Velominati Super Prestige: Tour de Suisse

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• No blame there, a true racing crash. both had their heads down and heading for the line, unfortunately they were both heading in opposite directions and rode into each other.

  @Steampunk
  Oscarito did a pretty good job getting the bike stopped so he didn't come down, but Flecha went through that gap like he was threading a needle, or perhaps, like an arrow (I'll get my coat).

  Looking at the crash again, I'd attribute that crash to modern cycling technology. Cav veers to the left but Haussler then twists to the right and actually rides into Cav's front wheel, effectively steps in his foot. Cav's deep-section front wheel folds and this tucks the bike under him and tips him into the tarmac, Haussler then trips over Cav's bike. Would it have happened if they were on traditional/old-school 32-hole rims?

• Oh and because Rogers has dubiously gone training at altitude:
  Tony Martin - Suisse is a good race for a future champion to win
  LL Cool Sanchez
  Mick RogersTommy Lovkvist
  Gilbert the Great
  Joaquin Rodriguez

• Jeeeeeeez. Burger making on an industrial scale...nothing worse than a full superman over the bars. Agree with the sentiments that that was just an accident though.

  @Jarvis - like what you did there ;)

• @Jarvis

  No blame there, a true racing crash. both had their heads down and heading for the line, unfortunately they were both heading in opposite directions and rode into each other.

  Yeah, both had their heads down, as do most sprinters, whether that's a good idea or not. Saying sprinters should have their heads up during an all-out sprint is kind of like telling drivers they should sneeze with their eyes open.

  I still maintain it's all Cav; Haussler does twitch right before they go down, but Cav actually turns his wheel into Haussler's path right at the moment he twitches, and Haussler's sweet-ass Cervelo plows over Cav's front wheel, as shown here:

  All in all, the crash would never have happened if Cav had held his line in the first place and as such he's clearly in the wrong, but I agree it was just two bike riders going for the line and running into each other. It happens.

• I have to say, we (I) are getting very close to armchair quarterbacking here. Lets review the following insightful film to refresh our collective memory that we are not racing on the ProTour and as such should perhaps reserve judgment.

• Cavendouche. That's all.

  So Dodger out, Martin in please...

  1: Dodger; He knows he will never win Le Tour, so will put it all on the line for another 'big' win.Tony Martin
  2: GaySink; just so I could say that.
  3: The Eggtimer; He was shit at ToC, he'll be shit at TdF, and he'll bore everyone into submission here, taking time in the cronos, and hanging on like a turd on a blanket in the hills.
  4: F Schluck; coming into a little bit of form, but still saving it for July. Or maybe just not good enough... calling Dr Fuentes, training plan please.
  5: Bruseghin; Can TT, that's about all he'll need to do

• Pure racing crash. Having witnessed several TdF sprints on the finishing line, they are fucking frightening.

• folding that carbon wheel hurt about as much as any road rash...I hate seeing good equipement go to the trash heap

• Sigh. I'm not armchair quarterbacking. I may be high school varsity quarterbacking and not NFL quarterbacking, but I am actually quarterbacking. The sacred rule has been handed down to me from first class sprinters. And it's one I practice continually. And, it's false that asking a sprinter to keep his head up is like asking a driver not to close his eyes while sneezing. Most of them manage it.

  Steegemans with beautiful technique on the Champs.

  Cippollini with his head up the entire way. Just a beautiful sprinter. Go to the slow mo at the end.

  Cavendish has head down for a moment, captured in the one frame posted. His technique is this and has been for a long time. He has his head up, and looking forward, as he should for like 4 or so pedal strokes. Then, for a brief moment he looks down and then quickly back up. Then his head is up for another 4 pedal strokes. That's fine. He can see where he is going doing that, since his head is only down instantaneously. Some other sprinters will do this as well. You can see some of them fighting hard to look up and managing it, except for Haussler. Some of them have trained themselves to have their heads up the entire time, as they should.

  Haussler has head down for his entire sprint, and when he starts moving off his line into Cavendish, his head is deeply buried in his lap. At the end of a sprint at high speeds, most are going to have tunnel vision of some sort. And what's left of your visual field usually starts wobbling all over the place as well.

  What is this, a blame Cavendish cabal, because he's actually Cavendouche?

• "I didn't see Cavendish coming," Haussler said. "He drove into my wheel and before I knew it, I went down and was lying on the ground. I could have won the stage today."

  Big surprise there. Heh. "He drove into my wheel". Cavendish will have some things to say about that, I'm sure.