UKC

The tour starts tomorrow, who is your money on? Tadej Pogacar and Primoz Roglic are the strong favourites.

Good to see froome has been selected for his tenth tour, fingers crossed he has a good one he seems on form finally after the horrific crash, the icing on the cake would  be winning  a stage, the tour is not the same without him. 

Yes it’s good to see Froome back, I believe there was some concern after his big accident that he may have had to lose his leg? I’m hoping Geraint Thomas has a good tour, he appears to be in good form.

The big G thinks he's a contender, hope he wins, but it's got to be P or R.

Three weeks of not getting anything done ... must stick to only watching the mountain stages live.

Outside of Pogacar and Roglic, I think Vingegaard is a good bet for GC. G will be over the moon with a podium I suspect. I think Mads Pedersen could be in yellow by saturday evening with MVP and WVA running him close. 

Hoping Jumbo Visma and Ineos will adopt different tactics and attack the race to expose Pogacar, otherwise JV doing the old Sky Train tactics will play straight into Pogacars hand. 

Expecting a good showing from Ben O'Connor and looking forward to seeing how Pidcock goes. Covid could also play havoc and fingers crossed for cross winds on the 18km bridge tomorrow

Hard to look past Pog for the GC, and very excited to see how Pidcock will fare in his maiden tour. Still gutted about Cav. 

Pogacar vs Jumbo Visma (Rog and Vingegaard), with lots of intrigue amongst the likes of Thomas/Martinez/O'Connor/Vlasov/Gaudu.

Be interesting to see if Pinot/Bardet are actually going for Stages/KoM, or if that's just to take the pressure off.

Interesting to see how the Green Jersey shapes up between Jakobsen's sprint prowess, and the all around of Van Aert/MVDP and maybe even Pidcock? (dependant on Ineoss's 'new racing techniques' or if he's kept on a tight leash for team duties)

Froome will do nothing - prove me wrong Chris!

Just hope it's settled on the road and there's not too much Covid or 1st weeek crash impact.

A shame there's no Alaphillipe for the entertainment, or Cav for the feels.

Going for Bissiger to trump Ganna and Van Aert today.

As ever, Inrng is the best preview blog you need (I'd say the only thing I consume outside of trying to catch the stages as much I can)

How is team Ineos going to work with 3 leaders though? Too many chiefs, surely?

Jumbo and Ineos have both brought strong ‘Classics’ style squads so easy to see what there tactics will be and how they look to gain time on Pog, first week is basically going to be full gas from both teams trying to exploit weakness in UAE and gain some time.

Who ever survives the first week without losing  time will be Ineos leader with G looking best suited for that style of riding.

Froome has only got one leg??? No wonder his form has dropped off over the past few years.

More seriously, yes the money has to be on a Slovenian yellow. I really hope Pinot does well, he would be a worthy tour winner but I'm not convinced he's up to mixing it with Pog or Rog up to the end. I've no time for Ineos but I like G so I hope he does well. Massively disappointed by Cav's and Allaphilippe's absence. My hope is that Cav is as strong as he says he is and goes on to smash everything in his path to the extent he gets picked for next year, but he's already old for a sprinter.

No way. There is a small technical section, otherwise the course favours pure power - aka Ganna. Very excited for going along this afternoon! Feels like the whole city has gone tour nuts the last few days.

A podium place would be a great result for him. His biggest challenge is to keep it rubber side down.

Bissegger beat Ganna in UAE where there were no features at all. Though that was months ago!

Saying Ganna will win is the easy option, like saying Pog will win GC. I'm trying to keep it interesting for myself!

+1

It's a circus but I've always loved the tour....not so much the racing but the scenery, great coverage, drama, tradition....working at home is going to be a serious challenge!!

Hasn't he had covid recently, hopefully he is fully recovered. Another outsider in Kung, didn't do too well in the TT at the end of Tour de Swiss, but that might have been due to how well he did in the rest of the race. As others have said hopefully covid doesn't have the impact that it did in Switzerland, but given the rise in cases generally  and the withdrawals already I'm not confident. 

This spoils things, although vigilance against dopers is a good thing.

"Bahrain Victorious Tour de France hotel raided by Danish police

Team says 5:30am search, the second in a week, done at the request of the French Prosecutors"

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/bahrain-victorious-tour-de-france-hotel-se...

Brands you only learn about by following the grand tours. Unchecked recollections are...

Phonak - Swiss hearing aids 

Dekeunik - Belgian windows 

Quickstep - Belgian flooring

Bora - German kitchen hoods 

Moviestar - Spanish telecoms (or cable TV?)

System U and Intermarche - French supermarkets 

Astana - Kazak railways 

Was Armstrong in a team sponsored by a US flooring company at some point?

Anyway, I just think it's funny what obscure trivia about brands irrelevant to the UK that you pick up.

Phonak are a reasonably big brand in the U.K, but I guess only one you take notice of if you need a hearing aid or are in that business.

My wife is an Audiologist and I’ve been to a few freebies paid for by Phonak.

Update for you all: thunder is rolling about in Copenhagen and the Danish news are predicting the possibility of "cloud bursts" this afternoon. Also feeling incredibly humid.

Get some freebie tat and look like a real cycling fan!

What's the best places to spectate? We'll head off to Start-Finish area and fan zone at kongens nytorv for some hullabaloo but may end up on outside of a corner somewhere quiet.

Heavy rain has set in.

Rain has stopped but riders' practice was in the dry and roads wet or drying.

"The US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team and later named the US Postal Service Pro Cycling Team presented by Berry Floor operated from 1996 through 2004. The United States Postal Service was the title (primary) sponsor from 1996 through 2004 and the team was nicknamed the "Blue Train". Berry Floor, a Belgian flooring company, was the secondary sponsor, also known as a Presenting Sponsor. Domestically the USPS Pro Cycling Team was presented by Alloc, the American subsidiary of Berry Floor."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U.S._Postal_Service_Pro_Cycling_Team 

Bit of a mouthful. I dare say Madrigal were involved at some stage.

They are now underway but it’s started chucking it down again…… as you probably know!

Well this aged like milk in a warm car... hit the deck twice and was cornering like the QE2 after that.

Always amazing to watch the variation in bike handling skills in the rain. VDP charged it! 

Incredible support from the Danish crowd for Vingegaard. A great day. 

Busy everywhere! I ended up by the black diamond on top of a wall for better views. Kind of quiet though, the start/finish areas seemed insane! 

Conditions were dreadful especially for the early riders. Good to see nobody was seriously hurt?

Geraint Thomas "The first few corners I cornered like my wife and she hasn't ridden a bike for 12 years. It was unbelievable and then I realised I still had my gilet on”

We walked past you then! We were underneath Danish Architecture Centre (chosen for the noise and atmosphere, but it kept us out of the rain) then followed route in reverse under black diamond to fan zone.

Saw a bit of TV coverage - spectator turnout looked amazing.

Just checked your UKC location is Copenhagen - I'm very jealous. It's a very civilised city.

Great choice! I was very keen to stay there but by the time we had arrived it was a little busy. I was wafting a Welsh flag about but also had to leave a little early, maybe 18.30.

It’s great. If you’re staying for a few more days I hope you enjoy yourself! I’m off on a trip tomorrow otherwise I’d offer to tour guide you. Only downside is that there is a distinct lack of rocks and/or elevation for a very long way.

We were on Øster Allé - I'm another (British) Copenhagen resident. Great atmosphere in the city yesterday.

Slimey TT. Ouch!

We'd had a long spell of lovely weather up until yesterday. Nice again today.

Who can hear the name Yves Lampaert and not think of Frank? I certainly can't, every time. Took a nasty, bizarre crash on was it Paris-Roubaix earlier in the year, so nice to see him winning..

Agreed....Lampaert is a class act and always the bridesmaid....seeing him in yellow was great!

TV coverage crossing the bridge was great - you don't normally see the "god's eye view" of the whole convoy* with dropped riders and team cars in the shot. Never seen that before. Spread over a couple of km they're usually never all visible at one time due to twists and turns, trees, landscape and buildings.

*peleton looking tiny on huge bridge and cars like even tinier pinpricks

Van Aert takes second place for the third day in a row, but is in Yellow. Did you see any of the Tour today?

Only on TV today.

What a ride today from Van Aert! If the Tour carries on at this rate, I don't think I'll make it to Paris! 

Unfortunately I haven’t been able to watch any of the TDF today, sounds like a brilliant ride from Van Aert. Looking forward to watching the highlights later.

That shows a lot of confidence for Van Aert and for the team.

Solo attack by yellow jersey but not in the mountains - you don't often see that. Nor do you often see yellow and green sprinting against each other.

Great stuff. And great team work.

Well that’s it all over, isn’t it? Pogačar comfortably outsprinted the sprinters at the finish today and is already in yellow, before they even reach the mountains. Planche des belles filles tomorrow- I think he’ll take a minute on the field. Was hoping that Jumbo Visma and Ineos would keep it closer. 

Pogačar does make it look inevitable, he's in a class of his own.

Out-sprints the sprinters, out tt’s the watt monsters, out-climbs the climbers.

Looking a lot like lance.

Well I agree he looks to be head and shoulders above the rest at the moment, but no point you overselling the guy. The only 'sprinter' (loosely defined) left at the end was Matthews and he's not won a meaningful sprint in a long time. The real sprinters were all dropped on the two last climbs and didn't contest the finish.

I'd like to see him try, but I think it's too short a climb for that much gap.

[EDIT] Actually if the rest get depressed and start messing around protecting their lower podium spots, then perhaps he might, but I think (hope) it's too early in the 3 weeks for that.

Yep my money is on Pogacar to win. Good to see Yates, Pidcock and Thomas currently in 4th, 5th & 6th places.

Yes that’s the worry. The history of Slovenian cycling isn’t encouraging in that regard. 
 

But a big part of his success seems to be his ability to stay out of trouble, avoiding crashes and being in the right place to take advantage of situations. Roglic and Thomas so often seem to find themselves on the deck, and sometimes injured- even in his Vuelta win last year, I think Roglic came off on a descent? Pogacar just seems to be able to be somewhere else when the crashes happen.

such a shame Bernal crashed in training- a fully fit Bernal backed up by a strong Ineos team would have been interesting to see…

Yes, interesting possibilities for Ineos in 4, 5 6.

He stays out of trouble because he’s happy to spend time in the wind. Just look at yesterdays cobbles - it’s mad how he rode.

What GC leader does that? One that knows he’ll “recover” faster than his competitors regardless of what he does - that’s who.

The UAE management team are about as dodgy as it comes.

Its blood doping or its gene doping, but he ain’t clean.

Only been watching the Tour for a few years and have just a vague understand of tactics and have a question.

On today's (Thursday) breakaway when WVA dropped Simmons and was then isolated up front with 20 miles still to go, why not drop back to the peloton to cover the remaining distance with help, and then still have a chance to finish up front?  Instead he blazed on alone for a while only to get smoked and finish 4 minutes behind in the end.  

🙁I wish I had a stronger argument against that

what about Wout van Aert? He came within 20km of pulling off an astonishing solo stage win today, after the pyrotechnics at the end of stage 4, the heroic effort to haul Vingegaard back into contention yesterday,  and being within inches of 3 more wins in Denmark. Is that too good to be true too? 

Look at WVA. He’s 75-80kgs of pure muscle - and most of it’s in his legs.

You can see he’s massive, built like Ganna, albeit more explosive. 

On a flat stage with a couple of lumps he should dominate.

But how does a 65kg climber keep up with Ganna or WVA in the prologue? Ganna held well over 500 watts for 40 mins at last years world champs on a flat course (that WVA nearly matched). How does a climber come close to that in Copenhagen?

Re WVA- yes- but day after day after day…? 

like Pogacar, I really hope he’s clean

Re Pogacar- he’s a similar build to Roglic, and Roglic beat Ganna in the Olympic time trial. 
 

it’s that time trial on the Planche de Belles Filles two years ago that  still seems the most  remarkable performance. 

After the damage the Armstrong affair caused, you'd hope that everything possible is being done to monitor TP and his backup team.

Meanwhile keep fingers crossed he is just a natural freak.   At least he's not the overt bastard Armstrong was.

I reckon after he’d spent half the day on the cobbles towing the entire GC contingent, and probably having been told in no uncertain terms that he’d be on team duties come Friday whether in yellow or not, that he just wanted to have a notable final day in the Jersey. Not sure when the last time someone won from the breakaway in yellow but it was a valiant effort. After how tiring yesterday was for all, and with the mountains coming there was potential that the GC teams would have let him go.

That was a close result today (Friday, La Super Planche des Belles Filles). Some hopes for Pogacar's rivals?

Thanks for the view point.  It was a remarkable ride while it lasted, especially given the previous days' effort, even though it ultimately left him far behind.

Well, at least it was close. But in the end, Pogacar had enough left to sprint past Vingegaard at the line, whereas Vingegaard was completely spent. Psychologically it will just reinforce Pogacar’s dominance. Thomas and Roglic don’t look like they can challenge either of them and Yates is not at that level.

To those that know more- is there any way Jumbo Visma or Ineos can make use of having multiple GC ‘contenders’ tactically, to pressure Pogacar? Cooperating to send Roglic and Yates up the road on a break, and try to force Pogacar to spend a lot of energy covering them, so as to give Vingegaard and Thomas more of a chance? 

I admire Froome for his great determination to return following his horrific crash, and for exploits like that amazingb Giro stage but...he's a doped doping doper, and he rode for one of the dirtiest teams in the business.  Disgusting.  Don't understand how anybody can root for him, GT, or any of those guys.  Corrupt dopers, liars, and cheats.

Which parallel universe did you spring from, Chris Froome was cleared by the UCI over the Asthma, inhaler controversy, there is zero evidence that he doped, would you like to provide some?

PS. Just remembered you are American that figures, the universe full of conspiracy theories.

Good point about the psychology of winning and dominating. Half the battle is to convince other contenders they are fighting to get on the podium rather than for yellow.

First, although I acknowledge and appreciate your jab at Americans and conspiracy theories, I haven't lived in the US for over 20 years, and feel more European than American.  That said, people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.  Before you decry the ignorance and insanity of Americans, you might review your own recent history with populism, Brexit, interference from foreign powers such as Russia, and the sudden, though welcome, downfall of one Mr. Boris Johnson, although who or what might rise from the maelstrom of his exit remains to be seen.  No need for this to devolve into patriotic fury, but you did take the first jab, by trying to dismiss my feelings about Froome as so much American-minded conspiracy talk.  Any chance that your support of Froome might just be so much British nationalism?

I think the history shows that Froome and his team used their money and power to crush his doping case with the threat of ongoing legal action that the governing bodies just couldn't afford.  His case was "cleared" for economic and political reasons, not on any scientific or exculpatory grounds.

I've argued this before on this site, but was mostly shouted down. 

I find it naive to the extreme to believe that Froome and his team were not doing everything in their power to gain an edge, including practices that are clearly unethical but not banned at the time (like meldonium) as well as those that are demonstrably against the rules (like triamcinolone and salbutamol).  

It's simple: what magical powers does Froome posses that should make us believe he's different from so many others, including those on his own team?

None. Somebody winning is inevitable so no magic required.

What evidence makes you believe that French police are no longer enforcing French criminal law for doping?

What evidence makes you think doping is again successfully being covered up?

I think the peleton is clean. I also think some will be dirty. I think many will be pushing the limits of the rules. But I/we don't really know.

I think he would have lost a whole load of time on the Planche anyway, so potentially the very best he might have got was one more day on yellow, assuming Pog didn’t attack him at the end to take the time. 
On thinking about if further it also meant that the rest of Jumbo Visma basically got a pretty relaxed day in the peloton not having to do any work after the hard day they had on the cobbles. 

Flawed argument--I'm not making a point that he's guilty because he won, but that given the history of cycling we should not treat him differently than any others. 

This isn't (necessarily) about now.  I'm talking about Froome in the past. I'd be surpirsed if he was doping now, at least not at the same level as before, mostly because his current team doesn't have the money and the power to set up a doping regime and defend the possible positives.  Also, it's not really worth it to dope, and risk you whole reputation (tarnished though it may be) for the small chance that you body can recover from a devastating accident.   

And I do think the police are working, for example, consider their raids before this year's tour, although I think the seemingly selective way these things are carried about speaks of deep corruption.

Did you see the recent news about blood transfusions just before events with the blood removed immediately afterward?  If it's happening in other sports, its' definitely happening in cycling, too.

That said, I don't think that there is the level of systematic oxygen vector doping that we saw in the past, but I think there are many, many, small, gray area activities being explored, an arms race with the doping authorities and the police, that give some riders and teams unfair advantages.  

True.  I/we don't really know.  But if we let history and common sense be our guides, there's not much reason for hope. 

that would be ironic, given Froome has spent his career being referred to as “Kenyan born Chris Froome”.

Given Team Sky’s philosophy of ‘marginal gains’ it would have been a surprise if the hadn’t applied it to performance enhancing substances; my expectation was that they were almost certainly exploiting legal but ethically dubious approaches to the maximum possible extent. The Jiffy bag incident does raise uncomfortable questions though that it may have gone beyond that.

Were their performances not in the “solid but unspectacular” vein though, grinding out Tour wins with the strongest rider backed up by the strongest team performing as you’d then expect? Rather than the incendiary individual stages of the Armstrong era, and Pantani (and Pogacar…)? The accusation about Sky at the time was that they were boring, not that they were turning in scarcely believable attacks on high mountain stages. none of which proves they weren’t doping, of course.

I’d assume something similar is still happening,  that loopholes and grey areas are being identified and taken advantage of, by all teams. Are some taking it further? This is the problem posed by generational talents like Pogacar and van Aert- when we’ve seen this sort of dominance before, it has so often turned out to be chemically assisted. But, every so often someone truly special is bound to come along- and are they always doomed to have a shadow over their achievements?

As to the race- it was a relief to see the Pogacar juggernaut stopped today, albeit by the van Aert one- WVA did to Pog today what Pog did to Vingegaard yesterday, sweeping past him at the finish as if he were stationary. The two of them are head and shoulders above the rest of the field. Here’s hoping that it’s just on the back of their talent…

Touche! Wow First time i have been accused of being a Nationalist!  didn't vote for Brexit or that Tory clown, if anything i'm quite embarrassed to be British at the moment, my conscience is clear.

I think this is a pretty much spot on analysis.

I suspect at the time Wiggins / Froome were riding the “grey area” tactics were largely confined to Sky and these days it’s far more endemic, Bahrain and there Tizanidine stash for example.

Froome’s estimated (and released) power data was always within physiologically possible levels. Pantani, Armstrong ect weren’t.

Do riders, teams or doctors have to declare all substances used such as Tizanidine?

Muscle relaxant used for MS - never heard of that before and doesn't sound legit. I wonder why it hasn't been banned.

I’m not 100% sure, but given how cases have played out in the past, it seems that teams and doctors don’t have to declare what medicines they carry.

Riders have the right to privacy about what they are prescribed/ given (like you or I do) under the UCI medical regulations - https://assets.ctfassets.net/761l7gh5x5an/4dfXPdgyPYHuFUwsEpXO5v/2611cc4403...

My guess on Tizanidine is that they use it as a sleeping pill so the riders get the 7,8,9 hours sleep that their coaches want them to get. Not to directly aid recovery, but to aid sleep, which in turn aids recovery.

do any of the current crop release power data? Or are there estimates? And if so, how do they compare to past riders?

edit: perhaps part answer to my own question-

https://www.velonews.com/training/power-analysis-what-does-tadej-pogacars-t...

This year, don’t expect to see Tadej Pogačar riding up a mountain at 7w/kg for 30 minutes. Instead, watch for him to make a move at 6.5w/kg twenty minutes into a climb in the third week of a Grand Tour, when everyone has been on their limit for more than two weeks

Looking online, they do have to declare when tested.

USADA, but I assume the rules are consistent internationally.

"Whether it’s an in-competition or out-of-competition test, athletes are required to complete a doping control form during every sample collection session. On this form, athletes are required to declare any and all medications or supplements that they’ve ingested or used in the past seven days, and to certify that their declaration is accurate."

https://www.usada.org/spirit-of-sport/education/dcor-declaration-medication...

Interesting - good find

Back on a nicer subject, Fred Wright climbing alone in front of huge crowds in Lausanne looked amazing.

I think the way that you feel being accused of being a nationalist is much as I feel being accused of being a Trump conspiracy theorist!  Anyway, no hard feelings...I always get fired up about doping stuff.  And, as I said, some of Froome's performances were downright inspiring.  That Giro ride, when he was already sort of on the way out....class, as I think you Brits might say

MVDP puts his power data on Strava sometimes for key races, Ganna did at last years worlds (probably showing he has the highest FTP of all time), and most interestingly Damiano Caruso did for all of the 2021 Giro when he finished second.

I don’t buy the reports of 6.5w/kg in the modern peloton (except Pog). Your average World Tour riders are putting out 5.5 - 5.9, with the elite being able to hold 6.0-6.2 (after a full stage of racing - their lab numbers are likely to be higher).

I built a little excel w/kg calculator and 6.3 - 6.4+ is where I put Pog, which stacks up with the article. 

Super-psyched to see you acknowledge Froomedog but, dude, that guy wasn't class; he was rad and sick bitch!

Here's a question:

Wout's long and fated breakaway; was that tactically smart?  Sure, the other teams chased, and he won the next day, so he couldn't have been too tired, but I wonder what he could do (as if he could do more!) if he would ration his energy a little more! 

A reasonable analysis is that he just wanted to hoover up points.

A more negative analysis is that he was angry about the cobbles and wanted to make a statement.  That's all well and good, but it's the tour after all, and every pedal stroke of energy you leave on the road on one stage, is energy that won't be available somewhere else. 

Also, what about MVDP?  Actually, seeing that these incredible riders can be vulnerable makes me somewhat more confident that they are not all doping with wonder drugs.

Hope his problems resolve--he's an amazing rider to watch.

B

Today is the first day that I have had a chance to try and watch the Tour de France. I had a quick look on Channel 4, but did not see anything: So where is best to watch the race stages? I do not have Eurosport or other pay for TV (I probably watch TV on average about 0.3 times per week normally, though I've watched 2.5 women's football matches this week).

So I'd be happy to see edited hightlights from earlier on, but also today's stage, possibly in  edited form too.

Thank you all in anticipation

Rob 

ITV4

ITV's coverage is excellent, but those charity adverts are brutal. I'm not sure I can take another two weeks of hearing about kids getting trafficked, dogs being abused, or people's eyes being eaten by worms. They could at least slip a few Watchfinder adds in there to lighten the mood.

And stair lifts, funeral plans and donkey sanctuaries. 

Set record; start watching after one hour, time the finish to perfection. 

Thank you. Timely.

I can't get enough of Ian Botham wearing a comedy fat suit.

I record the coverage and start watching 45 mins after the start so I can skip the adverts and still watch the final km live.

What a day.....I was pleased for Jungles and felt for Pinot, id have liked him to get 2nd....!

Really enjoying this Swiss segment, the landscape is incredible, and what an effort by Jungles thought for sure he'd be toast on the last climb.

It’s live and has highlights on ITV4

sorry for the slightly shameless self promotion... but i made a quick preview video for the finish of todays stage (stage 10) in Megeve, which is the closest it has ever come to passing my front door (Le Fayet)!

for what its worth, it should be a pretty easy stage with a breakaway win, and the GC guys saving themselves for the double ascent of the Galibier over the next 2 days in my opinion...

youtube.com/watch?v=0FxQ2JpWLLM& 

Daytime TV.  You've missed out cheap cremations and bargain life insurance for the over 50s. Geez, I hope I don't look like the men in them ads!

The worst one is 'Ourtime'.....dating for the over 50's.....!!!! So irritating....!!!!!

What a stage!

60k out and they’re JV are going in for the kill.

Jumbo Visma certainly gave Pog a pummeling, it has to be done. Half measures don't work against Pog. 

Pog no longer isolated - if it's not hard enough to drop the super domestiques it's not hard enough to attack yellow.

Bloody strange when green jersey not in grupetto!

It's been a great stage so far....Pog is so strong...I hope Barguil can take the stage....

Wout....in beast mode, incredible power...

A fantastic stage. I have no idea what will happen. 

Except Pogacar benefiting is the safest bet.

Loving it, I cycled up the Telegraphe and Galibier last thursday (quite a bit slower) Pogacar soaking up the attacks and smiling at the camera...incredible

Like a young kid messing about on his bike! The other contenders will see to that tonight on the coverage or social media and think they're stuffed tomorrow.

Maybe not. Pog’s cracked.

Indeed!! wow, 

what.a.stage!

That's the best stage I have seen in the tdf in ages

Masterpiece of team tactics, van Aert staying back to help Roglic rather than Vingegaard was strange to me but it kept the multi pronged attack going.

That was NOT expected.

Brutal result for Barguil.

First tour stage win, defeated Pogacar and took yellow - what a day for Vingegaard!

Interesting comment from Matt Stevens on GCN Eurosport - Jumbo Visma had to be prepared to risk losing.

Point of interest for tomorrows stage - its the L'Etap route which was won last week by Stefan Kirchmair. He finished in 5hr 17m with avg speed of 31.4km/h. He also has the KOM for Alp D'huez (12 seconds faster than Bardet) Be interesting to see how that compares with the pros tomorrow.

Some constants do remain. Quintana has yet to change the facial expression he's used throughout his career.

Pogacar pretty much guaranteed white jersey with I think 8min 50s lead over Pidcock. When you have already stood on the top podium position twice, nobody will remember any other podium positions he gets in Paris so he has little to lose by being aggressive.

I wouldn't write him off yet....Vingegaard was great today but can he do the same tomorrow! Pog has previous being strong day after day.... tomorrow looks a brutal day!

Jumbo visma had strength in depth today... it's theirs to lose but I can't help thinking their will be drama still....

Great ride by G today....

+1

he’s human after all…

Chances of Pogacar testing positive for Covid in the next 48h, given 3 (?) teammates already have? Would be an explanation for his collapse today. 

certainly brings the race to life! 

Thomas looking very strong- but Roglic looks poor- after effects of his crash and shoulder dislocation? Or past his peak?

Vingegaard doesn't have the aura of invincibility that Pogacar had until today so I think he will be attacked - the contenders are not cowed? Jumbo Visma should have the strength and experience to defend yellow, but will it be enough?

A strong team Vs multiple strong attacks...

If Pog has another bad day today, he will be leaving with covid whether he has it or not Joking aside, really want him to come out fighting today...yesterdays stage was brutal for the front runners and today will be no different. Who recovers the best? Can't wait!

What a stage!! That was brutal. Like watching a pack of wolves trying to take down a bear or something - I kept expecting a David Attenborough voiceover to start! I actually felt really sorry for him by the end, limping up to the summit finish with huge chunks of time lost to his rivals. But good for the race though. I worried when Pog took yellow so early that the tour would end up being a coronation rather than a race but this has blown things right up!

As others have said, I hope it was just the result of the aggressive riding from JV and not a sign of covid. Putting aside the cloud of suspicion over his performances, he seems like a genuinely nice bloke and I enjoy watching him ride. 

Good to see Froome in the action.

UAE manager tested positive for COVID.

A funeral that takes place at midnight, and all the pallbearers are dressed as giant owls?... That's me!

Froome!!! Riding great....Pidcock looking strong...

Great stage!

Pidcock...105kph downhill. Bonkers.

Bit of a pain that they rode UP Alpe d'Huez faster than my average speed on a gently undulating ride this week.

Old git

It's been a great tour so far!!!

Their speed is shocking!!!! I rode Alpe D'huez about 10 years ago when I thought I was a decent cyclist but the switchbacks are shocking....I rode so slow!!!

They motor along up the Alpe d'Huez, after already covering many kilometres and another couple of mountains, and then some of them decide to up the pace and practically sprint... Beyond bonkers.

Apparently, Pidcock is about 9 stone....no idea where he gets his power from. Obviously, my extra 4 stone is a bit of a handicap!

Held 300w for an hour when he was 15 and weighed 50kg, i.e. 6w/kg FTP.

He’s certainly not lacking in the power to weight ratio department.

3 stone per leg, with the remaining 3 stone equally divided between testes and the rest of the vital organs, judging by the descending!

T'lad is from Leeds, hard as nails.

Somebody got a nice souvenir today.

https://road.cc/content/news/brit-gets-tdf-points-jersey-after-helping-wva-...

Aye... And humble with it.

I enjoyed listening to his post-stage interview.

Sound lad; I'm sure that many more interviews are to come.

I’ve just been catching up with some of the highlights as I’ve been away and unable to access them, what a great Tour it’s turned into. Super ride from Pidcock yesterday and also from Froome which was good to see after all his injury problems. G is in good form and very consistent but what a battle it’s going to be between the brilliant Vingegaard and Podacar. 

Yesterday Jumbo Visma had a train defending yellow like they did for Roglic in yellow and reminiscent of Sky/Ineos. Greater strength in depth than Emirates.

I think next & last HC mountain stage is Thursday. Not sure other mountain stages tough enough to be decisive for GC.

"Warren Barguil out of Tour de France after COVID-19 positive test"

"Frenchman the sixth rider to abandon the Tour due to the virus"

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/warren-barguil-out-of-tour-de-france-after...

Ought we revise our assumptions after yesterday and Wednesday?

Over two minutes is a hell of a lead for the strongest team in the Tour.  Its hard to see how they lose that.

Agreed ...they are the new 'Sky'!!

Pog needs a team....what's the odds of him ending up in Ineos when his contract is up!!?

Or JV?

Great stage today, Pogacar attacking with about about 185km to go! That may have contributed to Vingegaard being isolated at the end so worthwhile for that.

And a sprinter beats the climbers on the climb!

Thought Bettiol had cracked Matthews on that final climb.

So did Bettiol.

An incredible effort by Matthews.

That was Matthews throwing everything in with no concern about tomorrow! Great example of emtying the tank in a controlled way.   As an aside I read that they were riding the yet unreleased 2023 Giant Propel.  I hadn't realised you could ride unreleased models in the TdF.

It was a good duel between them yesterday.

After today’s chaos with Vingegaard surviving a crash and losing two key team-mates it should now be an advantage for Pogacar.  A shame that Roglic had to abandon through injury.

It must have been absolutely red hot there today! Phew 🥵 it’s a good job tomorrow is a rest day.

I don’t know the rules but it must be legitimate? 

I thought the rules were it had to be on sale to the general public before it was UCI legal.

The lotus hope bike the GB team rode in Tokyo for example could be preordered (for c.20k) by the start of the games ect.

Having said that I’m pretty sure the prototype Bolide that Thomas rode in the tour de suisse still isn’t on sale, so I’m a bit confused.

In other cycling news - top bit of gossip - Leo Hayter (winner of the baby Giro) to join Ineos later this year.

Olympics yes, professional cycling no? I think pro peleton bikes have a minimum weight restriction so heavier than the top end bikes selling to the public.

Correction. I am wrong. Bikes must be on sale.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/features/how-much-does-a-tour-de-france-bike-co...

Edit: pro peleton UCI limit 6.8kg, general public 1kg less although not mine

 https://road.cc/content/buyers-guide/14-lightest-road-bikes-286193

Perhaps with a delivery time of 2 years  

Certainly an exciting tour, I hope it's not decided by team attrition of COVID (UAE) Vs crashes (JV). Inneos are now the team with strength in depth.

Didn’t a previous multiple winner write a book called something like “it’s not about the bike”?

mind you?

May I refer you to Rule #4 // It’s all about the bike. It is, absolutely, without question, unequivocally, about the bike. Anyone who says otherwise is obviously a tw4twaffle.

https://www.velominati.com

In reply to 

But over two minutes in arrears.  Behind what appears to be the two strongest riders, both of whom can TT.  G is riding well and no doubt could have made a stab a defending a lead with his team and should be able to distance Bardet BUT Jumbo Visma still have the incomparable Van Aert and Kuss is looking stronger than Yates and particularly Martinez and UAE still have Pogacher.

More idle musing on a rest day...

Pogacar looked invincible to me until* he wasn't.

*until subject to a sustained double pronged Roglic/Vingegaard attack.

I'm not sure Inneos can do a double pronged attack by Thomas plus one as the other Inneos riders (the plus one) are not high enough in GC to require Vingegaard & Pogacar to respond.

More realistically it's between Vingegaard & Pogacar. They both look stronger than Thomas but maybe one or both will be vulnerable if Inneos gamble on a probably unsuccessful attempt by attacking early, sending riders up the road or something. 

I don't think anyone in Ineos can bridge the gap to JV and TP. G will almost certainly take a chunk back on the TT but I can't see it being enough. There is going to be major fireworks in the Pyrenees, TP and JV will turn themselves inside out on the Aubisque and Hautacam. I hope the temperature isn't too horrendous for that day, Hautacam faces SW and is exposed to the afternoon sun. I rode it a few years ago on a hot day and it was absolutely brutal, and I hadn't come from Lourdes via Laruns either!

Here's hoping for no more crashes.

ITV4 pundits all backing Pogacar today was a surprise for me today.

The Pyrenees often make a difference, especially when the route takes the Alps first.... I'm not convinced it's all over but I do think the current top 3 will be the podium.....not sure in what order though...!

I can see their point in that TP is a known quantity and his breaking on Serre Chevalier was the result of JV teamwork. That and that JV has crashed and taken a bang. But JV got the better of him on a Pyrenean stage late in the tour last year, so with the pair of them going toe to toe without any particular team advantage now has all the makings of a tour that will go down in the books as one of the great battles. If pushed I'd probably back Pog for the Yellow but without much margin of confidence, especially given the time gap. 

abr1966: Agreed on the podium, it's the first two steps that are in question. 

As an aside, someone on here must have ridden the Aubisque from Laruns. I've only been over it from the Soulor, on a laden touring bike. I remember the descent as long, relentless and very, very fast, and I remember thinking that it must be pretty hard in ascent. I'm wondering how it compares with the Tourmalet.

I’ve ridden the Aubisque and Soulor from that side. It’s a long steady climb, no real ramps. I’ll not mention quite how long it took me but It feels like it’ll be a battle of Watts rather than suited to an attack on a change of grade. To my shame I overtook an ambulance on the way down. Agree on the shift of team support, Pogacar has never really leant on his the way an Ineos or JV setup would, hope it doesn’t come down to the results of a couple of accidents but Tours are always subject to multiple butterfly effects of small incidents.

Good effort in overtaking the ambulance! 😳 I didn’t realise that there is going to be a team promotion/relegation system from the end of the year.

That’s what I thought but Vingegaard coped really well, matching all the attacks from Pogacar yesterday. Can things change in the Pyrenees as G said?

Pog looks spent.....surprised. Disappointed , was hoping for fireworks ...Mcnulty imperious up there. 

Pretty dull stage really. What a ride from Mcnulty though.

Or imperial as David Millar keeps saying...

I do rate him though.

Another one of those super slow final sprints on that runway.

Good work by team UAE to isolate Vingegaard.

They just need to burn out Vingegaard now!!!

That's the 2nd time P has toyed with V right at the end now?

If Pog had the legs he would have attacked lower down and tried to take time, instead he went for the stage win.
 

Unless he is saving himself for one big attack tomorrow of course.

Easier said than done.

Hoping to see van Aert riding over the mountain tops alongside yellow, white or mountain jersey holders again with me shouting at TV "you in green should be in the grupetto" again. Incredible.

All of the commentators/pundits have latched on to "imperious" these days - causing me to look up the definition. To my slight surprise, it seems to mean 'arrogant and domineering'. Although it feels like a suitable word to be using, it turns out it probably isn't.

Lance was imperious, but none of the current crop of galacticos are. Which, for me, is part of what makes them so enjoyable to watch.

Pog was always going to have more pop for a stage sprint over JV, unless seriously spent. He played the final 200m well but no real gap. Wondering if WVA was strategically dropped to save more firepower for the next big climbing day?

I didn't see it that way. Looked to me like he was struggling and if he'd had the legs he would have tried to take time out of Vingegaard. Pog has a kick so he was always likely to beat Vingegaard in a two up but that's neither here nor there in the GC. Of course today could turn everything on its head again but Vingegaard is definitely in the driving seat and looking good.

Edit: pretty much saying the same as the post above!

He was inching ahead  

I watch on Eurosport (not ITV) and Daniel Lloyd definitely used the word imperious once to describe someone yesterday. I agree, the exact definition doesn't really fit the actions of the rider, but it fits well enough for me. Better than imperial anyway lol

I’m sure the various commentating team are having a laugh trying to shoehorn in the various stock phrases of their piers. Hugh Porter’s “making a fist of it” now makes a regular appearance.

Hugh would say "theirselves" rather than "themselves" 

I agree 100%. Before looking it up, I had taken the term "imperious" to be a really accurate description - 'an overwhelming and triumphant victory'. It's one of those words that sounds right and really seems to fit the visuals of someone like Pog smashing off the front of the race to steal 20 seconds and cross the line, arms aloft. I was genuinely surprised to find the 'arrogant' aspect of the definition.

Hoping today's stage proves to be as good as it could be. As someone here has said, whoever wins this year will unquestionably have earned it!

Empirically, this has been a great Tour rather than an imperial procession to the coronation of an imperious Pogacar.

I think there may be a cultural aspect here - in Britain 'arrogant' is a pejorative term, we don't like people however good they are, to appear to be aware of the fact. Other cultures seem more accepting of success and talent and it's more of a sense of 'avoiding false modesty'.

Looking forward to today’s stage to see if Pog can make his final move to beat Vingegaard. I don’t think WVA was strategically dropped to save power, he looked spent but you never know.

So far Vingegaard has been able to match Pod. Let’s hope it’s a cracker.

incredible descent only matched by the sportsmanship of JV waiting for Pog. he must be feeling great to not push on after Pogs mistake

Yes really good to see such sportsmanship. JV has matched Pog’s attacks again. What a great rider WVA is.

WVA incredible. Pog blows up, game over. He put up a good fight

Magnificent riding from WVA & JV, timed to perfection.

Yes, but strategically it nullified the decent. The way things had been going it was a lottery which of the two would reach the bottom in one piece. That seemed to be a game TP was willing to play so quite sensible, and to his advantage, that JV chose to close that down and trust his climbing ability.

On that descent, both riders may have been told to calm down by their teams.

Green jersey - super domestique on final climb, third on a mountain stage and contender for mountain jersey, unbelievable!

Yes. Best Tour in years? I did not expect to see Pog dropped like that; but what a battle he put up- up against the best mountain domestique in Kuss, the best all rounder in WVA and a three time GT winner in Roglic as well as Vingegaard- no one else could even have kept in the running as long as Pog has. 
 

Paradoxically, if anything I think this Tour has improved Pog’s reputation- there was a sense of the unreal about his feats up until now, and a worry that it might indeed be unreal, given the history of the sport. If he had been able to take on the JV all-stars and still win, with his own team in tatters, that would have cemented the sense that what we were watching was not just the product of his natural abilities. But- he’s human after all, he does have limits, and makes mistakes- and he’s handled the situation with remarkable maturity and grace. 
 

Not over until Paris- plenty of positive Covid tests in the peloton, really hope none of the jersey wearers are affected. Overall- looks like it will be an amazing rivalry in the coming years, I hope Bernal gets back to full fitness to challenge them both too.

Agreed. I am left wondering if Grand Tour cycling is the last sport where such admirable behaviour could be seen and in the heat of the moment. Perhaps there has never been a serious sport where such a thing could happen.

I was also impressed to see the two combatants congratulating/commiserating with the other. Those smiles were not forced for the cameras. It is heart-warming to see such a wonderful spirit, easy for one but hard for the other. It made me think of those wise words from Kipling’s “If”. Pogacar has, in this tour, showed an amazing character, particularly in defeat or setback and for one so young. He will have the genuine respect of thousands of fans, and not just for his performances on the bike.

Yep. I was reminded of Alaphilippe waiting for Adam Yates (I think it was Adam, I mix them up) after the latter crashed on the Portillon in 2018. 

This has been such a good tour. Fingers crossed for no more crashes and no more covid, at least not for any jerseys.

What an awesome team Jumbo Vismo are. Christophe Laporte deserved the stage win today. Great effort from Fred Wright in the breakaway.

YES!

Wasn't he ordered to get back and take the stage by the team ? But yes JA's immediate reaction was to stop to check up on Adam. 

Superb TT today.

JV is looking sublime. I’d like to know what Dumoulin made of todays efforts after his comments after stage 20 in 2020.

The welcome home party here in Copenhagen is going to be wild. 

Fantastic TT but bloody terrifying when Vingegaard almost crashed.

I’m just praying he doesn’t get covid. It was lovey to see him with his girlfriend and son, but did all of the worlds cycling media really need to get within 6 inches of him for a photo?

I’m hoping Pog tries for the Vuelta now. It’s a beautiful race which sadly gets a bit overlooked.

Have a dislike from Roglic

In agreement, tremendous TT today. 

Well that was alright. See you all again this time next year!

That was great tour: full of drama; a worthy winner in a fantastic team; a superb attacking competitor came second; and an incredible green* jersey holder was everywhere, even in the mountains!

*I can now stop shouting at the TV "you should be back in the grupetto". 

What an absolutely fantastic TDF, intriguing all the way and as elsewhere says full of drama and a very worthy winner. Great to such a talented bunch on the Podium, JV, Pod & G not forgetting the indefatigable WvA. Going to miss the TDF big time.

Watching the TdF Femmes now. Some serious crashes yesterday.

I met Anna Henderson (Jumbo Visma British rider) a couple of weeks ago in the Cafe at the top of Col De Madeleine. She was pretty obvious as either a FKW or a pro. Hope she has a great race.

Yes, looked nasty at times.

It’s compelling racing, but the bike handling skills of some of the riders leaves a bit to be desired.

The women's TdF has been incredible so far, I can't believe they haven't had let this format lapse for so many years. I can only imagine what the great Beryl Burton would have done in it had it been popular in her time.