TDF 2022:- Stage 16: Carcassonne - Foix 178.5km ***Spoilers***

RichN95.

No_Ta_Doctor said:

I think the main question from today is why waste two perfectly good Hs on French Canadian Hugo Houle? If there's anyone that can't even make use of them it's 'Ugo 'Oule

Meet Erbie the Ammer

bm5

kingstongraham said:

OK, the live tracker's great until Jorgensen changes bikes and his transponder is on the team car.

Lightbulb moment for me when I read this. Of course that explains the strange timings!🤭. How embarrassing.

rick_chasey

So are people still bemused by the jumbo tactics?

Seemed to work well to me.

No_Ta_Doctor

rick_chasey said:

So are people still bemused by the jumbo tactics?

Seemed to work well to me.

I thought getting 2 in the break was risky, but I could see the value of waiting on descents. It definitely stopped Pogacar from trying anything on the final climb

rick_chasey

I sort of like the idea that no one other than ving can hang with Pog so it’s useful to have lads down the road to stop long range stuff.

rick_chasey

https://twitter.com/mikeilundain/status/1549508826835083265?s=21&t=F37L0ma9dQGlUyGlm0eiMQ

blazing_saddles

rick_chasey said:

So are people still bemused by the jumbo tactics?

Seemed to work well to me.

Yet you managed to answer the question as to why.....

rick_chasey said:

I sort of like the idea that no one other than ving can hang with Pog so it’s useful to have lads down the road to stop long range stuff.

One mechanical on the Port de Lers when Pog was kicking off and those two riders (who were 7-8 minutes up the road at the time) would have been of no use.

blazing_saddles

https://twitter.com/procycletrumps/status/1548371976498032642?cxt=HHwWhMCt9fyG9vwqAAAA

blazing_saddles

rick_chasey said:

https://twitter.com/mikeilundain/status/1549508826835083265?s=21&t=F37L0ma9dQGlUyGlm0eiMQ

https://twitter.com/procycletrumps/status/1549460531605651456?cxt=HHwWgIC-vZyJ5YArAAAA

andyp

rick_chasey said:

So are people still bemused by the jumbo tactics?

Seemed to work well to me.

I completely understood getting Van Aert in the break. But what was the point of putting Van Hooyodonck in it too? That meant they had to use Benoot on the flat and were short for the climbs. It worked out for them but that was more through luck than judgement.

phreak

rick_chasey said:

So are people still bemused by the jumbo tactics?

Seemed to work well to me.

Any tactics are gonna be fine so long as their remaining climbing domestique is able to drop the other GC contenders.

No_Ta_Doctor

rick_chasey said:

I sort of like the idea that no one other than ving can hang with Pog so it’s useful to have lads down the road to stop long range stuff.

I think both teams had thought quite a bit about the descents, Pogacar to try and find a weak spot and Vingegaard to make sure it wasn't weak.

I've been impressed at how Vingegaard isn't being tempted into an all out one on one, just sticking to the wheel. That might change with the coming mtfs, if he thinks he sees a crack

commuterlegs

The other advantage of Jumbo's potentially iffy tactics is that no one, most specifically Pog, knows what they're thinking so might make him second guess where he should be attacking too.

DeVlaeminck

andyp said:

rick_chasey said:

So are people still bemused by the jumbo tactics?

Seemed to work well to me.

I completely understood getting Van Aert in the break. But what was the point of putting Van Hooyodonck in it too? That meant they had to use Benoot on the flat and were short for the climbs. It worked out for them but that was more through luck than judgement.

There's always an element of guesswork with tactics though - you don't know for sure your luck or how other teams will ride.

That last 30k from the final summit was not very steep - get isolated there and an opponent with a team mate or an ally could have pulled out minutes. On the climb itself there is less a team mate can contribute. I think they identified that section as the highest risk and made sure they had a guy there.

Putting another rider up the road was probably just insurance if one has a problem.

RichN95.

andyp said:

rick_chasey said:

So are people still bemused by the jumbo tactics?

Seemed to work well to me.

I completely understood getting Van Aert in the break. But what was the point of putting Van Hooyodonck in it too? That meant they had to use Benoot on the flat and were short for the climbs. It worked out for them but that was more through luck than judgement.

Van Hooydonck's primary job would have been to make sure the breakaway got away with WVA in it. He would have done a lot of work early on.

mididoctors

rick_chasey said:

So are people still bemused by the jumbo tactics?

Seemed to work well to me.

Very well

Lanterne_Rogue

The only tactical decision I really don't get is WVA's failure to go the full Bahamontes and get an ice cream whilst he waited.

DeVlaeminck

That would have been excellent and fantastic publicity - missed opportunity really.

Thought Houle winning for his late brother was very nice - I lost my eldest brother in a road accident a couple of months after I started uni ~35 years ago - and you think you've long got over it but then some little reminder and you find yourself having to try and stop the tears in case your son or daughter walks in and you have to explain why the f*** you are upset.