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My missus said to me this morning that one thing Pog has done is avoid crashing badly. Ever. Then by pure coincidence an hour or two later Dan Lloyd posted on Twitter:
"Since his first year junior in 2015, he's started 46 UCI ranked stage races, a total of 376 days. Not once has he DNF'd. Not once has he got sick enough or crashed hard enough to withdraw from a stage race in almost 12 years".
He's not immune to crashing and has crashed hard enough to have broken lycra and obvious road rash several times. Plenty of riders do that and most carry on. In fact, I can think of quite a few occasions when he's been off the bike. Pogacar, though, is one of the few who then rides past the peloton and the only one who then put a record time in on the Cipressa. 😀
Managed to get SBS working on the TV but only by using the browser: even with the vpn running, i could not see an app in the firestick amazon store. i did read that they have massively geo-locked it, presumably to stop people like us
It’s rare for a top level rider to crash unassisted - they are usually brought down by inexperienced bunch mistakes. Both Pog and Armstrong are/were hugely focused on winning and so never relaxed even when the rest of the peloton was rolling. Riders like that who control the race have a lot more agency on where they position themselves, are more protected by their team and if you are ‘fresher’ than the rest so to speak then it’s much easier to concentrate and avoid issues. Doubly so if you spend most of the race out the front!
Nice to see a good clean and safe sprint finish. The rest of the stage was dull as ditchwater (I had it on in the background while working from home), everyone literally just spinning along. Amusingly though, there was a section where they were pootling along one side of a dual carriageway and on the other side (still closed to traffic) were a couple of roadies trying to keep pace. In spite of the fact that the peloton was barely above resting heart rate, you could see how much the roadies were having to work.
It does highlight the gulf in ability between the pros and "the rest of us"!
Another plan flat day tomorrow into Bergerac.
Phillipsen led out by MVDP. Last year that would have been money in the bank. This year it’s not. At least SOMETHING is interesting in the race 🙂
It does highlight the gulf in ability between the pros and "the rest of us"!
I did a hard ride this morning and I’ve spent the afternoon collapsed on the sofa. They do an infinitely harder ride and they do it every day for 3 weeks. Must be the most brutal competition on the planet.
Merlier is 33 years old?! Decent win for him today. I watched the final 12km live, which was more than enough
Both Pog and Armstrong are/were hugely focused on winning and so never relaxed even when the rest of the peloton was rolling.
How long till other similarities come out. I’m really struggling to see how he can be that much better than everyone else and pass wada tests
I mean, yes, be wary. But do you think Jonas is different? He also broke the Tourmalet record yesterday, and is only a fraction behind
or Sexias, who’s almost competitive while still a teen? Or is it everyone? And all the staff?
Both Pog and Armstrong are/were hugely focused on winning and so never relaxed even when the rest of the peloton was rolling.
How long till other similarities come out. I’m really struggling to see how he can be that much better than everyone else and pass wada tests
Pog's abilities are extraordinary, but what makes me hesitate to call shenanigans, is that he is the only one of the true top tier GC crop of the last ~8 years that hasn't had a truly horrific crash as far as I'm aware.
Nothing like Froome; Bernal; Roglic, Vin etc.
I mean, yes, be wary. But do you think Jonas is different? He also broke the Tourmalet record yesterday, and is only a fraction behind
Maybe maybe not who knows. 2 mins 42 secs back from one stage is a big gap though at this level
There was a video analysis of Pogacar's Tourmalet descent vs Vingegaard (which I can't find now).
Pog was averaging 70kph with a max of 100. He pulled out a minute on that descent although having a clear run with motos to show the way and highlight the braking points probably gave him a bit of a bonus.
It was a mean bit of descending. I’m not sure he got that much advantage being at the front. I’m sure Jonas could have lead down the hill at the front of the group he was with and was not doubt within close proximity to the media bikes
. 2 mins 42 secs back from one stage is a big gap though at this level
It's not like it's a surprise tho is it.... he's been taking chunks of time out of people in pretty much every main event the last couple years, Strade Bianchi, Worlds, a couple of mountain stages last TdF, so you have to take it on the chin that he's a once in a generation genetic freak. it's not an exciting racing script right now, just gotta appreciate he's different. Pog doesn't really have bad days and then unusually good days, he's just good all the time.
I can't imagine he wouldn't have been caught by now if it was dodge, testing is better. Not really many cases since Rasmussen in 2007 and Landis in 2006, who had a surprisingly good day after a sh1te day, both got spotted because the levels of testing and suspicion are higher.
I can't imagine he wouldn't have been caught by now if it was dodge, testing is better.
testing has got better but so have the dopers. I remember watching a panarma episode doped an amateur rider. Even when they told Wada exactly what he had taken they still couldn’t detect it
Man, I was routing for Slock there..
Same but Merlier did a fantastic sprint from that far back. He just went past about 6 people in.the space of 100m..
Another MVDP lead-out for Phillipsen ending in tears.
The UCI needs to test merliers bike for teleportation devices. From the middle of nowhere to blasting off the front in a nanosecond
30km trimmed from the early part of today's stage due to the heatwave and associated risks, so 154kn not 184. Same starte, same route from the Intermediate sprint, which comes after just 13km so expect everything to be locked down till then, and for Merlier and Girmay to close the gap on Pedersen in the green jersey. After that, hills a go go, so my bet is a 50km bunfight to get in the break: whichever one gets away, will win. The question is who'll be allowed in it. Fingers crossed they let Fred go!
As much as a Merlier hat-trick would be superb, Girmay is pushing him closer. Fred would also be great.
Basically, anyone but Jasper Disaster. Childish, but meh.
Re Channel 5 highlights.
Have to say I much preferred the ITV coverage by far.
Have to say I much preferred the ITV coverage by far.
I don't think anything will come close to ITV4 for a long time, they had years to finesse that. Their winning format was realising that it had to appeal to non-cyclists too hence the little history snippets. It wasn't just unending bike talk unlike most of TNT Sports.
Plus you could adopt a donkey in the ad breaks. 😉
I don't think anything will come close to ITV4 for a long time, they had years to finesse that.
The coverage provided by the various online providers is amateurish by comparison. Sadly it's all we have.
Dam it, was hoping for a 1,2 two days in a row for my velogames team but have had to settle for a 1,3... Need these points was almost last earlier in the week!!
Early part Went very much as I suggested, I understand. Thrilling finish, though, worth watching highlights if you’ve not watched
Definitely. Watched most of it, very enjoyable. AA - I got a 2,3 and 5 on that stage.
Team beej is flying high...as usual
I'm sure I'll plummet down later. I gave a good three minutes of thought picking my team. Two of those were asking Copilot who the in form sprinter was.
Well that was a stage well worth watching. A 1 day classic won by a classics rider.
I just don’t understand why all the various commentators didn’t pick up on Pidcocks gear issue. Both C5 and For the love of cycling kept repeating that his gear issue was fixed. It wasn’t! He lost control of the drop position shifter and never regained it. That meant he had to sprint for the finish on the hoods. That was a massive disadvantage. Now I’m pretty sure he wouldn’t have beaten MVP anyway but even so it was a big deal.
I just don’t understand why all the various commentators didn’t pick up on Pidcocks gear issue. Both C5 and For the love of cycling kept repeating that his gear issue was fixed. It wasn’t!
I've heard some spectacular shite from commentators in respect of mechanical incidents. OK, they're ad-libbing it live based on small screens in a cramped commentary booth but so many of them seem to know or understand very little about the actual kit being used by different teams.
Only a couple of days ago, one of the commentators was talking about SRAM when the team in question was using Shimano.
It would have been hard to detect precisely what the issue was whilst commentating live. It was only when Pidcock was interviewed at the end of the stage that the actual fault came out (the drops shifter). When it occurred Tom was kicking the rear mech to get it working so clearly he wasn't initially sure of the cause either.
T'was the best stage for me so far. I Really felt for Tom when the gearing incident happened.
Back to the roads today and it's a monster to "celebrate" bastille day
Tough one to call, this, but my feeling is that while hard, it's not decisive enough for a GC shakedown, so this one will go to the breakaway. The big question is who will be in it, and I refer you back to my post about Sunday's stage for the likely shape of things. Probably everything will be tightly controlled and stay together until the Intermediate Sprint, then all hell wil break loose and it will be bunfight after bunfight as various attempts are made for a group to actually break clear. Expect that to happen after 60km or more. Who might be in it? Well, if Pidcock has recovered he might fancy it, but not sure he's quoite good enough for this amount of climbing - there are back to back Cat 1s there. Carapaz is a good shout, but I have a sneaky suspicion that Valentin Paret-Paintre might be a contender for a french win on Bastille Day
Having said all that, Pogacar will attack at Lavigerie (km127.7), ride past the breakaway before the Col De Pertus and win by 5 minutes
https://inrng.com/2026/07/tour-de-france-stage-10/
Having said all that, Pogacar will attack at Lavigerie (km127.7), ride past the breakaway before the Col De Pertus and win by 5 minutes
If that happens I'll be willing someone to push him off!
Be great to see a French rider get it. Warren Barguil was the last person to do that, 2017.
Be great to see a French rider get it. Warren Barguil was the last person to do that, 2017
I'm plumping for EF to get Carapaz & Baudin in the break. Baudin to try and win it.
Tough one to call, this, but my feeling is that while hard, it's not decisive enough for a GC shakedown, so this one will go to the breakaway.
I have exactly the same thoughts, but lurking in the corner of all those thoughts is Tadej flippin' Pogačar and his invincible legs.
Going on form and Frenchness I'll say Alex Baudin from EF is my shout for the day.
This is the kind of stuff I miss from the ITV4 coverage. Don't think we'll see this on TNT / C5
https://bsky.app/profile/geotdf.bsky.social/post/3mqlk6rqnlk2r
I'm predicting a Lidl-Trek led bunfight to the Intermediate Sprint before they'll let a break go. Mads Pedersen is 45 points clear in the Green Jersey but that's not a massive cushion over Biniam Girmay.
Break looks to be just about established / establishing after a frantic start with an average speed of nearly 50kph!
all going pretty much as predicted - I didn't see the start as we were out for a ride, but give the state of the race I guess it stayed together through the sprint, then attacks started. VPP is up the road as I suggested, likewise Baudin as suggested by others. The peloton meanwhile has kept the break on a tight leash and is currently roaring forward just in time for the forst of the Cat 1 climbs from Lavigerie, where we can expect Pogacar to ride away. Not the breakaway victory I'd originally suggested but the dominance of Pogacar coming into play as I realised was the other likely scenario
Only Javier Romo left, 50 seconds out. He'll be caught soon.
Imperious UAE.
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