2020 Tour de France

[J Wakefield]

John a bit off topic but whose bike am I getting - I’m a big guy, I can’t have Tadej’ tiny bike ?

Valid question and one of utter importance. Vegard is 1.98 or something I’m sure we can work a deal on that.

[J Wakefield]

yeah this first week is being raced as if its the last...

 

Kreiziger and De Marchi are very quiet. its like they they out for a 3 week base training rides

Guys are worried the Tour ends tomorrow so whoever has yellow, green, white or Polka keeps it!!

[Gen]

Hey Gen

 

I didn’t post as we got back to hotel near 10pm. It was a brutal day, it was so so fast and comforting you doing 168km in 3.5hrs do the math. Guys were shattered.

 

Tadej got a flat, got back to the group with the help of Jan and Marco but then as he got back, Mahoric crashed and he was caught behind that and then it was slapped into a tail - cross wind and no one was coming back.

 

We did know something was going to happen within the 1st 10km and were prepared but didn’t know not was at km 0!!

 

Hats off to Bora it was actually a real putty they didn’t finish it off, it was text book moering okes. I was impressed

Thx.. I always think days like that must be so stressful for the guys in the team cars.. you have to be on it as much as the guys riding.

 

Yeah pity about that finale but hey that's cycling.

[Mntboy]

Guys are worried the Tour ends tomorrow so whoever has yellow, green, white or Polka keeps it!!

So today is going to be especially hard and fast and extremely furious and shouldn't be missed at all by us watching at home. My take away from the above.

 

However: Do you still think that it will go all the way to Paris or do now think that it is possible that it might get called off early if there are too many positives or going through too many red zones?

[DJuice]

Ineos and Jumbo both replaced their wheels with more exotic ligther versions than the shimano. Adam...he is still on his shimano with different depths front and back. Would the deeper wheel at the back help with his descending considering his size and weight?

[Jewbacca]

Formolo is not at the Tour for GC. He did what was set out for the day and did what was asked of him in terms of role to be played.

 

Thank you for the words but a very long way to go and anything can happen as we have seen in the last few days.

For sure.. I more meant that with his current form I thought we might see him up the road yesterday as a nice bunny for Tadej to catch and have help. But ja, I get that he is there as a super dom.

 

All the best and I hope today goes according to plan as well into the much needed rest day!

[Gen]

Guys are worried the Tour ends tomorrow so whoever has yellow, green, white or Polka keeps it!!

So we should see some serious racing today.

[Slowbee]

John (colonel) Wakefield, all the best for today! Hope you guys get a good result today!!

[Vetplant]

Ineos and Jumbo both replaced their wheels with more exotic ligther versions than the shimano. Adam...he is still on his shimano with different depths front and back. Would the deeper wheel at the back help with his descending considering his size and weight?

These bikes are already at the weight limit, so these kinds of changes must be for other reasons than just weight savings. Where you have the weight should not have a massive effect on how fast you can climb, GCN explained it in a recent video.

 

More rotating mass means more gyroscopic effect keeping things stable, but makes it a bit more difficult to make the bike turn in. MotoGP bikes experience this to a much larger extent, but these guys must surely also look at those types of things to gain advantages in the descents.

[Vetplant]

John (colonel) Wakefield, all the best for today! Hope you guys get a good result today!!

Ditto.

 

With the performance shown yesterday, I can see Pogacar pulling out all the stops with a massive attack and ending up in yellow with the bonus seconds on the final climb and again at the finish line.

 

Big finish coming today!

[The Ghost]

Guys are worried the Tour ends tomorrow so whoever has yellow, green, white or Polka keeps it!!

That would be a real pity.

[J Wakefield]

So today is going to be especially hard and fast and extremely furious and shouldn't be missed at all by us watching at home. My take away from the above.

 

However: Do you still think that it will go all the way to Paris or do now think that it is possible that it might get called off early if there are too many positives or going through too many red zones?

I see it going to Paris. The only way it won’t is for example today and tomorrow we get tested and if there a whole bunch of positives from the testing it will be called off maybe.

 

Yesterday the fans on the climbs weren’t helping with so many not wearing masks and they being handed out for free.

 

As shattered as I am and going home to sleep is a rad idea now, I want it to go to Paris - cycling, riders and fans deserve it. The racing alone says it should

[Kranswurm]

Unless he eats some steak with Pinot things are not looking good for him.

What a strange thing to say

[Mntboy]

I see it going to Paris. The only way it won’t is for example today and tomorrow we get tested and if there a whole bunch of positives from the testing it will be called off maybe.

 

Yesterday the fans on the climbs weren’t helping with so many not wearing masks and they being handed out for free.

 

As shattered as I am and going home to sleep is a rad idea now, I want it to go to Paris - cycling, riders and fans deserve it. The racing alone says it should

Yeah I noticed there was a whole bunch of fans either not wearing masks or wearing it incorrectly. Keeping [emoji1695]that nobody has been infected.

 

Agree with you on the racing. It has been so good and each stage has produced something to gawk at in awe of these elite athletes skill and prowess. I am very much hoping that you guys get to race all the way through Paris. It would just be so weird if it didn't!!!

[The Ghost]

Yesterday the fans on the climbs weren’t helping with so many not wearing masks and they being handed out for free.

I’m in the camp that finds the crowd standing right in front of and super close to the riders until the last second to be nothing less than ridiculous. I maintain that those people are in it for themselves (see how close I can get, getting drunk, see if I can get on TV, maybe I can touch a rider etc) not to support the riders. Standing there screaming, obscuring the line and crowding someone who is taking massive breaths is terrible on a good day, doing it with this virus around is even more ridiculous.

[Gen]

I’m in the camp that finds the crowd standing right in front of and super close to the riders until the last second to be nothing less than ridiculous. I maintain that those people are in it for themselves (see how close I can get, getting drunk, see if I can get on TV, maybe I can touch a rider etc) not to support the riders. Standing there screaming, obscuring the line and crowding someone who is taking massive breaths is terrible on a good day, doing it with this virus around is even more ridiculous.

Agreed.. they were suppose to limit the numbers on cimbs and there is almost zero control over those road side fans... ...just barrier the entire climb then or refuse fans on the climbs or line the climbs with a police barricade like we often see at the Giro and Vuelta.