TDF 2021: Stage 8, Oyonnax > Le Grand-Bornand 150.8 km **Spoilers**
Comments
-
I saw Froome go but not Geraint. I assume it got mentioned in commentary so not sure how I missed it.ddraver said:
Almost immediately...Pross said:When did Geraint actually get dropped? I watched the live coverage on catch up but fast forwarded quite a bit. I saw the whole of the climb at the start when Cav got dropped but didn't see Geraint go on there. I then forwarded to the Cat 3 climb and saw Roglic getting dropped but Geraint was already over 6 minutes behind.
Froome and Gee were in the autobus before Cav 😮0 -
Pross said:
Who were the 4? Thomas, Roglic and Froome obviously. Did Tao end up back there? Must have really sat up if he did.richa said:4 Grand Tour winners in the bus today!!! Can’t be often that that has happened…
(4x WC, 1x OC)
Valverde.
Also three Kings of the Mountains (Froome, Majka and Barguil)Twitter: @RichN950 -
Yes Eastern Bloc. It can make you visualise that area of Europe differently. Yugoslavia bordering Greece and Italy didn't sound right !0
-
I can't recall ever seeing riders getting dropped within a few miles of the start like that before. In a way it probably made sense for those who knew they would be dropped not to go harder than they were comfortable early on and pay for it later. I did think Cav might struggle as he fought to stay on for so long. Crazy that climb wasn't categorised, I assume that was in the vain hope that things wouldn't go mad too early with riders going for KoM points as there were two easier climbs later.0
-
I didn't get the impression Cavendish was ever struggling on the first climb - they dropped off about 1km from the top and doing so meant they didn't have to chase too hard, or take any risks, on the descent to get back on. He also hung with the break on the first couple of climbs yesterday when they were properly shifting, so I'm not sure there's much reason to worry about his climbing form right now compared to anyone else in the grupetto.0
-
PS - Worth a mention that Roglic did similar the day before.bobmcstuff said:
Kid looks so chuffed. TdG was using it as a reason why riders ditching bottles shouldn't be penalised if its like this.
Good move from a guy while realising that he'd lost the Tour.The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
I am not sure. You have no chance.Veronese68 wrote:PB is the most sensible person on here.0 -
I presume he's one of the pixels way off down the mountainside?ddraver said:That shot of MvdP 👌
(Edit - didn't realise you could click through, did I?)0 -
ddraver said:
I Concur, I think Cav only stuck with it until Colbrelli couldn't hide that he was going hard to get the intermediate points, whereupon QS just sat up.
Discretion being the better part of valour etc
Given that he hasn't finished a GT for about five years and barely done a mountain stage for a few years, today was a good sign.
Twitter: @RichN950 -
There was some good footage of Roglic fistbumping etc a load of fans today (might have happened yesterday). He seems a decent sort.pblakeney said:
PS - Worth a mention that Roglic did similar the day before.bobmcstuff said:
Kid looks so chuffed. TdG was using it as a reason why riders ditching bottles shouldn't be penalised if its like this.
Good move from a guy while realising that he'd lost the Tour.1 -
Yeah, Kyle Walker just had a load of hookers round during peak lockdown right after tweeting at everyone to stay home and follow the rules...RichN95. said:Much better than footballers. I heard that Kyle Walker punched a 10 year old who asked you an autograph
(This didn't happen. Most sports people are nice if you treat them nicely)
But yeah I obviously agree in principle, there's nothing that special about cyclists. Except they generally don't earn enough to have flocks of hookers at their house...0 -
bobmcstuff said:
Yeah, Kyle Walker just had a load of hookers round during peak lockdown right after tweeting at everyone to stay home and follow the rules...RichN95. said:Much better than footballers. I heard that Kyle Walker punched a 10 year old who asked you an autograph
(This didn't happen. Most sports people are nice if you treat them nicely)
But yeah I obviously agree in principle, there's nothing that special about cyclists. Except they generally don't earn enough to have flocks of hookers at their house...
You say that, but I want to earn enough money to have hookers round my house. I may just pay Garin Jenkins or Jamie George. Jamie's twin brother actually played as a goalkeeper for my hockey club.Twitter: @RichN950 -
I liked the Brian Smith quote during commentary, "Formolo and Geoghan Hart pulling all sorts of faces on this incline, Pogocar is just picking his nose"mrb123 said:
Formolo wasn't it?bobmcstuff said:
Who was the UAE rider who was on the front for ages who looked like he was about to cry the whole time?mrb123 said:
Team didn't look too shabby today. He only burnt off Formolo and McNulty because he told them to step on it before his attack.Pross said:Shame he hadn't lost time early on to really make a GC battle.
I guess when you're the best rider with an average team you have to race in a different way.0 -
He bridged a 5 min gap to seasoned pros in full flight . I didn't not care how second rate they were .rick_chasey said:
Honestly I think the competition flatters the performance.phreak said:
Still. We're in an era when winning margins are counted in handfuls of seconds, and then along he comes and gives us a crushing margin the likes of which we haven't seen since the Pantani and Armstrong days. I've been watching cycling for a long time and this has familiar feelings. Feelings I thought had gone.rick_chasey said:"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 pm0 -
First unclassified climb of the dayPross said:When did Geraint actually get dropped? I watched the live coverage on catch up but fast forwarded quite a bit. I saw the whole of the climb at the start when Cav got dropped but didn't see Geraint go on there. I then forwarded to the Cat 3 climb and saw Roglic getting dropped but Geraint was already over 6 minutes behind.
"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 pm0 -
So, one week of great racing, two weeks of doping chat?
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!3 -
Well we've had 15 yrs plus of doping chat so business as usual. Good news is those mountain trains people complained about have gone, certainly in this race so now we get to watch people ride (or not)0
-
More posts in The Clinic since yesterday afternoon, than there have been in the time between the Tours.tailwindhome said:So, one week of great racing, two weeks of doping chat?
Those boys needed someone to throw them a life jacket."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
He was the only one who hadn't attacked already on either stage 7 or 8. Worth something, especially if he likes the cold and wet more than anyone0
-
Considering how quickly riders were getting dropped I was surprised how little time they ultimately lost especially as the descents were so wet and limited how hard they could push there0
-
The main GC riders all finishing together once again showed what a bunch of losers they are. Carapaz is the only one of them who should come out of yesterday with any pride.Pross said:Considering how quickly riders were getting dropped I was surprised how little time they ultimately lost especially as the descents were so wet and limited how hard they could push there
"Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago1 -
If we know they're not fighting for first place, why do you think they would be delusional?gsk82 said:
The main GC riders all finishing together once again showed what a bunch of losers they are. Carapaz is the only one of them who should come out of yesterday with any pride.Pross said:Considering how quickly riders were getting dropped I was surprised how little time they ultimately lost especially as the descents were so wet and limited how hard they could push there
0 -
gsk82 said:
The main GC riders all finishing together once again showed what a bunch of losers they are. Carapaz is the only one of them who should come out of yesterday with any pride.Pross said:Considering how quickly riders were getting dropped I was surprised how little time they ultimately lost especially as the descents were so wet and limited how hard they could push there
With the exception of Uran, this is a new experience for most of them.Twitter: @RichN950 -
Just supposing….
You are a young(ish) rider with a fast emerging career. You are genetically gifted, have trained well and are in the form of your life in the prime period of the season. You are 100% clean.
You have just won a chunky mountain stage of the TdeF. It’s only day eight.
You’d carry on smashing it wouldn’t you? As a racer you’d revel in your ability to inflict pain on your rivals, and you would appreciate that you might never find this level of form again; that yours is a career that could be ended by a random injury at any point. You wouldn’t back off and pace yourself to stay with the “best of the rest”. You’d look to assert your dominance while you had the opportunity to write your name into cycling history.
Of course if you weren’t quite so clean, and you had any reason to avoid scrutiny you’d wind your neck back in and sit on the gains you’d made. You would perhaps have a tough-looking couple of days before shining again on a later MTF.
I think the next couple of weeks will be very interesting. I welcome it.0 -
I can see lots of team leaders opting for the Giro in the next few seasons.0
-
@iantr Enjoy - https://forum.cyclingnews.com/forums/the-clinic.20/ - you'll have fun there.
(I did wonder how it would sound to me when all the chat was directed at a non-brit. Coming from someone who watches a bunch of sports often delineated on national lines I never saw the harm in enjoying the British dude win a race, which I accept is controversial amongst (British) cycling fans. However, not matter how much I tried, I wondered if it could colour my opinion of the inevitable dope-chat.
But...no it sounds just as ridiculous when it's about a Slovenian.
I'm weirdly reassured)We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
- @ddraver0 -
I seem to remember noted clean cyclists Pantani took that approach in one Giro to the extent his own team told him to give others a chance.iantr said:Just supposing….
You are a young(ish) rider with a fast emerging career. You are genetically gifted, have trained well and are in the form of your life in the prime period of the season. You are 100% clean.
You have just won a chunky mountain stage of the TdeF. It’s only day eight.
You’d carry on smashing it wouldn’t you? As a racer you’d revel in your ability to inflict pain on your rivals, and you would appreciate that you might never find this level of form again; that yours is a career that could be ended by a random injury at any point. You wouldn’t back off and pace yourself to stay with the “best of the rest”. You’d look to assert your dominance while you had the opportunity to write your name into cycling history.
Of course if you weren’t quite so clean, and you had any reason to avoid scrutiny you’d wind your neck back in and sit on the gains you’d made. You would perhaps have a tough-looking couple of days before shining again on a later MTF.
I think the next couple of weeks will be very interesting. I welcome it.0
