Men's Road Cycling UCI World Tour 2020 (Tour de France)

[heywoodu 16,444]

2 hours ago, justony said:

In UAE, there was always too much burden put on Aru, finally Pogačar got the chance, though let's be honest, it is going to be very tough third week for him, relying constantly only on Polanc. 

Let's be fair and realistic, Pogacar is only 21 now and already last year finished 3rd in the Vuelta. UAE gave him the chance basically from the very beginning of his very first Grand Tour (and rightly so), it's really not like he missed any chances because of Aru being in the way  

 

And yeah, has-beens like Marcato and a De La Cruz without the QuickStep-bonus aren't going to be of much help, but so far I'd say he is perfectly capable of handling himself on his own, Pogacar is a rare talent.

[heywoodu 16,444]

Sunweb tactics, lol.

[Grassmarket 4,261]

Sagan giving Bennett a slapping on the climb leading up to the sprint....

 

Sagan 15.

[heywoodu 16,444]

4 minutes ago, Grassmarket said:

Sagan giving Bennett a slapping on the climb leading up to the sprint....

Since Bennett is having stromach problems, one might expect Sagan/Bora to try and take maximum advantage from this bit of luck.

[OlympicsFan 860]

2 hours ago, Grassmarket said:

These things happen, it is no mystery.
 

 Ireland had no great cyclists, ever - then two at once, Steven Roche & Sean Kelly.

 

Then nothing for 35 years and the new generation are

1. Steven Roche’s son
2. Steven Roche’s nephew
3. From the very same small town where Sean Kelly lives.

 

1) Currently there is no Irish guy who is even remotely close to being lightyears away from winning the Tour.

2) Kelly never was a tour contender, so the situation is not comparable.

3) Even if Ireland would have had two riders like that I am not sure how that would be relevant here. The fact that it happened before doesn’t make it natural and doesn’t tell us anything about the reasons.
 

Slovenia is poorer than most western/northern European countries + cycling isn’t more popular there + they only have a tiny talent pool, so if they would be doing the same as all the other nations, then the probability of them having the two best riders (by coincidence) would be ultra low.

 

There are only two explanations:

1) They got insanely lucky (like once in a millennium lucky).

2) They figured something out that all the other nations didn’t figure out.

 

Everyone has to decide for himself whether he considers 1) or 2) more likely.

[Grassmarket 4,261]

Roglič is not really a product of Slovenian cycling, though.  All his adolescence he was part of the Ski Jumping team, was not encouraged to cycle. After he lost his SJ World Cup place he rode as an amateur for a small team in Slovenia, then transferred into the Dutch pro scene, where he learnt his trade.  It’s not like there is a kind of DDR-style talent programme going on.

 

 

[Grassmarket 4,261]

Honestly, hope Andre Greipel is good at carrying bottles or something, because it’s hard to see wjat else he’s doing to earn a place hear.

[hckošice 16,583]

Buchmann going at a murderous pace here. what a exemplary teammate this guy is. One month back I´ve never believed he is able to immediately forget his own disappointment and sacrify himself for someone else, but he is showing at this tour that he really is a true Teammate ! Respect !

[Grassmarket 4,261]

58 minutes ago, heywoodu said:

Since Bennett is having stromach problems, one might expect Sagan/Bora to try and take maximum advantage from this bit of luck.

They’re at it again now.

 

Here’s a question - would ir be a legitimate tactic for a team to specifically try to force a rider outside the time limit?   Probably not today, but in theory it might be possible next week.

[heywoodu 16,444]

13 minutes ago, Grassmarket said:

They’re at it again now.

 

Here’s a question - would ir be a legitimate tactic for a team to specifically try to force a rider outside the time limit?   Probably not today, but in theory it might be possible next week.

Absolutely, it's part of the race. Sagan and his clan might do it now, but let's not pretend Bennett and his bandits wouldn't do the exact same thing if the roles were reversed