TDF stage 17: Pont du Gard - Gap 200 km

neris

Stage 17 from a Roman viaduct to a shop that sells hoodies Gap and a day for the breakaway. 200km with a Cat 4 & Cat 3 climb thrown in for fun.

As with the the later years' finish in Gap, it is a descent finish after riding a lesser category climb, e.g. Col de Manse. This year, however, it is 5,2 km long Col de la Sentinelle (cat 3) at an incline of 5,4%. It was crested by the riders roughly every second year in the 50's, but perhaps fell out of favor, because it was only visited by the Tour 3 times over a time span of 36 years. Since 1996, it has featured once per decade, latest in 2006.

General classification on before stage 17:

1. Julian ALAPHILIPPE (DQS)
2. Geraint THOMAS (INEOS) + 1'35''
3. Steven KRUIJSWIJK (Jumbo) + 1'47''
4. Thibaut PINOT (FDJ) + 1'50''
5. Egan BERNAL (INEOS) + 2'02''
6. Emanuel BUCHMANN (Bora) + 2'14''
7. Mikel LANDA (Movistar) + 4'54''
8. Alejandro VALVERDE (Movistar) + 5'00''
9. Rigoberto URAN (EF1) + 5'33''
10. Richie PORTE (Trek) + 6'30''

Half the UAE team are trying to go in the break.

MPFGLB

Sunweb chasing down Nico ...I guess they dont believe he can win this stage

dastardly00

Deleted User wrote: »

Half the UAE team peloton are trying to go in the break.

FYP

MPFGLB

Xandro Meurisse can climb and is fast to the line ...a good pick today

De Bhál

MPFGLB wrote: »

Xandro Meurisse can climb and is fast to the line ...a good pick today

Simon Clarke in there also, worth a shot

MPFGLB

De Bhál wrote: »

Simon Clarke in there also, worth a shot

Yes ...also a good pick

GVA and Tuens also good as is Mollema

And Thomas de Gendt will probably take off from way out

Today's winner will have to have luck as so many strong riders

MPFGLB

MPFGLB wrote: »

Sunweb chasing down Nico ...I guess they dont believe he can win this stage

I am wondering if he was supposed to get Matthews in the break ? That surely was the Sunweb tactics
I suppsoe you cant wait for someone in trying to get inti a break ? On else Nico who is looking for a contract decided to do his own thing ??

But all respect to Nico this stage is better suited to Matthews ftw
If there were more climbs its would suit Nico more

Boscoirl

https://twitter.com/ukcyclingexpert/status/1153994001583939584?s=21

Eamonnator

There seems to be a lot of nothing happening.

jack01986

Gonna kick off at the bottom of the last climb I'd say

dastardly00

Still over 15 km to go to the last climb but the breakaway is starting to fracture

MPFGLB

Unfortunately for the 2nd group...most have a teammate up front so they wont chase

dastardly00

Looking good already for Trentin

neris

Hope the yellow jersey and peleton don't miss the cut off time

dastardly00

Did Tony Martin just try to knock Luke Rowe of his bike?

They extended it today I think due to the conditions.

Eamonnator

dastardly00 wrote: »

Did Tony Martin just try to knock Luke Rowe of his bike?

Looked like it to me.

MPFGLB

dastardly00 wrote: »

Did Tony Martin just try to knock Luke Rowe of his bike?

Tony doesnt want anyone but himself bossing the front of the peloton

neris

Tomorrow's stage looks savage

MPFGLB

neris wrote: »

Tomorrow's stage looks savage

Yes ...but then i looked at Fridays

And finally at Saturdays

They are so hard I think maybe they might kill the racing somewhat

Eamonnator

Rowe and Martin sent home.

Darkglasses

Tony Martin and Luke Rowe both DQ'd. Totally unclear to me what Rowe did wrong

Eamonnator

Darkglasses wrote: »

Tony Martin and Luke Rowe both DQ'd. Totally unclear to me what Rowe did wrong

Unless something happened, that wasn't seen by the cameras.

retalivity

Darkglasses wrote: »

Tony Martin and Luke Rowe both DQ'd. Totally unclear to me what Rowe did wrong

Apparently tried to push tony martin in the face and knock kruiswijk off bikes after??

Darkglasses

Weepsie wrote: »

There's a clip on a dutch site of Rowe trying to pull Martin back off his bike.

https://nos.nl/tour/video/2294913-bekijk-het-gebakkelei-tussen-martin-van-jumbo-visma-en-rowe-van-ineos.html

Seems Ineos were basically trying to barge past the Jumbo guys without any due care. If that's the case, it's Martin who is unfortunate

Brailsford is p!ssed off, so it's good to me.

Can't see the video but that certainly would explain it!

Darkglasses

Darkglasses wrote: »

Can't see the video but that certainly would explain it!

Explains it alright!

https://twitter.com/laflammerouge16/status/1154087083977465856?s=09

cunavalos

Two notable names hiding in the grupetto today who finished six minutes further back than the peloton. Adam & Simon Yates. Safe to say both will feature heavily in the next few days so i expect Michelton Scott to add to their four stage wins already.
They have to be happy with Plan B when Adam Yates GC aspirations went tits up.

The hammer came down hard on them, DQ's for them both

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/luke-rowe-and-tony-martin-expelled-from-tour-de-france/

The main engine room for both teams gone.

neris

https://twitter.com/JumboVismaRoad/status/1154111156128309248?s=19

Like two naughty school boys in the principals office.

CramCycle

Deleted User wrote: »

Like two naughty school boys in the principals office.

100% if we act like we are both equally at fault and sorry, maybe we will get away with it. Personally I would have loved a big bitching match where they said what they felt. All handbags over a minor mistake.

Lumen

Weepsie wrote: »

Seems Ineos were basically trying to barge past the Jumbo guys without any due care. If that's the case, it's Martin who is unfortunate

I understand that you hate Ineos, I'm not a fan myself, but that's a pretty one sided interpretation.

JV deliberately boxed in Rowe on the climb and then switched all over the place to stop him going around. If Ineos did that you'd be up in arms, they get slagged all the time for negative racing.

Six of one, half a dozen of the other.

Lusk_Doyle

Weepsie wrote: »

There's a clip on a dutch site of Rowe trying to pull Martin back off his bike.

https://nos.nl/tour/video/2294913-bekijk-het-gebakkelei-tussen-martin-van-jumbo-visma-en-rowe-van-ineos.html

Seems Ineos were basically trying to barge past the Jumbo guys without any due care. If that's the case, it's Martin who is unfortunate

Brailsford is p!ssed off, so it's good to me.

Translating that page with the google translate thing gave the following headline:

"View the pastry between Martin van Jumbo-Visma and Rowe van Ineos"

harringtonp

Deleted User wrote: »

The hammer came down hard on them, DQ's for them both

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/luke-rowe-and-tony-martin-expelled-from-tour-de-france/

The main engine room for both teams gone.

Severe penalty but a side benefit of this incident is that the tour will be more open and uncertain as both those teams had strong trains.

I wonder how it would have played out if the clash was between supporting riders for JAP and Pinot.

On second thoughts the commissaires don't lack balls as was evidenced by Sagan's expulsion a few years back.

retalivity

It is great for conspiracy theories that the road captains of the 2 teams most likely to deny JA or Pinot the yellow jersey are kicked out the day before 3 decisive days in the alps...

Lusk_Doyle

harringtonp wrote: »

Severe penalty but a side benefit of this incident is that the tour will be more open and uncertain as both those teams had strong trains.

I wonder how it would have played out if the clash was between supporting riders for JAP and Pinot.

On second thoughts the commissaires don't lack balls but sometimes logic as was evidenced by Sagan's incorrect and unwarranted expulsion a few years back.

Fixed!

harringtonp

retalivity wrote: »

It is great for conspiracy theories that the road captains of the 2 teams most likely to deny JA or Pinot the yellow jersey are kicked out the day before 3 decisive days in the alps...

Well at the end of the day it comes down to a couple of people interpreting rules and making decisions based on them.

Who are they, where are they from, what are their interests and where do their heart lies ?

When decisions comes down to fine margins, these things play a huge part.

dastardly00

neris wrote: »

Tomorrow's stage looks savage

I look forward to your stage thread that I assume you will be posting shortly

Mefistofelino

harringtonp wrote: »

Well at the end of the day it comes down to a couple of people interpreting rules and making decisions based on them.

Who are they, where are they from, what are their interests and where do their heart lies ?

When decisions comes down to fine margins, these things play a huge part.

Jury president is Italian. The jury itself is composed of 4 members. One each from France, Spain, Belgium and Canada.

The problem with the conspiracy theory is that it relied on the two riders - who are both around long enough to know better - to act the bollox in the first place.

IMO, the ruling was overly harsh but the jury didn't make the lads start slapping each other in the first place.