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I missed it...how hard did the rest of Visma work to support Vingo? If not at all, then I reckon they might just do what they did last time and send WvA on crazy missions again. Could be fun!!
I missed it…how hard did the rest of Visma work to support Vingo?
Definitely watch the highlights!
UAE sort of managed to isolate Vingegaard but ultimately, the top 4 on GC then isolated themselves, then formed into uneasy and very temporary alliances.
UAE still have the upper hand with 3 teammates in the top ten (Joao Almeida, Adam Yates and Juan Ayuso in 5th, 8th and 9th respectively) so could potentially use those to put Visma / Vingegaard under pressure but Vingegaard showed he's on a very similar level to Pogacar. And so far, he's not done any attacking, just been following the wheels but he's really only shown very short moments of being in trouble.
That said, I still think JV needs to rely on Pogacar having really quite a bad day at some point, I reckon he's equal but probably not able to drop him to gain time, not without Pogacar cracking.
I think if Pog has UAE defend in the big mountains he should be ok.
https://twitter.com/Domestique___/status/1811075950668390582?t=4_7ErE_qjkGxqje41MRyww&s=19
Expensive bit of kit to be bouncing down the road like that...
Roglic has had his crash now!
But I understand he is getting given the same time as Remco.... Apparently? The 3 km rule applied.
On a stage like that I can't understand why the 3km rule would apply.
Roglic crashes all on his own, and gets given the same time as Remco..........Really?? Having poor skills should be punished.......what a load of buzzcocks.....
No wonder MTB fans take the pi55 out of roadies......
As for Vinebore.....a punctured lung a few months ago, and seemingly as good as ever......Okay....Barely believable.
I broke my sternum and five ribs and was in hospital for over a week with my chest drain. Three months later I was back racing Surrey League. Ok not quite the same level, but he started from a higher level! My only compromise was a wrist splint as I had a plate in it and it had not fully healed.
No wonder MTB fans take the pi55 out of roadies……
A world class mountain biker out on the road earlier 😉
Last year's National Road Race Champion is out - presumably due to sickness. He was dropped quite early on today, credit to him for making it to the finish.
This is the way to do it.......
The look on Pogacar's face on the finish line today was golden.
If that wasn't a feeding problem, Pog has a major headache in every mountain stage from now
If that wasn’t a feeding problem, Pog has a major headache in every mountain stage from now
He does, but his team seems much stronger, not sure Jumbo have the firepower to isolate him. Long way to go but he does have a decent lead already. If UAE back it off and let breaks go up the road can Jumbo get rid of Yates and Almeida to leave Vingago one on one?
There are what, 4 big climbing with long summit finishes left? Yeah i'd agree, UAE will be worried, maybe less if pog ran out of fuel. On that display Visma don't need to isolate Pog, just get Vingo to the bottom of the last climb.
Thunderstorm and heavy rain now at km36 on todays stage, hope it clears up soon!
This is the way to do it…….
> https://www.pinkbike.com/news/video-local-mountain-biker-jumps-over-the-tour-de-france-peloton-for-a-second-time.html
Very coincidental positioning of the Shimano posters in the background!
On that display Visma don’t need to isolate Pog, just get Vingo to the bottom of the last climb.
If Vingago tries to just ride Pog off his wheel when Yates and Almeida are still there by going hard up a long climb he is going to come seriously unstuck.
Sprint day preview from Inrng. 3 * cat 4 bumps then a long rolling run-in to the inevitable sprint finish. Will Cav get another? Tadej is already on 12, will he make inroads on Cav's record? 🙂
https://inrng.com/2024/07/tour-de-france-stage-12-preview-villeneuve-sur-lot/
If Vingago tries to just ride Pog off his wheel when Yates and Almeida are still there by going hard up a long climb he is going to come seriously unstuck.
Not if Pog hasn’t got the legs to follow him. You can lead a rider up a mountain but if they haven’t got the legs they’re not going to hold the wheel (Froome leading / dropping Wiggins in 2012 being an example).
Tadej is already on 12, will he make inroads on Cav’s record? 🙂
I'm just going to say it and duck for cover....
I think pure sprinter stage wins should be a on a different list. Huge amount of respect for what Cavendish does and the bravery of the sprinter (and to win that many you've dragged yourself over enough mountains that you are not built for at speeds amateurs could only dream of just to stay in the time limits). But those riders who win them over in so many different ways are in a different league. Mountain top finishes, finishes at the bottom of a valley after the mother of all ascents then descents, TTs. In '69 Merckx won all the jerseys - yellow, pocka dot, commutativity and green. And 6 out of 22 stages.
No wonder MTB fans take the pi55 out of roadies……
Do they though, or just the MTB riders who think they're awesome and in reality they're probably not. Granted some Pro roadies are highlighted as being poor descenders - in their peer group - but lets be honest, they're not.
In ’69 Merckx won all the jerseys – yellow, pocka dot, commutativity and green. And 6 out of 22 stages.
Different era though - may as well have been a different sport! I think a sprint win is far more difficult than a TT win for example cos there's more to go wrong, more people to beat, more people needed to get it right in the leadout...
I can't see Cav doing it today, not after the lumps at the start and the uphill finish. I'd love to be proven wrong but I think this is one for Girmay.
Not if Pog hasn’t got the legs to follow him
Well clearly, but if my aunty had balls....
If Almeida and Yates are not disposed of it's highly unlikely Pog will be in any difficulty and even less unlikely that Vingago will ride away from them
No wonder MTB fans take the pi55 out of roadies
Most MTB fans don't have a fraction of the bike handling skills of the average pro roadie. It's very easy hurling yourself down a hill with big tyres and 6 inches of suspension. Riding a road bike down a narrow descent like yesterdays at 50+ mph whilst exhausted is a different ball game altogether.
I'll also go with Girmay today, he's been the fastest of the sprinters by some margin this year. If he's in the right place, he wins. Cav was nowhere in the last sprint, but then he might have had a relatively easy day yesterday.
Of course the pros can handle a bike! Five hours a day sat on one, five days a week in training. What is interesting is the disparity in descending. For some, they know it's their competitive advantage. That said, not sure Roglic deserved the same time for that tumble yesterday.
That said, not sure Roglic deserved the same time for that tumble yesterday.
Me neither but the 3km rule is actually in place on everything except summit finishes, has been for years. I didn't realise it either! This year, the Tour has been experimenting with 4km and 5km safety zones, basically to get the GC teams to sod off out the way in plenty of time for the sprinters to do their thing.
My only question would be what happens if a rider takes a fall on their own. The rule says that a crash or mechanical in the final 3km and the "victim" of this unfortunate circumstance gets the same time as the rider(s) that they're with. But what would happen if you were not with any other riders?
https://twitter.com/Domestique___/status/1811335249952997584?t=SdiCfBk2Ujuo6P6i9dafRA&s=19
That's not going to help Cav's chances... ☹️
EuroSport just reporting that Team TotalEnergies had their team truck raided / broken into last night and about 16 bikes taken. 🙁
Getting to the point where race organisers really need to arrange full 24hr police protection for vehicles and kit cos they're easy targets, this seems to happen at every large scale bike race.
Seems to be a fair bit of illness, possibly Covid, doing the rounds within the peloton. Fabio Jakobsen has climbed off, Pello Bilbao is way down and off the back suffering. Obviously Michael Morkov a non-starter.
Bit of a scare for Pogacar earlier, caught up in a minor crash but back up and rolling quickly.
There's an interview with Cav where he claims there's a number of people riding with Covid. I think maybe the Never Strays Far podcast, or The Move (I forget which) mentioned whispers of illness with Remco. Let's hope sickness doesn't become a deciding factor in the race.
Pello climbs off. I'll bet it's COVID and I know how he feels, having been off the bike two weeks. You can't ride sick. Simple. Even when you don't feel so bad, as soon as the taps open and multi W/kg are needed, there is no power and you get off.
My guess is that when the 3km rule was devised they applied it to stages like this to disincentivise pushing it on the downhills to force an error. I don't think it's working as intended here, but if the rules say that the 3km rule applies to this stage then it's only fair to apply it. I suspect that it might spark a revision of the rule, particularly since they're triallng extending it to 5km on some stages.
The rest of the race is looking good. There's huge unkowns going into week 3 as to hoe Pog and Jonas will respond to their respective approaches to the tour. Remco looks unlikely to win but is still keeping himself in the race. Roglič seems off the pace but not that far off that a small change in circumstance might push things more his way.
They've been smashing it - break given no quarter whatsoever, pulled back with just under 40km to go and the bunch still trying to batter it with no real reason. Can tell everyone is getting tired.
Alexei Lutsenko clipped a central reservation and went down, that took out Roglic and a couple of Lotto riders - maybe Arnaud Demare? Arkea rider down too.
Cav seems unaffected so far, he's still up in the front of the bunch.
My team are falling apart! Three out, Number 2 leader is off the back, Cav still in so Caes not getting the breaks...
At least my prediction came good. Cav took a massive deviation to follow Biniam's wheel but no chance of coming round.
My favourite part of France too.
Total chaos, no lead out trains, everyone freelancing.
I was right with my prediction though. 🙂
Today was bad luck! rider on the opposite of the road raised divide, touched the kerb and fell across and under Roglic's wheel. THAT is just plain bad luck. Yesterday was his own making.
Cav will be kicking himself after that one. Was in the perfect position on Biniam's wheel until he decided it wasn't. Did a good job getting there as well.
I think today just displays that run sprinters get that run of confidence.. brilliant display by Girmay
Cav took a massive deviation to follow Biniam’s wheel but no chance of coming round.
A move which earned him nothing more than a relegation from 5th. Unusual case of Cav getting completely the wrong side of the road and the wrong wheel - he ended up totally boxed in. He normally reads sprints better than that.
he used to. I thought Jasper did a good job considering he was in the wind for the whole of the sprint. But Biniam is faster.
Reckon Girmay has a Milan Sen Remo in him, or are the days of a sprinter taking it over?
EDIT I forgot that Philipsen won this year!
But Biniam is faster.
BG is the classic case of someone who needed that initial win to gain his confidence. So often in previous Tours he was there or thereabouts but rarely committing fully to the move.
Now he knows he can do it, he's gained the respect of the peloton which allows him fractionally more elbow room and he and the team believe he can do it. So he does it.
Plus he sounds so lovely in his interviews, like he's still in a dream state and can't quite believe what he's doing, like he's afraid he'll wake up at any moment. Bless him.
Roglic has had his crash now!
That aged well.
Come on, obviously he always has two.....
Millar was talking about BG sprints changing from him going too early to surfing the wheels a bit more this year which has brought him more chances of wins
Today's stage into Pau, one of the most commonly visited towns in the Tour due to its location at the edge of the Pyrenees.
Sort of not quite flat stage today and given how little leeway any breakaway has been given over the last 2 weeks, probably another sprint one.
Much shorter than the previous few days as well.
https://inrng.com/2024/07/tour-de-france-stage-13-preview-agen-pau/#more-44763
Closer look at today's stage. As a former resident I enjoy the stges that start / end in Pau then I can relive my youth, all those years ago...
https://www.cyclingstage.com/tour-de-france-2024-route/stage-13-tdf-2024/
As a former resident I enjoy the stages that start / end in Pau then I can relive my youth, all those years ago…
Elf/Total ?? I enjoyed many a very filling meal at Le Berry while on expenses 🙂
Elf/Total ?? I enjoyed many a very filling meal at Le Berry while on expenses 🙂
No, Turbomeca out at Bordes, though we had friends at Elf and occasionally blagged a seat on their inter-site bus out to St Gaudens. Great staff canteen with pichets of wine (not that I am or was a wine drinker). The french do know how to look after staff culinary needs
Roglic out. Bad news.
Roglic out of Tour - https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/clmy4l2e12ro
Wonder if they have decided it is better for him to refocus on Olympics now?
Roglic out. Bad news.
I said yesterday to a friend that I reckon he would be abandoning. Poor guy has no luck at the Tour. A 4th in 2018 and a 2nd in 2020 (the Covid year) but then DNF in 2021, 2022, didn't ride in 2023 and DNF again in 2024.
But he can win the Vuelta and the Giro. Baffling. Hope he recovers well and can come good at the Olympics.
He does seem to be a bit of "crash magnet" like Geraint Thomas can be sometimes. Shame as i was really looking forward to the big-four tearing it out of each other in a four way battle this Tour
Yay half my team down and out. Poor Rog. Just plain bad luck.
Thats shit for Roglic and it explains why it looked like they were not going all out to get back on yesterday.
According to my internet powers, surprisingly given its nearly always in, Cav has not won in Pau. But he has in Nimes. Just saying.
Regarding "luck", on the never strays far pod they were suggesting that Rog was not slowing while others around him were, just before the impact - the overhead supposedly showed it clearly
Roglic looked to be coming back to form, him and Vingago could have put more pressure on Pog
they were suggesting that Rog was not slowing while others around him were, just before the impact – the overhead supposedly showed it clearly
It did look like he was oblivious to it despite everyone else slowing and moving. He was having his crash before he got to Lutsenko, looked like he "panic braked" whilst trying a late swerve and pitched himself into an OTB, he was going over his bars far enough behind to land on Lutsenko and his bike.
Anyone watching today laugh at some of the radio comms snippets they play, especially the ones from Ineos and their DS ordering them about as if they had the same current status as UAE and Visma, they always seem to put in the effort at the front as if they had the GC, instead of expounding their efforts when it actually counts, maybe to win stages instead. They seem to still think they are top-tier, when their GC results say otherwise, i think to the detriment of allowing individuals like Pidcock to be supported for a few wins...
^^
ITV4 commentary team saying exactly the same thing with an undertone of "what are they playing at?".
I'm on Eurosport, but interesting that they are saying similar, Ineos don't seem to be able to let go of being the top GC team, they need to be honest with themselves and ask that is going to be better, coming 5-6th on GC or winning 1-2 stages, I know which i think is better and more interesting. Plus they have some great riders who have spent years being loyal domestiques like Kwiatoski (Sp?) who could be allowed to go and strike out and have some fun, plus as they down on GC they might be given some rope to play with and not chased down.
The race is averaging 50kph!
OK some of it has been tailwind but there's a lot of talk of crosswinds and teams looking to split the bunch.
ECHELONS!!!
Bring the wind!
Hello - crosswind carnage, anyone ??
Messy sprint with a big crash. Leadout guy drifting back through the melee got clipped and went down, took out Cees Bol and others went down in a domino.
Everyone seemingly OK but Bol took a big hit.
Stage 16 on Tuesday is described in road book as a flat stage, but one which is notorious area for crosswinds, but that is last chance. Final day is a Time Trial in Nice
That’s it for Cav. See who makes the time cut on Sunday and who is not infected! Biniam will retain green.
https://inrng.com/2024/07/tour-de-france-stage-14-preview-pla-adet/#more-44766
A preview that hedges its bets around whether there'll be a breakaway allowed to go to the line or if it'll turn into another GC showdown.
Relatively short day at 153km but a lot of climbing, all backloaded; 4000m total and a summit finish at 1669m
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Tom Pidcock is out with "Covid-like symptoms".
☹️