TDF 2023: Stage 4:- Dax to Nogaro Circuit, 182km ***Spoilers***

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  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,325
    Bahrain Victorious telling their riders to shove somebody else off the front in the manner of penguins testing for sharks has almost justified the team radio thing
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 27,760
    We need another Armindo Fonseca.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,644
    Sprinters teams should take note. The more this stuff happens the less likely the organisers will be to include flat sprint stages
    _
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,033
    edited July 2023
    No_Ta_Doctor said:

    And they're off.
    They're almost going backwards as they try and avoid accidentally getting into a break. Wonder which naive young neo pro is going to get suckered into it?

    Is Thomas de Ghendt slacking again? Yep, he's doing his own bike tour in preparation for La Vuelta! :D
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
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  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 27,760
    Could be a decent intermediate sprint I suppose.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,154
    TheBigBean said:

    TheBigBean said:

    Does anyone else have no commentary on Discovery+?

    There's an option to turn it on and off. Just discovered.
    I had the same earlier, assumed I had somehow hit the ambient option by accident but a bit weird for us both to do that!
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,702
    Can't help but think that sprinter teams have brought it upon themselves by not allowing breakaways to gain sufficient advantage.
    Complete lack of motivation when there's not even the faintest whiff of a win.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • DeVlaeminck
    DeVlaeminck Posts: 9,031
    Surely someone wants the TV exposure and the combativity prize ?

    That said I don't mind it - 2-3 off the front given 3 minutes or this - if we are honest it's pretty much the same thing.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 27,760
    kingstongraham said:

    We need another Armindo Fonseca.

    Actually, it's going faster than when he had his solo 200km break in 2016. That was worse than this. 33kmh for hour after hour with the peloton desperate not to catch him.

    Cavendish won that day though.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,644
    The REALLY slow days aren’t that restful either as they spend so long on the bike
    _
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,535
    Today is why they should have brought Froome to the Tour. Give him a chance to do a "so long and thanks for all the pïss" solo ride.
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  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,790
    gsk82 said:

    Why attack when Jumbo will just mow you down?

    That's the reason you should attack
    "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
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,790
    No_Ta_Doctor said:

    And they're off.
    They're almost going backwards as they try and avoid accidentally getting into a break. Wonder which naive young neo pro is going to get suckered into it?

    Lantern rouge GC in play
    "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
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,325
    M. Prudhomme will be crossing his fingers that Tackman reappears, just to liven stuff up a bit
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,790
    blazing_saddles said:

    Can't help but think that sprinter teams have brought it upon themselves by not allowing breakaways to gain sufficient advantage.
    Complete lack of motivation when there's not even the faintest whiff of a win.

    Something too that ...will undermine race organisation putting sprint stages in
    "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
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 27,760
    Also the wild card teams this year are not just looking to get into breakaways with no other ambition. There's no Eolo or Bardiani here.
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,790
    edited July 2023
    kingstongraham said:

    Also the wild card teams this year are not just looking to get into breakaways with no other ambition. There's no Eolo or Bardiani here.

    Millar mentioned a year or so ago getting into doomed soft breaks was actually something some sponsors were against as it can make your brand look desperate and for no hopers

    "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
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,154
    kingstongraham said:

    Also the wild card teams this year are not just looking to get into breakaways with no other ambition. There's no Eolo or Bardiani here.

    Yeah, I was looking through yesterday and they all either had a sprinter or a potential GC top 10 rider. The ones who looked most in need of breaks were probably Ineos and, now they’ve lost their GC man, Movistar but they have chances on days more suited to a break.
  • poweredbyidris
    poweredbyidris Posts: 848
    Didn't this happen a couple of years ago or so? Seem to remember a stage through Provence halfway through the race where there was no break as the teams/riders were fed up of being given no more than 3-4 minutes, then being mown down with 30km to go

    Also, remember hearing from some marketing guy saying that the 'TV time' of being out in the break isn't actually worth much to sponsors. They gain more from the social media work done with the team. As @mididoctors mentions above, not much use to a sponsor to have your brand associated with a hopeless endeavour
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,325
    Coming soon to Netflix - Attack of the Vapours. Get access inside the world of drying paint and see it as you've never seen it before.
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,154
    Is the intermediate sprint coming up? Not sure why some of the contenders are riding on the front.

    Split in the bunch, weird as no sign of crosswind.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,154
    Getting frisky, 3 riders going off the front.

    Might be worth warming up the klaxon.
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 14,535
    Where the hell are Just Stop Oil when you need them?
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  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,154
    False alarm, back to your siestas.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,154
    Maybe testing the waters for later, there’s a bit of a breeze.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 27,760
    Pross said:

    kingstongraham said:

    Also the wild card teams this year are not just looking to get into breakaways with no other ambition. There's no Eolo or Bardiani here.

    Yeah, I was looking through yesterday and they all either had a sprinter or a potential GC top 10 rider. The ones who looked most in need of breaks were probably Ineos and, now they’ve lost their GC man, Movistar but they have chances on days more suited to a break.
    Israel also only realistically looking for stage wins from breakaways, but if you think you can win from a break, then you aren't wasting effort today, when there are genuine chances tomorrow and Thursday.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,644
    Grand Tours were also not designed to be televised from the gun...
    _
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,790
    I'll laugh if itv Miss the sprint
    "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
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,790
    They still have 100 k go go
    "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
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,790
    This is way too slow
    "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

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