Pogacar was awesome today.... made up half his deficit from yesterday... Sprinters stages next two days. Had to laugh they interviewed Cav at the top of the mountain and he was complaining he arrived at the finish 5 minutes too early. He got in 6 minutes before the cut off. He looks really calm and I'm pretty certain he has one in him. Come on Cav'...
I just wonder if Cav hasn't got a win by Paris whether the Pelaton might gift him it. Not that he would want it that way, but it's a thought.
Screaming, literally screaming at the TV as Cav hit the front inside the final 100.... only for Phillipsen to grab his wheel and come post him... Cav's team just not strong enough unfortunately... Saying on TV Cav might have had a mechanical in his sprint... Cav confirmed gear jumped between 12-11-12 which meant he lost cadence... he'd had to change his rear wheel 40km out...
Gutted for Cav. Would have been perfect to see him end it with a win in Paris. Someone deserving of the over used term, icon. Yet he's only got an MBE. That puts him on an equal footing with Gary Mabbutt.
This, all ways up. I get why cycling fans in places less partisan than the UK are dismissive of anyone daft enough to pretend that him equalling Merckx's number of stage wins makes them comparable. But in what is now a very different time for cycling his achievements have been absolutely immense nonetheless. I don't see how anyone could reasonably argue against him being the greatest sprinter in the history of the sport. A truly special athlete who would have been knighted for achieving half of what he has in a more mainstream event. And such a shame how it's ended. Genuinely upset about it.
Echo that thoroughly... and when his contemporaries come out and say what they have it shows how much he was lauded. For me, whilst Mercyx record was phenomenal, at the time there was Mercyx and a few others and the rest nowhere. In cycling today, its planned with precision with people who are elite in their own right. To execute a plan on so many occasions with so many near misses shows the brilliance of the man.
Absolutely gutted for Cav, you can see from the reaction of his fellow competitors how he was admired not only as the best sprinter of all time but as a person. At the end of the day whether he got the 35th stage win or not, he still jointly won the most stages of anyone in the history to date, and would he be lauded more if he got the 35th Probably not.
Pogacar was amazing today.... takes another 7/8 seconds back from Vinegaard. What a race this is... I only watch to check in on Orla really...
With a bit more luck and less injuries he would probably hit 50 wins . I'm sure he would have settled for matching there stage wins record if you had asked back in 2020 though .
Vingegaard, just blew the TDF apart ... he's only ever win 1 time trail in a GC before today... he didnt just win it... he nearly caught Pogacar in the TT!!!!!!... the man is a machine... Rob Hatch commentary amazing as always... "Vingegaard puts the Tour de Bed".....MAYBE!
That was some ride by Vingegaard, Pogacar was not bad, but Vingegaard was exceptional. Though, watching the previous stages you got the feeling he was holding something back, and clearly saved something in reserve to blast in the TT. Great to see Adam Yates up to 3rd, hope he can stay there.
I think a lot will depend on whether they allow him a free hand or be in attendance for Pogacar. If the latter then it will be difficult, but maybe they will just play it by ear, and release him if Pogacar doesn't look as if he is going to gain time back on Vingegaard.
And so the tour was won.... I thought Vingegaard might have left some of the TT in his legs yesterday, but none of it. To take 5 minutes plus out of Pog' closed the race. It was Sean who finished second, but Adam took another minute off Rodrique and is now only 3 minutes behind Pogacaar and stays third overall.
Certainly was a brutal stage, it was a great ride by both Yates brothers, Simon who came 2nd and Adam who gained time on Rodriguez and is now 1m 16 sec ahead in 3rd place. I guess Podacar's lack of preparation time because of his wrist injury finally caught up with him.
