Stage 16 takes the race into the Alps ! I think it’s a very tricky stage to try to figure out exactly how it will play out. Normally I would think the main contenders would allow a breakaway to escape as it’s a tough stage but not enough to drop any of the top GC riders. However since this year’s race seems to have come down to Roglic verses Pogacar and neither one is capable of dropping the other, I think seconds actually matter. Therefore it will be interesting to see if Pogacar will try to nab a few seconds just like he did in stage 15. There are bonus seconds available for top 3 finishers at the finish but also at the top of the summit of Montee de Saint-Nizier. On stage 15 Pogacar was able to outsprint Roglic at the finish line ! Will he try to pick away a second here and there or wait until the bigger challenge on stage 17 ? Should be a interesting day to observe strategies.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...ford-a-timely-reminder-from-tirreno-adriatico
Geraint Thomas sends Dave Brailsford a timely reminder from Tirreno-Adriatico
Dave Brailsford’s Tour de France selection gamble has backfired, as the 2018 winner of the Grande Boucle, Geraint Thomas, showed he was back to his best with second place overall in Italy’s prestigious Tirreno-Adriatico stage race, won by the 2018 Vuelta a España champion, Simon Yates, of Mitchelton-Scott.
With a week left of racing through the French mountains, Brailsford’s selected Ineos Grenadiers team are now without an overall contender after the collapse of Egan Bernal’s challenge on Sunday’s summit finish to the Grand Colombier. Thomas, meanwhile, after being left out, came within 17 seconds of taking overall victory in the Giro d’Italia warm-up race.
Brailsford has been widely criticised for leaving Thomas out of a Tour lineup that has so far been unable to keep pace with the Jumbo-Visma team of the race leader, Primoz Roglic. The decision to leave the Welshman behind, a year after he finished second overall to Bernal, left the British team “lacking something”, according to the 2012 Tour winner, Bradley Wiggins. “Geraint on form would be challenging to win the race,” Wiggins said on Eurosport.
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Geraint Thomas sends Dave Brailsford a timely reminder from Tirreno-Adriatico
Dave Brailsford’s Tour de France selection gamble has backfired, as the 2018 winner of the Grande Boucle, Geraint Thomas, showed he was back to his best with second place overall in Italy’s prestigious Tirreno-Adriatico stage race, won by the 2018 Vuelta a España champion, Simon Yates, of Mitchelton-Scott.
With a week left of racing through the French mountains, Brailsford’s selected Ineos Grenadiers team are now without an overall contender after the collapse of Egan Bernal’s challenge on Sunday’s summit finish to the Grand Colombier. Thomas, meanwhile, after being left out, came within 17 seconds of taking overall victory in the Giro d’Italia warm-up race.
Brailsford has been widely criticised for leaving Thomas out of a Tour lineup that has so far been unable to keep pace with the Jumbo-Visma team of the race leader, Primoz Roglic. The decision to leave the Welshman behind, a year after he finished second overall to Bernal, left the British team “lacking something”, according to the 2012 Tour winner, Bradley Wiggins. “Geraint on form would be challenging to win the race,” Wiggins said on Eurosport.
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i pay little attention to what Bradley Wiggins has to say. First off, He’s one of the Tour De France Champions that clearly wasn’t the best rider in the race ! Anyone who watched that race could see that Chris Froome who was working hard to help him win was actually better that year ! As for his opinion that if Thomas was put on Ineos team for this year’s race, he’d be fighting it out for the Championship is a joke ! Was Wiggins in a coma when we watched both Froome and Thomas look pathetic in the Dauphine ?
let’s be real here as who cares if Thomas just took second in a race when all the best cyclists in the World were racing in the Tour De France ! Adding Thomas to this year’s Ineos Team would have done pretty much nothing to defeat Roglic or Pogacar !
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). He aint the only one critiziing Brailsford's decision. stage 16 is benign...Jumbo control the show , Wout at the end to protect Roglic. Roglic did attempt to attack and lose Pogacar; no can do.
stage 17, 18 are the last chances for Pogacar .40s into the TT is too tall an order to overcome.. Stage 17 has a 22km 8 degree gradient stretch.. LOL, ridiculous. Can Pogacar attack here? .....If Jumbo lays a crueling, crushing pace, it makes attackign nearly impossible. So for Roglic, if Jumbo bring the A game for stages 17,18 its liekly all but over
for me, wout, pogacar r the most impressive riders for this years Tour de France
im callign Wout- The Demolition Man
stage 17, 18 are the last chances for Pogacar .40s into the TT is too tall an order to overcome.. Stage 17 has a 22km 8 degree gradient stretch.. LOL, ridiculous. Can Pogacar attack here? .....If Jumbo lays a crueling, crushing pace, it makes attackign nearly impossible. So for Roglic, if Jumbo bring the A game for stages 17,18 its liekly all but over
for me, wout, pogacar r the most impressive riders for this years Tour de France
im callign Wout- The Demolition Man
Today’s stage went to a breakaway escapee as Lennard Kamna was able to outfinish Richard Carapaz with Sebastien Reichenbach taking third.
Main CG standings remained unchanged as Roglic help off Pogacar’s attempt to try to steal a few seconds on last few Meters of stage.
Tomorrow’s stage is just plain brutal with a steep Mountain top finish. Yes this stage is for the big guns and I fully expect Pogacar to try to gain a few seconds back on this mountain top finish. You don’t want to miss this stage as it’s show me what you got time !
Main CG standings remained unchanged as Roglic help off Pogacar’s attempt to try to steal a few seconds on last few Meters of stage.
Tomorrow’s stage is just plain brutal with a steep Mountain top finish. Yes this stage is for the big guns and I fully expect Pogacar to try to gain a few seconds back on this mountain top finish. You don’t want to miss this stage as it’s show me what you got time !
yup, stage 17 is being anticipated as the Biggie by nearly everyone.
crazy, crazy ...crazy
Every tour de france champion eventually needs to prove his worth ,despite team. Roglic needs to be that tomorrow. He may end up isolated in the final ascent...does he have the legs? we shall see. Pogacar absolutely will need to make a move, tomorrow or Stage 18-is what it is
will be interesting to see how Jumbo plays it tomorrow. When do they use Wout to pull ? 1st or 2nd mountain? Wout was with him today late, but on Sunday it was Dumolin, Sepp , Bennett late, they used Wout early to shatter the peloton, lol
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) – overall race leader, 22nd on stage 16
"It was a good day again for us, again in yellow but the start was quite fast, for sure in the first hour and again in the end it was going a bit faster. We needed to keep the focus up.
"Some big days to come but the team was again doing a really great job, all the guys. We're ready and looking forward to [the coming stages]. [Tomorrow] is a 'Queen Stage' of this year, definitely, the highest point - super hard at the end with a bike path going in the last 3-4k - going quite close to the ski jump in Courchevel. The thing is, when you have the legs you can go on the flat, uphill, not so steep and more steep. Hopefully I will have the legs and we will do our best." (ASO)
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - second overall, 21st on stage 16
"Today was a good day – a nice warm-up for tomorroe which will probably be the queen stage. Tomorrow there will be splits, I think.
"I feel good physically. It's the third week, so everyone is exhausted. Day by day, the legs are getting more and more tired, but I hope I have something left.
"Tomorrow we have the Col de la Loze which will be selective for sure." (UAE Team Emirates)
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showtime
crazy, crazy ...crazy
Every tour de france champion eventually needs to prove his worth ,despite team. Roglic needs to be that tomorrow. He may end up isolated in the final ascent...does he have the legs? we shall see. Pogacar absolutely will need to make a move, tomorrow or Stage 18-is what it is
will be interesting to see how Jumbo plays it tomorrow. When do they use Wout to pull ? 1st or 2nd mountain? Wout was with him today late, but on Sunday it was Dumolin, Sepp , Bennett late, they used Wout early to shatter the peloton, lol
Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) – overall race leader, 22nd on stage 16
"It was a good day again for us, again in yellow but the start was quite fast, for sure in the first hour and again in the end it was going a bit faster. We needed to keep the focus up.
"Some big days to come but the team was again doing a really great job, all the guys. We're ready and looking forward to [the coming stages]. [Tomorrow] is a 'Queen Stage' of this year, definitely, the highest point - super hard at the end with a bike path going in the last 3-4k - going quite close to the ski jump in Courchevel. The thing is, when you have the legs you can go on the flat, uphill, not so steep and more steep. Hopefully I will have the legs and we will do our best." (ASO)
Tadej Pogacar (UAE Team Emirates) - second overall, 21st on stage 16
"Today was a good day – a nice warm-up for tomorroe which will probably be the queen stage. Tomorrow there will be splits, I think.
"I feel good physically. It's the third week, so everyone is exhausted. Day by day, the legs are getting more and more tired, but I hope I have something left.
"Tomorrow we have the Col de la Loze which will be selective for sure." (UAE Team Emirates)
showtime
What a brutal finish ! Wow ! Miguel Lopez wins stage ! Primoz Roglic finishes second with Tadej Pogacar taking third ! Roglic takes a commanding lead with just one more Mountain stage remaining tomorrow before the Individual Time Trial. Lopez did something I didn’t think was possible as he outkicked Roglic on final steep summit ! No problem for Roglic however as he increased his lead by finishing 15 seconds ahead of Pogacar and added a few more seconds of bonus time !
Tomorrow’s stage 18 is a tough mountain stage but it’s not as brutal as today’s stage 17. I feel this is exactly the type of stage where having the strongest Team will really help Roglic neutralize any attacks by Pogacar or Lopez. The huge difference between the two is the steep mountain top FINISH that we saw today. Even though tomorrow has some really tough climbs, the summits of these climbs are well before the finish of stage 18. Although an attack can get you over the top first, a powerful Jumbo team should be able to bring Anyone back. Of course Roglic will not object to any breakaway riders to escape as that would actually Help his cause. Since Pogacar and Lopez need to try to gain a lot of time back, I expect them to give it a go.
Go Roglic !
Go Roglic !
