Must admit I feared a bit for Pog when it held at 7 sec or so for a few hundred yards
Glad it's gone this way though. Not just because I like the cut of Pog's jib but I also want to see Visma on the attack which they surely must do, now. Tomorrow should be amazing
Can't see how Visma can attack given the riders Pog has supporting him
Can’t see how Visma can attack given the riders Pog has supporting him
One of them has already dropped out with Covid. They'll all have been spending time together, so it will be interesting to see whether they all make it through the next week.
Remco is the biggest surprise for me. I'd pretty much written him off as a grand tour rider, despite winning the vuelta. But to be only a short distance behind Jonas and 4 minutes ahead of the next person, that's quite impressive. I could still see him having a bad day on a really tough climb, but so far he's been flawless.
Well unless JV is going to settle for second, or hope for a miracle on the TT, he is going to have to ride more positively with or without his team - final climb tomorrow seems a likely spot to me but he'll have to go pretty long, esp if Pog has a team left at the bottom
and Remco has that final TT in Nice to wrestle back second. I suspect tomorrow will be a close GC marking game. Unless VLAB are looking weak, and then UAE can try the same again. Who knew that having a team of GC riders as domestiques was a winning grand tour strategy?
Well unless JV is going to settle for second, or hope for a miracle on the TT, he is going to have to ride more positively with or without his team – final climb tomorrow seems a likely spot to me but he’ll have to go pretty long, esp if Pog has a team left at the bottom
Interview in the highlights show seems to show that JV is putting a brave face on it and reckons that tomorrow is better suited to him. Be interesting to see how much (if any) today has taken out of the various GC contenders and their teammates but they can maybe go a bit deeper tomorrow given the rest day the following day.
Nice to see the stuff that doesn't make the live TV - Biniam Girmay, Cav etc crossing the line WAY back but intact.
Tomorrow is a ****ing MASSIVE day - 4 x 1st Cat climbs, a HC summit finish and nearly 200km!
Yeah I've just seen the profile for tomorrow..... really don't see the point in front loading the stage with 4 climbs, then a big gap to the final HC climb. I much prefer shorter mountain stages, some of the ones that have been 100-120km in recent years were mega from memory.
JV is putting a brave face on it and reckons that tomorrow is better suited to him
Steep for longer, so I guess it is. Pog definitely still needs a good day
then a big gap to the final HC climb
yeah, negates the earlier stuff UNLESS somebody got over the penultimate one with a gap and had a couple of strong rouleurs up the road to tow him "home". Would be a massively long shot even before the COVID decimation of the field and fitness
https://inrng.com/2024/07/tour-de-france-stage-15-preview-plateau-de-beille/#more-44770
Looking forward to today but I hope Pogacar doesn't win again. I want a bit of a shake up.
Off for an early ride in a bit, back for the bulk of the action on today's stage of the Tour then packing to head out to France for the final week of it! 🙂
The stand out riders for me were:- Nils Politt and Ben Healy. JV still going strong with one of the weakest teams 'Jumbo' have ever sent to the TdF.
I too would like some other rider to take this stage, but it's highly unlikely with UAE being one of the strongest teams I've ever seen.
Breakaway - PLEASE !!
Agreed Ben Healy is looking good. Be great to see him get a win.
Breakaway – PLEASE !!
I'm useless at predictions, but I predict WvA in a breakaway today.
I’m useless at predictions, but I predict WvA in a breakaway today.
Do you think other teams would allow this? I'm not sure.
I doubt anyone from UAE or Jumbo will get in the breakaway today, not with that section between the final 2 climbs.
It's actually probably a half decent chance for Abrahamsen to get some good mountain points early on. I'd like to see Stevie Williams have a pop too.
Full of a cold at the moment, so spending all weekend under blankets in front of the TV… so lucky to have such a good distraction. Yesterday’s action was amazing… and yet it’s almost a warm up for today’s stage! Brutal.
Lol - grupetto already in place !
Yates shenanigans - interesting (or accidental)
Do you think other teams would allow this?
Absolutely not! Hence my pre-qualifying statement 😉
Anyone not watching the ITV4 coverage… please fill us in as we miss all the action.
can't believe that's the break of the day - they need more help
where'd Lazkano go ?
Right, just got back from my ride, what have I missed?!
Why are there like 9 riders in the race...?! And why is Cadel Evans commentating? I might have to switch to EuroSport and try to cope with Sean "yes well certaint-lee" Kelly.
It looks brutally hot out there.
Pog generally doesn't like hot!
EuroSport talking about the very real risk that the time cut is going to be a big test for a lot of riders today to get in before it.
EuroSport talking about the very real risk that the time cut is going to be a big test for a lot of riders today to get in before it.
33 minutes back for Cav now and they've still got half the stage's climbing to go.
Yeah Cav is looking like he might be in trouble here. 33 minutes back and two big climbs still to go (well 3 probably given he's that far back). Be a shame for it to end like that.
The front of the race has 36km to go.
The Cav group is at 61km to go!
Fingers crossed he makes it - he really deserves to get to Nice in his final Tour.
Breakaway beginning to self-destruct now. All getting tense - Vingegaard has to go soon otherwise Pogacar will just go over the top of him.
eyes down, look in. We're surely off here
The Motos need to be fitted with snowplough type devices that can be employed to charge idiot spectators aside.
'kin 'ell...!
Kick from Pog. Looks very significant for the stage and also the tour.
I know it is incredible racing in the gc, but a large part of me is getting bored of the fact the breakaway now never stands a chance.
Don’t want Cav to leave today, but it’s looking very tight.
I know it is incredible racing in the gc, but a large part of me is getting bored of the fact the breakaway now never stands a chance.
+1, it is getting a bit dull, when pog attacked I turned the tv over to the Galway / Donegal match
Getting predictable now - just for once it'd been nice for Pogacar to have a bad day or even just roll in and let the breakaway have their chance.
It's a hell of an achievement but there's little point having a race cos everyone knows Pogacar is going to ride off the front, run rings around everyone and win.
Well, I’ve found it exciting… still been good racing.
I think people saying that it's dull need to remember stuff like Schlek v Contador, Wiggins, Nibali, Froome, Quintana ...that was boring racing! This is amazing. Let's not forget that before this Tour Pogacar had never beaten Vingegaard on a climb.
I agree that it's a shame that the current era of racing seems to have negated breakaways. The GC stuff however, is the best in my 15 years as a fan.
Jonas knew he was beaten from the moment he looked at pog as he came around. I think he did well to limit the losses to only 68s. Hope cav makes it or the next geo drop back. Sometimes they bend the cutoff when it’s a big group and extra tough (hot) conditions.
Cav's safe, just! 1.45 inside the cut-off.
Ah excellent effort. 2 outside the time limit according to the official ticker. Brutal day out for them.
Yay!
To be fair, he's pretty good at timing it well, it's not the first time he's been in that situation. Great effort though.
The insane thing is that he'll still have ridden it over an hour quicker than even the fastest amateurs!
