I watched the tour on ITV4 the other day, and it was, er, unwatchable due to the adverts.
David Millar was sharp though, and spotted many of the key moments that the Disco+ commentators completely missed.
On Disco+ today, and the stage is brewing nicely.
Are UAE simply chasing the break (why? can't see anyone placed better than Healy in there from a quick look) or is this a prelude to some massive Pog onslaught ? (doesn't really look hard enough pace or parcours for that)
Bonus seconds are what Pog is after I expect.
hmm - battering his doms for (max) 10 seconds seems poor value. Couple of flattish days to come but what if there's a wind ?
Pog's tactical shortcomings will be exposed at some point on this Tour. Maybe today, maybe not.
I'd love to see a Remco bomb on one of the final ramps...
I’d love to see a Remco bomb on one of the final ramps…
Roglic seems up for this one as well.
I know the climb hasn't fully kicked in yet but they're going uphill on maybe 5% gradients at 25-26mph! It is now shelling a lot of people out the back.
it's like the run-in for a sprint !
Wout just missed his wall-of-death catch berm there
Ouchy for WvA, he misjudged that corner! Was lucky not to take out half the rest of the team.
All kicking off now. Break has disintegrated, the UAE-led peloton beginning to rampage through them. Pidcock, Bardet, G all dropped.
Yes, Hammer time, Giro v2. Bardet corner looks fab, too bad he won't have time to stop!
why is G in the Tour?
Bang!
Anyone else watching this descending nervously?
Yes, Vingegard is, watching his former team mate!
The "Zone Bardet" with his screaming fan club is amazing!
2 bloody meetings and I miss all the fun (facepalm emoji)
Absolutely willing Vingegaard to get back on! Come on!!
Some effort from vingo here
This is amazing!
Now will vingo attack?
This is nailbiting!
Wow!
Pogacar moves into the lead on Mountains jersey too.
final climb is going to be a show
This is so much better than the Giro now that Pogacar actually has some competition.
Interesting little deadlock now... This is fascinating, could go any which way.
That was a brilliant day racing. Somebody got something to say about “balls”?
That's going to be disappointing for Pog to say the least
That was BRILLIANT!!
!
Wow, awesome stuff. Not a Vingago fan but fair play that was great stuff.
Remco looked buggered at the end but he battled hard too.
Roglic has had his crash now!
What a stage. I'm a little fearful for Pog in the mountains now. He can get the jump on Jonas, but doesn't look like he can ride away from him, and it's looking like he might not be able to stay in his wheel either. Maybe needs to tone down the all-day full-gas style and save himself for the moments that matter. Remco consistently limiting his losses - odds on for the podium at this rate.
I missed it...how hard did the rest of Visma work to support Vingo? If not at all, then I reckon they might just do what they did last time and send WvA on crazy missions again. Could be fun!!
I missed it…how hard did the rest of Visma work to support Vingo?
Definitely watch the highlights!
UAE sort of managed to isolate Vingegaard but ultimately, the top 4 on GC then isolated themselves, then formed into uneasy and very temporary alliances.
UAE still have the upper hand with 3 teammates in the top ten (Joao Almeida, Adam Yates and Juan Ayuso in 5th, 8th and 9th respectively) so could potentially use those to put Visma / Vingegaard under pressure but Vingegaard showed he's on a very similar level to Pogacar. And so far, he's not done any attacking, just been following the wheels but he's really only shown very short moments of being in trouble.
That said, I still think JV needs to rely on Pogacar having really quite a bad day at some point, I reckon he's equal but probably not able to drop him to gain time, not without Pogacar cracking.
I think if Pog has UAE defend in the big mountains he should be ok.
https://twitter.com/Domestique___/status/1811075950668390582?t=4_7ErE_qjkGxqje41MRyww&s=19
Expensive bit of kit to be bouncing down the road like that...
Roglic has had his crash now!
But I understand he is getting given the same time as Remco.... Apparently? The 3 km rule applied.
On a stage like that I can't understand why the 3km rule would apply.
Roglic crashes all on his own, and gets given the same time as Remco..........Really?? Having poor skills should be punished.......what a load of buzzcocks.....
No wonder MTB fans take the pi55 out of roadies......
As for Vinebore.....a punctured lung a few months ago, and seemingly as good as ever......Okay....Barely believable.
I broke my sternum and five ribs and was in hospital for over a week with my chest drain. Three months later I was back racing Surrey League. Ok not quite the same level, but he started from a higher level! My only compromise was a wrist splint as I had a plate in it and it had not fully healed.
