TDF 26
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I want to see a good race with few top cyclists abandoning so Pogacar and Vingegaard can go back and forth. You have to respect what Pogacar has done but I would like to see a great battle and someone finally find a way to crack him and his team. The Team TT tomorrow will be blistering fast! It would be fun to see a stage in person for sure!
Very difficult to argue against Pogi win. There seems to be no chinks in his armor anymore.
I expect there to be another epic dual up Alp d'Huez 2X with Vingegaard.
I am looking forward to see the results of a modification of Vingegaard's training as well as Remco is 4 Kg's lighter than his normal race weight and has a new coach. Although, I particularly dislike Remco. he appears to be better prepared for what the TDF has to offer. He has the physical tools to podium (3) but i suspect his idiot display of race tactics will drop him to 5th.
I am a Vingegaard fan. However, everything will have to go right for him with his depleted team support.
I expect there to be another epic dual up Alp d'Huez 2X with Vingegaard.
I am looking forward to see the results of a modification of Vingegaard's training as well as Remco is 4 Kg's lighter than his normal race weight and has a new coach. Although, I particularly dislike Remco. he appears to be better prepared for what the TDF has to offer. He has the physical tools to podium (3) but i suspect his idiot display of race tactics will drop him to 5th.
I am a Vingegaard fan. However, everything will have to go right for him with his depleted team support.
..makes you wonder if they ever rode a TT bike before.. Weird. Did they talk about, anything, before they started?
I've raced many many TTT's. When things go south---they go way south. and when things click and connect perfectly its just feels magical
Looked more to me like 5 guys just had a bad day on the bike, and a few others couldn't believe what they were seeing and kept thinking they'd catch on.. more of a bad coincidence than a screw up?
I call that a mistake.
Its the first stage of the TDF---physically not ready/prepared= mistake
All the riders are in communication with the DS--no or poor communication= mistake
Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug. Looked to me like they were all bugs. Haha.
Lil anti climatic today... waited all race for a move, that never happened. Happy for the guy who was gifted the stage but that was a rather boring stage...not quite as boring as soccer, but in the same zip code.
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just finished watching. Del Toro should have been penalized for retro riding earlier in race.
Good finish. McNulty did a great job keeping a very brisk pace through the final circuit to reduce the peloton down to a more manageable group. pogi probably could have put a 3-5 seconds on everyone had he chose too. on stage 2 of TDY no reason to put that effort in there. a very young Pogi would have made that mistake and thats the sort of mistake Remco usually makes----perhaps he's listening now.
Good finish. McNulty did a great job keeping a very brisk pace through the final circuit to reduce the peloton down to a more manageable group. pogi probably could have put a 3-5 seconds on everyone had he chose too. on stage 2 of TDY no reason to put that effort in there. a very young Pogi would have made that mistake and thats the sort of mistake Remco usually makes----perhaps he's listening now.
Incredible race by Pogacar --possibly the best bike road racer of all time
I am wondering though if Jonas is not feeling all that well. He was seen wearing a surgical mask at the check in and had no answer to Pogicar's initial attack.
Del Torro nearly equally as impressive.
Traeen made an amateur mistake over lapping wheels in a 180 deg corner
not only is Pogacar the strongest GC rider but the EAE is also the best constructed team.
Visma really is without 2 of their stars: Wout van Aert and Mateo Jorgenson is a shell of himself due to injury
I am wondering though if Jonas is not feeling all that well. He was seen wearing a surgical mask at the check in and had no answer to Pogicar's initial attack.
Del Torro nearly equally as impressive.
Traeen made an amateur mistake over lapping wheels in a 180 deg corner
not only is Pogacar the strongest GC rider but the EAE is also the best constructed team.
Visma really is without 2 of their stars: Wout van Aert and Mateo Jorgenson is a shell of himself due to injury
GC standings prior to todays Sprinter stage:
The battle for 2nd and 3rd could be interesting"
will del toro and Pogacar 1-2?
3 Lidl trek in top 10
will Jonas collapse
Bora battle of their co bosses
The battle for 2nd and 3rd could be interesting"
will del toro and Pogacar 1-2?
3 Lidl trek in top 10
will Jonas collapse
Bora battle of their co bosses
| 1 |
| UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 21h 11' 57'' | - | B : 26'' | - |
| 2 |
| TEAM VISMA | LEASE A BIKE | 21h 14' 39'' | + 00h 02' 42'' | B : 12'' | - |
| 3 |
| UAE TEAM EMIRATES XRG | 21h 15' 24'' | + 00h 03' 27'' | B : 14'' | - |
| 4 | R. EVENEPOEL | RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | 21h 15' 27'' | + 00h 03' 30'' | B : 4'' | - |
| 5 | J. AYUSO | LIDL-TREK | 21h 15' 31'' | + 00h 03' 34'' | - | - |
| 6 | P. SEIXAS | DECATHLON CMA CGM TEAM | 21h 15' 52'' | + 00h 03' 55'' | - | - |
| 7 | F. LIPOWITZ | RED BULL - BORA - HANSGROHE | 21h 15' 57'' | + 00h 04' 00'' | - | - |
| 8 | L. MARTINEZ | BAHRAIN VICTORIOUS | 21h 16' 18'' | + 00h 04' 21'' | - | - |
| 9 | M. SKJELMOSE | LIDL-TREK | 21h 16' 54'' | + 00h 04' 57'' | - | - |
| 10 | M. VACEK | LIDL-TREK | 21h 19' 07'' | + 00h 07' 10'' |
Why do it in stages though?
Why not just let them ride...You start the race and you ride until you finish...
No stages, you just go...and when you have to stop to rest or **** or eat...you do that when you want and you start back up when you want...
Sort of like the old Cannonball Run race (movie) That would make it way more interesting.
Why not just let them ride...You start the race and you ride until you finish...
No stages, you just go...and when you have to stop to rest or **** or eat...you do that when you want and you start back up when you want...
Sort of like the old Cannonball Run race (movie) That would make it way more interesting.
yes, that is a different discipline of racing.
- Road Ultracycling:
- Gravel & Off-Road:
- Cross-Country Marathon (XCM):
- Randonneuring
There are a few races like that and they are boring AF and even cycling fans can't name a single one, unlike the TDF.
Zero drama, time gaps between riders are very large and the logistics for a road race like the TDF (closing important roads for days on end and providing security along the way is impossible) .. suppprt for riders would be difficult, because if you have a rider or two a hundred miles up, you can't send a team car back to help the ones so far behind. It would kill the TDF to do that.
I've always been surprised a terrorist group has never tried to attacked the TDF. It would be easy to do, and devastating.
Well, first of all, terrorist groups are not going to attack something that no one cares about at all.
Secondly, Cannonball Run was a great movie.
And in my version. Roads would not be closed...you would start at one point and end at the other...and how you got there would be up to you. Just as long as you road your bike.
The TDF is a huge deal to a lot of people and a lot of countries...
The race is not...the event is.
It is like the CWS. You get 300,000 people in that area for 10 days...maybe more...but less than 5% can even tell you which teams are playing.
It was a summer staple on HBO when I was a kid!
What you are describing is very similar to UNBOUND. in which has grown in popularity as cyclocross and gravel racing has grown. Like I mentioned this is a separate discipline in bike racing. Reasons for rise in popularity of gravel and cyclocross racing are less to no interaction with vehicles, increased development of bike handling, and much reduced drafting and aerodynamics.
The money isnt there for this to become a media event yet and the unbound part may be very difficult for fans to observe. But regardless, it still is quite the challenge and great fun to be had.
Did you know that the 2025 Gravel World Championships took place in Nebraska in 2025?
I like your energy and interest in bike racing
We do that here and call it The Iditarod. Granted, not on racing bkes though.
Some intrepid adventurers have raced tye off-road bikes along the route and I believe it is now an offshoot race of its own, but nothing like TDF, and there are no roads to close!