Tour de France (Contains Spoilers) 🚴🏼‍♀️🇫🇷

I’d agree it is a sprinters instinct. Have to accept tho he put another sprinter at risk
Like I said I acknowledge that sprint stages have become gladatorial fights and with stakes high I fear you will continue to see these types of incidents.
 
Maybe that's where grand tours are heading, with more short and punchy stages and focus on the GC racing it could be that being a pure sprinter becomes a thing of the past.
What used to be guaranteed transition or sprint stages are now becoming days for the GC battles so the chances for the likes of Bennet, Viviani, Ewan etc are getting less and hence the pressure on them to deliver is ramping up when they do get an opportunity.
Maybe we should have an easier first week so the sprinters can duke it out and then let them worry about getting to Paris for the showpiece?
Maybe also make the 3k marker into a 5k one too if it looks like a bunch sprint is on the cards so that there isn't the mad rush for the GC guys to get into position to secure their time.
There's a lot that can be done to make those last few metres safer I reckon.
 
Maybe that's where grand tours are heading, with more short and punchy stages and focus on the GC racing it could be that being a pure sprinter becomes a thing of the past.
What used to be guaranteed transition or sprint stages are now becoming days for the GC battles so the chances for the likes of Bennet, Viviani, Ewan etc are getting less and hence the pressure on them to deliver is ramping up when they do get an opportunity.
Maybe we should have an easier first week so the sprinters can duke it out and then let them worry about getting to Paris for the showpiece?
Maybe also make the 3k marker into a 5k one too if it looks like a bunch sprint is on the cards so that there isn't the mad rush for the GC guys to get into position to secure their time.
There's a lot that can be done to make those last few metres safer I reckon.
Look at a minimum road width for anticipated sprint stages. Quite a few narrow roads for sprint finishes this year.
 
Agreed
The new guard WVA, Pog and Hirschi really are a breath of fresh aiir.
A couple more to come too
 
Today could be a cracking stage. Some big hitters in the breakaway(s).

I thought (hoped) we might see Pinot try and chase stages. He missed the Alaphillipe move but hes in the second group on the road.
 
Yes, should be fun. I absolutely love this area and have done part of Puy Mary, but fortunately our circuit took us off it before the hardest part.
 
That was a brilliant stage to watch. A pure shoot out on a steep slope. Daniel Martinez deserved it having dragged Kamna with I'm to Schachmann. Disaster for the French and Ineos. Pogacar v Roglic I think now is the story.
 
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Simon Yates also now leading the Tirreno Adriatico from Geraint Thomas in 2nd.

James Knox in top 6 as well. A real British attack on the Tirenno.
 
You just look at that Ineos squad and feel that they need more experience regarding winning the GC. They have nobody of the caliber of Dumoulin who gives that little extra towards winning and for whatever reason Bernal is nowhere near Roglic or Pog. Arguably Yates would have been better than Bernal with the Ineos support around him, he’s not that far back now. I can see Bernal finishing well back, Porte and Quintana looked good today. Bernal had a lot go his way last year and wasn’t really a marked man, now the pressure is on he looks like cracking. Probably needed another year or 2 as the second option with an old head alongside him.
 
I'd be loathe to dismiss anyone just on this seasons form as it has been a really odd one, not just from a physical standpoint, but also from a mental one. I'm sure some riders were more able to cope with the need for unsupported training than others and it will have affected their overall performances since the resumption.
As for today's stage, I was gutted for Kamna as I have in in my Velogames team :)
 
The form of JVB is unbelievable. Wout van Aert is ludicrous. The future is looking very interesting with the likes of him and Evenpoel seemingly tearing up the rulebooks, Pogacar too.

Having Dumoulin is the equivalent of sky having Froome and Thomas the previous editions.

Nice to see Yates performing, would have been good to see what he could do with that Ineos team behind him, or in front.

Bernal has really let himself down. Injuries, lockdown and form are one thing but he spent a long time campaigning in the press to make himself the sole leader, or number 1 leader and he has not performed. If he wasn’t strong enough to sit at the front of the peloton he should have told the team to change tactics. He doesn’t seem to inspire the team at all.
 
Have the chemical questions been raised about JV yet?
I'm not acting they are, but had Ineos been doing what they are doing you can bet that they'd have been under scrutiny.
 
Have the chemical questions been raised about JV yet?
I'm not acting they are, but had Ineos been doing what they are doing you can bet that they'd have been under scrutiny.

I have been thinking something similar but since it’s not come up at all I’m just ignoring it and enjoying the lack of controversy.

Pogacar’s power numbers the other day were ridiculous though and you do have to wonder how a ski jumper becomes the best cyclist in the world.
 
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