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The Roar

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The best team beats the best rider

Is the TDF becoming boring? (Image: Sky).
Roar Guru
25th July, 2015
8

What might have been if Quintana had not been on the wrong side of the split in the crosswinds of Stage 2?

This will be the thought in the Movistar camp as the race enters its climax in Paris today.

Prior to the start of the tour in Utrecht, Chris Froome sat down with GCN’s Daniel Lloyd and spoke about the importance and challenges of the first week of the tour. “From the GC riders point of view, you have to get through the first six or seven days before you can even enter the race”. He also went on to say that “you could be minutes down, you could be out of the race.”

While none of the big favourites were forced out of the race, like in the previous two editions due to crashes, there were stages were the favourites did lose time to Froome.

Stage 2 is the main example, as the riders made their way through extreme crosswinds from Utrecht to the coastal town of Zelande.

Team Sky, with their classics riders, including Luke Rowe, Geriant Thomas and Ian Stannard were able to know when the key split was to occur, and they made it.

Also in that group was Contador, who was well marshalled by an experienced Michael Rogers, who in 2013 help instigate a similar move in the crosswind on stage 13, and TJ Van Gardaren, who was helped by strong classics riders Greg Van Avermaet and Daniel Oss.

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On the other hand, Quintana missed the split, as he was poorly positioned. It is one thing to have strong flat land riders like Alex Dowsett and Adriano Malori, but if they do not have the experience to recognise when the split is going to happen, they are pretty much pointless.

One minute and twenty eight seconds was lost on that day. If Quintana was better supported, he would have won the Tour de France.

That being said Movistar used their obvious strength in the mountains to expose a highly worked Sky, who had to control the race during the first week due to Chris Froome wearing the yellow jersey.

Whether it be sending riders in to the break, of having Valverde attack early to force the Sky train to use their numbers to pull the Spaniard back, Movistar found a way to break Sky that not many teams have done at recent Grand Tours.

Their performance should be commended.

Even though Sky had to put so much effort into the first week of racing, it was only in the final two Alpine stages that Quintana could strike. This was not enough time for Quintana to overhaul the deficit that he leaked on Stage 2, and Stage 10, the first Pyrenean stage to the climb of the Saint-Martin.

The key to the Tour is therefore having a well rounded team, full of both quality climbers, and a couple of strongmen on the flat. However, the most important characteristic for these domestiques to have is experience, and great tactical knowledge.

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Even though their man Chris Froome was out raced by Quintana in the last week, Sky were the most consistent team in the race, and only cracked on the final two days. They deservedly won the tour.

However, they will know things could have been very different.

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