[Other Sport] Cycling geeks

[1066familyman]

Another cracking stage today. This really is the best tour for years

 

[Woodchip]

Iwonder if Ineos are playing the smart game and saying Thomas is still going for the victory so Allaphillipe worries about him. All the while Bernal is going for the win and Thomas is really a super-domestique.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Iwonder if Ineos are playing the smart game and saying Thomas is still going for the victory so Allaphillipe worries about him. All the while Bernal is going for the win and Thomas is really a super-domestique.

I think it’s clear Bernal was allowed to go, but the fact Thomas chased back without a thought of who he was taking with him is confirmation they are racing each other now. Or at least Bernal is permitted solo attacks.

 

[Stat Brother]

Fookin Dutch

[tweet]1154477794488799232[/tweet]


Even if it's not your thing the new Spiderman is worth watching just to watch the scene where Spidey is locked up in a Dutch holding cell, with some Dutch football 'hooligans'.

 

[pb21]

WTF is happening to Pinot

 

[Beach Hut]

Pinot retires, all gone horribly wrong

 

[banjo]

Got to feel for him.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

What happened? Why did he retire from the race?

 

[Pantani]

WTF is happening to Pinot

Abandoned, really sad. Personally, I thought he was favourite as it stood. I blame 1066 for putting him as his avatar. Though he is starting to look like the new Poulidor.

This is shaping up to be a cracking stage, with the group up the road the GC has opened up to virtually the entire top 10. Gutted I have to go to work at 15:00.

 

[banjo]

What happened? Why did he retire from the race.

Muscular injury. Couldn’t ride through it according to his team.

 

[pb21]

Stage cancelled because of hail

 

[banjo]

Wow!! Best race in years. Cancelled stage.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Oh the French are going to go into meltdown....unlike the 7” of hail...

 

[pb21]

Oh the French are going to go into meltdown....unlike the 7” of hail...

Probably 'good' for Alaphilippe though, almost certainly would have lost more time on the final climb.

 

[brighton terra]

Probably 'good' for Alaphilippe though, almost certainly would have lost more time on the final climb.

To the contrary, he was going to claw back time on the downhill section and the final climb was a lot less severe!

 

[highflyer]

Probably 'good' for Alaphilippe though, almost certainly would have lost more time on the final climb.

Commentators seem to think bad for him as he was gaining on the descent and likely to lose less on the final climb.

Madness!

 

[banjo]

Could they not swap bikes for kayaks to finish the stage?

 

[pb21]

To the contrary, he was going to claw back time on the downhill section and the final climb was a lot less severe!

It was on average 0.5% less steep, albeit only the last 100 m above 2,000 m.

He may have clawed back some time on the descent but would have had to do it all himself, then 7 kms at 7% on his own. IMO he would have lost more time than at the top of the Iseran.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Probably 'good' for Alaphilippe though, almost certainly would have lost more time on the final climb.

Whatever the hypothetical time gaps, we’ve been denied one hell of a finale. GT was the only one sheltered on that climb, Bernal and Alaphilippe both worked on their own. Biggest loser I think was Thomas who in a strong group hunting a stage win. We’ll never know, but Bernal had a huge 35km ahead of him solo.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Pity, that. I hadn't been watching long, and it was shaping up to be a fantastic stage finish.

G missing his bottle loses its relevance I suppose. David Millar seemed to think that was going to be potentially crucial.