Mountain Bru

It's definitely true that the first 2 stages haven't suited Gee and have been more suited to a more punchy rider that can put in a big kick on the last climb..... and the power of the Ineos train hasn't been able to be utilized.... and that the tour is 21 stages long and we're only 2 stages in.... and that making up 30 seconds isn't impossible at all.... and that Gee has a strong TT.... and and and.... But I think the problem Ineos and Gee/Carapaz have is that the normal mountain train strategy that they've used in the past relies on having strong enough domestiques to set a crazy tempo up the climbs to prevent attacks, and then have a leader that can outkick the field in the last 1 or 2km. They have an amazing train his year, probably one of the strongest ever, but they're not going to be able to just ride Rog or Pog off their wheels (let alone their teams), and I don't see Gee or Carapaz out-kicking either of the Slovenians. I feel like the first 2 stages have proved this already. And I don't rate Gee on descent finishes even if he has a gap over the top of the climb. Barring any crashes, injuries, or ridiculous cross-wind chaos, I feel like there's 2 races on the go... Who can win between Rogla and Pog, and the race for the third spot on the podium.

I think Pog and Rog would have made more of an effort to chase him down if he was a GC threat. Rogla just sat behind Pogacar until they sprinted for the line.

Looked like Gee lost a few seconds today.... Does that make Carapaz the outright leader of Ineos?

Can't help but think MVDP had the advantage of not being a GC threat today. Beast of an attack!

Nairo man for the win!

Ineos looks crazy strong. But there can be no doubt about the pecking order when they got Tao to pull before Kwaito. And now Porte pulling for Gee and Carapaz.

With anyone else, I'd believe they were just going for the seconds, but we've seen MVDP make ridiculously early attacks so often that it's hard to believe he wasn't thinking of a 15km solo break

Or was MVDP just going for the bonus seconds cos he wants a better chance to be in yellow?

This is his way of making sure he has good positioning for the last climb.... Can't help but think that he's cooked himself and thrown away his chances for a win. Maybe he'll prove me wrong

Israel Startup Nation had a shocker today. Woods lost 9 minutes, Dan Martin 5 and half. Froomey looked really banged up, might not start tomorrow. GC hopes for them are pretty much done. Woods must have a good chance for a stage win or 2 going forward though.

Yip. Luckily that crash didn't result in losses for the GC guys. But I think it's what caused the guy from DSM to abandon.

Such a ridiculous crash. When there's a touch of wheels or someone slides out on a wet corner, I kind of see it as part of the race and the reason why you need to stay in the front of the pack to stay safe. But I hate seeing spectators influence the race. Reminds me of when Nibali crashed on Alpe D'Huez because his handlebar got caught on a spectators camera strap. In my mind, it's the difference between a rugby player getting injured in a tackle vs getting injured because a spectator ran on the field and clubbed him with a bat.

Done. Can't even claim it's because English isn't my first language ????‍♂️

You can't win the tour on day 1, but you can lose it....

"Come on grandad-granny", in a mix of French and German https://www.devdiscourse.com/article/sports-games/1628493-cycling-fan-with-cardboard-sign-causes-massive-pile-up-on-the-tour

Called it:

Flip Froome looks like he's in really bad shape. Such a pity... Love him or hate him, he's a great of the sport.

Gonna be interesting to see how it plays out. GC boys might not want to take yellow on stage 1 but with no 3km safe zone will need to stay at the head of affairs right to the end so might just go for it, MVDP wants to win everything in the first 10 days, WVA says he's not riding for himself and only Roglic, JA won't be able to resist an opportunity for yellow... Evan Ewan has a chance if no one attacks on the climb and he can hang on for a reduced sprint. 2016 Sagan would probably take this in his sleep though.

I wonder if we'll see the same shenanigans in the last km later today with WVA, MVDP and JA....

Just so that it's completely black?

What do you do with the sandpaper?

I wonder if the weather will effect MVDP? After the world champs a few years ago, I always doubt him in the cold/wet, but that's probably unfounded seen as he's spent his life doing cyclocross in crap weather. My guess though is that the last climb will come down to positioning, and that tips the scale towards WVA or JA imho.

Absorption is one factor, but not the only one: https://physoc.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1113/expphysiol.2006.034223 "The effect of different drink temperatures on the perception of exertion and exercise endurance has not been extensively investigated. Consequently, the purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of drink temperature on fluid intake and endurance during cycling in the heat" "It is concluded that a drink at 4◦C during exercise in the heat enhances fluid consumption and improves endurance by acting as a heat sink, attenuating the rise in body temperature and therefore reducing the effects of heat stress" I guess fluid consumption matters too. A warm energy drink is pretty miff, so I drink less of it, which means that even if it's absorbed better, there's less of it to absorb.

I looked at the titan black bottles once, and decided against them because I figured black bottles would warm up my water faster than the clear or red ones. Does anyone have actual experience in this though? Is there a noticeable difference?