Tour de France 2023 spoilers Warning in OP

breezy1985 · 14-07-2023 01:03PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120850592#Comment_120850592

Not looking good for a break with this pace from UAE.

On a side note to the big 2 we now have the FdJ 2 even though Pinot says he still doesn't care about GC and also the 2 Yates are absolutely glued to each other.

Paddigol · 14-07-2023 01:50PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120850531#Comment_120850531

Realistically, the team sitting in 2nd will be just as keen to make sure nobody in the top 10 goes off in a big break. I take your point, it just seems that the talk about not wanting the yellow jersey 'too soon' is a relatively new theory that's grown legs without much substance. Fair enough, you don't necessarily want it in week 1, but...

retalivity · 14-07-2023 02:18PM

Ewan abandons

breezy1985 · 14-07-2023 02:19PM

Really hating the breakaways this year. Couldn't really give a shte about any of these guys winning or not.

mewso · 14-07-2023 02:35PM

On the Columbier now

Mefistofelino · 14-07-2023 02:46PM

JV shedding riders ATM. Wonder if they are really goosed or just pretending, with the intention of saving them to batter UAE over the weekend.

neris · 14-07-2023 02:54PM

Ffs the mankini guys were bad enough but that idiot with his shorts down under his arse needs a smack

retalivity · 14-07-2023 02:58PM

Peloton havent even taken a minute out in 10k or so, UAE will need to get the finger out if they want to win the stage.

Mefistofelino · 14-07-2023 03:02PM

Kwiato is having an awesome ride

Large bottle small glass · 14-07-2023 03:06PM

Gap is holding he'll probably do it

Mefistofelino · 14-07-2023 03:15PM

A long run for a short slide. A waste of resources.

eagle eye · 14-07-2023 03:17PM

Awesome ride by Kwiatkowski.

Pog takes more seconds back. I think it's down to 9 seconds now.

breezy1985 · 14-07-2023 03:17PM

I like that Pog doesn't do stupid start-stop attacks and give up when he sees the man on his wheel.

Would have been nice if he went sooner but he needed Kuss gone first.

odyssey06 · 14-07-2023 03:18PM

ASO not doing the French riders any favours with that stage setup for Bastille Day.

Squidgy Black · 14-07-2023 03:21PM

Looks like the blood money is paying off for UAE this year anyways, Yates is going to be the difference maker here I think, just wasted Kuss to chase him which allowed Pog to go free in the end

breezy1985 · 14-07-2023 03:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120851521#Comment_120851521

French cycling not doing Bastille Day, ASO or France any favours by being pretty sht.

The closest thing to a golden generation since their last TdF win is on its last legs and there is absolutely nothing coming up behind them.

retalivity · 14-07-2023 03:21PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120851506#Comment_120851506

You'd wonder if the rest of JV (except Jonas and Kuss) took it easy to make it a hard day tomorrow...

mewso · 14-07-2023 03:23PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120851533#Comment_120851533

Lenny Martinez and Romain Gregoire look like decent prospects to me but they may flatter to deceive like so many.

Mefistofelino · 14-07-2023 03:25PM

On the basis that the actual gap between Pog and Vingo at the finish would have been the same regardless of whether they finished 1-2 or 20-21, Pog essentially burned his team for a four second time bonus. Kuss moving onto Yates wheel and keeping Pog off it was very smart.

lawrencesummers · 14-07-2023 03:26PM

I think POG knows he has vgg number now for definate. He knows where and how he can beat him.

mewso · 14-07-2023 03:26PM

Impressive ride from Pidcock in fairness. Maybe his GC ambitions are realistic after all.

retalivity · 14-07-2023 03:28PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120851560#Comment_120851560

He got 4 bonus seconds as well, so a total of 8

odyssey06 · 14-07-2023 03:29PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120851533#Comment_120851533

Yes maybe ASO have realised that too, and have given up trying to tweak things to their advantage :)

Mefistofelino · 14-07-2023 03:31PM

What I mean is that all the team work today only yielded those 4 bonus seconds - he would have got the other gap regardless.

breezy1985 · 14-07-2023 04:18PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120851587#Comment_120851587

Only 4 seconds. Don't let Purito ever hear you say that 😁

Mefistofelino · 14-07-2023 05:07PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120851565#Comment_120851565

He'd probably have to ditch the CX and MTB if he wants to make a concerted GC push.

Raoul Duke · 14-07-2023 08:27PM

So what did we learn today:

UAE domestiques aren't very good at burning themselves off at a high pace. It looked like Pogacar was asking for more speed and they couldn't give it to him, yet were able to all stay at the front for ages. Except for Yates of course. Maybe he should have gone to the front a lot earlier.

Vingegaard could only keep up with Pogacar for 20 seconds. Is Pogacar able to accelerate like that many kilometres from the end and settle into a high tempo? Does he have the confidence in his fitness to try it?

Maybe, just maybe Pidcock is capable of going for a Grand Tour in the future. He's doing better than I thought. This weekend will reveal all I think. We'll see if he can recover from these efforts.

The current generation of French cyclists are shite.

It's been set up for a potentially epic weekend. Really am quite excited to see how it unfolds.

dahat · 14-07-2023 08:34PM

UAE rode to win the stage & take bonus seconds. The mistake they made was giving Kiwa too much time & this is proven by his power numbers available on Strava. It was an exceptional performance from the break by him.

A different rider out front Podj wins the stage & takes 10 seconds.

Brian? · 14-07-2023 08:40PM

My key takeaway: Pogacar is the greatest cyclist I’ve ever seen. I’m too young for Merckx but saw Hinault on.

I really hope he wins the Tour. It completely bucks the trend of riders only focusing on the tour and ignoring the spring classics. The mad hoor will probably win Paris Roubaix next year.

breezy1985 · 14-07-2023 08:59PM

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120852782#Comment_120852782

Your too young to have seen Mercxx but old enough to be Pogs grandfather 🤣🤣🤣

Tour de France 2023 ***spoilers*** Warning in OP

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Tour de France 2023 spoilers Warning in OP