TDF 2021: Stage 6, Tours > Châteauroux 160.6 km **Spoilers**

Pross

That preview of tomorrow's roads on the GCN split screen will be getting the riders worked up over safety

above_the_cows

Was it MY MAN?

gweeds

Alpecin really knobbed that up. Pick one sprinter lads.

Pross

Bouhanni was finishing fast again considering he had left a big enough gap to let Cav steal the wheel he'd been sat on.

blazing_saddles

Kirby: "It will take a photo...." Only with a very, very long lens.

The irony being that Philipsen is complaining because Cav got to cut up Merlier before he could do exactly the same.

DQS them both and give the win to Bouhanni.

Lanterne_Rogue

Looking at the overhead, Merlier's move to the right as he peels off is what gets Cavendish moving left - he needs to curve around him and that's what gives him the momentum towards Philipsen.

JimD666

Wouldn't want to be the commissioner assigned to tell Cav it was an illegal sprint....

Still not sure if he deviated off his line enough to be relegated though..

TheBigBean

Good to see the yellow jersey leading out one team and the world champion doing the other.

kingstongraham

Pross

I think back 10 years ago when Cav was really dominating they would have DQd him for that. Now they see him winning as a good news story so should be safe.

blazing_saddles

The hat trick stands according to the LeTour results...

Hits the half century of GT wins as well, today.

Lanterne_Rogue

blazing_saddles said:

kingstongraham said:

Coming up to Kluge's big moment.

He's not looking like he's going to be making big gains today, unless he's booked himself in for a late Plat du Jour somewhere nearby.

Gains another 1'07" on the LR. Heavyweight.

Pross

66.7km/h for the final 500m. I think it was slightly uphill too!

Pross

The way he got across to the AF train was ridiculous. Pure instinct and experience.

kingstongraham

blazing_saddles said:

The hat trick stands according to the LeTour results...

Hits the half century of GT wins as well, today.

There's 4 sprint stages in the first week of the Vuelta. If he fancies it.

specialgueststar

Pross said:

66.7km/h for the final 500m. I think it was slightly uphill too!

Cavendish saying the finish line at different points for the three Chateroux wins. The first two slight uphill this one flat??

Lanterne_Rogue

Can't remember hearing Cavendish go full analytical previously this season when he's won. Suggests he's in a pretty calm headspace if he's spending 160km thinking about what the French teams are doing.

Pross

Lanterne_Rogue said:

Can't remember hearing Cavendish go full analytical previously this season when he's won. Suggests he's in a pretty calm headspace if he's spending 160km thinking about what the French teams are doing.

The monkey is well and truly off his back. If he can get over the mountains and DQS are prepared to chase down breaks on transition days there are still quite a few stages up for grabs.

gweeds

He wants that Paris stage doesn’t he. And green.

darkhairedlord

Are the bookies taking a pasting this year?

blazing_saddles

Pross said:

Lanterne_Rogue said:

Can't remember hearing Cavendish go full analytical previously this season when he's won. Suggests he's in a pretty calm headspace if he's spending 160km thinking about what the French teams are doing.

The monkey is well and truly off his back. If he can get over the mountains and DQS are prepared to chase down breaks on transition days there are still quite a few stages up for grabs.

The weekend mountain stages shouldn't be a problem, then it's a sprint stage to Valence.
Get over the Ventoux twice and he's got another two chances.

bobmcstuff

darkhairedlord said:

Are the bookies taking a pasting this year?

Maybe for the first win - but he was favourite today

blazing_saddles

https://twitter.com/EdwardPickering/status/1410621081963188227

hypster

Most exciting opening week to a TdF that I can remember. Alaphilippe, van de Poel, Cav and Pogacar all racing flat-out instead of the usual, repetitive sprint-fest. And now some hills and mountains to finish things off.

Pross

The mountains are the big question for me, he cut it fine a few times in the past so I'm not sure if he will be able to keep his seat on the bus on the Ventoux stage.

Someone I used to race against and who has won several Welsh titles over the years (and still rides a huge amount of miles) is currently riding the route a few days ahead and did Stage 11 yesterday. He described it as seriously tough, 16,000 feet of climbing in total. Stage 9 was described as brutal, only 94 miles but over 14,000 feet of climbing that day.

amrushton

Could just sit on the wheel of Froome in the autobus. He'll get over them. He was in a bad place before now he has momentum and a team of winners

bobmcstuff

hypster said:

Most exciting opening week to a TdF that I can remember. Alaphilippe, van de Poel, Cav and Pogacar all racing flat-out instead of the usual, repetitive sprint-fest. And now some hills and mountains to finish things off.

Apart from the fact that Cav won them, neither of those sprint stages have been any different to a normal TdF sprint stage IMO - obviously the fact Cavs won them is poetic etc but they were pretty bog standard sprint stages weren't they.

As always it's the riders that make the race... couldn't have been scripted better this year

daniel_b

10, 12 & 13 look to be the next 3 best chances for a sprint finish?
Maybe 10 the best, as after a rest day, but equally has the most climbs out of the 3.





Some big hills inbetween though.

I'd like to think he could make it over them, he's done it before of course, but not ridden 3 weeks for a good few years now.

bobones

bobmcstuff said:

Apart from the fact that Cav won them, neither of those sprint stages have been any different to a normal TdF sprint stage IMO - obviously the fact Cavs won them is poetic etc but they were pretty bog standard sprint stages weren't they.

So lone breakaway rider caught with 250 metres to go was just bog standard fayre?

daniel_b

MVDP "Cav is just the fastest man at the moment"