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The race goes to wine country - Bordeaux has hosted the Tour more than any other city except Paris and today is the 81st visit. That said, it's not been here since 2014 when some sprinter called Mark Cavendish won... Same (or very similar) finish today, wide long boulevards so characteristic of this town.
This is the flattest stage of the whole Tour with only a very minor 4th Cat climb with about 40km to go.
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Today is very much one for a fruitless breakaway, a steady roll through a hot day out and the cameras searching for churches and chateaux to break up the initial slow build up. Fortunately, there's plenty of that and the Tour takes a slightly different route to normal, alongside the Garonne river for a bit which breaks up some of the mass of forest views and vineyards.
[img] https://img.aso.fr/core_app/img-cycling-tdf-jpg/et7-slr-gironde-1-resultat/44779/0:0,1200:800-600-0-70/e7623 [/img]
In the meantime there's a discussion yesterday's thread as to exactly how stupid Jumbo are / are not... 😉
Picks for today?
Jasper Philipsen (Alpecin-Deceuninck), greatly aided by leadout weapon of MvdP is looking very much the one to beat.
Mark Cavendish (Astana-Qazaqstan) is probably the heart pick for most people although whether he's the head pick remains to be seen - he's been consistent (5th and 6th) so far but not *quite* there...
Phil Bauhaus (Bahrain-Victorious) has also been consistent - 2nd and 3rd but never the victorious part of his team name.
Normally you'd think that Fabio Jakobsen (Soudal-Quickstep) would be a shoe-in for this but he's looked in a bad way after his big crash at Nogaro and two tough days in the Pyrenees.
And depending on how WvA is feeling after his heroic / stupid* turn on the front yesterday, he's not shy of getting stuck in on a sprint finish.
*delete as applicable
I'll have Caleb today just to be somewhat different.
heart says Cav
head says Jasper
more imagery from yesterday
Caleb just needs a tiny bit of luck, his lead out train gets mangled in the chaos of the recent sprint finishes and then he keeps getting boxed in the final sprint, he's clearly got the speed.
I'd like Bauhaus to win 'cos he's got a cool name
will we have another recovery ride ?
I’ll have Caleb today just to be somewhat different.
Caleb is of course an excellent choice - only half a wheel behind Jasper at Nogaro. The problem with sprint stages is you basically end up naming ALL the sprinters and I'm not doing that, I'm setting up the thread as a discussion point for everyone! 😉
Anyway as there won't be much else happening*, he's some geology:
https://www.geo-sports.org/2023/stage-7-a-glass-of-wine/
and some wine
https://www.bordeaux.com/gb/Our-savoir-faire/History
*having said that, you can bet the race will now be shredded by crosswinds or a huge crash...
will we have another recovery ride ?
I hope so. I need a rest too.
looks like a tail wind
How many different pronunciations of Vingegaard will Kelly give us today? He seems to be getting round it by just slurring the last syllable or two. 😀
How many different pronunciations of Vingegaard will Kelly give us today? He seems to be getting round it by just slurring the last syllable or two.
I'm just thankful that Cadel EVans has gone from ITV4 (for now at least, they were mentioning they hoped to get him back for Paris). He was terrible. Whiny voice anyway and he was mispronouncing every name (riders, towns, regions...)
I've criticised Rob Hatch in the past for over-pronouncing names but I was wrong - it's infinitely better than Cadel mashing every name he's given.
I’ve criticised Rob Hatch in the past
I don't think i can tell him and Carlton Kirby apart. Who is the one that always talks about riders 'squirreling off the front'?
Oh that's going to be a long and lonely breakaway.
Arkea-Samsic must have been contractually obliged to do this cos the finish passes right by Arkea HQ (it's a bank) in Bordeaux.
yeah but… how many actual tour winners have been commentating during shows? Brad on the back of a moto was fun. it’s true he has a great face for radio, but not the voice. Loved watching him race.
Jens Voight on the moto was the best, he was hilarious. Very deadpan but it was also obvious how much respect the riders in the peloton had for him as he passed by or came up alongside for a brief word during the quiet spells.
How many different pronunciations of Vingegaard will Kelly give us today?
He's just given us about 4 different pronunciations of "Pogacar" within 3 sentences.
Jens Voight on the moto was the best
For me he was the highlight of the Giro, asking the riders if they were enjoying the rain was one I remember (and the colourful reply).
Eurosport are resorting to all manner of pre-recorded interviews with riders, team personnel etc while absolutely bugger all happens in the race.
That said, some of it is quite interesting. They're talking to the Jumbo Visma Head of Nutrition at the moment. Frozen gels like an ice lolly, extra water for cooling...
I’m just thankful that Cadel EVans has gone from ITV4
He's certainly an acquired taste, and to be fair I've not watch the highlight shows, but I've like brother Cadel on Never Strays Far.
trying to clean his teeth with dentafix 😀
A surprisingly well contested intermediate sprint, Biniam Girmay coming from a long way back to just clinch 2nd (first place to the lone breakaway).
Cav dropped out of it as soon as he saw it was going to be more than just rolling across the line, possibly an indication that he's saving everything for the finish line. 🤞
NSF pod is a fantastic complement to the ITV4 coverage. loving Ned and Miller
There isn't a problem on this earth that can't be solved for £3 a month is there?
mandatory chateau 🙂
Bike change for both Cavendish and MvdP. No obvious issues but both on their way back to the peloton with no real problems.
Some nice 12th Century chateau on offer.
3.6 km rule today
getting very chummy between WvA & MvdP 😀
Pace is picking up - it was already relatively quick due to the tailwind but the organisation and coordination is starting to form up a long way out.
This is getting risky. It's one hell of a tailwind and two fresh riders out the front - they've only been there 10km and if the peloton misjudge this, they'll be sprinting for 3rd...
They're not pulling this back! Peloton has suddenly woken up but there's simply not enough space on the road to get organised.
This is going to be a chaotic sprint - the leadout trains will be used up to pull back the breakaway leaving minimal resources to organise a sprint and it's a tricky run in for about a km at the 4 -> 3km mark.
getting a bit tetchy in the peloton.... why aren't Alpecin not riding 😕 and why are quickstep ?
My nerves can't take this...
Going to be very very close.
SO CLOSE!!!
Christ, that last 10km was absolute edge of seat stuff.
SO CLOSE!!!!!
Thought he had it, was screaming at the live feed, so close!
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I thought he had it too, was screaming at the TV. God knows what the neighbours thought!
Yeah my partners complaining that I nearly gave her a heart attack lol
The curse of Caleb strikes again, boxed in at the worst possible time once more.
yep, except I was at work with headphones in so was just screaming like a lunatic to myself 😂I thought he had it too, was screaming at the TV. God knows what the neighbours thought!
Absolute top class sprint, so close, I'm sure he can still have another crack at the record, he's obviously not lost it. Still did fantastic though! Plus I had a tenner on him each way so beers are on him tonight 🤣 🍺
Surprised the blocking of Girmay isn't being looked at, Philpsen went way right.
Apparently Cav's cassette was skipping between 11/12T mid way through sprint, which doesn't exactly help.
Just caught up, gutted, truly gutted... My dog nearly hit the roof when Cav hit the front!! He has the pace to do it if he can get lucky on the run in but the lack of lead out is killing him.
Everyone in the vicinity of our house was jolted by my screaming (doors and windows open).
I'm feeling confident Cav can get a stage, with or without Luis Leon Sanchez.
He's still got a turn of speed on him hasn't he! He was miles back with 1km to go. If he'd got lucky and been able to launch slightly later he'd have got it. Aaaaaargh!!!
Wow, very frustrating finish. Cav seemed devastated. I bet his bike mechanic is feeling shite...
Just like Peter K, I saw the bike jump and assumed it was a fault in the tarmac but obviously that was the first skip.
I wonder if part of the decision not to penalise Philipson was the consequence….I.e everyone wants the record to fall but not through a disqualification
Cav had the speed, just took off like a 'missile'. Gutted. Another shouting at the laptop in my caravan garden...
Just like Peter K, I saw the bike jump and assumed it was a fault in the tarmac but obviously that was the first skip.
First one was when he launched off a speed bump.
I wonder if part of the decision not to penalise Philipson was the consequence….
I wondered the same. Difficult one to make a decision on. It was a definite squeeze though, a bit naughty. Worse than the one the other day, I thought.
I am a gibbering wreck and it's only stage 7.