With 5 days to go until this weeks tour I feel that, after 6 years (I think) it’s time to pass the baton on to someone else for the daily threads.
This years event looks like a great route and I look forward to following it from afar.
This is not acceptable – the Tour won’t be the same without the daily @lunge thread!
Also, thanks for everything you’ve done over the previous years, they’ve always been great threads. 🙂
Looks like famed anti-vaxxer Peter Sagan will actually manage to race in the TDF, getting around the requirement in France that a professional sportsperson must be fully vaxxed by meeting the alternative requirement that they have recently contracted (and recovered) from COVID.
EDIT
though Julian Alaphilippe is going too make it! (obviously if these are accurate 😉 )
The racers are dropping like flies already (everyone incl racers, team staff and journos have to provide negative antigen result 2 days before grand depart)
TiboPino and Tim declerq both test positive for CV even before the start
Thibaut Pinot a été testé positif au COVID-19 et ne prendra pas le départ du Tour de France. Il est remplacé par Bruno Armirail. Bon rétablissement à lui pic.twitter.com/k8M7YOLwSU
— Equipe Cycliste Groupama-FDJ (@ColutErus) June 28, 2022
At least QuickStep are now taking one frenchman in Florian Seneschal, though like many others I’d have loved to see Alaphillipe fit enough to race. Shame that Cav was not selected…
I don’t mind picking the Daily Thread up if people are OK with that but with one caveat – I’m not able to do the weekend stages and that’s throughout the whole race…
Watching the team presentations yesterday Ineos have definitely missed a trick not having a Danish rider 😂 The reception for all the teams was amazing, but those with Danish riders was off the scale.
Few more covid positive tests – Samuele Battistela, Daryl Impey and Bryan Coquard all replaced ahead of the start. Expect more before the final deadline, then a glut over the first few days
Reminder that there’s TWO STW Velogames mini-leagues going – one started by @straightliner for the TDF and the generic Grand Tours league that I started ahead of the Giro