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I'd be happy for Pogacar to get the KOM but I want Carapaz to hang on for the stage win!
If Pog is sick, I wish I was sick like that!
He's cruising up a 7-8% climb at 22kph! Riding past dropped riders like they're standing still.
Carapaz taking a look back at Tadej then just putting in the biggest dig you've ever seen. I love Richard Carapaz
Heartbreak for Carapaz 🙁
Juan Ayuso - crosses the finish line and collapses.
Tadej Pogacar - crosses the finish line, chills out, wanders around high fiving.
Beaten Pantani’s record up the Alpe…
Cracking stage that given that there's minimal GC battles going on.
the weakening of his team might have some impact on the race. Firstly I think it gives breakaways a bigger chance today and tomorrow as UAE have less firepower to bring Tadej to the final. Secondly, it leaves Del Toro in a weaker position to defend his podium place so I'd expect Red Bull to try and widen the gap up to Remco as well as Decathlon doing their best to get Seixas into 3rd.
Tune in again tomorrow for more top notch predictions
So are we allowed to use the terms unbelievable, inhuman or out of this world yet?
So are we allowed to use the terms unbelievable, inhuman or out of this world yet?
Haven't we been using those terms for the last 3 or 4 years?
That said, if he is on anything, he's doing a very good job of hiding it or the anti-doping tests over the course of the years and years that he's been doing this sort of thing at every race he's been to aren't worth a thing.
Ben Healy is getting stronger and stronger. He'll be up to speed by Sunday, when it's too late, no Mountains either.
Tomorrow though. 5500m elevation. Giro called, want their stage back.
I'm going Pidcock attacks going over the galibier, but ultimately another Slovenian win.
Tomorrow though. 5500m elevation. Giro called, want their stage back.
It was this stage that was used as the Etape du Tour last weekend. From the various videos I've seen, it looked brutal!
Mads had the ride of his life today for that intermediate sprint. Adam looked good for the km on the front with Pog. We were all watching Carapaz, but it was Martinez who lost today was behind Carapaz on pog’s final attack and did’t come around early enough to go to the sprint finish and was obviously annoyed
black short blinder played today. Had it occurred to people that perhaps he prefers the pad? Or is nursing a saddle sore? Lots of reasons not to wear the yellow race suit (which is an all in one top sewn to the shorts). Not just that he might have GI issues.
Nice of those idiots on the climb to obstruct and negate the three way attacking each other smash fest that Kuss Martinez and the wonderful Carapaz were doing.
Also love the way Sean refuses to interrupt or deviate from the boring sentence he's waffling to actually tell us what's happening on the screen.
Its amazing to see Pantani's Alpe record setting bike:
I remember watching it (on TV) and it doesn't seem that long ago!
Nice of those idiots on the climb to obstruct and negate the three way attacking each other smash fest that Kuss Martinez and the wonderful Carapaz were doing.
It was a mess. Also, I've never seen so many Moto's as I have this year. There were at least 10 surrounding the leading group of 3 plus Pog up the Alpe weaving all over the place - must have been a nightmare for the riders.
Also love the way Sean refuses to interrupt or deviate from the boring sentence he's waffling to actually tell us what's happening on the screen.
Lol, Kelly was banging on about how Poogaaarchaar might have a hard time catching the lead riders and by the end of his sentence Pog had overtaken Kuss and Lenny!
It was this stage that was used as the Etape du Tour last weekend. From the various videos I've seen, it looked brutal!
Yes having done the previous 2, the route of this one put me off somewhat
idiots on the climb
Einer Rubio was drafting cars in the convoy at full chat, when a fan stepped (was pushed?) in front of the UAE car that Einer was behind. The car had to stop dead or run the fan over. He never stood a chance: straight into the car, smashed the back window with his face. 20 stitches to the face and out of the race
I do feel that where fans are expected in big numbers, there should be barriers for the WHOLE climb
I do feel that where fans are expected in big numbers, there should be barriers for the WHOLE climb
That's 30km of barriers for Alpe d'Huez though, it's impractical, if not almost impossible given the sheer number of people up there.
The Tour organisers have a really difficult job balancing rider safety with public access. I agree, the climb was absolutely insane; it looked dangerous, the riders were routinely blocked by motos and fans but I'm not sure there's an easy answer of "oh just barrier it" or trying to do some kind of ticketed access. There'll have been fans up there for days before the race was due, there'll almost certainly still be people there next week cos they simply won't have been able to leave!
Same carnage again today no doubt although today's stage only uses the last 3km.of the main climb cos the route comes in off the Sarenne.
Carapaz is going to have to go early to get mountains points, he's only one point above Pogacar who'll probably win the stage again ( 🥱 ) and scoop up a load of points there so Carapaz needs to be in the top 3 or 4 over every other climb leading up to the finish.
I see juan ayuso sneaking into the break there. It’ll be a testament to the tiredness of the peloton’s legs if he’s allowed to stay there
Fantastic from Mads Pedersen. To get over a HC climb, work in the front group and then get the intermediate is a pretty phenomenal effort. I think mathematically, he could technically still lose it to Philipsen but it'd require JP to win both the intermediate and the final tomorrow and MP not to score at all.
That's been a good competition.
Hopefully Carapaz can hang on for the polka-dot, he did a great effort on the first climb.
I see Visma have said that the entire adh climb should have barriers, they thought it was too dangerous
How many KoM points are still up for grabs ?
How many KoM points are still up for grabs ?
- Hors Catégorie: 20-15-12-10-8-6-4-2 points
- Category 1 climbs: 10-8-6-4-2-1 points
- Category 2: 5-3-2-1 points
- Category 3: 2-1 points
- Category 4: 1 point
So for today as of now when they have the Galibier and the Sarenne to do, that's 40 points total. Not sure if the finish line has points as well... ?
Also as of now, Carapaz has 121 points after the summit of the Telegraphe and before the Galibier
Paret-Peintre is dropped and won't score, neither will Pogacar, the rest of the points were taken by the breakaway.
So I think that's it for the KoM?
Pog looks like he's decided it's time to go ...[/spoiler]
Today is looking brutal...... Survival mode for so many
Today is looking brutal...... Survival mode for so many
GCN have a video released today where Ollie Bridgewood ride the Etape (this stage). He did it in 7hrs, today's winner did 4.52.
That means that Ollie would have missed even the cut off point for the slowest sprinters by a substantial margin. The speeds that pros can do is just ridiculous.
That was a cracking stage.
That was a cracking stage.
Wasn't it - the finish was a real nail-biter and the terrain to get back to AdH quite stunning and adding real drama.
I've driven down that road where Kuss had his moments, and it is indeed quite hairy.
will be good to see how the standings look once they've updated
My BIL did 12 and a bit last weekend on the Etape. He said it was the hardest ride he's ever done.
The speeds that pros can do is just ridiculous.
Tadej climbed AdH at pretty much my average speed across an entire road ride😭
Anyone still think cycling is clean? At those speeds and having ridden up it faster than anyone who we now know were doped upto the eyeballs.
ridden up it faster than anyone who we now know were doped upto the eyeballs.
But at least Pantanni didn't need to wear black shorts in case his sharts were visible.
I know you have a high suspicion threshold Chrismac, but aren't we in a different era, w bio passports, power data and finessed nutrition.
Assuming you're questioning Pogacar? Ahead of the tour everyone was saying their whole roster was best of the best. How about Carapaz, completely different team, 3 days at the sharp end and 2 stage wins. Sepp Kuss two 3rd places in two big days.. Are they doing the same thing as Pogacar?
Anyone still think cycling is clean? At those speeds and having ridden up it faster than anyone who we now know were doped upto the eyeballs.
There are arguments both ways. The EPO era was more or less all out chemical warfare with very little in the way of effective testing.
Out into the mid 2010's as testing and sanctions got better, speeds dropped and the racing was redesigned a bit. Extra rest day, shorter stages etc all designed to remove the need to dope. Then tech started to play a part and the massive improvements in aero, nutrition, training, anti-doping and so on have seen speeds rise dramatically. Shorter stages with full TV coverage prompts all-out racing and it also means that when you're arriving at the bottom of a climb, you're a bit more rested (cos you haven't done 220km to get there), you've been towed into it and in this instance, Pogacar was going for a time - he more or less said he'd be doing exactly that.
But then Remco wasn't far behind with a time that would have put him right amongst the top few from the EPO days as well.
If it was one or two riders, it'd be easier to explain away as doping but the fact is that everyone is on the same level now. Various ex-riders have said the same about the changes in the peloton, training requirements, the use of tech and so on.
I’m not naive enough to think that nobody is doping in the sport but I’m also not incurious enough to ascribe all the advances in the last 3 decades to doping. The way performance has evolved in recent years in cycling is, IMO way more interesting than the same old ‘he rides bike fast, must be drugs’ chat.
Anyway, today’s stage was great. Seeing decathlon do their best to set up Seixas bodes well for his future. The fact that he didn’t have the legs to profit from it is almost neither here nor there. He’s 19!
It’s also nice to see Tadej realise that there’s more to racing than mowing down your competitors. He seemed to really enjoy riding into the finish with Del toro
Lovely to see Carapaz winning
Bad that Kuss stacked it twice. But held on !
(love a commentator that doesn't name the riders getting dropped. It's only an hours highlights I can squint and try to read the name on the frame or something) .
It’s also nice to see Tadej realise that there’s more to racing than mowing down your competitors. He seemed to really enjoy riding into the finish with Del toro
I think there were a couple of moments where he almost went for it and had to make a conscious effort to stop himself from racing off up the road. I'm glad he didn't win the stage - it looked way better for him and the team that he came across the line with del Toro.
Tomorrow's stage has been shortened to about 85km, it starts right on the Champs-Elysees due to the widlfires just outside Paris. Guess that means they'll go straight into the usual chaos of the racing around Paris.
ridden up it faster than anyone who we now know were doped upto the eyeballs.
But at least Pantanni didn't need to wear black shorts in case his sharts were visible.
I know you have a high suspicion threshold Chrismac, but aren't we in a different era, w bio passports, power data and finessed nutrition.
Assuming you're questioning Pogacar? Ahead of the tour everyone was saying their whole roster was best of the best. How about Carapaz, completely different team, 3 days at the sharp end and 2 stage wins. Sepp Kuss two 3rd places in two big days.. Are they doing the same thing as Pogacar?
I accept that doping detection has improved but then so has the cheating. All sports have a poor track record in catching drug abuse. When Wada are told what a rider has taken and still can’t detect it when they know what they are looking for suggests they are way behind the cheats
So is it just cycling....
Sabastian Sawe...
Josh Kerr...
Women's 800.....(They're not quite there yet..)
Or is it the nutrition, focussed training, and tech improvement (shoes, bikes, aero...)
The best technology in pro cycling?
The safety netting on the outside of Alpine bends.
Not happy to see Kuss go down, very happy to see him hit the netting.
Guess that means they'll go straight into the usual chaos of the racing around Paris.
Two laps of the Champs Elysees then resume the planned laps including Montmartre was what I read. 88km, estimated finish at 18:50 uk time so probably flag drop at 17:00?
Tadej was lovely in his interview when he said that pacing Torito up the climb had given him a better idea of the work that the rest of the team do all day every day to look after him. I like him even more than I did, but I still don’t want him to win every race
Agreed on the netting, that was quite literally a lifesaver
You can never rule out doping entirely, after all the testers can only test for things they know about and sports history has taught us that there are some dodgy scientists out there coming up with new and wonderful drugs. However, across the world of endurance sports things that people once thought impossible have been achieved, sub two hour marathon for two runners at London this year.
Two laps of the Champs Elysees then resume the planned laps including Montmartre was what I read. 88km, estimated finish at 18:50 uk time so probably flag drop at 17:00?
As confirmed in the official press release
https://www.letour.fr/en/news/2026/change-to-the-route-of-the-final-stage-1/1355402
Tadej was lovely in his interview when he said that pacing Torito up the climb had given him a better idea of the work that the rest of the team do all day every day to look after him. I like him even more than I did, but I still don’t want him to win every race
He was gracious when Vingegaard crashed out as well - as far as you can tell from this distance he seems a decent guy.
Where are people watching for free now that SBS is blocking VPNs?
