Allt annat än en klar seger för Tony Martin i tempoloppet vore en skräll. Undrar om inte Nibali kan bli tvåa på etappen om han satsar på det? Mikkel Condé skriver om uppgörelsen mellan Pinot, Peraud och Valverde om andra-och tredjeplatsen:
http://www.c-cycling.com/sites/tdf14/stage20.html
http://www.c-cycling.com/sites/tdf14/stage20.html
Citat:
Before this time trial there are only 15 seconds between Thibaut Pinot in 2nd place and Alejandro Valverde in 4th place. Jean-Christophe Peraud is two seconds in front of the Spaniard in 3rd place.
On paper, Jean-Christophe Peraud should be the strongest of the three against the clock. As a former mountain biker and French time trial champion, Peraud seems like the prime pick for the 2nd place overall. Last year, Peraud saw his overall chances DISAPPEAR as he crashed in the final corner of the last time trial. Today, he can take revenge and make the biggest result of his career.
To me, the real fight is between Thibaut Pinot and Alejandro Valverde. Many don’t think the young Frenchman can time trial but he’s actually quite good against the clock. He proved this in Tour de Suisse just a few weeks before the Tour when he finished 9th in the final time trial. Pinot has worked hard to improve his time trial skills but I doubt it will be enough to keep his place on the podium. Alejandro Valverde is not a specialist against the clock but he’s very very strong. Last year, Valverde put in 1:16 minutes on Pinot in the long time trial in the Tour and 40 seconds in the Vuelta a España. A week before the Tour de France started, Valverde had won the Spanish national time trial championship nearly one minute in front of number two. He hasn’t been feeling well the last two days in the Pyrenees but he’s still aiming to take back his second place overall. I don’t think he will be able to beat Jean-Christophe Peraud, but I’m confident he will finally make the overall podium in the Tour de France. On the contrary to Pinot, Valverde knows this is his last chance to go for the GC in the Tour. He’s very determined not to let this opportunity slip away.
On paper, Jean-Christophe Peraud should be the strongest of the three against the clock. As a former mountain biker and French time trial champion, Peraud seems like the prime pick for the 2nd place overall. Last year, Peraud saw his overall chances DISAPPEAR as he crashed in the final corner of the last time trial. Today, he can take revenge and make the biggest result of his career.
To me, the real fight is between Thibaut Pinot and Alejandro Valverde. Many don’t think the young Frenchman can time trial but he’s actually quite good against the clock. He proved this in Tour de Suisse just a few weeks before the Tour when he finished 9th in the final time trial. Pinot has worked hard to improve his time trial skills but I doubt it will be enough to keep his place on the podium. Alejandro Valverde is not a specialist against the clock but he’s very very strong. Last year, Valverde put in 1:16 minutes on Pinot in the long time trial in the Tour and 40 seconds in the Vuelta a España. A week before the Tour de France started, Valverde had won the Spanish national time trial championship nearly one minute in front of number two. He hasn’t been feeling well the last two days in the Pyrenees but he’s still aiming to take back his second place overall. I don’t think he will be able to beat Jean-Christophe Peraud, but I’m confident he will finally make the overall podium in the Tour de France. On the contrary to Pinot, Valverde knows this is his last chance to go for the GC in the Tour. He’s very determined not to let this opportunity slip away.
