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Great tour so far, every stage has offered some action to a degree and the Pyrenees yesterday and Wednesday were a sight to behold.
I hope there's still a lot of swash buckling to go on stage 14, I'll be in Morzine for that one.
He won the Ventoux stage a couple of years ago, they went up it twice that day too.Originally Posted by Harry Lime
https://road.cc/content/news/tdf-s11...olo-win-284685
That was the day after he got pipped by Cav in a sprint finish, the guy is a phenomenon. I'm sure you're right but it'd be interesting to see him have a shot at GC at some point. Maybe he'll be tempted if he gets sent on many more fool's errands like yesterday's.
Ha, couldn't resist it.
https://www.ccmb.co.uk/showthread.ph...=1#post5425052
Anyway, do you think Pog will win it this year?
Any thoughts on Philipsen?
From my view he's living a charmed life at the moment. He's an incredible sprinter but all three stage wins, including todays come with some controversy.
Stage 3 - He almost put WVA into the barriers, had he not backed out that would have most certainly been a crash and a clear relegation for Philipsen.
Stage 4 - MVDP gets relegated for barging Girmay out of the way for the sprint lead out for Philipsen. Makes no difference to Alpecin as they kept the stage win.
Stage 7 - Cuts right across traffic to get on Cavs wheel and blocks off Girmay forcing him to back out unless he gets put into the barriers, similar to his move on WVA on stage 3.
UCI rule is clear on not deviating in a sprint from your line but Philipsen literally went across the entire road to cut off Girmay and get on Cavs wheel... It's exciting to watch but had Girmay not backed out that's going to end in a crash and a big one.
He's too big to do it constantly. I'd love it if he tried and I'm a massive fan, but I just don't think he could pull it off. That day on the Ventoux though.....
Cavendish out after crash.
Im gutted. God knows how he feels. What a sad way to end his career.
A sad end, especially after coming so close yesterday.
Some great respect from other riders.
Difficult one this. I take your point but if we're calling for more VAR in the sprint finishes then maybe we should be careful what we wish for. Definitely pick up on the blatant cheating, dangerous riding and persistent offenders, and I know it's difficult to know where to draw the line, but I'm happy with most of the stuff that goes on.
It's ok to say don't deviate from your line but how else do you overtake, latch on to a different wheel, go for a gap etc? They're all part of the sprinter's skills, they're a big part of the spectacle too. There's got to be plenty of give and take I think. So much going on in those sprints, once you start picking up on every infringement where will it end? Imagine a Lee Mason or Mike Dean dealing with it, the whole thing would become a farce in no time.
But didn't G lose weight to turn himself from a classics rider and super-domestique into a GC contender? Is there a reason van Aert couldn't do the same if he wanted to? He's the same height as Wiggins and he won it so I'd have thought it was possible. What am I missing?
The reason is that he doesn’t want to.
Interesting stage coming up today https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...eturn-35-years
I saw somewhere today that his team may select him for next year's tour.
I get that but HL was suggesting he couldn't rather than he wouldn't. Cycling's not all about personal glory and if he's happy as he is then that's fine but I'd be surprised if there isn't a part of him thinking he should have a bit more to show for all the talent he has. Not even a World Championship or Olympic gold as of yet and he's coming up 29. I could show him my three Division One titles from gol and he'd have nothing to come back at me with apart from some classics and a Tour of Britain. He'd be reeling.
Hard to believe it's over for him, especially as he's been so competitive this time round.
The ride up to the summit is via something that's little more than a footpath
Screenshot 2023-07-09 144446.jpg
Jeez
Great duel between Pogacar and Vindegaard. A spectacle with no spectators.
And hats off to Woods, timed his attack up the mountain to perfection. Was just too good compared to the rest of the break away and stormed up that climb to claim his first tour victory.
I wasn't saying that it's physically not possible, I really wouldn't have the technical knowledge to know what that takes. I've read articles over several years where he has always ruled it out because of his physical attributes.
Here's one where his coach gives his brief explanation -
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling/...-possibilities
please don't do this, it seems unnecessarily cruel
That's interesting, thanks. I'm winging it a bit in this thread anyway (just in case you hadn't noticed), there'd be no point in me trying to counter a scientific argument like that.
I'm sure you see my general point though. For all his incredible performances over the years it seems like he's still not fulfilling his potential somehow. Van der Poel the same. I used to look at the pair of them and Pidcock and admire the fact that they were free spirits doing their own thing with the cyclo-cross or mountain biking, ignoring convention and doing what they wanted. Now the first two are 28 it feels like they may have missed the boat somehow.
That's probably just ignorance on my part though. Being a jack-of-all-trades means a lot more in cycling than other sports and what the two of them are doing for their teams here is incredible. Still nice to see Pidcock knuckling down and looking to test himself at GC level though, even if he's not grabbing the headlines for it.
I won't, don't worry. It'd break him.
Totally get your point. Indeed other articles point towards his desire and the Belgian culture for placing just as much importance on one day classics. Maybe that's a Belgian/French thing though?
I can't help thinking that if he had a super domestique nursing him in the way Froome did to Wiggins, a podium place wouldn't be of the question.
One day classics are where WVA and MVFP shine. Pidcock is becoming a similar rider- a great team member in the tours, but will have more success earlier in the season in the cyclo-cross and one day races.
Remco Evenepol is the Belgian who seems capable of success in both classics and tours.
Absolutely, he should say to Vingegaard and Roglic 'I'm calling in my IOU's'. To see guys like Wiggins, Horner, Dumoulin, Tao, Hindley and Aru pick up Grand Tours in the past few years makes you think it wouldn't be out of reach for him to at least come close.
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