Anyone else think Bernal is going to blow the race apart in week 3? He was looking decent today, though he's not going to match Roglic in the sprints. He needs a nice long climb in the Alps, I think.
I can't quite understand why Bernal and Landa worked in the final few 4k. Surely they need Roglic was the bigger danger in GC and that he and Pogacar would split the bonus.
Felt sorry for Hirschi! Quickly becoming a very likable rider!
Anyway, for all the talk of how strong Roglic might be and how weak Bernal seems, the end of the first week sees Roglic lead Bernal by 21".
Coincidentally, this is the exact amount of bonus seconds Roglic has (Bernal has none). You could put a piece of paper between them.
“Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”
I can't quite understand why Bernal and Landa worked in the final few 4k. Surely they need Roglic was the bigger danger in GC and that he and Pogacar would split the bonus.
Felt sorry for Hirschi! Quickly becoming a very likable rider!
They were still putting time into other serious GC guys though - they did not want that following group getting back on, which it looked like they might for a while.
I can't quite understand why Bernal and Landa worked in the final few 4k. Surely they need Roglic was the bigger danger in GC and that he and Pogacar would split the bonus.
Felt sorry for Hirschi! Quickly becoming a very likable rider!
They were still putting time into other serious GC guys though - they did not want that following group getting back on, which it looked like they might for a while.
It's bloody close up top, and the amount of leaders still in with a shout after a week is nuts. Even Titchy Ritchy has made it to the rest day within two minutes.
“Road racing was over and the UCI had banned my riding positions on the track, so it was like ‘Jings, crivvens, help ma Boab, what do I do now? I know, I’ll go away and be depressed for 10 years’.”
I can't quite understand why Bernal and Landa worked in the final few 4k. Surely they need Roglic was the bigger danger in GC and that he and Pogacar would split the bonus.
Felt sorry for Hirschi! Quickly becoming a very likable rider!
They were still putting time into other serious GC guys though - they did not want that following group getting back on, which it looked like they might for a while.
It's bloody close up top, and the amount of leaders still in with a shout after a week is nuts. Even Titchy Ritchy has made it to the rest day within two minutes.
Yeah so it made sense for Bernal and Landa to try and keep the chasers away.
They did the right thing making Roglic lead out the sprint though.
I wonder how much influence Covid had on the racing today ahead of a rest day.
A good time to be in Yellow.
A good time to be in yellow unless your team gets the boot
It's too hard to second guess isn't it. If you're in yellow early you win if the race gets stopped, but on the other hand if you spend all your matches trying to get it now and the race does run the full course, you might well not be able to keep it.
I saw him throw his gel wrapper (it was when he took a sticky gel followed by a sticky bottle he barely touched before discarding). That was at around 21k to go, didn't see anything after that.
I can't quite understand why Bernal and Landa worked in the final few 4k. Surely they need Roglic was the bigger danger in GC and that he and Pogacar would split the bonus.
Two reasons:
- Improving their chances of a podium.
- More GC riders that are a little further back means more riders that are going to disrupt via long range attacks and the more chance it will force Roglic and JV having to defend. If they were still within 20-30 seconds they are less likely to go for the 'hail mary'
I'm pretty sure Hirschi will be caught but for a rider Ive never heard of this is an incredible ride.
He was u23 world champion two years ago.
He was also second on stage 2
But, apart from that, what has he ever done before? ;}
What has he ever done before … Well in 2008, as a 10-year old, when Cancellara was given a public reception in his home town* for having won a medal at the 2008 Olympics, Hirschi, as one of those in the crowd, managed to get Cancellara's autograph.
Not enough? .... Hirschi won various Swiss junior level races, also in some in Luxembourg, in 2016 he got Silver in the U23 European Championships TT, then in 2017 Bronze in the U23 European Championships RR. In 2018 he won the White Jersey in the Tour of Germany, and the U23 World Championships RR (as mentioned above by Andyp). In that RR, he did a shorter version of today – being initially in a break then dropping the other members of it. Also, he finished third in the 2019 San Sebastian classic.
* Hirschi comes from the same small town near Berne as Cancellara, Ittigen, their houses apparently only 200 metres apart. In his youth it seems he idolised Cancellara, and Cancellara has now become his manager-cum-adviser, since about a year. Here a photo of them training together last April.
(Some years ago, I found myself riding next to Cancellara for a short while , as close as on the above photo. It was after a Tour stage he had participated in and I had watched, he was making his way to the team bus. Dense crowds of spectators walking home or to their cars blocked the road, so he couldn't go faster than me, both on our bikes. I was so flabbergasted to see him adjacent me for about 5-6 mins, I couldn't utter a word, just made the nod one cyclist does to another.)
Anyone else think Bernal is going to blow the race apart in week 3? He was looking decent today, though he's not going to match Roglic in the sprints. He needs a nice long climb in the Alps, I think.
I have him going long on the Madalaine
"If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
I think the sunweb cervelos look quite good , better than the raw carbon . Its a neat looking package. And i usually prefer a standard frame with clean lines
Posts
Felt sorry for Hirschi! Quickly becoming a very likable rider!
Coincidentally, this is the exact amount of bonus seconds Roglic has (Bernal has none). You could put a piece of paper between them.
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
@DrHeadgear
The Vikings are coming!
They did the right thing making Roglic lead out the sprint though.
A good time to be in Yellow.
Is reachable from here.
Believe in miracles
And cures and healing wells
It's too hard to second guess isn't it. If you're in yellow early you win if the race gets stopped, but on the other hand if you spend all your matches trying to get it now and the race does run the full course, you might well not be able to keep it.
(open the thread and he responds directly)
He was also second on stage 2
Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
- Improving their chances of a podium.
- More GC riders that are a little further back means more riders that are going to disrupt via long range attacks and the more chance it will force Roglic and JV having to defend. If they were still within 20-30 seconds they are less likely to go for the 'hail mary'
Well in 2008, as a 10-year old, when Cancellara was given a public reception in his home town* for having won a medal at the 2008 Olympics, Hirschi, as one of those in the crowd, managed to get Cancellara's autograph.
Not enough?
.... Hirschi won various Swiss junior level races, also in some in Luxembourg, in 2016 he got Silver in the U23 European Championships TT, then in 2017 Bronze in the U23 European Championships RR. In 2018 he won the White Jersey in the Tour of Germany, and the U23 World Championships RR (as mentioned above by Andyp).
In that RR, he did a shorter version of today – being initially in a break then dropping the other members of it.
Also, he finished third in the 2019 San Sebastian classic.
* Hirschi comes from the same small town near Berne as Cancellara, Ittigen, their houses apparently only 200 metres apart. In his youth it seems he idolised Cancellara, and Cancellara has now become his manager-cum-adviser, since about a year.
Here a photo of them training together last April.
https://img.blick.ch/incoming/15370776-v0-canci-o5i9356-jpg.jpg?imwidth=1000&ratio=16_9&x=0&y=283&width=5472&height=3080
(Some years ago, I found myself riding next to Cancellara for a short while , as close as on the above photo. It was after a Tour stage he had participated in and I had watched, he was making his way to the team bus. Dense crowds of spectators walking home or to their cars blocked the road, so he couldn't go faster than me, both on our bikes. I was so flabbergasted to see him adjacent me for about 5-6 mins, I couldn't utter a word, just made the nod one cyclist does to another.)
Not done that for a while
- @ddraver
? 🤷 ?
- @ddraver
Wait - would he have forfeited the stage?
Weird about Pozzovivo. Presume there's some sort of external reason.
Twitter @3pistescycle
INSTA @tourclownunder
https://mobile.twitter.com/NTTProCycling/status/1302692002161668096
- @ddraver