Tour de France

[Michael Morris]

Re: Tour de France

Cavendish out after crash.

[cityhammer]

Re: Tour de France

Cavendish out after crash.

Im gutted. God knows how he feels. What a sad way to end his career.

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: Tour de France

A sad end, especially after coming so close yesterday.
Some great respect from other riders.

[Loramski]

Re: Tour de France

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.

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.

[Loramski]

Re: Tour de France

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.....

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?

[Pedro de la Rosa]

Re: Tour de France

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.

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: Tour de France

Interesting stage coming up today https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...eturn-35-years

[Elwood Blues]

Re: Tour de France

Im gutted. God knows how he feels. What a sad way to end his career.

I saw somewhere today that his team may select him for next year's tour.

[Loramski]

Re: Tour de France

The reason is that he doesn’t want to.

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.

[Loramski]

Re: Tour de France

I saw somewhere today that his team may select him for next year's tour.

Hard to believe it's over for him, especially as he's been so competitive this time round.

[Michael Morris]

Re: Tour de France

Interesting stage coming up today https://www.theguardian.com/sport/20...eturn-35-years

The ride up to the summit is via something that's little more than a footpath

Screenshot 2023-07-09 144446.jpg

[Undercoverinwurzelland]

Re: Tour de France

The ride up to the summit is via something that's little more than a footpath

[ATTACH=CONFIG]5662[/ATTACH]

Jeez

[SuisseBluebird]

Re: Tour de France

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.

[Harry Lime]

Re: Tour de France

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.

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/top-10-thats-possible-wout-van-aerts-coach-denies-winning-tour-de-france-is-possible-but-acknowledges-other-possibilities

[Rjk]

Re: Tour de France

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.

please don't do this, it seems unnecessarily cruel