Reply With QuoteThe roadbook that all the commentators refer to is compiled by Francois Thomazeau, it outlines the places of interest on the way the tour passes.
Bet that's a nice little project for him each year.
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Kirby makes me want to hurl something at the screen. So much of what he says is wrong; riders wrongly IDed, calling stuff that isn't happening, missing attacks. Generally talking nonsense.
The new breed - Lloyd et al - are so much better IMO.
The roadbook that all the commentators refer to is compiled by Francois Thomazeau, it outlines the places of interest on the way the tour passes.
Bet that's a nice little project for him each year.
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Still in yellow...impressive indeed.Originally Posted by thieuster
MvdP. That's all.
Fair chance he will try to win as much as possible in the first or second week. He's determined to win a gold medal in Tokyo, so there's a fair chance that he will step out of the TdF somewhere in week 2 or 3 and starts preparing for the Olympics.
Some interesting background info about MvdP endorsed by his sponsor:
https://www.mercipoupou.com
According to RTL she has been arrested.
If he sees it through but slightly easier to go balls out if you know its just a 10 day tour for you
RIAC
MvdP was interviewed in Dutch and he told the journalists that it was his best day on a bike. Wearing the yellow jersey and then finding out that he can do a time trial as well! It went much better than he'd anticipated. He also stated that his yellow jersey-days are numbered and that he sees Pogacar as the 'ace' for wearing the yellow in Paris. Finally, MvdP mentioned his mechanics for all the work they'd done on his bike to get rid of weight and adjusting everything "...to find some extra Watts", including the wheels that were sourced at... Ineos.
Read that story here:
https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/the-...-van-der-poel/
Was an excellent performance by MvdP to keep Pogacar out of the Yellow Jersey today, who was superb today. Expect Pogacar to be in yellow by end of weekend? Then it'll be fascinating to see if he can stay there for the rest of the Tour.
But I-G are having a bit of a mare! They have to back Carapaz from tomorrow as their main man and focus on the long haul.
Last edited by crazyp; 30th June 2021 at 20:40.
No mention of Cav’s second stage?
It’s quite remarkable, considering what he has been through over the past couple of years.
Yes that was a great finish for Cav. It’s strange but it sort of looked inevitable from the 1k mark. Let’s hope he can hold the n over the mountain stages.
Can you imagine the fairy tale end of him beating the record in Paris??
The longer the race goes on I think his chances get better. That is where experience can really help. He’s very good at managing fatigue and I hope he doesn’t crash out or get a time elimination. You never no it could even be green.
And I know what you mean about coverage, normally on usual news medium you get a bit but with the Euros on its football,football, la la.
If I wanted to watch a load of overpaid primadonnas prancing around I’d go to the ballet.
Cheers, Shaun
Cav getting to 34 now seems possible. Who’d have thought that… maybe even more as there are the stages to do it.
There's certainly three more flat stages next week... although there's a monster stage today and two very lumpy ones to get through over the weekend before the rest day.
Cav's as good as anyone in the groupetto though so I'd expect him to make it with seconds to spare!
I don't think anyone really thought he'd still be in contention for Merckx's record... an outstanding (in a good way) achievement.
Cav has had a good preparation for this yrs tour , his 2021 Palamares shows 4 wins in the Tour of Turkey in April another first in the Tour of Andalucia in May plus a Belgian win. It really looks like he has his racing head on this year and to quote him.
Im appy, and they tell me whenever Im appy I win races!
Steve
Longest stage in 21 years, 160 km to go and there are already interesting developments.
Pogacar is an absolute beast.
Rode a cracking race today.
I'd best get my coat...
What an amazing first week...and there is still another stage to go before the riders can recover a little with a rest day.
What an Etappe!
It really has been an incredible week - the crashes in the first few days certainly changed some strategies to trash the hopes of the main GC contenders. Fascinated to see how I-G and the others respond in week 2.
The podium ceremony is under way...and the yellow jersey has just finished.
PS First posted a few of minutes ago in the wrong thread.
PPS By my calculations both the yellow and the green jersey holders (for today) made the cut off time. Excuse me if that was obvious but I'm still learning about such things.
Last edited by PickleB; 3rd July 2021 at 17:03.
I’ve missed today action but just seen the result. Obviously still 2 weeks to go but looks impossible to see past pogacar now. Fingers crossed Cav can hold onto the green jersey and win in Paris
MvdP on Dutch news media: "I had the yellow jersey longer than I'd expected. On the day off, I'll decide when I leave the Tour. There are other goals to aim at for the near future!" That's what I mentioned when I wrote that MvdP's goal is a gold medal during the Olympics.
According to the commentators it is / was Vincenzo Nibali's plan to leave after stage 10 and prepare for the Vuelta (as best as I recall).
Roglic abandons the Tour !
wonder what GT will do now? I feel bad that he did not get a good crack at this years race after his off on stage 2 ...
I guess GT will depend on if I-G think that Carapaz can genuinely challenge in week 2/3 and using him as a domestique. But GT's fall has clearly taken it's toll on him.
EDIT to add - I don't think the TdF is a foregone conclusion. Key is going to be if Pogacar can defend the yellow jersey for 2 weeks which will be a novel concept versus the power house and relentlessness of I-G. Any missteps and it'll be back on.
Last edited by crazyp; 4th July 2021 at 10:05.
Seems like a nice guy...Twitter link.
He has left the Tour. Next stop: Tokio. Mountain bike event on July 26. That’s three weeks
There we go, some might say he should never have entered a race he had no intention of compleating, would like to see him come back next year with no excuses and deliver for 3 weeks
RIAC
He's not the only one on Le Tour with their sights on Tokyo. We'll just have to see if anyone else leaves.
That's what he said about next year.
Originally, he had no intention of participating in the Tour 2021 at all! I think that sponsor contracts & large sums have changed his mind.
M
Update: Christian Prudhomme has no problems with MvdP leaving the Tour according to Dutch news media
Last edited by thieuster; 6th July 2021 at 13:32.
Put a few quid on Lopez & Yates for tomorrow. Hard to say if Pogajar will stamp his authority or play the long sensible game but regardless it’s going to be quite a stage.
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RIAC
I think Pog will ride for the win. Hope Cav makes the time limit.
Did anyone watch Cav's win yesterday? I think that was a good a sprint train as I've seen in years. Took me back to the HTC days... only one more to go before he equals Merckx's record.
As for today, with such a big lead I can't see Pogacar risking anything too dramatic. Unless someone like Carapaz or Uran decides to have a go and forces his hand. So I've gone with a cheeky bet on Izagirre and a total punt on De Gendt.... he's won on Ventoux before, decends pretty well and loves a breakaway.
Cav agrees...at 38m30 into yesterday's highlights (www.itv.com/hub/tour-de-france/1a7000a0312):
How did you win this one?
It was...err...old school, run o' the mill, like you read in the cycling magazines, lead-out. Text book lead-out...
He seems to be in a good place at the moment and his post race interviews are full of praise for his team, whether it's after a winning a sprint finish or being escorted to the finish of a mountain stage with 90 seconds to spare. The one at 10m50 into www.itv.com/hub/tour-de-france/1a7000a0311 is well worth a watch, IMO.
Cavendish really deserves this. He was told he wasn’t selected for the team
And your but carried on training in private like he was. It would have been a lot easier to get on the couch and cake but his gamble/optimism paid off and I know he will rewrite history.
One more stage win before Paris and Whilst he will have the heart of a lion in Paris there’s not many riders that will be so twatty as to deny him that final glory.
RIAC
Would love to think about Paris, but really nervous about today.
I wonder what the plan will be.
Looks safe for Cav now. Got almost 1/2 hour to play with on last ascent.
He's unlikely to love 2 mins per km.
Watching live. Waiting for it. I can feel
Something brewing
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RIAC
Bit of an anticlimax so far.
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RIAC
How about today's stage...?
The Manx Missile...legend!
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I never thought that record would ever be equaled. Legend indeed.
Whoever does not know how to hit the nail on the head should be asked not to hit it at all.
Friedrich Nietzsche
Incredible. Let’s see how much press it gets in the UK.
With "it" coming home, I doubt very much which would be a real travesty.
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It was reported on the BBC homepage just after the result.
F.T.F.A.
It got about 30 seconds on radio 4 and they spent ages banging on about boring football.
Cheers, Shaun
After reading another thread on here, is it worth remarking that his lead-out man (Michael Mørkøv) is a Dane?
Only bet I’ve cash in on this week. Thanks Cav. £5600 richer
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RIAC
BBC 1 .. 6PM News. 18 seconds, but 15 minutes on England who've not actually won anything so far..
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SPOTY for me....but no doubt it'll be Gareth Southgate or one of the England players!
Very nice!
Bound to be more interest in the football. There's a stage win every day of the TdF, a European Championship every 4 years.
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