Time trial on Tuesday could be interesting with a Cat 2 climb with a 9% avg gradient.
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- Thread starter Suedesi
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Another decent stage today, enjoyed that. Couldn't understand why Jumbo didn't ask Van Aert to hold back a little bit to support Vingegaard through the final 5km. Didn't matter in the end, as Vingegaard looks really strong.
Time Trial on Tuesday will be an interesting one.
Time Trial on Tuesday will be an interesting one.
Leaning towards Vingegaard now, feels like the momentum is slowly going his way (although he should have attacked today, looked stronger).
Vingegaard could decide the tour today if he keeps this up.
Yep, he is flying.
Pogacar has to make up for the bike change as well.
I think that might be the tour. Is Vingegaard good at TTs or is this bit of a shock?
He’s a great TT rider. Showed it last year as well. His technique is phenomenal.
He could catch Pogacar here?
Wtf! 65 seconds 
Looks like they'll cross the finish line together as they always do.
I kind of expected Pogacar to pull back after the bike change, but it keeps going
You lose the advantage on the last bit, when it flattens out as well. Not sure about that decision.
Got to be the most incredible cycling performance I've seen in a while.
Take a fecking bow! What a ride!
Pogacar did a phenomenal ride, but Vingegaard’s performance was a different class.
Colour me sceptical, can’t wait to see some data about this performance. Either UAE needs to fire their entire performance team and Colnago, or Vingegaard was riding on a regular S5 with a TT handlebar, or maybe both are true. You can’t make up that much time on a bike 2kg heavier against a rider of the same quality when Pogacar changed and Vingegaard didn’t.
I think it’s just Jumbo being the best tactical and performance team, and prepared this perfectly. UAE just… didn’t at all.
I think it’s just Jumbo being the best tactical and performance team, and prepared this perfectly. UAE just… didn’t at all.
Well, obviously they are not of the same quality, are they
?Also possible that Pogacar might have been struggling more with the heat. It was supposed to be really hot, and typically Jonas does quite well in those circumstances relative to Pogi. Will be interesting to hear what they each say after the stage.
Not a cycling expert, so can you elaborate? Is that a brand of bike that's illegal or?
Vingegaard 3'30" faster than the fastest projections made by the Tour organisers.
colour me skeptical as well
colour me skeptical as well
That was sensational from Vingegaard. Incredible courage and guts on the downhill parts of the stage today. He was risking everything there.
That's an absolutely mind-blowing TT. Insane differences in the top 3. This is probably an even bigger achievement than Pogacar in 2020.
After today I think Vingegaard will reach Froome level dominance, five or six Tour victories. Just untouchable. That was an insane performance.
I’ll just hate that these kind of comments will pop up given that it’s not their quality which made up the difference today. As I said, very curious to find out the data on the bike, watts, position and the likes. It must be a stratosphere apart to take 1’30 on a rider who more than matched you the last week after a restday.Well, obviously they are not of the same quality, are they
Heat argument is a moot point given that he blew everyone else including WVA away.
Hmmmm was that a bit too good from Vingegaard?
Pog had a very good TT in his own right with the gap to WVA but Vingegaard completely obliterated him on the timesheet
Pog had a very good TT in his own right with the gap to WVA but Vingegaard completely obliterated him on the timesheet
I would say so yes
I didn't watch it but isn't that a very big difference between first place and second?
I mean, obviously it was tongue in cheek. The gap and the overall time relative to the predictions, are both really suspicious, there's no denying that. One of the first texts I got from a mate said something like: "It's kind of a shame you can't really enjoy this", and I agree with that. What happened in the 90's and 00's will always hang over this sport, whenever something like this happens - whether current riders are clean or not.
If I were to rationalize this, I'd say that it could at least be possible that the follwing factors added up to the time difference between Vingegaard and Pogacar:
1. Vingegaard doing a technically much better TT. Just following it live, it looked like he was attacking the corners a lot harder.
2. Pogacar switching bikes was a net loss. I might have this wrong, but I think I heard the majority of the top 10 didn't do it.
3. Vingegaard having the better legs on the day. He's well known for being strong in the third week, and stages after a rest day can always throw up something unexpected.
But like you say, will be interesting to take a closer look. Would I be surprised if Vingegaard is not clean? Not really. But would I be surprised if Vingegaard is doing something Pogacar is not doing? Yes, very.
Vingegaard was a bit too good today. I'm concerned.
Clearest doper not caught since Bolt.
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Interesting numbers on the actual climb. Vingegaard in a league of his own, and Pogacar not even second best.
Incredible TT by Vingegaard, probably the greatest ever.
Simon Yates didn't switch bikes though, did he? I don't know if that's included in the time. Certainly didn't seem like the right tactic.
I think that this is including the bike change, so it was either the wrong choice or Pogacar was just not that strong towards the end (or a bit of both). He said in a post-race interview, that he wasn't feeling good in the last part.
I wanted to enjoy this year and root for a fellow Dane this year, but today is just so obviously superhuman. But no, I don't believe in miracles in cycling and seeing one today is frankly deflating.
In the end it wouldn’t have made a difference even if he had switched to a motorbike. Vingegaard was so much quicker irrespective of the bike change.
Pogacar clearly underperformed today, he was visibly struggling on the final climb. If he had been on par with Vingegaard, as he probably would have been on a great day, no-one would be accusing Vingegaard. It would feel like a natural gap between the two best and the rest based on what we've seen previously. It's a bit of a sad tendency that every great performance must be met with skepticism and insinuations. Understandable of course, but if you feel that way I don't really understand why you'd keep following the sport.
Pogacar was still over a minute faster than 3rd fastest van Aert, so it was hardly a poor TT from Pogacar either.
It's been a few rides like that this tour. The stage where Pogacar took 30s on Vingegaard on the last climb, he was exactly matched by Yates, Hindley and Rodriguez.
Yeah, UCI or WADA needs to do something. The sport was never completely clean but it was at least in spheres of semi-believable and clean guys (Pinot etc.) could kinda compete. This winning margin is insane and a complete mockery in an indurance sport. He's 5% quicker than Pogacar (who has clearly been on the juice for years) and basically 10% than the rest of the GC contenders.
Imagine someone winning the 10km by 2 minutes in the Olympics, completely unimaginable.
Other teams actually should kick up a fuss, this isn't "just" questionable TUE stuff or tramadol (poor Nairo lol), just look at this graph:
Imagine someone winning the 10km by 2 minutes in the Olympics, completely unimaginable.
Other teams actually should kick up a fuss, this isn't "just" questionable TUE stuff or tramadol (poor Nairo lol), just look at this graph:
Some ride by Vingegaard that. Supreme.