Tour de France 2025

[Bub Marley]

12 minutes ago, love2fly said:

Were UAE driving the pace to restrict attacks from the Pilchard and Remco or should they have forced the Pilchards team to do the work? I was favouring the latter but Tadej's faith in the team paid off. Hope he and his merry men have legs tomorrow. 

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. 

[Mamil]

For me Ving is still the better GC rider. The difference today was the strength of UAE, the tactical.master stroke sending Yates up the road, pogs explosivity whicj Ving can't match and vings coming back from injury and not having that last top end. 

I've been shot down in flames by @lechatnoiroffline but I stand by it. The next 10 years will show us.

['Dale]

Gotta feel for the breakaway while the top GC manne engage in the pursuit of marginal gains with those stage win bonus points. 
The maillot jaune appears invincible at this stage, pun intended. Chapeau, Pogačar.

The spectator throwing a bag of chippies in the face of the racers, including Pogačar and Vingegaard - unbelievable.

Edited July 13 by 'Dale

[love2fly]

45 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

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. 

Yeah OK. Yip, Tad's team were strong today.

[Vetplant]

Very true take. Tomorrow's stage could prove pivotal. 

 

[DieselnDust]

1 hour ago, Mamil said:

For me Ving is still the better GC rider. The difference today was the strength of UAE, the tactical.master stroke sending Yates up the road, pogs explosivity whicj Ving can't match and vings coming back from injury and not having that last top end. 

I've been shot down in flames by @lechatnoiroffline but I stand by it. The next 10 years will show us.

He might be better at the TDF the previous two yearsbut that’s because it’s the only race he focusses on. One objective each year, win the Tour de France.

Pogačar is a bike racer. One day classics, one week tours 3 week grand tours , world champs, he races them all and in it too win it. He could ramp down he’s early season in 2or 3 years and spend more time focusing on grand tours. 
mine would have to be blind not to see he’s a more complete bike rider. Then there’s Evenapoel

[Mamil]

6 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

He might be better at the TDF the previous two yearsbut that’s because it’s the only race he focusses on. One objective each year, win the Tour de France.

Pogačar is a bike racer. One day classics, one week tours 3 week grand tours , world champs, he races them all and in it too win it. He could ramp down he’s early season in 2or 3 years and spend more time focusing on grand tours. 
mine would have to be blind not to see he’s a more complete bike rider. Then there’s Evenapoel

Good point!

[Jewbacca]

47 minutes ago, Vetplant said:

Very true take. Tomorrow's stage could prove pivotal. 

 

With a CAT1 climb straight from the start line, I can't help feel this would have been the stage for a Thomas de Gendt solo masterclass

Hate to say it, but all the 'Vingagaard is obviously in top form' and 'Remco will get dropped really fast at the first sight of mountains' were all a bit premature.

With 4 big mountain stages and a pivotal ITT on broken legs to come, the potential to ship minutes to one another at any moment is real.

This is certainly entertaining

[Robbie Stewart]

I watched my first TdF stage for the year today and switched over to the rugby at the last minute. In hindsight I wish I finished watching this stage. It looked like it was going to pop in that final climb, and by comparison the Boks were dismal. Tomorrow is going to be good. Can't wait.

[DieselnDust]

29 minutes ago, Jewbacca said:

With a CAT1 climb straight from the start line, I can't help feel this would have been the stage for a Thomas de Gendt solo masterclass

Hate to say it, but all the 'Vingagaard is obviously in top form' and 'Remco will get dropped really fast at the first sight of mountains' were all a bit premature.

With 4 big mountain stages and a pivotal ITT on broken legs to come, the potential to ship minutes to one another at any moment is real.

This is certainly entertaining

Benji and the Ginger Lamp are great analysts but they have also cottoned into how to market their media very very well through creating hype and discussion. Damn they are goood, but I guess ex gamblers are good at reading the house. 
benji throws a nice carrot to fan base to keep it going through the rest day and to week 3s mountain stages. 
 

and it may very well go down to the wire.

the reality is that all Pogi has to do is track Jo the whole way to Nice. Every km he sits on, Jo is under more and more pressure to turn it around or concede. But Jo is also the fish in the sandwich. He’s got Brembo shaping up to attack him. He started pulling back to Jo in the final 1500m. 
Every opportunity Jo has to rest and recovery gives the Pogi the same and we’ve seen that Pogi just a little better on every long climb so far. How’s Jo going to get better when his faigue is climbing everytime he has to dig? Remco wants that 2nd place badly. I doubt he’ll be happy with 3rd when 2nd is so close so Pogi and Remco are inadvertent allies against Jo. Only way Pogi loses this is by shooting himself in the foot

[babse]

Boss performance from UAE finished off by Pog. Put to bed the "dont have to attack" nay sayers. 

Hope (cant see) Visma and/or Bora bring the fight tomorrow.

Tour has been a goodie. Hoping for some more twists. 

[Jewbacca]

9 hours ago, DieselnDust said:

Benji and the Ginger Lamp are great analysts but they have also cottoned into how to market their media very very well through creating hype and discussion. Damn they are goood, but I guess ex gamblers are good at reading the house. 
benji throws a nice carrot to fan base to keep it going through the rest day and to week 3s mountain stages. 
 

and it may very well go down to the wire.

the reality is that all Pogi has to do is track Jo the whole way to Nice. Every km he sits on, Jo is under more and more pressure to turn it around or concede. But Jo is also the fish in the sandwich. He’s got Brembo shaping up to attack him. He started pulling back to Jo in the final 1500m. 
Every opportunity Jo has to rest and recovery gives the Pogi the same and we’ve seen that Pogi just a little better on every long climb so far. How’s Jo going to get better when his faigue is climbing everytime he has to dig? Remco wants that 2nd place badly. I doubt he’ll be happy with 3rd when 2nd is so close so Pogi and Remco are inadvertent allies against Jo. Only way Pogi loses this is by shooting himself in the foot

Inside source from someone on the UAE team staff is that the team car has been screaming at Pog to stop attacking all the time and defend.

Apparently he just ignores them and they are pulling their hair out.

 

[buckstopper]

You heard it here first, he's moving to Ineos next year to teach them how to explode like a Grenadier. 

The UAE king issued the 'no attack' decree. Brailsford overhead Pog grumbling about this and offered him €10m...

[Mamil]

Today is going to be epic.

But first 110 km of zone 2 zwifting cos I'm too soft to go out in this icy rain

[Jaco Steyn]

Would someone please educate me, I am a very novice when it comes to pro cycling.

Why did so many riders cycle yesterday's stage without wearing cycling gloves? Even Tadej Pogačar did not have gloves on.

[Mountain Bru]

First day that truly suits Jonas today. All the mind games and cryptic interviews will be out the window, and it'll only be legs talking.... Can't flippen wait. 

If history is anything to go by, Pogi is going to pay today for going deep yesterday. A 200km long 5000m elevation gain stage is also prime Jonas territory, and the high kJ days have typically not been good for Pogi, especially after hard days prior. Added to that, weather looks like low 20s, which is also in Jonas favour (rather than the cold which Pogi loves).

If Pogi wins today, I think he wins the tour. If he fully cracks on Plateau du Beille, he'll lose minutes, and the tour is in Jonas hands. If Jonas wins by 30s, we're in for an absolutely thrilling last 3 stages with it all possibly coming down to the stage 21 time trial. 
Either way, I think these are special times to be a cycling fan