to Ryder on the decent'

That's what should have happened. But Thor moved ahead of Boassan Hagan before they caught Ryder.

[sylvan]

before they caught Ryder, Hushovd, a fellow Garmin rider had taken the lead. What happened to supporting your team. Hushovd should have stayed behind until Boassan Hagan had pulled into the lead.

I didn't see it like that. How many km remaining? I just watched the finale again, because it was so awesome.

• 15.8 km - Hesj and Iggy up the road, Hushovd going easy in the break, watching the others
  15.0 km - EBH starts the bridge, Hushovd follows, Contador attacks way behind
  14.5 km - Hesj drops Iggy
  12.4 km - Hushovd sitting on Boss Hog, 1 km to summit
  11.6 km - Hesj over the summit, Hushovd sitting on Boss Hog, +0'13
  10.0 km - Hesj soft-pedalling the descent, looking back, only about 5" ahead
  9.3 km - Boss Hog passes Hesj and takes Hushovd with him, Hesj drops about 3" back and Sean Kelly says "Hi's Doll not able to follow"
  6.0 km - Hesj back in front by a couple of seconds, Hushovd sitting on Boss Hog
  5.0 km - Hesj, EBH, Hushovd together in that order
  4.1 km - same
  3.8 km - Hesj pedalling pretty hard, EBH tucked in, Hushovd coasting a bit further back
  2.8 km - Hushovd attacks, EBH marks, Hesj follows, EBH counter-attacks
  1.2 km - Hesj pulling from EBH and Hushovd, Hushovd gets the girl, Ryder gets a thank you.

Looked textbook. Ryder gutted himself getting into the break. He MADE the break that finally stuck after two hours of throat-slitting, then crushed Iggy on the climb to go solo, no surprise he was gassed at the end. EBH would have mashed him if Thor wasn't there. Ryder will have another chance tomorrow and Friday to win a stage like the Vuelta stage he won. Thor has no chance in the high Alps.

PM me your address anybody who wants a DVD of the last 2h50' of this stage in hi-def from British Eurosport. Perfect for winter trainer rides

[Dylan J C]

From what I saw it looked like Thor and EBH were working together, although the stage win for for Thor could have been the game plan, and Ryder played his part.