Tour de France 2021

[Vetplant]

5 minutes ago, Gen said:

As long as Morkov is lead-out man any DQS Sprinter stands a good chance of winning.. 

 

I think realistically MVDP will be the biggest threat in the Green Jersey competition.. If he decided to go for it. 

 

 

Good point! ????

[dsw]

12 minutes ago, Vetplant said:

Interesting...

So Cav is a decent backup-option for DQS. He will contest for sprint wins, but will most likely not be able to pick up points in the hilly stages..

That makes life much easier for Sagan to contest for Green. Bennett really had his number last year. Without Bennett there, he should have a decent chance of taking it once more.

 

I have no doubt that Bora will go flat out for Green.

None of their GC contenders has a realistic chance to win overall while by leaving Ackermann out they have basically conceded that they do not really have a sprinter to compete for wins on the flat stages.

So imo they will spend a lot of resources to assist Sagan to pick up points along the route. 

Edited June 15, 2021 by dsw

[Gen]

3 minutes ago, Vetplant said:

Good point! ????

Will be interesting to see how he goes over 3 weeks.. We haven't seen that yet.. 

[Gen]

3 minutes ago, dsw said:

I have no doubt that Bora will go flat out for Green.

None of their GC contenders has a realistic chance to win overall while by leaving Ackermann out they have basically conceded that they do not really have a sprinter to compete for wins on the flat stages.

So imo they will spend a lot of resources to assist Sagan to pick up points along the route. 

Their GC ambition is top 5 as per article., Ackermann has had a bit of a dissapointmenting season thus far.. Something isn't lekker there.. . But I hope to see him back at his best soon.. I really do like him. 

[Jewbacca]

3 minutes ago, Gen said:

Will be interesting to see how he goes over 3 weeks.. We haven't seen that yet.. 

This is poignant.. 

One of the mouth watering prospects.

It will also be interesting to see who abandons with 'Olympic' aspirations in week 2

 

[Gen]

Just now, Jewbacca said:

This is poignant.. 

One of the mouth watering prospects.

It will also be interesting to see who abandons with 'Olympic' aspirations in week 2

 

Yeah I was just thinking about that MVDP has said before the XCO Olympics is a big target for him...

[TheoG]

Just now, Gen said:

Yeah I was just thinking about that MVDP has said before the XCO Olympics is a big target for him...

With Nino not on song at all, I actually don't see the other front runners like Fluckiger stopping him for the XCO Olympics.

[Vetplant]

15 minutes ago, Gen said:

I think realistically MVDP will be the biggest threat in the Green Jersey competition.. If he decided to go for it. 

 

 

As much as I want JV to go for Yellow with an all-in battle against Tadej, I also want to see what WvA can do if he is allowed to chase his own ambitions.

Multiple Points Classification Wins are surely somewhere in his future.

Now imagine how epic it would be to see MvdP and WvA duking it out for green over three weeks. Simply amazing.

But I wonder if MvdP isn't eyeing gold in the Olympics this year(if that goes ahead). Maybe he bails after the first week to go prepare for that.

Time will tell. 

[Jewbacca]

2 minutes ago, Gen said:

Yeah I was just thinking about that MVDP has said before the XCO Olympics is a big target for him...

Yup

Him along with the road race favourites. 

Olympic years tend to see a very thinned out field on the champs-Elysees

[lechatnoir]

13 minutes ago, Gen said:

As long as Morkov is lead-out man any DQS Sprinter stands a good chance of winning.. 

 

I think realistically MVDP will be the biggest threat in the Green Jersey competition.. If he decided to go for it. 

 

 

It looks like Alpecin is set up for stage wins and little else, so what else is there for MVDP to do? Probably will get bored on a couple of days and mop up all intermediate sprints. If he rides with some smart tactics, MVDP should be seen as one of the automatic favourites for the green. And on stage 1 and 2, not only can he hang with the punchiest puncheurs on the final Cat 3 efforts, he can honk out a sprint to beat the best as well. All things being equal, those stages will see Sagan just making up the numbers (sorry Gen)

[Jewbacca]

2 minutes ago, Vetplant said:

As much as I want JV to go for Yellow with an all-in battle against Tadej, I also want to see what WvA can do if he is allowed to chase his own ambitions.

Multiple Points Classification Wins are surely somewhere in his future.

Now imagine how epic it would be to see MvdP and WvA duking it out for green over three weeks. Simply amazing.

But I wonder if MvdP isn't eyeing gold in the Olympics this year(if that goes ahead). Maybe he bails after the first week to go prepare for that.

Time will tell. 

hahahaha your obsession with seeing WvA chase green!

I am sure it will happen, but not this year. Apparently.

As long as Jumbo have faith that PR can win the tour, he will be there to do a job. What a job he does!

[Vetplant]

2 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

hahahaha your obsession with seeing WvA chase green!

I am sure it will happen, but not this year. Apparently.

As long as Jumbo have faith that PR can win the tour, he will be there to do a job. What a job he does!

I will not rest till they make it happen!????

[TheoG]

Just now, Vetplant said:

I will not rest till they make it happen!????

Me and you both ... ????

 

[Gen]

12 minutes ago, Vetplant said:

As much as I want JV to go for Yellow with an all-in battle against Tadej, I also want to see what WvA can do if he is allowed to chase his own ambitions.

Multiple Points Classification Wins are surely somewhere in his future.

Now imagine how epic it would be to see MvdP and WvA duking it out for green over three weeks. Simply amazing.

But I wonder if MvdP isn't eyeing gold in the Olympics this year(if that goes ahead). Maybe he bails after the first week to go prepare for that.

Time will tell. 

WVA targets the classics as his own ambitions atm. If he wants anything else in GTs he'd have to find another team as long as what Jumbo target GC. 

[Gen]

53 minutes ago, lechatnoir said:

It looks like Alpecin is set up for stage wins and little else, so what else is there for MVDP to do? Probably will get bored on a couple of days and mop up all intermediate sprints. If he rides with some smart tactics, MVDP should be seen as one of the automatic favourites for the green. And on stage 1 and 2, not only can he hang with the punchiest puncheurs on the final Cat 3 efforts, he can honk out a sprint to beat the best as well. All things being equal, those stages will see Sagan just making up the numbers (sorry Gen)

The approach to stage 1 & 2 is going to be very interesting.. Don't forget the GC teams will also be looking at it as to not lose unexpected time.  And a lot of riders will be eyeig that first yellow Jersey. 

 

What MVDP will be allowed to do is going to be interesting.. Not from his side (we know he can do whatever the hell he wants lol) but what the Peloton will allow him to do.. He is The marked man.. A pleasant change for me.. Should be a lot of fun. 

 

 

Edited June 15, 2021 by Gen

[Wayne pudding Mol]

28 minutes ago, Gen said:

The approach to stage 1 & 2 is going to be very interesting.. Don't forget the GC teams will also be looking at it as to not lose unexpected time.  And a lot of riders will be eyeig that first yellow Jersey. 

 

What MVDP will be allowed to do is going to be interesting.. Not from his side (we know he can do whatever the hell he wants lol) but what the Peloton will allow him to do.. He is The marked man.. A pleasant change for me.. Should be a lot of fun. 

 

 

Marking MVDP is like trying to isolate Pogacar, not easy - this new crop feel rocks when their teammates get dropped.  They just adapt and win anyway

i just love the pressure and drama of the tour - The giro is great and maybe my favourite but the Le Tour is pure theatre