Its a sad fact of cycling that we have to even ask. I think it is a sport that is more a young mans game now because of this. Bernal, Hirschi and Pogacar highlight this and it could produce massive burnouts. The enigma that is Sagan is a breed apart. I really cant see there being multiple TdF winners unless one team can elevate themselves above all the competition. JV has done that this year but you can bet that Ineos and others will respond accordingly.
the speeds , tell all , as does recovery , watt outputs , blood testing , all these combine to effectively stop anyone from using enhancers , there would be no point . you will see many put in a big effort , but not able to repeat it on daily basis , that’s what armstrong etc were able to do , stands out like sore thumb now .
Morning, off out today so very quickly Kwiatkowski Hirsche and Dan Martin. Three against the field in the Tour today for me.
Nothing today. Tomorrow, for the first (and last) time, it will be over 2000 metres. That can make a difference. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image
Let's hope so, but if he takes the lead tomorrow, he doesn't have a team to defend it on Thursday. It's a complicated decision. If he can naturally.
JV will shut everything down except the final climb, they are too strong as a team for Pog to have a chance unless he really throws the dice. If there is a break again they will let it go so non GC contenders mop up all the bonuses.
yes it can only really happen on the last few km , but a few seconds can be won or lost very easily at those gradients ........
I think they’ve got to expose the Visma train earlier than that, got to try and lose their dominance. I wonder if we will see Porte and those in behind trying to take a long attack that makes it more uncomfortable for JV. Ideally for Pog it would be that one of those sat in fifth to tenth get in the breakaway and JV have to ride at a fast pace and cause themselves issues. Unfortunately I can’t see that happening and I see the repeat of the Columbier day where they neutralise the pack.
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Roglic looked stronger than Pogacar yesterday and we havent been able to say that with any conviction for the last week. JV have a real stranglehold on the GC now and it looks all over. Interesting in many of the categories still so plenty of cat and mouse afoot. Backed Alejandro Valverde at 33/1 for todays stage.
In Rome tonight, two of the best 19 year old athletes in the game will test each other's motors over 3000m. The Norwegian Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda will meet in a big time clash. According to the pundits, it seems that Ingebrigtsen might have the edge over the metric mile, while Kiplimo might be the stronger stayer. The 3000m make for an interest test of just where these two budding starts are at the moment. I'll go out on a limb and side with Kiplimo. But it'll be some race.
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Please don't anyone mention Carapaz letting the teammate win the stage on here. It will annoy Stick so much. I am really pleased for Kwia he has been a stalwart for Sky and Ineos and that stage showed why he is so important, he's helped Carapaz to be leading the KOM and they rewarded him for his hard work.
I am really happy for Kwiatowski to break his duck and I totally understand why they did it but I feel almost unique in having backed a bloke who becomes the first guy in history to let another rider win a stage that was quite obviously there for the taking. If the bookies had a shred of decency they would pay out on both riders!
