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Only a few days to go till TDF 2023 kicks off in Bilbao, and The Velogame 2023 is now open
Will update the thread as time goes on but there are some VERY strong teams out there - Jumbo Visma look great of course, but Intermarché Wanty Gobert have some very good riders, Groupama FDJ too. Ineos don't seem to have anyone in polace to ride for GC, based on recent performances - they have some very good riders, but they just didn;t seem to be in GC form at the Dauphiné / Tour de Suisse. Might we see them target stage wins? And who will triumph in the battle for GC, will it be Pogacar or Vingegaard, or maybe an outsider?
You can enter the STW Grand Tours League here : https://www.velogames.com/
The League code is 727626827
Anyone who entered the Giro version will already be entered into this one
Post up your thoughts, or any interesting articles you find
Three weeks lie ahead of watching the countryside of France roll by thinking, 'wouldn't it be nice to go there?'
Traditionally, there's been a daily stage thread as well - originally started and expertly curated by @lunge over the years, I took it on last year (hopefully without making a total pigs ear of it...) although a couple of people, including @nbt , picked up one or two days here and there when I wasn't around.
Same again this year? I'm happy to do it if the consensus is there that it'd be worthwhile. There's usually been a sort of "all things general TdF but no spoilers" thread - this one maybe? - and then a daily stage thread (which will contain spoilers!) so post up here if it'd be of interest and I'll start doing some research...
@crazy-legs that works for me! No spoilers for each days's stage on this thread then please
I'm going Pog on the basis that him and UAE have learnt lessons after last year and won't just try to win every stage. In the Dauphine only Yates was anywhere near Ving, and I forsee a Yates+Pog vs Ving battle, turning the table on last year.
Thanks for the reminder. All entered. Bring on the race
Yep, should be fascinating. Cav going for his 35th stage win, Fred Wright in his new National Championships jersey, the whole battle behind Pogacer and Vingegaard...
Pog has a stronger team around him than last year, but Jumbo should still be stronger on paper.
I have a feeling Pog will win it as he's looked so string this year, but Vinegard's win at CDD just looked easy for him
Cav's 35th would be amazing, i was just looking through the startlist to see if there was anyone who'd pull a turn like G did at the giro, but all his old teammates seem to be in sprinters teams.
Would love to see Fred Wright bag a stage wearing the British champs jersey
I'll hopefully be home from Ard rock in time for the champs finish
Thread title kindly updated by one of the moderators, muchos gracias
I'm in.
There could be a few rider changes for the 'velo games' before Saturday.
Edit: I can only find 5 Brits in the line up, mmm thought there might have been at least 2 more.
Edit: I can only find 5 Brits in the line up, mmm thought there might have been at least 2 more.
No Geraint Thomas or Luke Rowe this time around.
British Riders:
Mark Cavendish - Astana Qazaqstan
Fred Wright - Bahrain-Victorious
Ben Turner - Ineos Grenadiers
Tom Pidcock - Ineos Grenadiers
Adam Yates - UAE Team Emirates
Think there were 8 last year, "only" 5 this year. Remember when there'd be just the one? (Chris Boardman or David Millar usually!)
crazy_legs - No Ben Turner, but Simon Yates is Brit Number 5
No Ben Turner
Umm... He's in the Ineos team announcement which came out today...?
https://twitter.com/INEOSGrenadiers/status/1673285344836321280?t=DJTvmUlaeq7i6T4G11dQmw&s=19
And yes, Simon Yates - Jayco-Alula
Bunnyhop....got any tips...;)
C
crazy_legs - whoops I didn't see Ben Turner in the Velogames riders line up.
cvilla
Full Member
Bunnyhop….got any tips…;)C
Not really, I've never been good at picking the Tour velogames team.
Team by Team guide from CyclingNews
https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/tour-de-france-2023-comprehensive-team-by-team-guide/
and Inrng's guide to the tour
I threw together a team just to get the mini-keague up and running and when I stopped to look at it, it's actually a pretty decent team - but as ever, I'm having second thoughts and wondering whether I should swap out A for B - or maybe if I swap X for Y and free up a couple of points I can change D for H and so on...
Succumbed a made a change...
I've entered - I went for fun and nostalgia with this one rather than agonising over a 'winning' team.
spawnofyorkshire - great team name :o)
I SAW CAV THIS MORNING !!
I drove past him, me in my convertible, him fully kitted up on his bike.
Gave him a good "Toot" "TooT"........ "TooooooT" and shouted "GO CAV" ... or something like that.
I turned the car around to catch him up, to wish him good luck, but it was just before a four way junction and I picked the wrong one..... damn.
Man oh Man I hope he gets his win.
I'm in! I wonder how long my team will last this year 🤣
I'd love to see little tommy pidders win a stage or two. And Cav. And Fred.
Pog for the win, better all round rider.
Wout for the first stage.
I'm generally rubbish at predictions though.
I’d love to see little tommy pidders win a stage or two. And Cav. And Fred.
Cav for Bordeaux, he's won there before.
And I reckon TP has a great chance on both Stage 14 into Morzine - there's the tough climb of the Joux Plane and then the very technical descent into town so if he's up the front then he'll have a good shot at it and also Stage 17 into Courchevel as that goes over Cormet de Roselend which has an insane descent, loads of hairpins. Then the climb and a short descent to Courchevel. It'll be similar to his Alpe d'Huez win where he got the gap on the descent in the middle of the stage then held the advantage up the Alpe.
Fred - pick any stage with a good chance for a breakaway win! That stripy jersey will help him no end. 🙂
Yates is officialy co-leader rather than super-domestique, as UAE are not sure of Pogacar's form.
https://twitter.com/writebikerepeat/status/1674019692464287747
Pog has been open abut his wrist issue, saying the broken bone enforced break from cycling came at a good time in terms of the planned tapering, but says he stil has wrist issues when it's being subjected to forces. Is this bluffing? Will he just ride everyone off his wheel, as he's been doing all season?
Fred – pick any stage with a good chance for a breakaway win! That stripy jersey will help him no end
I'm less sure on that one, he's been in lots of breakaways before but the stripy jersey makes him a bit more visible...
I am in, team picked and I have been brave with my cash as well, a bet on Fred Wright to win a stage, and a double of Cav and Pidcock to each win a stage.
Oh and Pog for the win.
I got a bit eager and used a spare email address to enter a second team.
Hoping to be into this this year. (gcn+ subscription so hoping to watch the extended highlights daily)
On the "no spoilers" rule, how long do we need to wait? If its no spoilers forever, its going to be challenging to discuss an upcoming stage without giving away spoilers on the yellow jersey and GC times up to that point, likewise any team or rider that has suffered or done badly.
On the “no spoilers” rule, how long do we need to wait? If its no spoilers forever, its going to be challenging to discuss an upcoming stage without giving away spoilers on the yellow jersey and GC times up to that point, likewise any team or rider that has suffered or done badly.
The "tradition" has just been to avoid posting stuff like "WOW WHAT A WIN FOR POG!!!!" in the thread or, worse still, posting that as a headline title. It seems generally accepted that most people will watch the highlights later that evening and to be honest, with the proliferation of social media now it's almost impossible to avoid spoilers altogether.
This thread is supposed to be the general stuff one with spoilers confined to the daily stage thread, at least until the day after the stage. At some point, it's guaranteed that someone will start a new thread title "35 for Cav!" or something like that and everyone will kick off... 😉
(gcn+ subscription so hoping to watch the extended highlights daily)
it's on ITV4 as well, full race live plus evening highlights
On the “no spoilers” rule, how long do we need to wait?
there will be daily threads where you can talk to your heart's content to discuss the stage - the prospects, the current events if you're watching live, the result once it's completed.
I'd say this thread should only contain spoilers once the next day's race is actually underway? That way you can get up in the morning, and log on to check things before watching the highlights show. Don't want to log onto this thread at 5pm and see race results though
Team ‘Jumbo P1ss Take’ in for the win.
The following could be useful on quieter days...
https://twitter.com/inrng/status/1674062996815900678?t=ZVC4lrO08tuLOKyq3Gs3BQ&s=19
Meanwhile on the more exciting days...
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/in-depth/tour-de-france-2023-climbs
I got a bit eager and used a spare email address to enter a second team.
Is entering more than one team frowned upon? Asking for a friend... 😳
Here's a quick rundown of all the sprinty people and the Green Jersey competition.
https://inrng.com/2023/06/tour-de-france-2023-green-jersey-contenders/
Bernal to support Pidcock then see how things go...
https://twitter.com/Domestique___/status/1674313776936435714
Aiming to finish
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/egan-bernal-its-very-emotional-to-be-back-at-the-tour-de-france/
Pelotonian's guide to picking a velogames team (and hence which riders are on form and should be the focus of attention)
https://twitter.com/pelotonian/status/1673963094115074048
I can't wait for the Grand Tour return of Carlton Kirby. If Cav wins a stage - or even comes close - he will spontaneously combust in a frenzy of Grand National-style final straight hyperbole. Thank god for ITV.
Otherwise I'm rooting for Pog - Vinyawottsit just seems dull and passionless and races that way too. Also fascinated to see what INEO will do without a proper GC contender, I'm hoping they'll rip it up and go for stage wins, but who knows. It's be great if Bernal gets back to something closer to his normal and Tom P is always good value.
Otherwise, I have a sneaking liking for the EF team, Carapaz is a proper racer and the rest of the team looks fun. Oh, it includes James Shaw btw, who is also very definitely a Brit, so you can add him to the list on page one.
Tom Pidcock (aka Pidders in our house) was on the tellybox this morning, saying how the death of Gino Mader has really affected him and was talking about thinking differently about descending.
As we all know Tom's possibly the best descender in this year's tour and he'll hopefully carry on with confidence, but with Gino in the back of his mind, it's hard to know whether he'll reign it in a tad. His skills will surely carry him through, but even with a little less speed, he's surely going to be the best downhill.
it’s hard to know whether he’ll reign it in a tad
King Pidcock!
thegeneralist
Full Member
it’s hard to know whether he’ll reign it in a tadKing Pidcock!
Yep my spelling is atrocious :0)
Pidcock gets my tip for a stage win at least. I'm also going to bring in a wildcard of Sepp Kuss for a stage win too. I randomly follow him on Strava as he does some rides near me (at twice the speed) and he's been logging some bonkers hilly rides recently - like 115km and 3,500m of climbing. Or 160km/4000m so I reckon he's going to be in super-domestique form, but given that half of Jumbo are also super domestiques, perhaps he'll be given free rein one day...
Oh, and I've just bought a television. My first for 30 years, just so we can watch the Tour (and winter 'cross) better...
Oh, and I’ve just bought a television. My first for 30 years, just so we can watch the Tour (and winter ‘cross) better…
Well you seem to have picked a corner of France that's not very near any of the stages this time around!
No, it completely misses north west and southern France. 2024 is going to be interesting, though. There's going to be a start in Florence, Italy and a non-Paris finish in Monaco...
I'm looking forward to having a nosy into everyone's choice of velogames teams.
Anyone know how quickly after the stage finish do GCN+ put up the full stage replay?
And, when watching the replay, can you fast-forward?
Well it's all there now.
7th place thanks to 1st and 2nd mainly.
And, when watching the replay, can you fast-forward?
Yes, you can. Normally full coverage is up fairly quickly, highlights may take a little longer
haha - I am top of the STW velogames league!!!
Bask in my awesomeness - and now I feel really bad for all the riders I picked who will now inevitably crash out tomorrow...🤣
Similarly to the GCN+ query above...anyone an inkling for when the ITV highlights programme goes up on demand? Finishes at 8pm, so I'd rather wait and watch on-demand on premium with no ads, but 9pm now and no sign of it.
Can't remember back to last year.
@jimfrandisco ITV4 highlights normally don't seem to appear until after 10PM on ITVX.
Grrr. Cheers for the info.
That's a bit annoying, I'll be asleep by then!
Ahh damn it we’re also waiting for the highlights to come on, do they not realise some people have young children… love the tour… and have to go to bed for an acceptable time in case of night wakings!!
They’re there now!
FYI I watched the "on demand" of the afternoon showing on ITVx and it skipped all the adverts?? Not only that but it played the music to go to the ads and then again to come back immediately, so double bonus. Got the tunes but no ads 🙂
Ooh, I'm off to Paris for the finish!
Bring it on!
I've been through Paris before - in fact we drove up the Champs Elsyees and then I nearly died about 12 times as we negotiated the Place de la Concorde at the top. How the hell my mate (driving) managed it I will never know, it was ****ing terrifying. Never actually been there as a tourist so really looking forward to it.
I may have to nominate someone to do the daily thread on that final weekend...
@cvilla - we're more or less trundling along together on 'velogames'.
My main sprinter (Jakobson) is recovering from his bad fall. Still have faith that Pogacar can get into yellow at some point.
This Le Tour has been enjoyable and stressful in equal amounts :O)
BH yes let's see how it goes....but my maths is no good for the end bonus calculation ask NBT!!
Enjoying the live coverage on a weekend when I can relax and watch:)
Why is the Green jersey not green anymore? It’s really hard to spot in the group. Didn’t it used to be bright green?
Edit: I sound like a grumpy old man and I’m content with that 😉
Skoda Corporate colours apparently
Well another week has gone by. Most days with exciting racing.
However my choice of riders in the 'Velogames' is poor to say the least.
Reminder to stop picking riders 'I like' and pick riders who bring in points.
Mind was on a slow burn. Went from 60th up to 5th. But now fallen back to 15th again. Just wish I had Van Aert. Bring on the last week!
Have I missed an episode of Never Strays Far?
I haven't seen anything post Sundays stage? Does anyone follow Ned or David on twitter or anything??
Lantern rouge are approaching the correct placing!
Team Inconsistent was just that, lost a rider on the first day , another halfway through and finally Van Aert went home. Still enjoyed it though.
I should read up on how the points scoring is done...how Pog scores more points than Vingagoagoago is a bit odd.
Wow! I'm normally about dead last. I was really regretting not putting JP in as my sprinter but WVA won loads of points anyway by being WVA 😁
I love playing velogames as it definitely creates an extra bit of interest in how all the teams are going.
Ooohhhh, 2nd place by 25pts! Not bad, was languishing in the bottom half for a while. Well done to Swavis!
how Pog scores more points than Vingagoagoago is a bit odd.
points deducted for drug use. 🤪