I think you vastly overrate the amount of teammates available there plus how many would look at Pogacar first. JV did the same in Paris-Nice earlier in the year and the chasing Peleton didn't get them despite being full of domestiques.
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- Thread starter Mike Smalling
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We'll have to agree to disagree I guess. I don't find the two situations completely comparable. The gap over the top was much bigger in PN, it was closer to the finish, it is a lot earlier in the season so not all teams will be at their best and to be honest, Paris-Nice is Paris-Nice and the Tour is the Tour.
I definitely don't think all of the GC teams would be looking at Pogacar when their own guys are losing time to Yates. They probably consider Pogacar and one of the Jumbo guys beyond them, but there's another podium GC place up for grabs. You really think the other teams would just relinquish it to Yates? There's very little doubt in my mind that van Aert, Vingegaard and Yates would've been caught.
Mayhem. Sucks to see Vingegaard fall behind now as well.
This stage is carnage today, should shake up the order.
Problem is it's shaking things up for the wrong guys. O'Connor is fecked and Jumbo are suffering as well, but Pogacar is having a perfectly fine day. It's exactly the opposite of what we need to make the GC interesting.
Group Van Aert / Vingegaard now seems to be getting closer to Pogacar/Roglic. JV doing everything they can to get it back but Van Aert is not even leading the chase ffs, think he really has hurt himself with that fall earlier.
Ah feck sake thought Vingegaard was in the same group as Van Aert but now he's waiting for them. 45" is quite a big gap already.
Wout took way too long to wait for Vingegaard, what did he think was his job?
Still time for a puncture for Pogacar (I'm trying my best to jinx it!
)Roglic crashing as well, Tour is done guys. What should've been a fantastic stage is turning into a bit of a nightmare for the Tour.Still time for a puncture for Pogacar (I'm trying my best to jinx it!
Pogacar must've sold his soul to the devil The guy has 9 lifes and his opponents drop with crashes and mechanicals like flies.
The guy has 9 lifes and his opponents drop with crashes and mechanicals like flies.Pogacar attacking now. He could take the yellow jersey to Paris after this.
I like Pogacar, but I was really hoping for some excitement this year. Game's gone.
I like Pogacar, but I was really hoping for some excitement this year. Game's gone.
van der Poel seems awful so maybe it was the right decision. Van der Poel when he’s good definitely can winch bunch sprints though.
Don't know what's going on with VDP, really wouldn't surprise me if he caught covid or something. Even his bad days are usually much better than this.
No he can't.
Hard to feel sorry for Roglic, that crash doesn't happen if you're constantly positioned in the top 3 like Pogacar has done.Pogacar must've sold his soul to the devil
You have to take your hat off for Pogacar, but that doesn't mean this is enjoyable to watch. I hope Jumbo can limit the damage for Vingegaard, who has to be their main man now. Roglic is done, sadly.
Too many cooks in TJV.
I know we have to be careful as it's only stage 5 and the Tour is the Tour, but unless Pogacar becomes ill or something, this is already done and dusted. The only hope could be that Vingegaard has become an absolute animal in the mountains since last year and can actually take time back on Pogacar there, but I very much doubt that.
Vingegaard will be keeping his time loss to a minimum at least or so it seems.
Without a mechanical or injury/illness, I really believe it's done. Pogacar never, ever has a bad day. It just doesn't happen. He is without a doubt the greatest cyclist I personally have ever seen and I'm starting to suspect he might actually be the best ever, even though he won't get the same palmares as Merckx.
Van Aert isn’t human.
What a finish. Love a sprint between a bunch of riders that are all completely fecked.
Love a sprint between a bunch of riders that are all completely fecked.Shame for Taco, would've loved to see him win this one.
What a fecking stage though. And to think there are people who don't want this in the Tour.
What a fecking stage though. And to think there are people who don't want this in the Tour.
Well, end of the day the damage for Vingegaard is not nearly as bad as I feared it would be. Not even 15 seconds while it looked like a minute at one point. So there's still some hope left for the GC, even though I still don't see anyone beating Pog. But hey, any tension is better than none!
Yeah, he got away with that one, and he has to send a massive thanks to his team - especially Wout van Aert. On the other hand, crashing and having to pop in his own shoulder was peak Primoz Roglic. So unfortunate.
Even if they would never admit it, Vingegaard must now be the captain of the team. He's two minutes ahead of Roglic and has looked every bit as strong, if not stronger.
Always hate it when that happens. Instinctively I get angry at the spectators for turning their back on the riders, on the other hand I know they don't do this shit on purpose and will feel terrible about causing a crash and/or injury. But they need to realize they carry a heavy responsibility when they're at the side of the road.
Apparently some of those spectators got injured as well. Looking at the images, I'm not surprised. Taking a rider at +40km/h to the face is never healthy. Just a shite situation allround.
Apparently some of those spectators got injured as well. Looking at the images, I'm not surprised. Taking a rider at +40km/h to the face is never healthy. Just a shite situation allround.
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I was curious wtf Bettiol was doing during the race but this shot makes it look even worse. Did UAE panic yesterday after the Jumbo dominance show with how shit their team is outside Pogacar and offered Bettiol some big bucks? He's not in a contract year, so it can't be that. Some very dodgy things going on there.
It's inexcusable for me. These riders put an insane amount of hours in to prepare for the TDF, many of them are not guaranteed to be picked for it, and some wanker chasing a cool picture or some TV time can take it all away from then in an instant. And it's not just their chance to finish the race, or help their team win - in some cases it has an impact on their livelihood.
It's pure idiocy, and I would like to see it punished.
Vaughters: "I have no idea why he did that. I understand nothing about it. That for sure wasnt part of the plan. We will talk about it in the bus. We cant say what it meant for the result, but i can say it wasnt positive"
Also, Dag Otto Lauritzen, former pro and an expert on the Norwegian coverage, joked/suggested that Pogacar had pomised him a nice watch.
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Moving on to today's stage, on paper it looks like another finale that would suit van Aert, but after yesterday's carnage I don't expect many teams will be eager to chase down an early breakaway. Could be interesting for someone like Matthews to get into the breakaway and try to win the stage.
Would've been a great stage for van der Poel but he seems woefully out of form. Shame Alaphilippe isn't here because he'd definitely have his team chasing, this finish is tailor made for him.
Would've been a great stage for van der Poel but he seems woefully out of form. Shame Alaphilippe isn't here because he'd definitely have his team chasing, this finish is tailor made for him.
Seems what Sporza is suggesting as well - backwind throughout should make it easier to stay in front of a non-motivated peloton indeed.
Hope it stays together though (or a lot of Belgians in the breakaway), since 800m at 12.3% followed up with 1.6km at 5.8% to the finish is an ending where Van Aert won't be matched by (m)any. Unfortunately few teams will have an incentive to put pressure on a breakaway indeed, and if Pogacar wants to tomorrow, Van Aert loses his jersey on LPDBF anyway.
He'll have to lose the yellow at some point anyway, wearing it for a couple of days has been a bonus already. If it's a breakaway victory with the peloton taking it easy, I at least hope for a lot of interesting names up front.
Well... We know nothing.
Seriously.
I thought van Aert would need a calm day to recover from the last two days, but feck me. He's attacking more than I've ever seen him.Van Aert in the team meeting this morning.
Sorry but how the feck does Pogacar destroy Matthews in a sprint
In an uphill sprint on a 1.6k hill? Easily.Sorry but how the feck does Pogacar destroy Matthews in a sprint
Pogacar is the strongest rider in the peloton, Matthews hasn't won anything meaningful since 2017.
Mixed feelings about this one. As impressive as van Aert's ride was, it also seemed fairly pointless. If they had a couple more guys in the break it would've been interesting, but with just the three of them they never had a chance. On the other hand, I guess if there was another breakaway a lot of teams would've looked at Jumbo to chase. Him being up there meant a calm day for them.
As for Pogacar, well what can you say? The guy can do it all. I'm not surprised he beat Matthews, that guy always seems to find a way to not win races. He always wins sprints for 4th or something similar, but never for the victory. Meanwhile, Pogacar has ridden plenty of impressive sprints in his career. After a couple of climbs like that, I'd always have him as top favourite alongside Alaphilippe, van der Poel and van Aert. And since Alaphilippe isn't here, van der Poel is struggling and van Aert just emptied his tank, it's basically a formality.
As for Pogacar, well what can you say? The guy can do it all. I'm not surprised he beat Matthews, that guy always seems to find a way to not win races. He always wins sprints for 4th or something similar, but never for the victory. Meanwhile, Pogacar has ridden plenty of impressive sprints in his career. After a couple of climbs like that, I'd always have him as top favourite alongside Alaphilippe, van der Poel and van Aert. And since Alaphilippe isn't here, van der Poel is struggling and van Aert just emptied his tank, it's basically a formality.