Cycling thread

[Bruce Wayne]

Looks that way - Roglic level above this year. Still expect Bernal to go out on his shield and throw some big digs in the Alps, but he doesn't quite have it this time round.

The team is well off as well. Carapaz seems to be well off the pace, and even with a few minutes to rest up before the finale, Sivakov wasn't able to help much. The less said about Amador the better. They're the 8th best team in the PCS rankings, with no individual in the top 40. It does increasingly look like Froome was carrying the team rather than the other way round.

 

[lichfieldblue]

 

[Black Belt Jones]

Bernal said he'd never done better numbers and he was still gapped, so sounds like he is in good shape in and of himself, just Rog and Pog too strong. 7+ WKg over a 7 minute effort, after hours of racing, week 2 of a grand tour. Just a different tier.

Great stage today finishing on the Grand Colombier. Fancy Bernal to be on the premises but it depends on his inner belief and how much support he gets - hard to put out 7 WKg on an HC climb if deep down you feel that the Tour has gone.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Ineos have fallen apart already. Going to be the final nail in their coffin today I feel.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

That's crazy. A classics rider dropping a pair of GT winners. That just doesn't add up.

 

[lichfieldblue]

That's crazy. A classics rider dropping a pair of GT winners. That just doesn't add up.

I'm normally pretty sceptical, but it's clear Bernal is having a very bad day. He could lose 10 minutes here.

The front 2 are a class above, but 3rd place is up for grabs .... I expect we will see more dropped in the next 20 mins.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

I'm normally pretty sceptical, but it's clear Bernal is having a very bad day. He could lose 10 minutes here.

The front 2 are a class above, but 3rd place is up for grabs .... I expect we will see more dropped in the next 20 mins.

If it was just Bernal I'd be happy to give the benefit of the doubt, but Quintana has been in great form all year. By the time WvA pulled off, there were as many Jumbo riders in the lead group as the rest put together. That by a guy who must be 10kg heavier than the other riders in the group.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Not liking this race at all.

 

[lichfieldblue]

If it was just Bernal I'd be happy to give the benefit of the doubt, but Quintana has been in great form all year. By the time WvA pulled off, there were as many Jumbo riders in the lead group as the rest put together. That by a guy who must be 10kg heavier than the other riders in the group.

That implies there's something suspicious about the whole lead group because Porte, Yates etc all looked in a different league to Bernal today.

The Sky train did more damage in the past that JV did today - they frequently had 3 or 4 left and literally one or two others. JV had a decent bunch who stayed most of the day today.

WVA though? I'll give you that someone winning sprints, doing most of the work on most climbs and sitting 24th is, erm, surprising.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

That implies there's something suspicious about the whole lead group because Porte, Yates etc all looked in a different league to Bernal today.

The Sky train did more damage in the past that JV did today - they frequently had 3 or 4 left and literally one or two others. JV had a decent bunch who stayed most of the day today.

WVA though? I'll give you that someone winning sprints, doing most of the work on most climbs and sitting 24th is, erm, surprising.

Aye, I'm not worried about Dumoulin who obviously has real pedigree, or even Kuss, who has shown great form. The showing from WvA both today and over the entire race has been unbelievable though. We've had riders before who have bossed classics and people have spoken about them as GC potential, but the likes of Sagan and Cancellara have never converted in the way WvA is. We also have to remember that he also had a potentially career-threatening crash in the Tour last year, and whilst Froome and Dumoulin have returned from similar crashes off the pace, he seems better than ever.

 

[Black Belt Jones]

That implies there's something suspicious about the whole lead group because Porte, Yates etc all looked in a different league to Bernal today.

The Sky train did more damage in the past that JV did today - they frequently had 3 or 4 left and literally one or two others. JV had a decent bunch who stayed most of the day today.

WVA though? I'll give you that someone winning sprints, doing most of the work on most climbs and sitting 24th is, erm, surprising.

Heroic cyclocross legs. Triple world champ beating the cyclocross GoaT (van der Poel) on each occasion speaks to a mental colossus.

Be surprised if he was at his listed 78kg weight as I agree that dont seem possible. That is top end for a GT rider of normal dimensions, let alone someone driving the elite GC peloton 5k up an hc climb.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Heroic cyclocross legs. Triple world champ beating the cyclocross GoaT (van der Poel) on each occasion speaks to a mental colossus.

Be surprised if he was at his listed 78kg weight as I agree that dont seem possible. That is top end for a GT rider of normal dimensions, let alone someone driving the elite GC peloton 5k up an hc climb.

Thought the average GC weight was around 68kg.

 

[Black Belt Jones]

Sepp Kuss did 359 W for 44 mins on the Colombier today according to strava. Just under 6 WKg, which is pretty standard for such an elite group. WvA looked like he was setting an infernal pace but with Bernal on un jour sans and Quintana pretty banged up with his crash the other day it likely wasn't as severe as all that.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

Sepp Kuss did 359 W for 44 mins on the Colombier today according to strava. Just under 6 WKg, which is pretty standard for such an elite group. WvA looked like he was setting an infernal pace but with Bernal on un jour sans and Quintana pretty banged up with his crash the other day it likely wasn't as severe as all that.

Makes you wonder why no one except Yates attacked?

 

[lichfieldblue]

Makes you wonder why no one except Yates attacked?

Because they were all on the limit?

There were enough JV left that, unless they had a lot of gas in the tank, the most likely event would be being chased down and countered. Made for an incredibly dull stage, mind.