TDF 2024:- Stage 9: Troyes – Troyes, 199km ***Spoilers***
Comments
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I think it was a bit of a loss for pog and UAE .... But reckless at times. Will it matter ..I don't know .. Jonas seems to have ridden for status quo ,...keep pog close as possible and win the final weekend .
Pog seems to be riding like he doesn't think the gap is enough .
"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 pm1 -
For the end of week one it doesn't feel too bad, does it? The GC has settled down into a pecking order without being obviously over (hindsight may say otherwise). there's been at least a couple of really good news stories (Cavendish and Girmay), we've not had any truly horrific injuries or crashes, thankfully, and the guys who are most in the news all seem to be pretty decent and with a side-order of humour. I'd have taken it.
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Just caught up and really enjoyed that. I know a lot of people have been critical of having a gravel stage as they are with cobbles in a GT but for me it tested different skills, encouraged some good racing but didn’t create any major issues. The one gravel climb caused a bit of chaos but that was mainly poor positioning and technique.
Slightly disappointed that Jonas was a bit negative. I understood him sitting in when he went with Remco and Pog quite early as it was a long way to be isolated to just gain time on Rog but the time Jorgensen brought him back to Pog I was surprised he didn’t at least get Jorgensen working to try to open the gap on Remco.
Good finish in the break too with Stuyven looking to have it until that big burst by Lutsenko to bring him back and then it was anyone’s race. Strong sprint by Turgis for the win, French riders and teams are having an OK Tour.
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Don't think Vingegaard is worried about 2nd v 3rd, his only opponent is Pog. If he can't distance pog, he's not working.
Given his lead in, it's the only logical way of racing.
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If Pog blows up in week 3 and Remco ends up winning he would rue the missed chance. It’s too tight among the top 3 to focus everything on one rival and as I say he could have got Jorgensen to work and sat in himself. Pog being Pog would probably have kept working himself then so he’d get to possibly tire him out and potentially take time from Remco.
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Stage would have been a better GC stage had it been run the other way with the hills towards the end. Quite harsh classing some of those as 4th category, they were pretty nasty.
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Basically if he can't beat pog it's not impossible he will be off the podium anyway
"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 pm1 -
They could have done that .,..I think the reasoning was if some GC riders came unstuck on the hard bit his chase back on would limit the gaps on GC ....but if you had a mechanical on zone 13 going yhr other direction you are F**ked out the tour
"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 -
Jorgenson is now his key mountain domestique. Burning him out on gravel to put a few seconds into Remco would be very dicey. Not to mention that Pog would pull him up the road a bit then attack and drop him as soon as Jorgenson showed any sign of tiring.
Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
From what we have seen of Evenepoel so far, he's ignoring him at his peril. If he can sneak away, once he's off the front, he's always extremely hard to close down. It's a pity that he has such a weak team.
Having said that, he will probably have his usual jour sans in the mountains.
"Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0 -
Yeah it's hard to take Remco seriously until he hangs around with the big boys in the high mountains.
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He was third best on the Galibier.
But I get your point, he's got to show he can do successive days in the high mountains deep into the later stages of a three week race.
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