Way too easy day for Alaphilippe if you ask me ! Lots of racing left so it’s not over just yet but what a surprise so far ! Thomas came into this year’s Tour looking to be a little off form. Bernal is so young but that might be in his favor now IF it turns out Thomas cannot keep up in these high mountains! Quite a bit of brutal mountains remain so it’s going to be perhaps getting more interesting tomorrow! GL
Way too easy day for Alaphilippe if you ask me ! Lots of racing left so it’s not over just yet but what a surprise so far ! Thomas came into this year’s Tour looking to be a little off form. Bernal is so young but that might be in his favor now IF it turns out Thomas cannot keep up in these high mountains! Quite a bit of brutal mountains remain so it’s going to be perhaps getting more interesting tomorrow! GL
no way can anyone take Julian lightly anymore. He is, obviously, VERY strong right now. This stage knocked quite a few GC contenders out of contention (Quintana, Yates, Porte, Martin), yet this guy came SECOND today!! INCREASED his lead!!!!!! Let's keep in mind he has no history of mountain stage accomplishments- NONE!!!!!
you're right, still lots of racing left. Anxious to see posted new odds
here's Thomas post-race;
[FONT="]I just didn’t feel quite on it from the start. Just quite weak. At the end I knew I had to try to pace it. I didn’t really attempt to follow them when they kicked. I felt it was better to ride my own pace and limit my losses that way, rather than trying to stay with them and blow up at the end. It was a tough day out there. I’m just a bit disappointed, but it is what it is. I just tried to limit the damage. Still a lot to come, and hopefully I’ll feel a bit better tomorrow.[/FONT]
you're right, still lots of racing left. Anxious to see posted new odds
here's Thomas post-race;
[FONT="]I just didn’t feel quite on it from the start. Just quite weak. At the end I knew I had to try to pace it. I didn’t really attempt to follow them when they kicked. I felt it was better to ride my own pace and limit my losses that way, rather than trying to stay with them and blow up at the end. It was a tough day out there. I’m just a bit disappointed, but it is what it is. I just tried to limit the damage. Still a lot to come, and hopefully I’ll feel a bit better tomorrow.[/FONT]
What’s clearly obvious after both the TT and the Brutal mountain top finish on the Tourmalet is that Team Ineos have totally underestimated the prowess of Alaphilippe! This guy can climb with the big boys no doubt! Can he do it for 4 more mountain stages ? We shall see what tomorrow brings but there’s no way Team Ineos can allow him to have an easy ride tomorrow IF they want to have any chance of winning the Tour. Thomas is now over 2 minutes behind and Bernal is at 3 minutes. BTW I see Pinot has now moved up to being the 3 rd. Favorite at 6/1.
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I just took a close look at odds at 5 Dimes. Alaphilippe was -105, Thomas was +475, Bernal +500, Pinot +550, Steven K +550. What does this tell me ?
It tells me not only that finally the so called experts are thinking Alaphilippe is really good but I need to pay attention to what I personally observe !
Everything I saw from Alaphilippe looked positive but I believed what the experts said ! Big mistake as I saw +1550 just 2 days ago before the Time Trial and today’s mountain stage !
It tells me not only that finally the so called experts are thinking Alaphilippe is really good but I need to pay attention to what I personally observe !
Everything I saw from Alaphilippe looked positive but I believed what the experts said ! Big mistake as I saw +1550 just 2 days ago before the Time Trial and today’s mountain stage !
Simon Yates wins today’s stage In a thrilling finish as Alaphilippe salvages his yellow Jersey lead with a gutsy finish ! I’m impressed with his effort as he had to limit his losses as he was isolated at the end! Nonetheless this year’s Tour is still undecided as he showed his first dent in his armor!
yes I think now Pinot is the strongest rider in the race at this stage ! Now that was really an exciting finish as all kinds of developments happening !
Pinot attacking , Bernal having a good day and leaving Thomas behind, Alaphilippe isolated and limiting his losses, Thomas cracking it seemed and then getting a second wind and actually gaining time ! What’s not to like about today’s stage ! Most exciting day so far !
I will study the new odds as I expect some big changes. Julian Alaphilippe is very fortunate that tomorrow is a rest day followed by a flatter sprint stage.
He should still be the favorite but this thing is wide open now ! Egan Bernal is being overlooked as although he fell from 4 th to 5 th, he had a very good day and moved much closer to the overall lead and actually gained time on ALL the main GC contenders except for Pinot. Also it’s very clear after the last 2 days that Bernal has been given the green light to go out on his own IF Thomas is showing weakness. It is noted that Emanuel Buchmann finished with Bernal and he’s right behind Bernal in GC standings only 12 seconds back ! He’s another one of the younger riders who are making their impressions on the older echelon.
He should still be the favorite but this thing is wide open now ! Egan Bernal is being overlooked as although he fell from 4 th to 5 th, he had a very good day and moved much closer to the overall lead and actually gained time on ALL the main GC contenders except for Pinot. Also it’s very clear after the last 2 days that Bernal has been given the green light to go out on his own IF Thomas is showing weakness. It is noted that Emanuel Buchmann finished with Bernal and he’s right behind Bernal in GC standings only 12 seconds back ! He’s another one of the younger riders who are making their impressions on the older echelon.
quotes after stage 15
[h=2]Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep) - race leader[/h]"I expected a really hard day like today. I gave everything. My team did a really god job to protect the yellow jersey and to control the race. In the end, voila - I wasn't making it. But I'm really happy to stay in yellow.
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"It's one more day in yellow, I'm happy. It was my goal to keep the yellow. I'm really happy I still have it for the rest day and the next stage, but it will be a really hard last week. I just want to enjoy.
"I just have to be foucssed on me. For the GC, the next week will be really crucial. I'm really happy with what has happened already. I have training, I have press conferences and I hope to see my family. I hope I can rest a little bit." (ASO)
[h=2]Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) – second on GC[/h]"I just tried to pace it when it all kicked off, and then it’s kind of a shame because I got stuck behind Alaphilippe and didn’t want to pull with him in the wheel.
"It was kind of a difficult one, tactics-wise, because I wanted to go, I had the legs to go but I wasn’t going to chase down Egan with the guys in the wheel. It’s like being stuck behind a rock and hard place.
"At least the legs are responding a little bit better. It was a solid start so I didn’t know how – it’s such a mental game now. Everyone is good, everyone is tired. You just need to try and block that out.
"It’s easy to think about the good times last year and think ‘oh, I should be floating’, but I was suffering at time then, so I just need to bite the bullet to dig in." (Eurosport)
[h=2]Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) – third on GC[/h]"It was very fast again. I got stuck in the wheel of Geraint Thomas, who later attacked. I couldn't go along with Thibaut Pinot – he went a bit too fast for me. Then I had to get back on my feet and we picked up Julian Alaphilippe in the last few kilometres. Then it was head down, drive to the line, and limit the damage.
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"I wasn't a bad day. You have to go through every day and one day you are a bit better than the next. It is what it is. I tried to limit the damage. We'll see what the rest day brings. Pinot drove off alone and there was no stopping it. Behind that we did what we could.
"On a climb like this it's man to man. There were three of us [Bennett and De Plus]. During the penultimate climb we rode fast, and in the descent Laurens did his job. We did that because I thought it would be better for me with a hard race. And I wasn't bad either." (NOS)
[h=2]Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) – second on stage 15[/h]"It was my weather, a beautiful stage as I like it. I had to enjoy it! I had good sensations. I knew that the final was flat so I could put myself in the red in the steep part. I wasn't taking too many risks. I took time on everyone again, that's the main thing.
"We must continue now – we're moving up the ranking and the toughest stages are coming. When you have good legs, you have to enjoy them.
"This was the tactic put in place this morning and it worked well. We can be satisfied. I have David [Gaudu] with me and he did a good job again. I picked up Rudy [Molard] and Seb [Reichenbach]. We showed we are a solid and attacking team. It paid off and it's great when it works!" (Groupama-FDJ)
[h=2]Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) – stage 15 winner[/h]"I'm very proud of what I did today. It was an extremely hard day, really from the start to the finish. I raced the way I like to, try to be aggressive, and I managed to pull it off. I'm really happy.
"Today was the other day that I would have had a chance, so nothing really changed for me. I was just taking it with both hands. Adam was not really great yesterday, but he's a great rider and he'll be back. No worries about that.
"I was worried that they were catching me. I was trying at the bottom of the climb - I had Simon [Geschke] with me, he was a really good companion all the way through the valley and on the descent. He did a really good job, but I really needed to go at that point. I wasn't really confident of staying away. We needed to go early and make sure we had a big enough gap. That's what I did in the end.
"I'm very tired now, that one took a lot of effort. There are some more chances, we'll see what it holds." (ASO)
[h=2]Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-Quickstep) - race leader[/h]"I expected a really hard day like today. I gave everything. My team did a really god job to protect the yellow jersey and to control the race. In the end, voila - I wasn't making it. But I'm really happy to stay in yellow.
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"It's one more day in yellow, I'm happy. It was my goal to keep the yellow. I'm really happy I still have it for the rest day and the next stage, but it will be a really hard last week. I just want to enjoy.
"I just have to be foucssed on me. For the GC, the next week will be really crucial. I'm really happy with what has happened already. I have training, I have press conferences and I hope to see my family. I hope I can rest a little bit." (ASO)
[h=2]Geraint Thomas (Team Ineos) – second on GC[/h]"I just tried to pace it when it all kicked off, and then it’s kind of a shame because I got stuck behind Alaphilippe and didn’t want to pull with him in the wheel.
"It was kind of a difficult one, tactics-wise, because I wanted to go, I had the legs to go but I wasn’t going to chase down Egan with the guys in the wheel. It’s like being stuck behind a rock and hard place.
"At least the legs are responding a little bit better. It was a solid start so I didn’t know how – it’s such a mental game now. Everyone is good, everyone is tired. You just need to try and block that out.
"It’s easy to think about the good times last year and think ‘oh, I should be floating’, but I was suffering at time then, so I just need to bite the bullet to dig in." (Eurosport)
[h=2]Steven Kruijswijk (Jumbo-Visma) – third on GC[/h]"It was very fast again. I got stuck in the wheel of Geraint Thomas, who later attacked. I couldn't go along with Thibaut Pinot – he went a bit too fast for me. Then I had to get back on my feet and we picked up Julian Alaphilippe in the last few kilometres. Then it was head down, drive to the line, and limit the damage.
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"I wasn't a bad day. You have to go through every day and one day you are a bit better than the next. It is what it is. I tried to limit the damage. We'll see what the rest day brings. Pinot drove off alone and there was no stopping it. Behind that we did what we could.
"On a climb like this it's man to man. There were three of us [Bennett and De Plus]. During the penultimate climb we rode fast, and in the descent Laurens did his job. We did that because I thought it would be better for me with a hard race. And I wasn't bad either." (NOS)
[h=2]Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) – second on stage 15[/h]"It was my weather, a beautiful stage as I like it. I had to enjoy it! I had good sensations. I knew that the final was flat so I could put myself in the red in the steep part. I wasn't taking too many risks. I took time on everyone again, that's the main thing.
"We must continue now – we're moving up the ranking and the toughest stages are coming. When you have good legs, you have to enjoy them.
"This was the tactic put in place this morning and it worked well. We can be satisfied. I have David [Gaudu] with me and he did a good job again. I picked up Rudy [Molard] and Seb [Reichenbach]. We showed we are a solid and attacking team. It paid off and it's great when it works!" (Groupama-FDJ)
[h=2]Simon Yates (Mitchelton-Scott) – stage 15 winner[/h]"I'm very proud of what I did today. It was an extremely hard day, really from the start to the finish. I raced the way I like to, try to be aggressive, and I managed to pull it off. I'm really happy.
"Today was the other day that I would have had a chance, so nothing really changed for me. I was just taking it with both hands. Adam was not really great yesterday, but he's a great rider and he'll be back. No worries about that.
"I was worried that they were catching me. I was trying at the bottom of the climb - I had Simon [Geschke] with me, he was a really good companion all the way through the valley and on the descent. He did a really good job, but I really needed to go at that point. I wasn't really confident of staying away. We needed to go early and make sure we had a big enough gap. That's what I did in the end.
"I'm very tired now, that one took a lot of effort. There are some more chances, we'll see what it holds." (ASO)
