Dirt Tracker

I thought he's said Tipcock. Almost spat my coffee over the screen. MVDP's OTB was classic. I now know what it's like to feel like a olympian today. Done that once or twice. The course was a classic. If that were around Cape Town okes would be dragging 160mm enduro rigs and full helmets to the drop in.

Shame for Nino, stoked for Alan. Kept forgetting Piddock was side swiped by a driver and had a stuffed CB a short time ago. That was a decent hit o him and his bike as well. Even more impressive.

Hell of a ride by Piddock! So killed in cycloX, been successful on the road, crushed the XC today. What's next? Tilt at the DH WC, an epic and then goes full BMX. ????

He's a kiwi, he's about the only commentator that is about for them. No idea how he scored the olympic job and we're having to listen to it! Man had to keep turning the sound off. He's like the manager in Flight of the Concordes. Unreal. He was the same for the Cricket World Cup for Kiwis vs the english just buthchers everything. "Rich'ard Carapaz... or as they say on the continent Richard Carapaz" - Pure Gold. Loved how he missed that Carapaz came 3rd in the Tour this year and has won the Giro and kept reeling off his giro stage wins and his Tour Du Swiss result this year.

Thanks for the info. Can't see you guys doing anything but getting stronger for next season. Will be a great watching so many good riders hamming it out for the next few years. Viviani back to QS... I thought that was Patrick giving good copy to the papers. I wonder what the pathway is for Cav'. Amazing story this year but what will happen to the results when Bennett, Ewan and co are back in the tour? He needs one for the tour record, is that that publicity worth the rest of the contract that surely must come ow after QS brought him back to life? Plapp looks a good prospect for sure. Another one into the ineos machine. Hope that is the right move for him.

Slightly wilder rumours... - George Bennett to UAE (?!?) - Vlasov to Ineos - Fuglsang to Cofidis - Viviani to Eolo-Kometa - Laporte to Jumbo - Ackerman to UAE - Sam Bennett to Bora (or as one report has said... Ineos!) - Almeida to Bora / UAE - Sagan to Direct Energie - Ivan Sosa to Movistar - Pacher to FDJ

Looks like all those rumours are starting to firm up. - Chaves to EF - Higuita to Bora - Jai Hindly to DSM Bora - Plapp to Ineos - Lotte Kopecky to SD Worx - Degenkolb to DSM Rumours (would be good to hear how wildly off the mark the UAE ones are from our very own Emirates insider): - Rohan Dennis to Jumbo - Nibali to Astana - Tolhoek to Trek - Kristoff to Intermarche or Total DirectEnergies - Marc Soler to UAE (will be missed from the Movistar doco's) - De La Cruz to Movistar - Hodeg to UAE - Coquard to Cofidis

????‍♂️

Just watched the sprint again and the way Mørkøv left Ballerini’s wheel because it was too early and forced someone else to take the gap was unreal in that pressured situation. He is such a master. Wonder if any journalist is brave enough to try for an interview with Bennett at the moment.

“I’m not going to lie, I think sometimes I’ve been personally picked at, but on the same level I’ve also been a prick,” Cavendish said of his rapport with the press. “But that’s what happens when you’re young, you know. For many years, I think I suffered the consequences of being brash and young, without an education in how to behave with media, I guess. As you get older, and get a family and responsibilities, you learn how to behave. “Unfortunately, some people didn’t want to let go of what I was like when I was young, even though I had changed. It maybe took time away for me to get that chip off my shoulder and for the press get that chip get off their shoulder. You actually see I’m a grown-up now. I’m 36 years old, I’m not a 20-year-old boy wanting to fight the world

Now for a brutal few days ahead for the fastmen... let's hope Cav' and his babysitters can get through and to set up the fairytale in Paris.

Some might say that PatrickL has been plotting the storyline since he found out Sam B was skipping the ship and Cav' started winning. He's a cunning old goat. The coverage DQS has got is insane and it will keep going all tour. With Pog having control of everything so fat it's the only story in town.

Cav' is so buggered in the interview. What an effort.

Chippo never finished a Tour and he was never dragged over the coals like this. When he's talked about it's always with a smile and a 'well that's just Mario' tone. It's a pretty unique year. The Olympics only come every 4 years and he's got an opportunity to do it. What does it serve his team or sponsors to sit in the Grupetto day after day, come out the other side and be flogged? I don't have a problem with it at all. He's been smashing it for way longer than anyone apart from Wout this year, did a full cyclo-x season, came world champ, did a classics season and scored there, won a couple of MTB races along the way, made a massive impact on the tour and now has a chance to to and compete in Tokyo. Fair play. Some riders only aimed for Le Tour and used all the other great races around the year as training treating them as such. As for taking another teammates place. Really? There isn't another rider in that team that will bring the publicity, keep the sponsors happy, give a ROI, reach an audience that no other rider currently can and deliver the wins across the board, all year. Cycling is a business and also a business of survival. The level of exposure the team is getting this year especially will help keep current sponsors interested, attract new sponsors and in turn help keep MVDP in Alpecin which in turn give him the freedom to do what he wants and not get bored. If ASO have a problem they would do something but they don't. He has added a massive story to this years tour, he battled and to see the jersey and publicity is up. They will be stoked.

Looking at the profile for today I'm guessing the grupetto is going to be the peloton again today and massive. They need to keep Cav' in there to the line and hope it comes home in time or hope ASO aren't going to time cut 50+ riders. I wonder how Froome will go today. Really hope BikeExchange don't ride against Cav today to put out him out and over the time cut. That would be a d*/k move.

Cav in all photos and interviews is either smiling, laughing or crying this tour. What's not to love. Chapeau, you're making the story of this tour. Sam B must be burying his head and wondering if he'll get a run on at all this season. Just the GOAT sprinter. No question.

I see Soudal has jumped ship from Lotto to become lead sponsor to the wolfpack.

That was a thing of beauty. From 30km out that was playing out and building and building. Absolutely brilliant. Morkov was outstanding such calm and vision to not only drop Cav' off but manipulate the rest of the contenders to gain an advantage. What a difference team belief makes!

I was super sceptical about the usefulness of Gravel bikes when they first rocked up. Couldn't see how they weren't anything other than a compromise on all angles. Coming out of the big lockdown I just found myself just couldn't be arsed to ride my 170/145 super bike. I'd chased up the travel sizes across a number of dual sus' to get the ultimate weapon (because more is better, right?) and when I got there I found that it made our trails boring. I'm sure that in BC or the Northshore on tougher terrain and with a more rad rider you would find the limits and push beyond them but riding most of the blacks around here I found myself wishing for a short travel 29'r or a steel hard tail to make it fun. Most of the Tokai trails and TM are on my doorstep, I've got commitments so my trips up to the 'hoek are pretty rare. So I snapped and sold the beast. What is the point of sitting with a R120+ machine that hasn't turned a crank in anger for a good 6 months. On a whim I bought a Niner MCR based monster gravel bike from a fellow hubber as I needed something to ride with the kids and was struggling finding a Steel hardtail / a short travel 29'r / Kingdom and Cotic had huge backlogs. Honestly, I don't want to sound like 'that guy' but it's super fun, I've not bought a new dirt bike of any sort and it cost me under R20k. I ride it pretty much everywhere I took my big rig (upper cobra & the DH's excluded) and it's handled it great. For me, at the moment it's the one bike that has ruled the others. I ride some road, come back on the trails, take it on some farm roads if we're away. It's stopped the 'itch' of pouring over classifieds, looking for the next thing and I've been loving the goofy, stupidity of it. It's saved a fair bit of money not having to service bearings, front and rear shocks etc. It's adaptable, goes on most things and isn't a luss to ride to the trails, hammer and ride back plus it's still has hope hubs and that is the soundtrack of fun! Things I'd change: would like a dropper, jamming the saddle into my stomach on downs gets a bit tired. I'd like to get one of those short travel leftys and see what that's like up the front but that's about it. I'm not saying it's going to be my last buy but I think it's going to stay in the quiver no matter what else pops up.

Must have been a odd day for Doug Ryder with current rider Nic D the last rider across the line & former rider Ben O' the first rider across the line. Good to see DQS putting faith in Cav' and committing De Klerk & Mørkøv to guide him to the finish. Would have been a big loss to the team for the rest of the tour to lose all 3 to the clock.

Wonder how many riders abandoned today and how any will miss the time cut. Seeing riders like Stevie K coming in 31 minutes down. Brutal day. Cav' has 5 minutes to make it in at the moment.

Brilliant. Cav' will be shaking his head at that. It's one way to go get some points for the green jersey.

Give it a bit of time to allow DaveB to grab Jim Radcliffes cheque book and start whispering in his ear...

Go Ben-O! Great ride. Another Ex-DiData rider taking stages this tour.

"Dear Dougie..."???? on a different tack... I wonder if Mark could match Eddies record and take home the Green Jersey. Not sure if Patrick could pay those bonuses!