The Lanterne Rouge Thread 2022 **Spoilers**
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Turgis not turgid enough at all today. The Vikings are coming for him!Warning No formatter is installed for the format0
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Another fascinating day in the competition for the Lanterne today, as Lotto Soudal - who have been working hard for Caleb Ewan, finally made their move. The main action came on a perfectly innocuous corner, where upon the DS deployed the secret codeword, Phil Gil ploughed straight onwards into the crowd and Caleb threw himself dramatically over someone's back wheel and started screaming about his knee.
Absolute textbook stuff - it brings a tear to the eye, as did the commissaire waving his hands frantically at the Alpecin team car for trying to force Ewan back up to the bunch instead of letting him take loads of time as was his right. It's good to see them taking the Lanterne seriously - teams trying to interfere with riders gaining time absolutely needs to be clamped down on.
In other news Lafay climbed off, which really does leave Turgis as the only French hope - only a hope that can't help shipping time. The next best placed French rider is Lecroq, who bloody well isn't croqed, no matter what the note from his mum says, and he's nearly half an hour off the podium.
Finally, because I suspect I'll get lynched if I don't mention it, but Denmark's excellent tour continues with three riders in the top six - surely that'll keep them away from fiddling with Lego sets until Paris....
He's on the phone:
139 VERMEERSCH Florian Lotto Soudal 20:05
140 SBARAGLI Kristian Alpecin-Deceuninck ,,
141 COSNEFROY Benoît AG2R Citroën Team ,,
142 LECROQ Jérémy B&B Hotels - KTM ,,
143 GILBERT Philippe Lotto Soudal ,,
144 FRISON Frederik Lotto Soudal ,,
145 TORRES Albert Movistar Team ,,
146 VAN KEIRSBULCK Guillaume Alpecin-Deceuninck ,,
147 SAGAN Peter TotalEnergies ,,
148 WELLENS Tim Lotto Soudal ,,
149 VAN MOER Brent Lotto Soudal ,,
150 JUUL-JENSEN Christopher Team BikeExchange - Jayco ,,
151 BODNAR Maciej TotalEnergies ,,
152 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt Lotto Soudal ,,
153 PLANCKAERT Edward Alpecin-Deceuninck ,,
154 JAKOBSEN Fabio Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team ,,
155 MØRKØV Michael Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team ,,
156 EWAN Caleb Lotto Soudal ,,
157 THOMAS Benjamin Cofidis 20:12
And they want to go home:
148 156 ▲8 HIRSCHI Marc UAE Team Emirates 3:03:31
149 153 ▲4 JANSEN Amund Grøndahl Team BikeExchange - Jayco 3:05:08
150 149 ▼1 FRISON Frederik Lotto Soudal 3:06:59
151 150 ▼1 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt Lotto Soudal 3:07:29
152 151 ▼1 JUUL-JENSEN Christopher Team BikeExchange - Jayco 3:07:41
153 152 ▼1 TORRES Albert Movistar Team 3:11:34
154 154 - MØRKØV Michael Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 3:16:19
155 158 ▲3 BJERG Mikkel UAE Team Emirates 3:18:44
156 157 ▲1 EWAN Caleb Lotto Soudal 3:19:47
157 159 ▲2 TURGIS Anthony TotalEnergies 3:21:05
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Extra marks for the Saint Etienne reference.1
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Has the Lanterne Rouge ever been decided in Champs Elysees? Because the way the race is going, it really looks this way! Forget the sprint, check the back of the bunch...0
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Errr.... I think we may have missed something quite important.
Section 10 of the rules and regulations, leaders jerseys:
"For the final stage, the rider ranked last in the individual general classification at the end of stage 20 shall wear a pink bib"
Yes, there's an actual jersey now!
I believe there may be some sort of prize awarded as well, someone mentioned a holiday.
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Is this a wind up?No_Ta_Doctor said:Errr.... I think we may have missed something quite important.
Section 10 of the rules and regulations, leaders jerseys:
"For the final stage, the rider ranked last in the individual general classification at the end of stage 20 shall wear a pink bib"
Yes, there's an actual jersey now!
I believe there may be some sort of prize awarded as well, someone mentioned a holiday.0 -
No. I saw it on twitter and thought the same. So I downloaded the official rule book. It's all genuine.Lanterne_Rogue said:
Is this a wind up?No_Ta_Doctor said:Errr.... I think we may have missed something quite important.
Section 10 of the rules and regulations, leaders jerseys:
"For the final stage, the rider ranked last in the individual general classification at the end of stage 20 shall wear a pink bib"
Yes, there's an actual jersey now!
I believe there may be some sort of prize awarded as well, someone mentioned a holiday.
Though if you run a three week tour in another country and have a bit of a copyright on the colour pink, you might consider it a massive wind up.
Sponsored by Last Minute - they've got a pink logo on the broom waggonWarning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
Massive time gain for Ewan.0
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Turgis is hanging on by the skin of his teeth. Ewan may have a jour avec tomorrow though.Warning No formatter is installed for the format0
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It's often more honoured in the breach than the observance, as old Billy S would put it, but the general rule remains that the truest fans of the sport - the ones who have reached a deep philosophical understanding of all its intricacies, rituals, and in the highest plane of transcendence even accepting that someone can be proud to call themselves "Bling" - the truest fans of the sport are to be found here, debating the nuances of a battle so pure that for decades it didn't even give itself a jersey.
Unfortunately it appears that the new commercial realities of cycling are affecting the Lanterne, with a jersey to be awarded on the final stage. Actually, not even a jersey but a bib, like the sort of thing posher schools used rather than making you play shirts v skins. I suppose it's only fitting that something utterly unaerodynamic should be chosen.
I was musing on this earlier today, as the various Eurosport commentators tried to work out what the heck Pogacar was up to at the front of the peloton. Was this some sort of long range attack? Was he attempting an all-day Chris Froome-esque rampage across the French flatlands? Or was it a reminder of something funny that happened to me down this way a few years ago, hehe, well I guess you probably had to be there Sean, but hehe, it seemed like a good anecdote thirty seconds ago?
Devotees of the Lanterne however, with their finely tuned appreciation of all the sports tactics and possibilities, would have recognised what was happening instantly. Shorn of the yellow jersey, UAE were obviously about to work as a team and try to shell Mikkel Berg early doors to see if they could propel him up the rankings. Alas poor UAE! They failed to heed the warning of Ineos, who last year forgot to pack a leader for any of the grand tours and spent the entire season riding on the front for other teams. In this case Pogacar was simply aiding Lotto Soudal and Caleb Ewan, who subsequently put in a superb ride to storm into the lead of the Lanterne.
Anthony Turgis has looked fragile for a while, but news that his rival had slipped off the back with nearly his whole team in support clearly provoked a final collapse. This seems to be a general problem with French cycling, to be honest - denied the title they crave for so long there's simply too much pressure on their cyclists to perform, whereas riders like Ewan can simply relax, find a wheel to follow, and fall over it perfectly.
They came and they gave without taking:
147 PEREZ Anthony Cofidis 27:10
148 PETIT Adrien Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux ,,
149 BAUER Jack Team BikeExchange - Jayco 27:17
150 JANSEN Amund Grøndahl Team BikeExchange - Jayco 27:34
151 TORRES Albert Movistar Team 28:00
152 MØRKØV Michael Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 28:04
153 PEDERSEN Mads Trek - Segafredo ,,
154 WELLENS Tim Lotto Soudal 39:07
155 FRISON Frederik Lotto Soudal ,,
156 EWAN Caleb Lotto Soudal ,,
157 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt Lotto Soudal ,,
But I sent you away, oh Mende:
148 148 - HIRSCHI Marc UAE Team Emirates 3:14:23
149 152 ▲3 JUUL-JENSEN Christopher Team BikeExchange - Jayco 3:19:33
150 149 ▼1 JANSEN Amund Grøndahl Team BikeExchange - Jayco 3:20:08
151 153 ▲2 TORRES Albert Movistar Team 3:27:00
152 155 ▲3 BJERG Mikkel UAE Team Emirates 3:29:36
153 154 ▲1 MØRKØV Michael Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 3:31:49
154 150 ▼4 FRISON Frederik Lotto Soudal 3:33:32
155 151 ▼4 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt Lotto Soudal 3:34:02
156 157 ▲1 TURGIS Anthony TotalEnergies 3:34:03
157 156 ▼1 EWAN Caleb Lotto Soudal 3:46:20
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PS - congratulations to Astana for entering fully the spirit of the Lanterne, if not the actual rankings - taking all their fines and bonuses into account, they currently owe the UCI 94 Euros. A superb effort, I think you'll agree.0
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Did Astana get fined for being totally invisible? I mean they obviously are not featuring here and I haven't seen them on the race they insist on showing on the tv.
Lotto though - wow those gains today, some others should have had the faith and put in the effort to stick with them there.
Caleb must want that holiday.
Hoping there will be no commercialism spoiling this thread. Can't be doing with last minute changes,.......0 -
Pinno's pop up bib shop will be opening soon.
I am expecting a wave of interest on Sunday the 24th.
Pink should appeal to all genders.
***Get your order in early and get a 10% discount***
***Bulk purchase discount available - enquire within***seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
I really hope the holiday prize is 3 weeks cycling in the Alps and Massif CentralWarning No formatter is installed for the format1
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This is an exceptionally brave attack from Mørkøv, though I fear he may have gone too soft too early.
Out alone, 14mins behind the break and over 10 behind the peloton with nearly 140km left (for the break)Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
There's going to be uproar if he survives with talk of favouritism that race officials are allowing him an additional potential 5% time gain.0
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Nice to see a rider who does so much for others being able to make a bid for glory themselves though.1
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He's dedicated to stopping Ewan winning whenever it seems possible.0
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A brave attack but he's come up long0
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200km (ish) solo in sweltering heat. Missed the cut by a few minutes. Would have absolutely destroyed the Lanterne if he'd got in. Brave attempt, chapeauddraver said:Heartbreak for Merk Yoo.
After such strong performances in recent years that will hurt bad...Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
Well.
The weather was always likely to play havoc with the Lanterne at some point, of course. Some riders react to the heat by getting back into cover as soon as possible, and others decide to spend a day ambling around to make the most of it, and Michael Mørkøv was very much option two.
The problem is, of course, that in the Lanterne it's possible to both go big and go home, and that's the situation Mørkøv finds himself in after an epic all-day solo break. Unfortunately he was a mere [checks notes] 12 minutes outside the cutoff, possibly after taking a few wrong turns due to sun-knack - it's noticeable that the Quick Step Twitter account wasn't entirely sure where he was for large portions of the day, although that might just be too much testing of their latest carpet glue.
Of those that did finish within the cut, Billy Joel tells me that Anthony's movin' out, Mikkel "Ice" Bjerg and Hirschi Bar appear to have melted in the heat, and Caleb Ewan added another stage win to his palmares and extended his lead despite having none of team immediately around him - a promising sign if he can just make it through tomorrow's rest day.
Hot in the city:
146 DOULL Owain EF Education-EasyPost 20:24
147 COSNEFROY Benoît AG2R Citroën Team ,,
148 BENOOT Tiesj Jumbo-Visma ,,
149 PETIT Adrien Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux ,,
150 VAN DER HOORN Taco Intermarché - Wanty - Gobert Matériaux ,,
151 LOUVEL Matis Team Arkéa Samsic 20:32
152 EWAN Caleb Lotto Soudal 20:34
OTL MØRKØV Michael Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 1:05:40
Sweaty in the underboob:
143 152 ▲9 BJERG Mikkel UAE Team Emirates 3:30:26
144 148 ▲4 HIRSCHI Marc UAE Team Emirates 3:31:39
145 147 ▲2 JAKOBSEN Fabio Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 3:33:56
146 156 ▲10 TURGIS Anthony TotalEnergies 3:35:12
147 149 ▲2 JUUL-JENSEN Christopher Team BikeExchange - Jayco 3:36:49
148 150 ▲2 JANSEN Amund Grøndahl Team BikeExchange - Jayco 3:37:24
149 151 ▲2 TORRES Albert Movistar Team 3:44:16
150 154 ▲4 FRISON Frederik Lotto Soudal 3:53:48
151 155 ▲4 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt Lotto Soudal 3:54:18
152 157 ▲5 EWAN Caleb Lotto Soudal 4:06:54
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That's dedication to the lantern from Ewan. Hoping he doesn't get distracted by team DSs who have other ambitions in mind.0
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Poor old Morkov. Gallant effort. He got ahead of himself.
I would ban race radio and power meters personally.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
Well, Turgis has lost over 30 minutes in two days, and is on the verge of dropping out of the top 10! What's next, an appearance at the daily breakaway?RichN95. said:I'm disappointed by Luke Rowe's form this year. He's not even in the top 30. Maybe he should swallow his pride and retire.
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Has it come to this? A handful of days ago we were talking about the purity of the Lanterne Rouge being threatened by the awarding a prize and... just look at the state of this.
That there is Marc Soler being paced - paced! - by his own dedicated broom wagon. The spending in the peloton to secure maximum gains is getting well out of hand, and I'm amazed the commissaires weren't coming alongside and kicking the side of the van until it got a move on. They were quick enough the other day when Ewan was pretending to be held up by Alpecin, and it's even worse when it's a rider's own team. I mean, look at it - as soon as they think the camera's off him that driver there's going to shove him off, you mark my words.
However despite UAE blatantly going against the spirit of the Lanterne, justice was served when an elementary error of timing - and in the case of Soler himself a timing of an alimentary error - left him outside of the time cut. Still, custom broom wagons? Puts Ineos being a bit funny about mattresses into context, doesn't it?
Perhaps shocked by UAE's all out assault on the Lanterne today's race was more or less neutralised, though I notice Ewan coasted over the line in prime position to assert his authority on the race. Having been widely tipped at the start of the Tour, although admittedly at the sharper end of affairs, it's good to see him finally delivering.
No top ten on stage because there was a huge group on the same time...
Encore en Foix:
137 142 ▲5 LECROQ Jérémy B&B Hotels - KTM 3:51:29
138 144 ▲6 HIRSCHI Marc UAE Team Emirates 3:56:14
139 145 ▲6 JAKOBSEN Fabio Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl Team 10″ 3:59:23
140 146 ▲6 TURGIS Anthony TotalEnergies 4:00:39
141 147 ▲6 JUUL-JENSEN Christopher Team BikeExchange - Jayco 4:02:16
142 148 ▲6 JANSEN Amund Grøndahl Team BikeExchange - Jayco 4:02:51
143 149 ▲6 TORRES Albert Movistar Team 4:09:43
144 150 ▲6 FRISON Frederik Lotto Soudal 4:19:15
145 151 ▲6 JANSE VAN RENSBURG Reinardt Lotto Soudal 4:19:45
146 152 ▲6 EWAN Caleb Lotto Soudal 4:32:21
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Lanterne_Rogue said:
Has it come to this? A handful of days ago we were talking about the purity of the Lanterne Rouge being threatened by the awarding a prize and... just look at the state of this.
Deservedly excluded from the race OTL (Obviously Taking Liberties)Twitter: @RichN951
