He must be the most versatile rider in the field. He's competitive in sprints and time trials, he can climb and can take a stage in a breakaway.Something I hadn't even considered: since van Aert won the final 2 stages of last year's edition, he's now on a run of 5 consecutive top 2 finishes at the Tour.
Pro Cycling 2022
- Thread starter Mike Smalling
- Start date
So who are people going for today?
In a sprint finish, I can't look past Jakobsen. He got caught a little bit in the last turn on Sunday, and therefore wasn't really involved, but on Saturday he was a level above the rest, and that was without a proper lead out. We haven't seen him behind Mørkøv in a finish yet, and he is probably the best lead out man in the business.
Wout can second place again.
In a sprint finish, I can't look past Jakobsen. He got caught a little bit in the last turn on Sunday, and therefore wasn't really involved, but on Saturday he was a level above the rest, and that was without a proper lead out. We haven't seen him behind Mørkøv in a finish yet, and he is probably the best lead out man in the business.
Wout can second place again.
I'm really not sure about that sprint finish, or at least not that all the big sprinters will be there. There's a cat 4 hill just 10 km from the finish. It's 1 km at about 7% average, containing some 800m at a roughly 8-9%. I can see a couple of teams being interested in putting a tempo up that hill to drop the likes of Groenewegen and Jakobsen. Guys like van Aert (of course), Sagan, Pedersen and perhaps Kristoff would benefit from that. Of the faster sprinters I can see Ewan and Philipsen as the most likely to join that group, they'd have a great chance here.
On the other hand, if they don't race up that hill, it'll just be a bunch sprint with everyone still there.
Edit: I didn't mention van der Poel since in theory Philipsen is their main man for stages like this, but if Philipsen is dropped he's definitely in with a shout.
Good point. Might be an ideal stage for van Aert to win then. It would depend a bit on what kind of group makes it across that Cat 4 climb ahead of the peloton. Often, you would see a reluctance to keep up the pace if there is a clear favorite for the sprint among the breakaway riders, and in some cases the peloton could then catch up.
Will be interesting.
I would've been very surprised if a break was allowed to carry that far and now that we have a two man breakaway, you can pretty much rule it out. This is going to be another easy day to control for the peloton.
It's weird that none of the smaller teams without GC hopes are not putting in more of an effort to get a bit of exposure or a few KOM points. Cort is just running away with for free.
Yeah the lesser teams seem very disinterested so far, sad to see. Sure, these aren't the stages where a breakaway can get a victory but I imagine there will be some unhappy sponsors out there.
It's been a massive nothing-burger until now, really. As a Dane, the first few stages were spectacular in terms of the support and everything, but in terms of racing it's been a letdown.
Cort has now secured the dotted jersey until Friday, by the way. Pretty good for him and EF.
Yeah but the wind hasn't cooperated. Having said that, it seems they're currently trying to pull echelons in the peloton, which is slightly unexpected. Not watching as I'm at work, so I don't know if the gaps are significant. That could really spice things up though!
Holy mother feck WVA, that is absolutely insane
It's ridiculous, they're not going to catch him are they? This is one for the history books, incredible stuff.Holy mother feck WVA, that is absolutely insane
Top 5 exploit I've ever seen on a bike probably. Against a chasing peloton in the fecking Tour de France, in the yellow jersey, while everyone knows you're the one to watch on that last hill.
U N R E A L this one.
U N R E A L this one.
A pity for Philipsen by the way. He'll get his stage victory without question, but will have to wait a bit longer.
Wout is something else. Dropping everyone, including Vingegaard, on the climb and then having the power to take it all the way. That’s six straight top 2 finishes in the Tour. Wow.
Also, did Philipsen think he had won?
Also, did Philipsen think he had won?
It's one we're going to see over and over again, magical stuff doing this in the yellow jersey. Especially after 3 fecking second places finsihes! His last 6 Tour stages: 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st.
His been in ridiculous form this year and this just highlights what a damn shame it was to miss De Ronde after the most badly timed covid infection.
Yup. Kristoff said they didn't know there was someone ahead of them until after the finish line
Amazing interview by Mads Pedersen to Danish tv. Asked why it was hard to organize the chase, he literally just said “Cyclists are too stupid” with a straight face
Amazing interview by Mads Pedersen to Danish tv. Asked why it was hard to organize the chase, he literally just said “Cyclists are too stupid” with a straight face
Unfair imo. Groenewegen was gone, Lotto and Alpecin don't have a proper train anyway and Quick-Step were trying for Jakobsen but excellent work by Jumbo to disturb any real chase.
Monster finish from Van Aert, never seen that from the yellow jersey. Tomorrow's stage might mix up the order.
Pogacar to WVA after the finish: it’s good that you dropped your teammates as well, I was lucky” So relaxed all of these stars. Big contrast compared to the Armstrong or Froome days.
So relaxed all of these stars. Big contrast compared to the Armstrong or Froome days.I think he's the best allrounder I've seen in my lifetime. There's literally nothing this dude can't do. He just needs to develop a bit more stamina in the mountains, and then we have an actual contender.It's one we're going to see over and over again, magical stuff doing this in the yellow jersey. Especially after 3 fecking second places finsihes! His last 6 Tour stages: 1st, 1st, 2nd, 2nd, 2nd, 1st.
His been in ridiculous form this year and this just highlights what a damn shame it was to miss De Ronde after the most badly timed covid infection.
I think it’s a case of not being able to have everything. At 78 kgs he will never be amazing in the mountains, and if he goes down in weight he loses power in the flat.
Big hopes for today, although I have a feeling this could flop a bit like in 2018. However, given that I expect nothing of bigger note to happen on PDBF as well as on the two stages on the weekend, this really needs to blow up otherwise the first week will have been a proper borefest (yesterdays last 15 minutes were great, mind).
I fancy Van Der Pool today for some reason, he's talking with confidence and he's been pretty quiet so far on the Tour.
"for some reason" is a funny framing given that he is the big favorite today
Gonna be interesting how it works out for him. I have a feeling he will regret being so passive these last couple of days. Could've easily gotten the polka dot jersey or attempt to go for the stage yesterday instead of working for Philipsen.
Van der Poel working for Philipsen the last couple of days is just ridicilous."for some reason" is a funny framing given that he is the big favorite today
Gonna be interesting how it works out for him. I have a feeling he will regret being so passive these last couple of days. Could've easily gotten the polka dot jersey or attempt to go for the stage yesterday instead of working for Philipsen.
That's a ridiculous statement. He doesn't want to participate in bunch sprints and isn't fast enough to win them anyway. Not to mention that Philipsen has looked like the fastest sprinter out there yesterday and on Sunday but has had little to no help from his team.
Van der Poel either thought yesterday that a bunch sprint was inevitable and was sleeping on the last hill, or he wasn't good enough to follow Van Aert.
Van der Poel seems the obvious candidate, considering van Aert will probably be on team duty today. Watch out for Lampaert though, I've got a sneaky feeling he really fancies taking back the yellow jersey today. It's no secret Paris-Roubaix is his favourite race on the calendar and he showed in the opening TT that he's is fantastic form.
Beyond that, Sagan, Pedersen, Küng, the usual. Pretty sure the Ineos guys will be on team duty as well, so I'd rule out van Baarle, Ganna and Pidcock.
Beyond that, Sagan, Pedersen, Küng, the usual. Pretty sure the Ineos guys will be on team duty as well, so I'd rule out van Baarle, Ganna and Pidcock.
Still not sure of that. Van der Poel and the others will have to make it a hard stage early on if they want that to happen. If they wait until the last few sections and Roglic/Vingegaard are still accompanied by Van Hooydonck, Benoot and Laporte, it'd be overkill to keep him with the team imo. And Roglic has proven he has the skills to ride the cobblestones as well earlier this year.
On the flip side, Van Aert is appointed for the green jersey and he's already quite safe there. If they stick to that plan, today is indeed for the GC guys and his spot is next to them. Would just be a pity to hold him back since I really think he's simply stronger than VDP this tour.
He said beforehand that he won't do anything before stage 5 and work for Philipsen - which I think was okay to do on stage 2 and 3 but not even to consider going for it yesterday was a big waste in my eyes.
WVA and Jumbo have said before that he'll be purely on domestique duties today so I think he'll stick to that. Obviously if he (and one of Vingegaard or Roglic) is in the top group he'll contest the sprint but he won't go on his own.
"for some reason" is a funny framing given that he is the big favorite today
I've not seen any odds, I just looked at the stage & his form so far and thought he's his type of stage.He's the odds on favourite at 4.00. Then:
Van Aert 6.50
Pedersen 11.00
Mohoric 15.00
Senechal 15.00
Lampaert 19.00
Philipsen 19.00
Sagan 19.00
Pogacar 26.00
Stuyven 26.00
Küng 29.00
Pidcock 29.00
Van Aert 6.50
Pedersen 11.00
Mohoric 15.00
Senechal 15.00
Lampaert 19.00
Philipsen 19.00
Sagan 19.00
Pogacar 26.00
Stuyven 26.00
Küng 29.00
Pidcock 29.00
Reading van Aert's comments on Sporza, I'm definitely not so sure he's going to stick to team duty today anymore. Says it depends on the race, his role would only be deep in the final and with this team he should be able to ride his own race. I think he realizes you need to take maximum advantage when you're in this kind of form. Feck it, I hope he goes for it.
Reading van Aert's comments on Sporza, I'm definitely not so sure he's going to stick to team duty today anymore. Says it depends on the race, his role would only be deep in the final and with this team he should be able to ride his own race. I think he realizes you need to take maximum advantage when you're in this kind of form. Feck it, I hope he goes for it.
Wonder if they have something new up their sleeve. Will be hard to gain time on Pogacar if you look at his Ronde performance, the guy can do everything, but they could put some other GC riders in the defensive today with another coup.
I mean great for him and I'm also half on the "Feck it, just go for it side" but if he really goes rouge today than JV will have a decision to make in the future regarding his priorities or GC. Yesterday was a prime opportunity to gain time on Pogacar, if they waste another one today they should definitely look at themselves...Reading van Aert's comments on Sporza, I'm definitely not so sure he's going to stick to team duty today anymore. Says it depends on the race, his role would only be deep in the final and with this team he should be able to ride his own race. I think he realizes you need to take maximum advantage when you're in this kind of form. Feck it, I hope he goes for it.
Ronde is all about punchy hills, yes on cobbles but I'd argue they're kinda overrated in Flanders (blasphemy to say I know
). This like Roubaix is all about rougher cobbles on flat passages, something which should suit Pogacar less. A superior team (lets face it, UAE is shit) is definitely capable of making a difference but like always many other factors play a role. Given that many teams will also looking for a stage win today I think even when Pogacar is isolated he'll be able to join chasing groups. And I trust his abilities and tactical awareness more than Roglic.Agreed. And also agree that De Ronde isn't necessarily a nice blueprint for a Roubaix stage but he was kinda awesome there and I think he could also easily hold his own in Roubaix tbh. Maybe not contend like in De Ronde, but well enough to survive something like today.I mean great for him and I'm also half on the "Feck it, just go for it side" but if he really goes rouge today than JV will have a decision to make in the future regarding his priorities or GC. Yesterday was a prime opportunity to gain time on Pogacar, if they waste another one today they should definitely look at themselves...
Ronde is all about punchy hills, yes on cobbles but I'd argue they're kinda overrated in Flanders (blasphemy to say I know
And off we go!
I really don't think yesterday was a prime opportunity to gain time on Pogacar. He wasn't that far behind at the top. Van Aert ends up taking the stage by 8 seconds. Let's say he loses a couple waiting for Vingegaard and Yates, plus there will be a lot more teams interested in organizing themselves to chase if there are 2 GC guys up front. It would've come together and there would've been a bunch sprint.
Today is a different matter, but let's see what happens. If Roglic and Vingegaard aren't in any particular danger and still have Van Hooydonck and Laporte with them, there's no reason van Aert can't go for it.
He was only 2 seconds ahead at the top and I reckon both will have worked with him. Which GC team was there to chase? UAE was toast and Ineos and JV wouldn't have contributed with guys ahead. We saw how annoyed Pedersen was at the finish, the chase was very disorganized.
Vingegaard's own comments yesterday were basically that it was a bit of a shame that he couldn't keep up with Wout over the climb, but that it likely wouldn't have been an 8 second gain on Pogacar anyway, since the chase would have been different. It's all hypothetical, but I think he is probably right. It was just good to see that Jumbo-Visma has this in their bag, because it might become relevant to gain GC time in other stages.
The chase was disorganized because none of the GC teams were interested and some sprinters were dropped completely so their teams didn't contribute either. It would be a completely different matter if suddenly UAE need to chase, Küng needs to pull for Gaudu, teams like AG2R for O'Connor, Movistar for Mas, Bora for Vlasov, etc. Everything changes and the GC domestiques would've been riding hard straight after the top. Even with the three of them, they could never hold against all of that.