The thing is, Jonas has no real racing in his legs and I think, particularly at this level, that may be to his detriment. We saw this last year with Pogačar. That said, as much as i want Pogačar to win, they are all such elite athletes it's a joy to watch them all.
Not a huge cyclist myself but absolutely fascinated by top level cycling in terms of how it works, strategy etc. love the TDF and just finished the second series of unchained on Netflix which I thought was brilliant. cracking article here as well on team chefs https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/articles/cxxx568grlwo
Cheers - that’s an interesting insight into the support the chefs provide along the way. I'm just watching Unchained 2. It’s good because you get to know the characters of the various riders. Some are more likeable than others! Cavendish always comes across well.
Personally I don't think the top riders, the superstars of the sport, are on it. Some in the Peleton may be but they are usually caught. However, if they are ahead of the science, then I suppose only time will tell and a lot of decent careers will be tainted forever. I think the UCI are more worried with cheating using e-Bike technology but in a very sophisticated way.
Seen a lot of suspicion around Wout Van Aert and TUE's which is a shame as he is one of my favourites.
Jonas' performance in last years' time trial was the first time I thought something smelt iffy. But I'm giving him the benefit of the doubt. Froome on the other hand absolutely dropped off a cliff after he was linked in the press to doping and DUEs etc, having previously come out of nowhere in his original rise to the top. I am unfortunately very suspicious of him.
The Tour de France official App is good if anyone is interested. Loads of stats and content about the teams and riders etc, and a good / useful description of each stage.
It’s always in the back of your mind that some of them will be cheating. Probably more likely to be the lesser known domestiques who bust a gut each day to help the team leaders. I can’t imagine the top riders are at it as there’ll be so much testing going on and with the amount of data available now, any dramatic / out of the ordinary performance would be picked up. As mentioned above the area they’ve got to watch out for is for electronic motors concealed in the bikes.
Brilliant, well done Cav!! I was trying to avoid seeing the result but saw it by mistake. Will enjoy watching the highlights tonight!
