Bub Marley

I doubt any stage will be given to a breakaway. It’s pretty clear that Pogi is a proper bike racer. He wants to win races and I’m pretty sure he wants to break Cav’s record. Wouldn’t surprise me if he goes for this one.

Personally if it’s a low end bike then I’d just get a bike with discs. If you’re buying a brand new bike, the only way I’d go rim brakes now is if it’s a high end frame and the discount is substantial. Then it’s something to look at. But on the lower end, just go disc brakes.

Mate forget about the stats. You can immediately tell when Pog is over or under the limit just by using your eyes.

Did he really go deep yesterday? To me he rode smart. His teammates protected up until 4km to go.

I think they sense that the Pilchards team is much weaker this year. Honestly chapeau to Pollitt who done so much work for so long and then Soler who actually ramped it up afterwards with an insane pace which put the whole Visma team in the hurt.

Show of strength from Pogacar today. Raced so much smarter, used his teammates to perfection and killed Jonas when it matters and that’s right at the end. He has a nice buffer now which means Jonas will probably try something tomorrow and he can essentially just ride on his wheels and kill him tomorrow on the final climb. With no Kuss and no Roglic, Visma are not as strong as previous years.

Main Cheese in the second breakaway group.

I’ll have to check. They’re a few years old so most likely not available. Was hoping it would be like a standard size.

I currently have a set of carbon road wheels which have novatec hubs on. It currently has a Shimano HG freehub. I’m looking for some advice on how to convert this to an XD freehub. Are the XD free hubs brand specific or can I just buy any XD freehub and it’ll work?

Any feedback on this saddle after some usage? How much is the fake supacaz and is it any good?

If you don’t care about damaging your car then go for it. You’d also need to watch your speed as any little bumps and rollers will kinda shift it and shake it etc. If you want a proper rack that will last a lifetime, get a tow bar mounted one. It doesn’t have to be the expensive platform ones but any tow bar rack will be so much more secure than this.

I blame Mountain Bru. The man has had it in for him since day 1.

Think they are direct to consumer like Canyon.

You’re all in on Roglic cracking hey? 😂

In the last 2 tours, I think Pogi has had 2 bad days. He shipped a lot of time in the TT last year, but he still came second so I think that was more a case of Jonas on a different level. In other words he averages 1 bad day per tour. If that was his bad day then he lost no time at all so it could be a positive for him. And just by his face and his weak sprint, I think that was definitely a bad day. All we want is come the TT, the race is still up for grabs.

Of course no one really knows anything and everything is speculation. But we’re allowed to speculate no? Otherwise what’s the point of even discussing? I only commenting on what my eyes are seeing and of course I could be wrong. But based on the San Luca stage, the gravel stage and today’s stage, for me Jonas is in top shape. The only time he really has lost time is in the descents. I don’t think me saying Pogi should hold off on attacking till the final climb is something extraordinary. For me it’s clear that Pogi’s best chance would be making it count on the last climb or the last descent. That’s when he’s actually taking time on Jonas. Unfortunately these types of stages are done now and once we head into the big mountains, history has shown that Jonas is better. It’ll be interesting to see what the approach is now. I think if he tries to attack him, the same thing happens. He’ll get that initial gap but Jonas will claw it back. I agree but what I’m saying is he is going too early. He needs to save the burst for the final climb when it’s an uphill finish or even when its a descent finish, he just needs a slight gap before he crests the descent. If he’d done that, he’d probably still win the bonus seconds on the penultimate climb but would’ve been fresher for the stage win, so he’d have got double bonus seconds including the finish plus a few seconds as there probably would have been a gap at the finish. Attacking from so far out is crazy. Jonas is a double Tour de France winner. I hope for everyone’s sake that Ayuso and Almeida really shine on the long mountain stages. Pogi will need all the support he has. I have to say though Ayuso’s body language and interviews are not that great. Like someone mentioned earlier, they could be a GC rider on another team and that’s kinda the risk you run when your team is full of individuals. I can’t wait for the mountains though. It’s cold and raining here in Cape Town so not like I can ride outdoors. I’m gonna just sit on the couch with a blanket and enjoy the racing.

I also think that if Jonas was not at his top level perhaps these tactics would work. But it’s quite clear now that Jonas is in top top shape. Show him the respect he deserves and make him do the chasing.

And then lost all that time he gained on the next bump. I think he needs to show Jonas more respect personally but that’s just me. I don’t blame Pog. He’s a racer and his instinct is to race. It’s the team that needs to be smarter. And if it’s a case of him not listening then they need to get someone that he will listen to. That’s if they wanna win the tour. These tactics while it makes for great viewing ain’t gonna win him the tour. And this is proven the last 2 years. I agree from a neutral it’s great viewing. But personally as a Pogi fan, I want him to win the tour and then go and do the vuelta and try and win all 3. So if he can just treat this like a 3 week tour and not a classics race it will benefit him.

I honestly do not understand UAE or Pogi for that matter. They are basically showing the world that they are scared of Jonas with these tactics. You’d think by now Pogi should know that he is not gonna put minutes in Jonas. I dont understand why he is attacking so early. Stop burning your teammates so early and keep them with you as long as possible. Why attack so far out? Jonas is the one that is a minute behind, let him do the work and then kill him at the end. I’m gonna go out on a limb and say that if Pogi doesn’t change his style, he’s gonna get smoked again by Jonas. He has so many climbing domestiques but is not using them correctly. When Yates stomps on that pedals, not many can keep the pace. They need to manage the situation better. The one positive for Pogi though is he didn’t lose more time. Because lets be clear, his face today was a carbon copy of last years stage where he shipped minutes to Jonas as well as the year before when Roglic and Jonas double teamed him and he also lost big time. He was cooked today but he seemed to overcome it somehow. Now again, this wasn’t a high mountain stage so maybe not a fair comparison but he looked like he was on the verge of a complete bonk so kudos to him for keeping it together.

Are they doing this to control the break or is it more a case of keeping the pace high and try and weaken the Visma train before the action starts. I think this stage definitely suits Pogi and he’s probably thinking of 30sec gap and maybe win bonus.

I thought I saw Vlasov immediately get back on the same bike after falling into the ditch?

While we’re on this topic, what’s the consensus on selling free kit? For example, I’ve seen loads of people advertising their Vitality kit, event kit or accessories that you receive in a race pack as an example. To me, that seems a bit sneaky. But if it’s fair game then fair enough i suppose. I can’t see why anyone would actually buy a vitality kit or an event kit if you haven’t completed it. But that’s just me.

So either 275k for this or 275k for a pinarello Dogma🤔. Decisions decisions.

Awesome. I’m in for the 86km gravel👍

I have used Assos, Castelli, DHB, Kalas and a bib from my Chinese contact who did my custom kit. For me personally, I don’t find much difference in any of them comfort wise. However I do think this is personal and the heavier you are, the more it might have an impact. But for me as a sub 60Kg rider I can ride any of them without discomfort. The one benefit Assos has over the others, is the independent chamois thing. I do think this helps with chafing a bit as the chamois moves separately with the rest of the bib. But in terms of actual padding and comfort, there’s no difference. If you are riding for 5 hour plus your behind is going to get sore. The only way to overcome this is more time in the saddle.