mtalinm

no, not doping. but I wonder whether the peleton just let Martin go today out of sympathy for Cav quitting on him two days ago & yesterday's near-miss.

they were interviewing someone from Sky who seemed to imply that they didn't try their hardest. if I were riding I would have let him go.

just seems a bit improbable that he pulled that far ahead on a borrowed bike. i hope not!

alathIN

I am absolutely not an expert on the Byzantine world of pro cycling team tactics, but the gist I got was that nobody was really expecting him to jump out like that, and when they saw it happen, none of the other teams were both a) well positioned and b) had a strong motivation to contest it very hard. Ie, they had other fish to fry and didn't want to spend their legs on this stage win.

That doesn't really take anything away from Martin though. Great ride.

Athens80

Sky is happy to see a non-GC rider retake yellow. That saves Froome a little time in the publicity requirements. They intend to have the jersey in Paris and lose nothing by Martin's having it now. Likewise the other three+ GC teams had no reason to pull and then see another team sprint past them for bonus seconds at the line.

It was up to Giant Alpecin and Cofidis to reel in Martin. Combined they couldn't do it.

jyl

Degenkolb only had one teammate left when Martin jumped, Barguil didn't react quickly to chase, and after the race Degenkolb was screaming in rage and Barguil was contrite, per eyewitness reports.

Caretaker

He who dares wins, sometimes.

Sky don't see Tony as a threat to Froome being in yellow in Paris and happy to see EQS take over the responsibility of defending the jersey for a few days.

Tony's yellow is perfectly legit and well deserved.

WCroadie

Hahahaha nice.

Yes his win and yellow is legit. Other than sky and EQS, those other teams definitely wanted a stage win, but they just couldn't catch Tony, or left it too late. There is no way those other teams would give him a win because they felt sorry. His win is definitely deserved and legit.

PepeM

The peloton did let him go (no one actually tried chasing) but definitely not out of sympathy. He just timed it really well and no one was quick enough to react.

merlinextraligh

This

And this.

Sometimes late fliers work. Martins is three time world time trial champion. His time trialing ability, the motivation of being so close to taking the yellow jersey, the dynamics between the GC teams, and sprinters alluded to above, and a well timed jump, gave him just enough margin to pull it off.

Also remember the sprinters' teams did not have the normal full complinent of leadout riders coming off the cobbles.

Graet bike race.

txags92

His win was similar to the type of win a guy like Jens Voigt might have gotten in past races. A well timed move by a good strong rider who wasn't a threat to the GC teams, and nobody left in the front group with both the ability and motivation to catch him. In other words a smart time for a guy like Martin to make the move he did. None of the GC teams want to use their legs leading the peleton all day for the next week as they would be expected to if they were in yellow. None of them were worried about the stage win, Sky wasn't interested in keeping Froome in yellow, and the only sprinter involved didn't have the teammate horsepower left to make the catch.

cthenn

Martin waited for the two Sky guys to be on the front. I think Thomas wanted to chase (I'm sure he could have won, as all Sky riders never get tired), as you can see him quickly switch hand positions, ready to shift and chase. But because it was Martin, who would take the responsibility of yellow away from Sky (and all pacemaking duties), he let him go. In fact, in the post race interview, Thomas said as much, that he let him go.

So, yes, the group, if they were all working together, could have probably gotten back to him, but all of the above factors, plus Giant was probably all spent, he was able to get away.

Leinster

It reminded me a lot of Terpstra's win at Roubaix last year. Big group of favourites, all looking at each other, and a TT expert from one of the teams has a crack. All the sprinters from the other teams look at each other thinking "if I chase, even if I catch him, those guys'll ride me down." And by the time any sort of move is organized, he's already gone.

caloso

This is what I was thinking too. He read the race perfectly, knew exactly what cards he had to play, and timed it perfectly. Great, great bike racing.

Blue Belly

Martin made a great move. It proved to be more strategy than muscle but, that's bike racing. Did you say doping? Why would it matter? It was a great move, & had someone chased, he would have been caught. Then You would have to ask, "were they doping"? It's a rediculous argument because, it was a smart move, not a power issue

Caretaker

No, you did.

You're like a guy locked in a trunk arguing with himself.

Blue Belly

ha!

Peter2290

Completely legit. Great attack by Martin when no one was really willing/expecting to chase.

CharlyAlfaRomeo

Well timed, opportunistic move from a guy with a huge motor. Reminded me of Kwiatkowski's move to win the Worlds last year.

fietsbob

2 time bonuses for 1st doesn't Hurt, though the days crash Does.

dcsix

Tony Martin is just one of those guys who can make a move like that and make it stick. You cannot convince me that a bunch of TDF riders would would feel so badly for him that they would give up their shot-if they had one. Great ride!

Panza

No leadout trains to the finish, yet. Riders cruising about conserving energy for the sprint finish after the next dangerous corners. Tony attacked in World Champion Time Trialist fashion 3km before the finish. The Matteo's is 3 inches shorter than Tony so not much power lost here. They probably figured they'd catch him on the sprint... they were only 75m apart at the finish. My hearts out to his family and him as he gets surgery on that tragic ending yesterday.

shaneh

Tony spanked it in the time trial. He was at the front every day. And he got the jump on a lot of riders when he took the chance and solo'd off. The yellow jersey is about consistently being at the front. He took it in great fashion and absolutely deserved it.