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The theory of a combined french effort isn't that wild but it would still be dependent on one rider being the agreed leader, so is that Pinot or Allaphilipe and what of all the others close to that level? The likes of Bardet riding for a competitor and not stage hunting? If I was Bardets DS (or sponsor!) I wouldn't go for that
I still don't think they'll take Froome, I just can't see it at all.
Bernal
Thomas
Geoghegan-Hart
Castroviejo
Sivikov
Kwiatkowski
Van Baarle
+1, likely Rowe or Amador
Bernal currently has a question mark over him due to injury, I've just seen an article suggesting Ineos could replace him with Carapaz.
I think Sivakov will be leader for the Vuelta, with Carapaz heading up the Giro team as reigning champ
The theory of a combined french effort isn’t that wild but it would still be dependent on one rider being the agreed leader, so is that Pinot or Allaphilipe and what of all the others close to that level? The likes of Bardet riding for a competitor and not stage hunting? If I was Bardets DS (or sponsor!) I wouldn’t go for that
The cooperation will only happen if/when stage or GC hopes are gone for others. As happened in the Dauphiné. Once they had nothing to lose, and Pinot had everything to gain, off they went.
Carapaz for Bernal due to injury makes sense. Thomas is clearly not on the kind of form that could win it, Froome I've mentioned above which leaves a very young Sivikov or Geoghegan-Hart
I agree with the concerns that Jumbo may have peaked a bit soon, also its not just the dauphine, WvA has been smashing 1 day results too so may not be quite so useful come the tour. However I guess hes used to recovering very quickly from past cx schedules.
I just can't see Ineos being that far off the pace, they were talking about having just done a big training block, surely a big part of their dauphine performance can be put down to fatigue.
Team Ineos for TDF . No Thomas, he’s going to lead at the Giro, no Froome, he’s leading the Vuelta.
Andrey Amador
Egan Bernal
Richard Carapaz
Jonathan Castroviejo
Michal Kwiatkowski
Luke Rowe
Pavel Sivakov
Dylan van Baarle
Video on the INEOS Twitter feed
Well thats big news!
At least I wont feel conflicted supporting Team Fracking! So I can support...Bahrain...no...Isre...nope....UAE...nope....floors floors they are always ok go Alaphilipe...must learn how to spell that!!
Who are what are AG2R or Mondials? Can I support Bardet?
Not sure I can go with Astana and all the baggage they have.
Dropping Froome was not much of a surprise but didn't expect G to miss out too
Ineos showing again they take a logical approach to selection. Thomas and Froome clearly off the pace. It suddenly looks a strong team, compared to what they could have gone in with.
As for who to support - how may of the Yates quads are riding? And if it's only one, what name will they use?
Well well.. that's both a shock and a disappointment.
Very much the changing of the (Grenadier) guard(s).
At least we have Caven.... oh...
Sam Bennet...
As said above, it suddenly looks like a stronger team without Thomas and Froome.
Bernal was close at The Dauphine, Castro looked strong as did Sivikov.
Only question is that you've got 2 of the main road captains in the same team (Van Baarle and Rowe), you wonder who'll be in charge at the Giro/Vuelta.
As for who to support – how may of the Yates quads are riding?
Forgot about them!! What is a Mitchleton?
I’ve got a Mitchleton but I don’t use it very often.
I’ve got a Mitchleton but I don’t use it very often.
You need an Orica and a Green Edge to make the best use of it!
@anagallis_arvensis , if you are choosing based on the sponsor, then EF Education First is pretty credible. Plus it matches your profession.
I’ve got a Mitchleton but I don’t use it very often.
You probably bought the wrong size.
Plus it matches your profession.
I hate teachers, bunch on whiny, leftist moaners 😉
Who rides for them Uran?
AG2R La Mondiale is Insurance.
Michleton-Scott: Michleton is Wine.
For GC,long list would include Uran, Daniel Martínez (won the Dolphiny), Sergio Higuita.
Hugh Carthy may ride for them too if you want a Brit to follow.
EF Education First is pretty credible
Dani Martinez looking racy.
Michleton is Wine.
We have a winner!!
A large glass of Mitchleton please
EF Education First
Plus EF Education First have a great YouTube channel, shame Lachlan Morton doesn't seem to race TDF?
I would have happily supported JV for Wout Van Aert, but now that he's a proven winner rather than an heroic third placer it just seems too obvious a choice.
Team EF it is I think, better get a knock off team kit since I can't afford the official Rapha stuff! 😁
can't see froome leading odious into the Vuelta, it'll be Bernal as head boy.
Interesting to see/hear the different reactions by Thomas and Froome.
Froome seems happy enough that his levels aren't there and he's not going.
Thomas seems gutted on a vid he's just posted on Twitter.
What are Froome and G even going ride to get match fit for a grand tour ? it's pretty thin on the ground in terms of stage racing.... Tirreno-Adriatico i guess some big one dayers before the vuelta Amstel & flanders
Not sure I can go with Astana and all the baggage they have.
It's OK, they are Swiss now.
I know he's with Trek but I'm going for Richie Porte 🙂
I like Carapaz though, came across quite well in the Movistar series that's on Netflix.
I know he’s with Trek but I’m going for Richie Porte 🙂
well, if he can actually finish that's the first step... Poor bloke doesn't have much luck!
Yeah, Richie Porte would be a deserved winner except he seems cursed in terms of luck at the Tour.
I think good move by Ineos to drop the two previous winners as they're not quite on form and to load up with a couple of more pure climbers.
This year's route has loads of early mountains so I wouldn't be surprised to see carapaz or simakov sent off early to force others to chase..
That said I don't think either Bernal or Roglic will win
I don't really care as long as we get a race, something like the giro with Big tom trying not to lose too much time to Niro so he can "snatch it" with the last days time trial. Can see the same with Roglic hanging on up Cote de loze and winning on the penultimate days ITT upto La Planche Belles Filles. Actually thinking about it that TT is very much like the 2017 Bergen world champs TT course where Tom Dumoulin mullered the opposition (nearly a minute on second placed Roglic) and very nearly chased down Froome on the course. (plus or minus 400 m 😀 )
Good old Tour for it's Soap like drama.
Ritchie Porte does seem to be unlucky, that crash he had 2017 was pretty horrific.
can’t see froome leading odious into the Vuelta, it’ll be Bernal as head boy.
I can't see any leaders doing two tours this year given the compressed calendar.
I don’t really care as long as we get a race,
Pretty much my default stance. I just enjoy watching a good race.
I don’t really care as long as we get a race,
+1
Also some cool stuff happening like a random domestique winning a big stage almost by mistake.
Interesting to see how it plays out for Jumbo. Dauphine was possibly an eye opener for the other teams but it was a complete climber-fest for all the stages. Might need a different mix if they are to cover the sprint stages too as they'll have plenty of strong teams hammering away for the stage result rather than pootling aloong waiting for the final climbs. Easy to get on the wrong end of a cheeky gap forming late on.
Plus three week tour is a whole different beast to the shorter one last week (ask a certain Mr Yates about 2/3 of the Giro a while ago....)
Inneos possibly still slight favourites, though more from experience than particular form. Roglic pulling out of the final stage must be a bit worrying - probably just a bit sore/stiff after that crash so there was either something more to it, or he's full on Le Tour this year as you don't pass up being the winner of the Dauphine too readily I'd say.
The only thing I wish for in this race is Ned Boulting getting his head out of Valverde and Quintanas collective arses this year.
Excuse my ignorance, how many Brits are racing now?
Big loss for FSJ* Roglic, that.
*Former ski jumper. What? Didn't you know?
*Former ski jumper. What? Didn’t you know?
In much the same way that Phil Liggett used to bang on and on and on about former MTBers.
I actually really like the Boulting / Miller commentary duo, they've got a really good working rapport, some good info and out of all the TdF commentary I've grown up with, far and away the best.
Liggett got appalling towards the end, a stream of meaningless cliches. Hugh Porter was very similar in domestic racing commentary.
Boulting and Miller are fine, but for me, the sound of the Tour is Kirby and Kelly or Rob Hatch. I know they wind others up but I think, particularly on boring stages, there is no-one better.
[Kelly]Maa-kin' de cal-coo-laaation[/Kelly]
Yeah, they're more of an acquired taste but I can watch it quite happily on EuroSport or ITV4.
It got to the point in Tour Series / Tour of Britain where I actually couldn't listen to Hugh Porter.
"He's such a strong rider!"
- wow, really? An Elite rider in a UCI team doing a tough stage race is "a strong rider"? Gosh, thanks for the clarification there Hugh.
"And looks at the SPEED!"
- Yes Hugh, I can see the speed, it's the final 10km of a bicycle race. Perhaps you could tell me who the riders are, the teams they're in, who they're working for, the tactics being used...? No?
I mean, I'm not saying I could do any better but when their entire 4hr commentary of a stage consists of the same 10 stock phrases, it's an open goal for criticism.
if i had a choice of commentary, i'd take Dutch (or Russian) even though I don't understand a word of it.
Boulting and Millar every time for me - the juxtaposition of some random Boulting stream of conciousness about a historical rider/chateau/road sign/long gone team and Millar interupting with some useful bit of tactical info about whats happening right now, all wrapped up by a few acerbic comments from Imlach at the end.
Imlach is a star.
Carlton Kirby is OKish but I get a bit miffed by some of his stock comments and attempts at wit. I quite like Rob Hatch, King Kelly and Brian Smith. Boulting/Millar are still the best for me. i've enjoy some of the drop in guests ITV have had too - Pete Kennaugh and Adam Blythe's shirts.
Kruijswijk might not be too much of a loss for Jumbo. They’ve replaced him with Amund Grøndahl Jansen who’s a big heavy Rouleur. That takes some of the pressure off Tony Martin and frees up WVA to do, well, just about anything it seems.
Will miss Stevies big ol shoilders though
Re the commentary. I agree about Boulting & Millar. The latter's insights are usually spot on. Kirby and Hatch are good too but Kelly's monotone mispronunciation gets very annoying. There's only so many times I can put up with "Primoz Rojlick".
Boulting/Millar for me too. There seems to a genuine chemistry there to get through the boring bits, and Millar (whatever you think about him) has a real talent for reading a race and also then being able to articulate it in a relatable way.
All without a single "suitcase of courage" being mentioned!
Carlton Kirby is OKish but I get a bit miffed by some of his stock comments and attempts at wit.
what like this pearler from last week
You know what happens to cucumbers when you put them in the microwave. They blow up.
Kelly’s monotone mispronunciation
Fugel-sang...
Yeah but then we also have the spanish/french/italian pronunciation of EVERYTHING !!
There was a Japanese guy in the bunch the other day who actuallly sounded Italian by the end of it !!!
Boulting & millar are the best pair for me, but rob hatch comes in a close second.
Once you’ve tuned into Sean kelly he’s pretty good and I’m a big fan of his pronunciation. He calls Caleb Ewan ‘Cal Balloon’.
I'm starting to feel we may not be getting a TdF this year - at least not one that completes the course. Lots of good questions being asked here.
https://cyclingtips.com/2020/08/the-tour-de-france-starts-next-week-but-should-it/
The tour will end for "safety" reasons the very day a French rider gets into yellow.
Covid does change the dynamic a bit, you prob want to take yellow early and try to hold it rather than wait till later in case it gets cancelled and you don't get your chance.
it does seem to be heading that way given rate of increase of cases across europe.
Not looking too promising.. I hope we get to see them race up the Col de la Loze as it sounds crazy, but as thats stage 17 it may be dubious.
Kelly’s monotone mispronunciation gets very annoying.
Ah but you can't deny Kelly is very performant.
https://inrng.com/2020/08/tour-de-france-2020-guide/
The always excellent Inrng blog has just gone live, this is a sort of overview of the route, what to expect and so on. Worth bookmarking for the duration as they do a review of each day and s look forward / prediction for the following day.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/53867606
BBC about Cav being left out of the Bahrain-Merida Tour squad.
No surprise about Cav, he’s been off pace for a good few years and is known as a bad trainer, he loves to race so I can’t imagine he’d have come off lockdown ripped.
I think this year's tour will be quite relaxing for me to watch. I don't really care who wins now that Froome and Thomas aren't riding (no argument with that decisions btw) and it will be interesting to see who comes into it now fit and well.
Breaking news...Adam Yates to Ineos.
BBC about Cav being left out of the Bahrain-Merida Tour squad.
Not surprised that Cavendish isn't there. It's a shame he's not up to it, but he clearly hasn't got the form.
I am surprised that BM are going all-in for Landa on GC. By which I mean I'm always surprised that Landa wants to go for GC - I don't think he's ever seemed happy in a GC race and he would clearly make an EXCELLENT stage hunter/one day racer.
I'm trying not to think too much about if the tour will finish or go ahead. I've been enjoying watching the bike races so much this past month.
I was just thinking about the everlasting Giro trophy and wondered about an everlasting bike race. It could have "rest periods" at times of high pandemic activity then restart afterwards, have intermediate prizes along the way but never really end.
Breaking news…Adam Yates to Ineos.
interesting one, he's a team leader @ ms will he be @ odious ?
Now this will be funny, teams have spent years being able yo get riders to avoid testing positive for other stuff I'm sure this wont be a problem!!
🤣
https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-2020-the-contenders/
Looks about right to me, although I still think Martin or Lopez could spring a surprise.
although I still think Martin or Lopez could spring a surprise.
Now that would be a surprise.
It won't be a rider who tests positive, it will be a mechanic, chef or someone else in the team out in contact with the great unwashed. Can't see past Roglic myself. And although Millar was a miserable sod when I asked him to come out of the bus to sign my two sons' 2012 Olympic cycling jerseys in Chartres (can't think why 😉 ), I really enjoy his insightful commentary.
I think Roglic peaked too soon and will not have it for the whole 3 weeks.
My prediction is if it goes to the end then Pinot will soldier it out and win by a whisker
No way it will go to the end though, so it could be any of the above, or someone else, it is wide open really
Saw on one of the cycling news sites that Roglic starting is still in dobut after his injury.. fingers crossed he does
Week 1 jumbo smash fest
WvA in yellow Stage 1,
Stage 2 has 2 Cat 1 climbs, although early on, i expect the Jumbo Train to blow the peloton to bits here,
Stage 3 controlled
Stage 4, time to be taken up the final climb maybe
Stage 8 - Nairo
Stage 15 - Bernal
Stage 17 - Bernal into yellow
Stage 20 TT up the Beautiful Girls, anything could happen, lets go Dumoulin, Roglic, Pinot, Bernal in that order
who wins? no idea, time bonus could win it
Inrng have published their preview too, interesting readin https://inrng.com/2020/08/tour-de-france-2020-guide/
I would say I can hardly wait for stage 17, it looks AWESOME, but I do wonder if it will get that far...