Tour de France 2021

[Patchelicious]

 

[Mountain Bru]

[Ozzie NL]

Restday means I am working my gat off so I can work half days for the rest of the week

[TheoG]

 

58 minutes ago, Mountain Bru said:

Very nasty, but I wish ....

Edit:  I'm joking guys.

Edited July 5, 2021 by TheoG

[Danger Dassie]

"Nic Dlamini, pelted by rain and backlit by the headlights of his Qhubeka-NextHash team car, crossed the final finish line of his first Tour de France. He rolled across the wide yellow strips where, 90 minutes before, Ben O’Connor had raised his hands, and on toward a waiting soigneur. He came to a stop. The finish line gantry was coming down. His head dropped.

He would have known for hours. Time-cut math is blunt and unforgiving. It sends riders into team cars, bodies trampled by futility, happy to simply end the suffering, crank the heat, slip out of wet lycra and into the tracksuit they’ll wear to fly home. Dlamini did none of those things." 

https://cyclingtips.com/2021/07/for-nic-dlamini-getting-off-wasnt-an-option/?fbclid=IwAR1Q5uncQa_aT0enQpr_ZQklu1nOPbFRhgSj82DUHaC7-GViC7ZRwG2s9wI
 

“... the important thing was to ride to the finish regardless... ”

 

 

[Ispeed_V]

Both Nic and Stefan OTL due to crashes on stage 9.

Feel for the two them but at least they can recoup and prep for Olympics

[Frosty]

This is Movistar’s chance to get Enric Mas on the podium; possibly a second place. Then perhaps the 2022 screening of the The least expected day will be a happy one.

[J Wakefield]

34 minutes ago, TheoG said:

 

Very nasty, but I wish ....

Why would you wish harm, discomfort or injury on a or any rider? Unless I have read this wrong. 

Edited July 5, 2021 by J Wakefield

[Mountain Bru]

2 minutes ago, Frosty said:

This is Movistar’s chance to get Enric Mas on the podium; possibly a second place. Then perhaps the 2022 screening of the The least expected day will be a happy one.

Yes, but instead Valverde will probably attack him and go for stage wins himself, while the rest of the team marks Carapaz out of the race....  

[TheoG]

2 minutes ago, J Wakefield said:

Why would you wish harm, discomfort or injury on a or any rider? Unless I have read this wrong. 

No need to be so serious, of course I don't wish any harm on him, only joking.  It would be nice to see a more competitive race, but Pogacar look simply untouchable at this stage.

[DieselnDust]

Look, We're at the beginning of potentially the greatest era of GT stage racing. So many exciting talents emerging from the rain in France. JB was saying that he'd like to see WvA and MvdP prep for GT contention instead of focusing solely on CX and Road Classics (+MTB in the case of MvdP). He reckons those two could really animate the GC and go all the way. Sonny Colbrelli climbed with the climbers yesterday,..that's not supposed to happen right?!

Pogacar is possibly the first guy to 8wins and a strong possibility of 8 in a row. So watching potential history in the making is worth the boredom of a race only happening for 2nd and 3rd.

With BoC in 2nd only 121sec down and climbing very well, the guys behind him are going to have to rely on his collapse to overtake him. All Poggy has to do is upload tetris to his PC8 and get dragged along for the ride.

There is every possibility of drama. A cold for a day or two, anything can still happen, its only the first rest day FCOL.

I'm looking forward to the next two weeks. Stocked up on popcorn, cleared the diary of unnecessary noise and watching the spectacle of Pogy get #2 under the belt. Only 6 more to go after that

Edited July 5, 2021 by DieselnDust

[J Wakefield]

1 hour ago, TheoG said:

No need to be so serious, of course I don't wish any harm on him, only joking.  It would be nice to see a more competitive race, but Pogacar look simply untouchable at this stage.

Not serious and all good, was just asking if what I read was understood correctly which I asked. 

[Frosty]

39 minutes ago, Frosty said:

This is Movistar’s chance to get Enric Mas on the podium; possibly a second place. Then perhaps the 2022 screening of the The least expected day will be a happy one.

Meant to add this in my post:

venga, venga, venga! 
A screenshot from Netflix is always blank, but it’s Arrieta shouting to Mas at the ITT at last year’s Vuelta.

[Jbr]

22 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

JB was saying that he'd like to see WvA and MvdP prep for GT contention instead of focusing solely on CX and Road Classics (+MTB in the case of MvdP).

I did not say anything, plus I'm obviously for Alaf ????

 

 

Edited July 6, 2021 by Jbr
comic sans

[Jewbacca]

With Pogacar, Bernal, Roglic, Remco, Pidcock et al, I don't see MvdP or WvA ever winning a GT if they have to race against these guys.

While they are electric, diverse and immensely talented, I don't think they can change their physiology to not ship big time in the high mountains.

I remember when everyone was all 'Sagan should lose some weight and go for GC' back in the day too. There is a certain amount of hype, excitement and optimism behind the statements, but I don't think it will stick. 

I also think both are more interested in winning the spring classics and monuments, which I can get behind.

 

[DieselnDust]

27 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

With Pogacar, Bernal, Roglic, Remco, Pidcock et al, I don't see MvdP or WvA ever winning a GT if they have to race against these guys.

While they are electric, diverse and immensely talented, I don't think they can change their physiology to not ship big time in the high mountains.

I remember when everyone was all 'Sagan should lose some weight and go for GC' back in the day too. There is a certain amount of hype, excitement and optimism behind the statements, but I don't think it will stick. 

I also think both are more interested in winning the spring classics and monuments, which I can get behind.

 

 

 

Sure and that is their current focus but in the case of MDVP, his team has ProTour ambitions so that means points in GT's and higher placings.

Preparation for a GT is probably very different to how one would prep for a classics season (more longer duration intervals) so they would likely need to sacrifice the classics season to perform optimally in the GT's but at the end of the day its a W/Kg game and Colbrelli is proving this.