7/2/23 4:24 PM

Powless was impressive today. I was really rooting for him to get to the top of the final climb in front of the pack. CVV talked to him from the moto and reported that Powless was completely shot. Even so, brilliant ride on the longest day of the tour...which was on day 2 no less!

I had been wondering if Pogacar was going to flip the script and ride more strategically this year (esp after his injury) and today was a definite maybe...not that there was any reason to go any earlier than he did and even then he sat up when Jonas would not pull through.

After last year's debacle where he got isolated and Jumbo took advantage and wore him down it makes sense for him to get a little more strategy than his usual "GO NOW" plan. I think when push comes to shove Pogacar is the stronger rider in most situations but Vingegaard is the smarter, more patient and calculating rider who only fires bullets when he needs to.

Also today's final break by Lafay was so incredible. I was cheering out loud (I live alone and in the country, lol) at how perfect that was. Couldn't actually see from the first camera angle just how fast he pulled away from the group, when it showed the shot from above that was an impressive jump and he had just enough gas and speed to hold on to it. WvA was pissed, lol.

It's crazy to think just how much stronger than us these guys are.

I freaking love July.

7/3/23 5:03 AM

Last Year, Jonas V had a much better team supporting him than Tadej P did. You might recall that Hirschi was riding like absolute crap for UAE and then they lost multiple other riders to covid and crashes. In the 3rd week, TP pretty much had McNulty and Majka around him and no one else. He had to do it all. While Jumbo lost Primos and Kruiijswijk, their remaining team still worked for Jonas when they could. UAE wasn't going to let that happen again and sent a potentially stronger team.

Of course, anything can still happen with teams losing key support riders to crashes and covid.

Yesterday, I think Wout VA had to spend too much energy in the final few kms pulling back breaks, especially Pidcock's effort. When Lafay went, it seemed like "everyone" hesitated for a couple seconds (like are you kidding me?) and then it was too late.

7/3/23 5:24 AM

That’s a classic strategy - attack from a km or so out and hope everyone looks at each other waiting for someone else to lead the chase, allowing you to get enough gap to hold to the finish. Usually doesn’t work, but sometimes does. I believe Roche won the World Championship RR one year with that ploy, as did Joop Zoetemelk at the end of his career.
Apparently Wout was pissed that Vingo didn’t lead the chase of LaFay..

7/4/23 11:49 AM

It was a great win and as much as I like Van Aert, I can't be disappointed by the outcome. The French deserve to win once in a while, right?

In the post-race interview, Vingegaard said he didn't try to pull back LaFay, as Pogacar would have followed him and likely would have out-sprinted Van Aert. That seems plausible, at least.

7/5/23 7:25 AM

Watching live, they are on the Soudet.

Why in the bloody hell is WvA continuing to pull up the climb with the chase dangling within sight? Unless he's going to up his pace this seems like he's burningy a lot of energy for very little gain. He has the ability to go for a sprint win at the top or even a late break if he wants the KOM.

7/5/23 7:36 AM

Nevermind, he's caught, lol

7/5/23 12:02 PM

Cue the rampant speculation on Pogacar's form.....

7/5/23 12:33 PM

He did have a very recent broken wrist that affected his training. If his form is a bit off that would not exactly be shocking IMHO.

7/5/23 1:03 PM

Got me wondering, bad day, undialed form from lack as much real racing... both?

7/5/23 1:37 PM

I'm sure the lack of racing has something to do with it. Even for someone of his caliber I can't imagine it's mentally an easy shift to go from no racing for weeks to the toughest race in the world.

And that might also have impacted his form, as Dan said. Training is training but racing is a form unto itself. There's always a chance he could ride into that form over the next week but getting a minute on JV is going to be hard.

7/5/23 3:53 PM

"a chance he could ride into that form over the next week "

I would not be overly surprised if he does. Vingo&Co. knows this, and will put time on every chance.

But if Vingo spends and Pog comes into form, going to be an interesting last week. ;)

7/5/23 6:12 PM

After today I'm not discounting Hindley from throwing a wrench in Jumbo and UAE's plans either. He's a grand tour winner and while the tour is really in a class by itself this kid's got legs. JV wasn't making up much time on him in that final run in and that's after Hindley was in the break all day.

Maybe this will be a real edge of the seat year for us spectators. :)

7/6/23 4:46 AM

It's exciting to see Hindley join the battle in a big way! While I'm not writing off the Pog, it takes a lot of energy to recover from a major body insult like a fracture, and when you combine that with the loss of training and racing time, it's not surprising that he's struggling somewhat. With as hot as he was at the beginning of the season, I wonder if peaking too early is also part of the issue.

As for JV, while it's true that he didn't gain much on Hindley, keep in mind that Hindley sat on in the break for most of the day and wasn't doing any work, so he should have been fresh in the end.

Today's stage is a mountaintop finish, which should be very illuminating. Can the Pog come back? Will Jonas claw back more time or even leave Hindley in the dust? Will Jai falter, hold his own, or possibly dominate the stage? I can't wait!

7/6/23 5:04 AM

The teams may end up making a huge difference, of course. Bora has very little experience defending a lead in a grand tour. UAE is better this year but Jumbo on the whole, as everyone knows, is head and shoulders above every other squad.

Yeah, very excited to see how this shapes up.

7/6/23 9:23 AM

Fantastic!

7/6/23 12:14 PM

Yeah, I figured that would come, just not so soon. ;)

7/6/23 3:53 PM

How is anyone not checking to see if WvA is human? I can't believe what he does day after day. TP's win was great, not entirely a surprise but a little bit so soon after yesterdy, but day after day Wout goes on crazy +100mi breaks, smashes good climbers on mountains, sprints and wins....I can't even understand how he exists.

I'm a little disappointed to see Hindley dropped so quickly once the pressure really came but he's young and has time.

7/6/23 4:55 PM

"checking to see if WvA is human?"

Indeed, see when he pulls off he has absolute zero left. Fans kept him from toppling over once he pulled off and his legs went spaghetti. What he does up to that point for his size on grades is miraculous at a minimum.

Rinse and repeats next mtn stage/day.

7/7/23 5:33 AM

Yesterday was a crazy stage, but a lot of fun to watch. Hopefully, it portends that the rest of the Tour is going to be a slugfest between Pogacar, Vingegaard and Hindley, with each having their share of good and bad days, and final outcome always in question. It's going to be a bumpy ride!

As for Wout, can I possibly get a DNA transplant from him? He is just beyond amazing!

7/7/23 8:33 AM

I'll take some of WvA DNA, with side of fries please...

Actually, I saw my first real sign of decent fitness other day out on the bike. I had done 47 miles previous Sunday on a fav route.

After a day off, two days on [28 & 35 mile] rides and another day off I bumped into a group I used to ride with a lot. Doing the same 47 miler on best day on bike this year, riding very well and finishing very strong.

About time I had a day I felt like this kinda cyclist. ;)

7/7/23 10:25 AM

Stage 7- Did Cav go too early or is he just at that point (meaning age) where he's lost that edge? Phillipsen went past him fast and with what looked like relative ease.

7/7/23 11:10 AM

Yeah Rob, same question rambling up in my grey matter...

But leaning age due to how JP blew by...

7/7/23 11:11 AM

I figured it was just an older man's legs giving out, but below is what Cycling News reported. Not sure whether it was frustration talking or a significant issue.

“I jumped when I wanted to but unfortunately, I had a problem with my gears when I was sprinting,” Cavendish said afterwards, any anger turning to frustration but also satisfaction about his performance.

“It went from the 11 to the 12, and I had to sit down to get back to the 11. I stood up and it went back to the 12, so I’m pretty devastated actually. The boys did a good job. It was one of those situations where it’s not meant to be.”

7/7/23 11:20 AM

Was that hard hit back wheel blip Cav encountered a factor?

Was whatever that was causal, impact his sprint?

Seems after stage mic in face Cav said gear skipped 11 to 12 or the other way around.

That more engrish like? ;)

Last edited by Sparky on 7/7/23 4:13 PM; edited 2 times in total

7/7/23 1:32 PM

Bob, is there an online translator for deciphering this message? LOL