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Post by marylandstoke on Jul 3, 2024 15:33:40 GMT
Oooh Cav watch….team look set up nicely.
(Lets see how this ages!)
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Post by Mason_Stokie on Jul 3, 2024 15:40:14 GMT
Oooh Cav watch….team look set up nicely. (Lets see how this ages!) It aged well! Go Cav!
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Post by redstriper on Jul 3, 2024 15:50:14 GMT
Fantastic Achievement, must admit i doubted he could do it ![:)](//storage.proboards.com/800541/images/KYqg3pYeaerc5lD_P7BR.gif)
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Post by salopstick on Jul 3, 2024 15:57:53 GMT
From finished to green and the record
Brilliant
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Post by stiggerstackle on Jul 3, 2024 16:02:23 GMT
Outstanding.
I mean I just do not understand the Tour De France at all - it seems so unnecessarily complicated, but bloody well done Cav!
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Post by marylandstoke on Jul 3, 2024 16:04:51 GMT
What an achievement.
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Post by mrcoke on Jul 3, 2024 19:53:37 GMT
Absolutely brilliant performance by Cavendish today.
Against all the best in the last km .
The greatest ever sprinter on the tour.
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Post by deeside2 on Jul 3, 2024 20:04:34 GMT
Superb from Cav - the magic 35th win ! I didn't think he'd be able to do it after everything he's gone through but massive congratulations to an absolute all time TDF legend.
He can retire from the race after this stage if he wants to but I've got a feeling he wants another win or two.
CHAPEAU CAV ! 🎉🍾🎉🍾🎉🍾🎉🍾🎉
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Post by AlliG on Jul 3, 2024 20:09:18 GMT
I thought his chance had gone with his accident/injury last year and not getting a ride the previous year.
It almost felt like the "cycling gods" had decided that he was going to have to share the record with The Cannibal, so it was a bit of a shock to see him flying out of the pack today like the Cavendish of old.
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Post by Rednwhitenblue on Jul 3, 2024 20:31:05 GMT
Fantastic achievement. Beautifully ridden final half km.
If there is any justice nailed on for SPOTY.
(Anybody notice after the crash at the final sprint the fantastic bunny hop over the fallen rider by the rider in red and white? Good effort!)
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Post by Bod on Jul 3, 2024 22:23:52 GMT
Think the difference between Pog and Jonas on the descent was less the willingness to take risks, and more that Jonas was cooked. Jonas held/narrowed the gap over the first part of the descent which is much steeper (constantly 7-10%) and has tight turns and less than perfect road surface*. Then the gradient backs off and the road straightens and you can go proper quick** without worrying about plummeting to your death, here I think Pog opened it up by being able to full sprint out of corners and to put out big power on the straights. GC battle is nicely poised. *yours truly constantly on the brakes **I might have let go of the brakes on this bit i had massive wheel wobble coming down buttertubs a few years back. im now a shithouse descender. safety first Cracked the headtube descending in the Massif Central over 20 years ago. I have never been that scared on a bike. I thought that I was dead. I heard it go but couldn’t squeeze the brakes as I would have lost control and ended up foot dragging (ruining a pair of Sidi Shadows in the process) until I could half wobble/fall into a car park. I do actually think that Jonas backed off on the descent a little as I replayed it a couple of times and Pog was on the rivet through some of those switchbacks, especially at the top and he was flying through the tightest racing lines. Regardless, Vingegaard was on the physical limit too and with the two factors combined, it hurt him.
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Post by Bod on Jul 3, 2024 22:48:40 GMT
Stage 5 - St-Jean de Maurienne - Saint Vulbas (177.4km)
It’s flat, the sprinters have suffered like dogs and I don’t need Roy Walker (Stephen Mulhern is just an impostor) to tell me to say what I see. It’s sprint time motherfuckers. Do we dare to dream of ‘Project 35?’ Probably not but in true Northern Soul fashion, let’s keep the faith. The reality is that Philipsen, De Lie and Pedersen are where the smart money would go, but if we were smart, we wouldn’t be supporting us. I can’t justify another day off work for a stage which is likely to be quiet, quiet, bang, so by that token, Sir Cav will emerge victorious and I will have missed history after enduring 231km of utter detritus on stage 3.
Don’t take away my breakaway was the refrain of the popular 80’s advert and today is all about doomed breakaways, sacrificial lambs and taking one for the team. Sprint teams are going to hunt you down like a fox through Berkshire and so you may as well get on the fun bus and prepare for the reaming. Let’s mount up and see what happens.
Actually, having watched it, let’s just fuck it and cut to the chase. Cav, we salute you. You’ve been in the pain cave for stage after stage and yet, here we are and there you went! There was a break, it was caught, we don’t care. Astana kicked into gear at 30km to go and for a team which is often haphazard, they rode it like a Cipollini train from the ‘old days.’ Watch from 1.5km remaining. Really watch it. Cavendish is tracking wheels, shouldering people when needed, moving from left to right and back again and just delivered the dream sprint. It was perfection.
Won his first stage in 2008. 2008. 16 years later he wins his 35th. I don’t need hyperbole to say he’s the greatest sprinter of all time. Stats say he is, because winning at the TdF is always the benchmark for a sprinter as that’s where they (almost) all turn up to race, with the general exception of Italians who have ridden the Giro.
I could write a self-indulgent dissertation on this (as usual you say) but I won’t. It doesn’t need explaining or quantifying. A knight of the realm has just won his 35th TdF stage. He looked finished in 2016. Done and dusted. Somehow he underwent a resurgence in 2021, but to do so again is stellar.
I have followed us since the late 70’s. and cried only once watching us, which was when we were promoted as my dad had died and didn’t get to see it. I did get a little lump in my throat today though. Not a mega one as I’m not WVA, but enough to make me question why I should be so invested.
In summary, watch the end again until it is burned into your retinas. Philipsen, De Lie, Girmay, Groenewegen and Jakobsen were all trounced. He was not beating also-rans here (although Jakobsen is nowhere near the force he once was.)
Winners
Today there is only one winner and that’s Cavendish, with a shout out to his team too.
Losers
None - my mood is too good to even class anyone as a loser. Actually, bollocks to that, it’s the other sprinters. Philipsen and De Lie in particular should not be losing to a man who is old enough to remember when Mojos were a penny each. Cavendish bullied them in the final 3km.
GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 45s Vingegaard at 50s
Points Girmay
Mountains Abrahamsen
Young rider Evenepoel
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Post by salopstick on Jul 4, 2024 4:27:58 GMT
Stage 5 - St-Jean de Maurienne - Saint Vulbas (177.4km) It’s flat, the sprinters have suffered like dogs and I don’t need Roy Walker (Stephen Mulhern is just an impostor) to tell me to say what I see. It’s sprint time motherfuckers. Do we dare to dream of ‘Project 35?’ Probably not but in true Northern Soul fashion, let’s keep the faith. The reality is that Philipsen, De Lie and Pedersen are where the smart money would go, but if we were smart, we wouldn’t be supporting us. I can’t justify another day off work for a stage which is likely to be quiet, quiet, bang, so by that token, Sir Cav will emerge victorious and I will have missed history after enduring 231km of utter detritus on stage 3. Don’t take away my breakaway was the refrain of the popular 80’s advert and today is all about doomed breakaways, sacrificial lambs and taking one for the team. Sprint teams are going to hunt you down like a fox through Berkshire and so you may as well get on the fun bus and prepare for the reaming. Let’s mount up and see what happens. Actually, having watched it, let’s just fuck it and cut to the chase. Cav, we salute you. You’ve been in the pain cave for stage after stage and yet, here we are and there you went! There was a break, it was caught, we don’t care. Astana kicked into gear at 30km to go and for a team which is often haphazard, they rode it like a Cipollini train from the ‘old days.’ Watch from 1.5km remaining. Really watch it. Cavendish is tracking wheels, shouldering people when needed, moving from left to right and back again and just delivered the dream sprint. It was perfection. Won his first stage in 2008. 2008. 16 years later he wins his 35th. I don’t need hyperbole to say he’s the greatest sprinter of all time. Stats say he is, because winning at the TdF is always the benchmark for a sprinter as that’s where they (almost) all turn up to race, with the general exception of Italians who have ridden the Giro. I could write a self-indulgent dissertation on this (as usual you say) but I won’t. It doesn’t need explaining or quantifying. A knight of the realm has just won his 35th TdF stage. He looked finished in 2016. Done and dusted. Somehow he underwent a resurgence in 2021, but to do so again is stellar. I have followed us since the late 70’s. and cried only once watching us, which was when we were promoted as my dad had died and didn’t get to see it. I did get a little lump in my throat today though. Not a mega one as I’m not WVA, but enough to make me question why I should be so invested. In summary, watch the end again until it is burned into your retinas. Philipsen, De Lie, Girmay, Groenewegen and Jakobsen were all trounced. He was not beating also-rans here (although Jakobsen is nowhere near the force he once was.) Winners Today there is only one winner and that’s Cavendish, with a shout out to his team too. Losers None - my mood is too good to even class anyone as a loser. Actually, bollocks to that, it’s the other sprinters. Philipsen and De Lie in particular should not be losing to a man who is old enough to remember when Mojos were a penny each. Cavendish bullied them in the final 3km. GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 35s Vingegaard at 50s Points Girmay Mountains Abrahamsen Young rider Evenepoel Fucking brilliant
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Post by marylandstoke on Jul 4, 2024 14:33:23 GMT
The Cannondale 4th of July bike. Gorgeous. ![](//storage.proboards.com/800541/thumbnailer/VLdYDJWqMqOoNdIQBhqM.png)
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Post by Bod on Jul 4, 2024 23:02:27 GMT
Stage 6 - Mâcon - Dijon (163.5km)
Like the massive comedown after indulging in too many recreationals and waking up in a skip outside Golden, stage 6 marks the day after the day before. It’s another flat one and Philipsen in particular is going to have to win one very soon for the sake of his sanity. Astana controlled yesterday in a fashion which no other team has managed in a sprint yet, although there hasn’t exactly been a glut of those. Wind will be a factor according the forecast.
What transpired was a day of minimal action, aside from the intermediate sprints and Philipsen, Girmay and Pedersen all have designs on the green jersey. It wasn’t until 85km to go when Visma hatch a plan and started to drill it and they managed to shatter the peloton all over the countryside. For a moment, Pogacar is badly positioned but rectifies it and then in the midst of it all, Cav gets a mechanical and as the bunch is strung out, yesterday’s hero is 80s back and the wind is blowing people everywhere. Suddenly the peloton is halved in size, with a mammoth tailwind and the pace is flat out.
There are 20km or so of frantic chasing and then everyone chills the fuck out like little Fonzies, realising it’s only stage 6 and the pace drops, everything comes back together and all is well with the world. This is then the point at which Cavendish takes the opportunity to get back onto his race bike, as he has been chasing on a spare. Astana follow the same plan as yesterday and behind to assemble near the front at 30km remaining, but the speed is now more Sunday club run and less biggest race in the world. Visma’s DS’ voice is then heard (when they do that graphic where they show you what the riders can hear in their earpieces) and says that ‘We showed that them that we are the strongest when it’s hectic’ or words to the that effect. Interesting to see if that actually pays dividends at any point later in the race on the lumpy but not fully mountainous stages.
15km to go and riders six abreast across the road. Someone is going into a ditch or a front garden because the finish is going to be frenetic. It’s like watching toddlers with energy to burn sit on the naughty step and then when they are released the house looks like Dresden (either the local one or the continental version, post-RAF sorties.) However, at 10km to go, it’s still easy paced but it’s tense and then there is a subtle shift in pace and Astana are on the case. I can’t see how someone isn’t going to cop an unfortunate one here and end up looking at the broken clouds.
It’s knicker wetting time in the bunch on a scale last seen when we didn’t sign a Ballon d’or winner for £50,000, and as the pace goes up, the red mist takes over. Elbows are out and pointy, shoulders tensed and Van den Berg vaults the bars after a small compression in the middle of the peloton. His day is done.
5km left. Jostling, switching from side to side and this is scrappy. GC contenders closing eyes and waiting for the 3km safe zone. Lidl, Alpecin and Uno X are drag racing for position as we hit 500m to go. Anyone who is anyone is in the mix and it is Groenewegen who hits the clean air on the right and edges out Philipsen, who was later relegated to final place in the group as he was judged to have blocked WVA into the barriers with 200m to go. Can’t decide if I agree or not, but it matters not (and WVA does like a moan.) Strong showings too by Girmay and Gaviria. Groenewegen was the smartest here too. All the action appeared to be happening on the left hand side (as we look at it) which was where Philipsen, WVA, Girmay, Gaviria and Bauhaus were all residing. De Lie went through the centre but Groenewegen was completely unimpeded on the right.
Winners
Groenewegen -
Has a reputation as a dirty sprinter which is probably deserved as he does have a lack of regard for himself and others at times, but he outsprinted everyone today and it was a well-deserved victory.
Girmay - considering that he isn’t even Intermarche’s designated sprinter, he has finished 1,9,2 on the flat stages and is building a healthy lead in the points competition.
Gaviria - has been a bit of a second string fast man for a while, but 2,11,3 place finishes is a brilliant return for a rider who has minimal to no team support when he needs it the most.
Losers
Philipsen - no stage win, demotion, losing ground in the points contest too. Has everyone improved or has he stagnated? I think the sprinters look sharp and rabid this year and have zero fear.
Cav - only due to heightened expectations though. Team worked brilliantly for him but he faded into 19th place. Was also docked 40s for drafting behind the Astana car as he tried to get back on when Visma has pulled the pin and he had a mechanical. His GC bid may be over due to that penalty…
GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 45s Vingegaard at 50s
Points Girmay
Mountains Abrahamsen
Young rider Evenepoel
Team UAE
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Post by Bod on Jul 5, 2024 21:44:08 GMT
Stage 7 - 2024 Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin (25.3km)
Time trial. Ugh.
On my best day I can’t muster up too much enthusiasm for a week one TdF time trial and this is not my best day. Racing against the clock bored the shit out of me when I did it. There is no romance in consulting shitty old roadbooks to find an obscurely coded course on an A road where you are racing against people who are trying to get some drafting from articulated lorries. A mountainous time trial is not so bad, as you can watch it in a slightly different way and the suffering is more overt. Today will be a matter of getting the head down, powering through and recovering for the weekend. That’s what the riders will need to do too. However, much like my weekly appointments at the GUM clinic, it’s a necessary evil.
It has a lump in the middle that is hard enough to hurt a bit but it’s not as painful as looking at this generation of TT headwear and can be powered through. Campanaerts is the proof of this as he is a more pure strength-based TT specialist and he was putting down some wattage as he climbed.
It’s all about the big guns today and what this does to the GC. Remco’s aero position is magnificent and he’s masterful in a time trial. His nose is 3cm off his forearms at times and advice comes through from BORA on the radio for Roglic to get in a similar position. Seems harsh as Roglic never looks as comfortable when he is super aero. None of the next generation skinsuits are being used by Pogacar and Evenepoel due to them being jersey wearers and so it’s the standard TdF skinsuit. That said, it will hardly be made out of wool and be as baggy as a potato sack.
Campanaerts sets a decent benchmark but by the time check at 14.4km, it’s Evenepoel, Pogacar and Vingegaard who have gone balls out from the first second. Evenepoel is quickest, Pog trails by 10s, Vingegaard by 23s and Roglic 38 seconds back. Roglic drops like a fiend down the descent, Remco was slightly more tentative but it’s a close things between Evenepoel and Pogacar.
Pogacar was strongest on the ascent, Remco on the flat and the Belgian even had to deal with a sticking gear which could have been a complete disaster but he seemed to rectify with an old school method of slamming the back wheel down as he rode. He takes the lead and holds it to win the stage by 12s over Pogacar. The stage was a close run thing with Evenepoel taking a gap on Pog and it didn’t deviate by much at all.
Winners
Evenepoel - he should have won this and he did. Won’t be happy with the time gap, but he’s now got stages in all three GT’s and he looked very good today.
Pogacar - lost time to Remco, but the Belgian won’t (shouldn’t?) be a threat to the overall and so it was mission accomplished.
Roglic - omnipresent trail of spittle dangling from his chin, he rode a solid time trial and narrowed the gap to Vingegaard after riding a very well balanced test and pulling back Vingegaard in the second half.
Campanaerts - held the fastest time for a good while and rocks a very passable moustache. Reputed to be one of the good guys too and strong as a bull.
Bernard - Raced through his home area and actually stopped on the climb to be kissed by his wife by and mobbed by his fans. Or mobbed by his wife and kissed by his fans. He was fined 200 CHF for "unseemly or inappropriate behaviour during the race and damage to the image of the sport.’ Bernard said he’d do it again. Gangster.
Losers
Rodriguez - cannot afford to give up almost 55s to Roglic if he wants to be looking at a top 4 finish.
Ayuso - finished 20 seconds behind Almeida and there is now 1s between them on GC. After the little spat (or maybe it wasn’t anything) the other day, there may be some healthy rivalry within UAE.
GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 33s Vingegaard at 1 min 15s
Points Girmay
Mountains Abrahamsen
Young rider Evenepoel
Team UAE
6/10 Bernard Tapie’s. 2 marks of which were for Bernard.
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Post by Mason_Stokie on Jul 6, 2024 1:32:27 GMT
Stage 7 - 2024 Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin (25.3km) Time trial. Ugh. On my best day I can’t muster up too much enthusiasm for a week one TdF time trial and this is not my best day. Racing against the clock bored the shit out of me when I did it. There is no romance in consulting shitty old roadbooks to find an obscurely coded course on an A road where you are racing against people who are trying to get some drafting from articulated lorries. A mountainous time trial is not so bad, as you can watch it in a slightly different way and the suffering is more overt. Today will be a matter of getting the head down, powering through and recovering for the weekend. That’s what the riders will need to do too. However, much like my weekly appointments at the GUM clinic, it’s a necessary evil. It has a lump in the middle that is hard enough to hurt a bit but it’s not as painful as looking at this generation of TT headwear and can be powered through. Campanaerts is the proof of this as he is a more pure strength-based TT specialist and he was putting down some wattage as he climbed. It’s all about the big guns today and what this does to the GC. Remco’s aero position is magnificent and he’s masterful in a time trial. His nose is 3cm off his forearms at times and advice comes through from BORA on the radio for Roglic to get in a similar position. Seems harsh as Roglic never looks as comfortable when he is super aero. None of the next generation skinsuits are being used by Pogacar and Evenepoel due to them being jersey wearers and so it’s the standard TdF skinsuit. That said, it will hardly be made out of wool and be as baggy as a potato sack. Campanaerts sets a decent benchmark but by the time check at 14.4km, it’s Evenepoel, Pogacar and Vingegaard who have gone balls out from the first second. Evenepoel is quickest, Pog trails by 10s, Vingegaard by 23s and Roglic 38 seconds back. Roglic drops like a fiend down the descent, Remco was slightly more tentative but it’s a close things between Evenepoel and Pogacar. Pogacar was strongest on the ascent, Remco on the flat and the Belgian even had to deal with a sticking gear which could have been a complete disaster but he seemed to rectify with an old school method of slamming the back wheel down as he rode. He takes the lead and holds it to win the stage by 12s over Pogacar. The stage was a close run thing with Evenepoel taking a gap on Pog and it didn’t deviate by much at all. Winners Evenepoel - he should have won this and he did. Won’t be happy with the time gap, but he’s now got stages in all three GT’s and he looked very good today. Pogacar - lost time to Remco, but the Belgian won’t (shouldn’t?) be a threat to the overall and so it was mission accomplished. Roglic - omnipresent trail of spittle dangling from his chin, he rode a solid time trial and narrowed the gap to Vingegaard after riding a very well balanced test and pulling back Vingegaard in the second half. Campanaerts - held the fastest time for a good while and rocks a very passable moustache. Reputed to be one of the good guys too and strong as a bull. Bernard - Raced through his home area and actually stopped on the climb to be kissed by his wife by and mobbed by his fans. Or mobbed by his wife and kissed by his fans. He was fined 200 CHF for "unseemly or inappropriate behaviour during the race and damage to the image of the sport.’ Bernard said he’d do it again. Gangster. Losers Rodriguez - cannot afford to give up almost 55s to Roglic if he wants to be looking at a top 4 finish. Ayuso - finished 20 seconds behind Almeida and there is now 1s between them on GC. After the little spat (or maybe it wasn’t anything) the other day, there may be some healthy rivalry within UAE. GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 33s Vingegaard at 1 min 15s Points Girmay Mountains Abrahamsen Young rider Evenepoel Team UAE 6/10 Bernard Tapie’s. 2 marks of which were for Bernard. Great write up as always. Not sure what it is, but I can watch the TDF for 6 hours straight like no other sporting event. The time trial though, yeah, the best part was Bernard with the fans / his family. Roll on the mountains!
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Post by salopstick on Jul 6, 2024 16:31:42 GMT
Alpe D’huez smashed
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Post by marylandstoke on Jul 6, 2024 22:35:19 GMT
Stage 7 - 2024 Nuits-Saint-Georges to Gevrey-Chambertin (25.3km) Time trial. Ugh. On my best day I can’t muster up too much enthusiasm for a week one TdF time trial and this is not my best day. Racing against the clock bored the shit out of me when I did it. There is no romance in consulting shitty old roadbooks to find an obscurely coded course on an A road where you are racing against people who are trying to get some drafting from articulated lorries. A mountainous time trial is not so bad, as you can watch it in a slightly different way and the suffering is more overt. Today will be a matter of getting the head down, powering through and recovering for the weekend. That’s what the riders will need to do too. However, much like my weekly appointments at the GUM clinic, it’s a necessary evil. It has a lump in the middle that is hard enough to hurt a bit but it’s not as painful as looking at this generation of TT headwear and can be powered through. Campanaerts is the proof of this as he is a more pure strength-based TT specialist and he was putting down some wattage as he climbed. It’s all about the big guns today and what this does to the GC. Remco’s aero position is magnificent and he’s masterful in a time trial. His nose is 3cm off his forearms at times and advice comes through from BORA on the radio for Roglic to get in a similar position. Seems harsh as Roglic never looks as comfortable when he is super aero. None of the next generation skinsuits are being used by Pogacar and Evenepoel due to them being jersey wearers and so it’s the standard TdF skinsuit. That said, it will hardly be made out of wool and be as baggy as a potato sack. Campanaerts sets a decent benchmark but by the time check at 14.4km, it’s Evenepoel, Pogacar and Vingegaard who have gone balls out from the first second. Evenepoel is quickest, Pog trails by 10s, Vingegaard by 23s and Roglic 38 seconds back. Roglic drops like a fiend down the descent, Remco was slightly more tentative but it’s a close things between Evenepoel and Pogacar. Pogacar was strongest on the ascent, Remco on the flat and the Belgian even had to deal with a sticking gear which could have been a complete disaster but he seemed to rectify with an old school method of slamming the back wheel down as he rode. He takes the lead and holds it to win the stage by 12s over Pogacar. The stage was a close run thing with Evenepoel taking a gap on Pog and it didn’t deviate by much at all. Winners Evenepoel - he should have won this and he did. Won’t be happy with the time gap, but he’s now got stages in all three GT’s and he looked very good today. Pogacar - lost time to Remco, but the Belgian won’t (shouldn’t?) be a threat to the overall and so it was mission accomplished. Roglic - omnipresent trail of spittle dangling from his chin, he rode a solid time trial and narrowed the gap to Vingegaard after riding a very well balanced test and pulling back Vingegaard in the second half. Campanaerts - held the fastest time for a good while and rocks a very passable moustache. Reputed to be one of the good guys too and strong as a bull. Bernard - Raced through his home area and actually stopped on the climb to be kissed by his wife by and mobbed by his fans. Or mobbed by his wife and kissed by his fans. He was fined 200 CHF for "unseemly or inappropriate behaviour during the race and damage to the image of the sport.’ Bernard said he’d do it again. Gangster. Losers Rodriguez - cannot afford to give up almost 55s to Roglic if he wants to be looking at a top 4 finish. Ayuso - finished 20 seconds behind Almeida and there is now 1s between them on GC. After the little spat (or maybe it wasn’t anything) the other day, there may be some healthy rivalry within UAE. GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 33s Vingegaard at 1 min 15s Points Girmay Mountains Abrahamsen Young rider Evenepoel Team UAE 6/10 Bernard Tapie’s. 2 marks of which were for Bernard. Great write up as always. Not sure what it is, but I can watch the TDF for 6 hours straight like no other sporting event. The time trial though, yeah, the best part was Bernard with the fans / his family. Roll on the mountains! That will cost him $175 Bringing the game into disrepute!
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Post by Bod on Jul 6, 2024 22:47:52 GMT
Stage 8 - Semur-en-Auxois - Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises (183.4km)
Pimply rather than lumpy today and a crash in the neutralised zone as the rain falls. Mads Pedersen is a DNS due to injury and my fantasy team is now officially fucked. A series of climbs mainly in the first half of the stage, none of which are going to cause major havoc and then an uphill drag to the line. It might be windy. It might still be shite. It was both of those.
An odd start where a three man group go up the road (Abrahamsen to try and collect more mountain points, Bisseger and Powless from EF.) The peloton shrugged collectively and away the breakaway went. I thought it would be a hard fought beginning with a much larger break forming but that just wasn’t the case. The latter part of the day should be hard enough to shell out the pure sprinters and that should see a change in the pacing as the km tick by. It ‘should’ be one for the one day riders who can handle the smaller climbs throughout the stage.
There are little skirmishes and the trio have a lead which hovers around 80s, but the chasing is uncoordinated and then Bisseger and Powless suddenly sit up and Abrahamsen is out in front on his own. He builds up a lead of 6 mins which the peloton deem as acceptable and behind the mountains leader there is little interest in narrowing the deficit. It is a very by the numbers day, which is a euphemism for dull, with 3 mins 45 being the gap between Abrahamsen and the bunch at 50km to go.
60s advantage at 25km remaining. Riders are dropping out of the peloton with regularity as the pace has been upped. It’s a matter of when exactly they want to catch Abrahamsen. That turns out to be at the 14km to go mark, which is also where the road begins to wind up again. 10km left and the peloton is six abreast. UAE, Astana, INEOS and Visma have good representation. All the action is going to be concentrated in the final km which goes uphill, drops down and then rises again which will be brutal on the legs for some.
Uphill drag to the line which seems to feature a very drawn out sprint and Philipsen looks to have it before Girmay kicks again at 10m and takes it by half a wheel from Philipsen with De Lie in third. Girmay is always well positioned and is racing like someone seasoned.
Winners
Girmay - another stage win, increased points lead to 88 and a pretty flawless sprint again. Girmay was not Intermarche’s first choice sprinter for the race but he has relegated Thijsen during the race and deservedly so. Thijsen is a good sprinter but he would not have taken two stages or ridden in the manner that Girmay has.
Intermarche - a team that has only one superstar (and he is a superstar who we have talked about on here for a couple of years now) but is riding the final kms of high-pressured stages with assurance.
Abrahamsen - more mountain points and lots of television time due to his mammoth break.
Losers
Philipsen - He had the line, he had a clear run, but he didn’t (doesn’t?) have the legs once again. Second place would be a great result for Gaviria, Coquard, Bauhaus, etc, but after being so dominant this year, he is being edged out of contention for green.
EF - WTF? Send two riders up the road as part of the initial break, who then sat up as if waiting to be joined by Healy and/or Bettiol, but this didn’t happen and rather than get hours of TV exposure, EF got next to nothing. It was bizarre, regardless of the post-race justifications.
GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 33s Vingegaard at 1 min 15s
Points Girmay
Mountains Abrahamsen
Young rider Evenepoel
Team UAE
2/10 Jean-Michel Jarre’s
Gravel tomorrow.
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Post by salopstick on Jul 7, 2024 18:28:56 GMT
Col d'Izoard Col du Lautaret
Smashed
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Post by Bod on Jul 7, 2024 21:56:52 GMT
Stage 9 - Troyes -Troyes (199km)
Gravel, dust, punctures, panic. If today is a dud, then I will be forced to reconsider my life choices. It has potential, surely?
One every section of gravel, BORA had 4 people waiting at various points with bikes or wheels for Roglic! His problem turned out to be more about positioning and comfort on the gravel itself rather than equipment.
14 sectors of gravel and it’s ‘raining attacks.’ 32km of gravel in total. A break has already gone well before the first section of gravel, but much of the focus is behind on UAE and Visma.
In the first section, it’s chaos. Riders running up the gravel hill, a mass blockage at the bottom of the climb. It’s already epic. Roglic is caught out and Visma are, to quote Sean Kelly ‘Fucking drilling it.’ In the space of one gravel sector, Roglic is 35 seconds down and the main group is down to around 30 riders! 28km to the next stretch of gravel.
Out front, the leaders (break) of 12 have a 1 min 55 gap on the yellow jersey group. Pidcock (INEOS,) Healy (EF,) Lazkano, Romo, Aranburu (Movistar) Stuyven (Lidl-Trek,) Turgis (Total Energies,) Lutsenko (Astana,) Zingle (Cofidis,) Gee (IPT,) Van Gils (Lotto) and Vermeersch (Alpecin) are all present and it’s a strong group but the game within the game means that they can’t establish a huge lead as too many teams behind are desperate to lead into the gravel and so the speed is on. Visma are in full Classics mode, UAE are protecting Pogacar and Roglic gets back on with 110km to go. He can’t afford to be caught out again as the effort to close the gap isn’t repeatable multiple times.
As I watch this, Movistar having three riders at the front almost guarantees that if the break stays away they will royally fuck this up. Each section of gravel is eyeballs out. This is a bloody good stage. Vingegaard has to change bikes with Tratnik and chase to get back on after the fourth gravelled section and none of Visma dropped back to help Vingegaard. Bizarre. Tratnik is a ‘bike match’ for Vingegaard so the size should not be a problem. 95km to go and the lead is now only 43 seconds because UAE are hammering it.
Gravel is actually a euphemism as these are not some fine particles, they are large in parts and are certainly taxing. Pogacar had a little dig on the gravel at 85km to go. Not sure if for shits and giggles but he pulls out a gap and Visma has a small wobble before Pog sits up. The pattern of the day is the leaders extend their advantage and then when the peloton hit the gravel, the lead virtually halves. It then extends again until the next sector.
Next up is Remco, who attacks on an 18% gravel ascent, gains 10s and so Pogacar decides to follow, Vingegaard joins him and they catch the Belgian. In the process, they also latch onto the breakaway and out 20s into Roglic and everyone else in the reduced peloton. Vingegaard refuses to work as he wants teammates to make the junction. Will Pidcock do likewise as he has Rodriguez in the Roglic group? If I were Pog I would speak to every rider in the group and tell them that if they work, he won’t contest the finish. Risk the potential bonus seconds to maybe establish a lead over Roglic. The issue is that he probably only sees Vingegaard as his rival and Evenepoel to a lesser extent, so Roglic may be an afterthought.
When it is a stage like this, I don’t even have the inclination to express how much I hated the Armstrong years. I detested pre-cancer Armstrong and that only grew post-cancer. It’s not the drug use as I don’t care about that at all and accept it as part and parcel. He’s the only rider who has ever led me to stop watching the Tour. I couldn’t take any interest in it at all.
Remco is absolutely having it large as Rise of the Footsoldier’s protagonists would say. I can’t think of a shitter series of films than those and believe me I have spent far too long trying. Calmness then reigns again and the top 3 on GC slide back into the main group but the break has fractured and it’s now Pidcock, Gee, Healy, Lutsenko and Stuyven. Yes, you guessed it, Movistar, who had a quarter of the riders in the initial lead group didn’t get one into the new break. I piss around, but that is truly woeful race management. Embarrassingly so.
65km to go, the gravel is around half done but it’s still a day of fast speed and shredded nerves. Pidcock et al have a 60s lead on the yellow jersey group. The leaders are a serious power group too. All have huge engines but 3 riders from the original break now rejoin them. Remco sits a little too far back on the gravel, loses the line and his footing and then has to chase hard to regain contact. He is joined by Mas and they share the workload equally. Like fuck they do, but Evenepoel gets back safely.
Vlasov takes a tumble with potential concussion, but hey, it’s Le Tour so he’ll be healed by the power of positive thinking… He is bashed up but passes the concussion check. Reading between the lines, Blythe has suggested that UAE and Visma are engaged in a dick swinging contest today. Meanwhile, MVDP has been quietly sat in the main group all day, always near the front, and he’s opted for the all-white combo today. He was quiet until he wasn’t and he powers up the road with a handful of others including Girmay, Matthews, Tiller, Rui Costa, Fuglsang and Gaudu. They trail the leaders by 45s but that’s as good as it gets.
I can barely keep up with this. Pogacar goes on gravel at 21km to go and Vingegaard can’t hold the wheel. Only Jorgenson can and he waits for Vingegaard and they pursue and catch Pog but the Dane was struggling for a while. Remco is 10 seconds behind and Roglic another six further back. Pog is burying himself and Jorgenson and Vingegaard sit on, which is fair enough. Pogacar shrugs and sits up and the GC contenders all come together again.
Lots of small attacks from the leaders and also an equal amount of finessing and bluffing. Stuyven makes a move at 10km to go on the final gravel sector and the chase behind is fragmented as happens very often in these situations. Stuyven has a 12s gap and now the chase gets structured but Stuyven is strong and so it will need to be a chase to the line. 3km to go and 8s lead. Sphincters are puckering. Stuyven hasn’t won since MSR in 2021 but has had 49 top 10 finishes. Fucking Movistar are arseholes! Sacrifice Romo for Aranburu. It’s not a difficult one.
Stuyven is tagged under the flamme rouge and Healy goes for it, but is pulled back and then when the sprint opens up it is between Pidcock, Turgis and Gee. Turgis waits, jumps and rounds the other two for the win. I’m not sure if this ranks as highly for the team as Pierre Latour’s time trial win in the Tour of Rwanda though. Turgis has not won a race for almost five years. He picked a bloody cracker to end that streak.
Phenomenal stage. The GC guys all arrive together and so the end results was no gains or losses but a fantastic day of racing.
Winners
ASO - this was a peach of a stage for viewers. A one day classic condensed and with enough action to last for a week.
Turgis - Total Energies are a bit of a laughing stock but Turgis is smart and quick. He’s been contending in the sprints, hovering in the top 15, but today was a great one for him. He is also in my fantasy team, so I was all in on him.
Vingegaard- rode on Tratnik’s bike for almost 100km and lost no time at all. Looked to be in trouble a couple of times but it was of no consequence.
Roglic - after the first gravel sector it looked like being a long, arduous day. He never looked really comfortable but lost no time and so can be happy with that.
Losers
Movistar - absolutely blew it. As professionals, they ride like amateurs. They do this over and over again. They have the strategy of putting multiple riders in breaks and then fail to deliver on a consistent basis. I’m not angry, I’m disappointed.
MVDP and Pidcock - both had targeted this stage. Pidcock was riding the course over six months ago and even though he got took second, he will not be happy. Van der Poel relied on closing a gap in far too short a time and as powerful as he is, the riders in that lead group are horses.
GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 33s Vingegaard at 1 min 15s
Points Girmay
Mountains Abrahamsen
Young rider Evenepoel
Team UAE Currently, Intermarche has earned €43,880 and at the bottom, Decathlon only €2390
9/10 Chirac’s
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Post by salopstick on Jul 8, 2024 13:54:24 GMT
Col du Glandon smashed
It was hot. Climb was tough. I was tired
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Post by thepremierbanksy on Jul 8, 2024 14:40:23 GMT
Only watched the 1hr highlights of yesterday's stage and was gutted I couldn't have watched it live, absolutely loads going on. All the excitement of a one-day classic with the extra bonus entertainment of keeping an eye on the GC contenders. There's a lot of noise from the riders and press about including stages that aren't all on sealed roads but some of the best stages of grand tours in recent years have come from them - the mini Paris-Roubaix that Simon Clarke won, the Strade Bianchi stage to Montalcimi the year Bernal won the overall with Ganna blowing the race apart with 90km to go. More or less as good as it gets, if it occassionally takes out a contender from a crash or puncture then so be it for me.
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Post by salopstick on Jul 9, 2024 10:35:42 GMT
Les Deux Alpes smashed
Just like pantani
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Post by Bod on Jul 9, 2024 20:31:25 GMT
Les Deux Alpes smashed Just like pantani When the route was announced, Pantani said that it wasn’t a real mountain as it wasn’t hard enough. Others adopted his thinking. Then they rode it… He reduced Ullrich to a shell that day.
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Post by Bod on Jul 9, 2024 20:33:53 GMT
Stage 10 - Orléans - Saint-Amand-Montrond (187.3km)
We are into double digits now and ‘The Tour de France starts here’ said absolutely no-one today. There was a serious lot of fuck all going on. Flat, long, straight, wide roads and the promise of strong winds towards the final third of the stage leads to stagnation. Chateaus and churches provide the main focal points as this is an absolute dud and I was desperately hoping for some French farmers to block a road and be assaulted by a deranged Stefan Kung. The fact that my preferred scenario did not transpire disappointed me greatly. That soon passed though because at 92.7km to go, Agent Meintjes got 3 seconds of screen time.
I am having stage 3 flashbacks and placing all my faith on the wind playing a crucial part. If the wind fails me, and the wind rarely fails me, then I may have to fast forward. I can’t contemplate doing that yet though. The Tour is but once a year and if I have to brave 4 hours of dross, then dammit I will do it. It’s at times like these when I am glad I’ve supported us since I was four years old. All those years of dross, interspersed with fleeting periods of hope, have made me a man who can stay for the long haul with no regard for frippery such as enjoyment or pleasure.
75km to go. Riders have gone through the feed zone and I have a choc ice in solidarity with my brothers in Lycra. Apart from Mas. He’s no brother of mine and probably peels his grapes. You can treat that euphemistically if you wish.
45km to go. Oh, where did my day go? I could have ironed the grass or done something productive. The peloton are chatting away and I’m convinced at one point I saw Hugo Houle say ‘The new Bad Boys film looks complete dogshit. Will Smith hasn’t been the same since he started getting pegged.’ If it wasn’t that, it was something close to it.
20km to go. The bunch are still in laughing group mode. I’m glad someone is laughing. At 5km to go, the sprinters assemble and the pace increases. Alpecin, Astana and Uno-X are lined out and fighting for the same 10 metres of road. Traffic islands galore and it’s a bit squirelly.
1.5km to go and it’s messy. There are riders spread everywhere and little splits as someone has let a wheel go. The lead out trains are thinner than Vingegaard’s moustache, aside from Alpecin and Jayco. Sweeping bends in the final 500m and MVDP delivers the boss level lead out for Philipsen, who knew what was good for him and took it by a bike length from Girmay and Ackerman. Once Philipsen opened his sprint up today, he looked unbeatable.
Winners
Philipsen - took the stage and looked in both positional and speed terms to be really dialled in. Alpecin still had four riders left at 1.5km to go and when one of those is Van der Poel and he leads out a sprint by railing it around a bend, you just have to hang on and then finish the job.
Girmay - second place and showed that he can mix it when he gave Sam Bennett a sufficient dig with his shoulder that Bennett just backed off and couldn’t regain his top speed. I’m biased but he is dynamite.
Remco - a belated one here, but he said Vingegaard has no balls and races with his brain. I respect the sheer chutzpah of him saying that and also regarding racing with his brain as some kind of cowardice.
Losers
De Lie - before the race started I wondered if he would make it to stage 21 and he was barely in contention today. It may just be down to bad luck or positioning or both, but he should not be finishing 17th on a bonafide sprint stage.
Viewers - absolutely dreadful spectacle. An even more sanitised day than stage 3 and the third stage was woeful.
GC - Pogacar Evenepoel at 33s Vingegaard at 1 min 15s
Points Girmay
Mountains Abrahamsen
Young rider Evenepoel
Team UAE
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Post by salopstick on Jul 10, 2024 4:53:52 GMT
Les Deux Alpes smashed Just like pantani When the route was announced, Pantani said that it wasn’t a real mountain as it wasn’t hard enough. Others adopted his thinking. Then they rode it… He reduced Ullrich to a shell that day. It’s a real mountain mate. 7-9% for 9km it was tough in the heat. The climbing is hard out here. No flat at all so it’s just up every day. Idifferent to ventoux where you can mix it up
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Post by salopstick on Jul 10, 2024 14:21:32 GMT
Grenoble to Chambray to Grenoble
The Chartreuse Massif smashed Cucheron Granier La Porte
Tough day
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Post by Clem Fandango on Jul 10, 2024 14:44:20 GMT
Great win for Jonas especially after the year he'd had up to this point. Bodes well for the rest of the tour.
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