Cycling

Props to Geraint Thomas, hanging on for a stage win in the Critérium du Dauphiné. Obviously made possible by good positioning at that narrow hairpin, but still a real gutsy effort.

Le Tour!

And such an ugly fall thanks to an imbecile holding a sing at the side of the road   

Well done to Alaphilippe for winning an opening stage that bordered on apocalyptic at times. What a vicious acceleration from 2km out.

Sad for Sütterlin obviously, and a pretty brutal reintroduction for Chris Froome. It must be unclear now whether he'll be able to continue.

^ I thought Froome was going to be out. Quite the relief seeing him at the end line.

We'll see if he continues though. 

Delighted for Van Der Poel yesterday. The pure cycling theatre of helping himself to the bonus seconds, then taking the stage win and his first ever yellow jersey could have brought a tear to a glass eye.

^ It was amazing to see indeed!

And yet another win for his team today.

But oh it has been a dramatic Tour so far... so many accidents today only. 

22 hours ago, Stormbringer said:

But oh it has been a dramatic Tour so far... so many accidents today only. 

Yeah, that really was a stage where disaster seemed to be around every turn, and I must say it can be a little hard to enjoy a race when half of the field are cycling wounded.

That being said, the Tour's first week has always been a little crazy. Flat stages, a full roster, demanding speeds with no room for error on packed roads.

Some boy, that Cavendish.

No doubt it'll get obscured by the football but Cav's win today is undoubtedly one of the great sporting stories of all time. As amazing a comeback as we're ever likely to see.

20 minutes ago, Michael* said:

Some boy, that Cavendish.

 

No doubt it'll get obscured by the football but Cav's win today is undoubtedly one of the great sporting stories of all time. As amazing a comeback as we're ever likely to see.

What a day to miss the end of the stage then  

Honestly think that could be it now for the GC. Madness. Stunning ride from Pogacar.

Roglic and Thomas aquitted themselves well in difficult circumstances. Carapaz will be disappointed, that must have been at the outer limits of what he was hoping for.

Another obliterating ride by Pogacar to cap off an incident-filled first week at the Tour. Barring something unexpected, I think you'd have to say that the GC is effectively wrapped up, but there are plenty of other interesting sub-plots out there. My favourite is Cavendish.

On 7/3/2021 at 1:56 PM, Michael* said:

Barring something unexpected, I think you'd have to say that the GC is effectively wrapped up, but there are plenty of other interesting sub-plots out there

It moved quite a bit today though! Except for Pogacar, of course. 

On 7/3/2021 at 1:56 PM, Michael* said:

My favourite is Cavendish.

Amazing sprint by him and his team yesterday!  

On 7/7/2021 at 5:34 PM, Stormbringer said:

It moved quite a bit today though! Except for Pogacar, of course. 

Amazing ride by Van Aert and of course, props to Vingegaard for briefly making Pogacar look vulnerable. Every stage has provided great drama so far.

I don't believe I've ever seen a bleaker or less telegenic mountain than Ventoux. Intimidating in an entirely unique way.

Had a feeling Alaphilippe would be the front runner for Stage 12 because of the lump before the finish, but I guess with the strong wind it was probably never really on the cards.

Well deserved for Politt, though. After a string of good finishes in Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, that had to have been the biggest win of his career.

3 minutes ago, Michael* said:

Well deserved for Politt, though. After a string of good finishes in Paris-Roubaix and the Tour of Flanders, that had to have been the biggest win of his career.

It was great win indeed!  

Do you think Cavendish can win yet another one today?

11 minutes ago, Stormbringer said:

Do you think Cavendish can win yet another one today?

It certainly looks perfectly poised for him but I can't help thinking that Van Aert, the way he's been going, could be a major threat. Who you got? 

2 minutes ago, Michael* said:

 

It certainly looks perfectly poised for him but I can't help thinking that Van Aert, the way he's been going, could be a major threat. Who you got? 

Oooh good question! 

I kinda want Cavendish to tie the stage wins record  

And he did it!!  

1 hour ago, Stormbringer said:

And he did it!!  

That was wild, Cavendish had to sprint at least three times to reposition himself before the final straight. Must be one of his best wins in terms of engineering his way through the bunch.

24-25 km/h on a 9-10% inclination....!!!  

Looks like Pogacar is taking this stage and the way things are (yet another mountain stage tomorrow) I'm seeing it very difficult that anyone else could take the Maillot Jaune now.