Road Cycling
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@Chris-B report quoting Roglic’s partner saying he might not even make the start line as he’s still suffering from his Dauphiné crash. Sounds a bit like a smokescreen.
Fuck knows who is going to win. Not convinced by Bernal or Roglic with their injury concerns. I like the look of the young guy Pogacar (UAE), for a podium spot.
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As usual I'll be following CCC
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@scribe Only just getting around to looking at the course preview.
No team time trial and the only ITT is up a climb!
Mountain Stage on Stage 2!
Looks like the course might have been engineered for Pinot (and Alaphilippe).
If things go wrong for TJV early,some cards might still fall George's way.
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@Chris-B said in Road Cycling:
No team time trial and the only ITT is up a climb!
Mountain Stage on Stage 2!Good. All I'm interested in is cyclists climbing hills and pretty countryside.
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@antipodean said in Road Cycling:
@Chris-B said in Road Cycling:
No team time trial and the only ITT is up a climb!
Mountain Stage on Stage 2!Good. All I'm interested in is cyclists climbing hills and pretty countryside.
best parts by far
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@antipodean I think I saw the presence of the podium girls will be "reduced"this year, as well! Presumably even slimmer versions!
Here's an article on the route.
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-route-192041
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@Chris-B said in Road Cycling:
@scribe Only just getting around to looking at the course preview.
No team time trial and the only ITT is up a climb!
Mountain Stage on Stage 2!
Looks like the course might have been engineered for Pinot (and Alaphilippe).
If things go wrong for TJV early,some cards might still fall George's way.
It would have to be very early though. George will be expected to pull the others up the mountains as much as possible so won’t be on the leaderboard if he works hard then rests.
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@Crucial Yeah - I'd more expect a chance to go for a stage win, somewhere.
I read somewhere that George might even sit up and take it easy on Stage 1 - I guess that supposes that the peloton splits.
Edit: Here it is: "Bennett has even been instructed to sit up and lose time on the opening stage in order to keep his legs fresh for the mountains, which is when Jumbo-Visma will be counting the Kiwi climber to protect Roglic and Dumoulin."
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@Crucial TJV website report:
Sports director Frans Maassen had also seen a stressful day. “Our leaders performed well. We always were in the front at the right moments. I hope the weather will get better tomorrow. Moreover, it will be a challenging stage. Fortunately, despite the crashes of Wout, Amund and George, the damage is not too bad.”
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i watched until the top of the first Cat 1 and it was great to have the Tour back. Dudes battling up mountains, beautiful scenery
Sagan is a fucking marvel.
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@mariner4life said in Road Cycling:
Sagan is a fucking marvel.
Stood in the cold for ages just south of Roubaix last year to snap this shot of him.
Fuckers go so fast you only get one opportunity. -
A good stage for TJV today - Roglic won in a mountain-top finish, with only Pogacar looking like matching him - despite that a reasonable bunch finished with the same time.
Not such a good day for George. He seemed to be caught back in the bunch as they started the final climb and not part of the TJV pacing team - which was Martin, Van Aart and then Kuss. George eventually dropped out the back, whilst Van Aart was still doing the pacing - which shouldn't have happened if George was 100% - unless that was team orders?
My guess is he's still felling a few effects of his crashes.
Alaphillippe still has the yellow jersey, with Yates 2nd and Roglic having closed the gap with a 10 second time bonus.
Notable losers today were Valverde and Carapaz.
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@Chris-B said in Road Cycling:
A good stage for TJV today - Roglic won in a mountain-top finish, with only Pogacar looking like matching him - despite that a reasonable bunch finished with the same time.
Not such a good day for George. He seemed to be caught back in the bunch as they started the final climb and not part of the TJV pacing team - which was Martin, Van Aart and then Kuss. George eventually dropped out the back, whilst Van Aart was still doing the pacing - which shouldn't have happened if George was 100% - unless that was team orders?
My guess is he's still felling a few effects of his crashes.
Alaphillippe still has the yellow jersey, with Yates 2nd and Roglic having closed the gap with a 10 second time bonus.
Notable losers today were Valverde and Carapaz.
Or TLJ are planning on rotating there support riders through the stages. I thought it was strange for Van Aert to be the main man early on then Kuss took over the pacing.
That was a short sharp mountain compared to many and George may be being saved for the longer hauls. -
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@Chris-B said in Road Cycling:
@Crucial Could well be.
George never seemed to be riding with his team leaders at the business end, which you would have thought he would have been even if he wasn't feeling good.
I guess we will have to wait a couple of days and see what happens on the Col de la Lusette.
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