Jeor Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 4 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said: The weekend stages this year have been utterly awful. Other than the roubaix stage there has been nothing to get remotely excited about. Yeah with 40km downhill after the last Category 1 climb I doubt we'll see many dramatic moves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Yeah they seem to have the good stages mid week. The giro had it right with the big gc stages mostly on the weekend, Zoncolon etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 22, 2018 Author Share Posted July 22, 2018 Moscon kicked out of TDF for trying to punch someone in the face, 3 strikes and you are out surely. What a bell end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted July 22, 2018 Share Posted July 22, 2018 Really? You have to wonder what is going on with him. He clearly was in no shape for this Tour which is odd because he looked good a few months ago and obviously had a superb 2017. BTW, on the stages, I agree again that the Giro has a much more exciting parcours. That said I thought yesterday's finish was excellent, first with a spectacular finish for the stage winners and then followed by an explosion of the GC guys. Which, btw, saw Landa and Bardet dropped significantly, and while Quintana held on for longer this time he was yet again dropped at the end. Dumoulin managed to hold on, as did Froome who first went a little ahead of Tim but then seemed to struggle to meet Dumoulin's counter. To be honest it was Thomas yet again who looked best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 Have a feeling there will be some gaps at the top of gc today. Always hard to tell with Froome but I think Dumoulin could grab some time over the top and on the descent. Awesome to see Gilbert get up and get back on the bike after that crash Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loge Posted July 24, 2018 Share Posted July 24, 2018 And another day without change in the GC. This looks really good for Thomas. Tomorrow is the last chance for Froome and Dumoulin to make a move. Then it's down to the time trial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 24, 2018 Author Share Posted July 24, 2018 Froome to attack. Thomas to sit on Tom D. Sky to sew up the 1-2. Unless Froome gets within 39 seconds for the tt this is done. GT in this form will so a monster tt. Good thing about 65km stage, I don't feel bad asking the wife to keep the baby for a few hours rather than 6+ for a normal critical queen stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karaddin Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 Well that prediction was well off, didn't see Froome cracking like that coming. You were right a week ago to say Thomas was the best chance for Not!Froome. Hard to see how he could win it from here without a dramatic change in form in 2 days - he looks closer to losing the podium completely. That's exactly the sort of performance I've been waiting for Quintana to do since his Giro win. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loge Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 That's it for Froome. Even the podium isn't safe after this stage. Another strong performance by Thomas. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 25, 2018 Share Posted July 25, 2018 Thomas's to lose, unless he cracks completely at the final mountain stage he is going to be the Tour winner, and deservedly so. Froome has just not shown the third-week form we're used to seeing, possibly an effect of having the Giro still in him. I guess there's still a chance that Froome could have a magnificent time trial and Thomas has an off day, but it surely won't be that big a differential. It would have been good to see these Sky 1-2 machinations and how they would have held up under challenges from Nibali et al. Thomas was helped by Dumoulin attacking but if there were more attacks from more people it would have been interesting to see how Sky dealt with them. Good to see Quintana grab a stage. If he isn't really a serious Tour contender these days at least he can still turn it on for a stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 Looking at the profile for stage 19 it really isn't that difficult with only the Tourmalet a proper climb, and that is far from the finish, with sky now presumably all in for G, he would have to have a horrendous day. He has shown over the last few years that when he is in form he is a great TT rider as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted July 26, 2018 Share Posted July 26, 2018 Bit of underestimating there of the stage tomorrow BFC I think. Aubisque at the end is a top category climb, shortly preceded by the Soulor. We will see plenty of action here and everyone will need to be in top shape or be dropped. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 26, 2018 Author Share Posted July 26, 2018 It's only 1300 metres climbed over 36km, although it is pretty irregular. I can't see anyone who matters getting dropped over that final climb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 10 hours ago, BigFatCoward said: It's only 1300 metres climbed over 36km, although it is pretty irregular. I can't see anyone who matters getting dropped over that final climb. With any luck, Dumoulin is going to turn on the gas in that climb, although her prefers steadier gradients. I wonder if Thomas will ride aggressively (for a stage win) or play it safe. And if he plays it safe, I wonder if Froome will try anything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Thomas has so far shown zero inclination to ride aggressively, has followed and then waited for the last 100 meters to try and sprint away. If he's really the best I would like to see a bit more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lmanion Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Hopefully Dumoulin goes on the attack over the top of the last climb and on the descent. Thomas' biggest weakness that I know of is his bike handling and in the past has had a few crashes. Roglic has been looking pretty good this week and can ride a good tt so will be interesting to see if ge can get on the podium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Sagan struggling with the stage. I hope he finishes so he can get the green jersey but it's not looking good. I feel like they should still be able to collect the jersey even if they don't finish the race, but maybe they make that rule just to stop people withdrawing from the Tour once they have amassed an unassailable lead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dog-days Posted July 27, 2018 Share Posted July 27, 2018 Well, Sagan made it. Tough cookie. I'm still full of admiration for Gilbert, who a few stages back flew over a wall on a descent and vanished, reappeared, got back on his bike and cycled to the end of the stage, managing the rest of the way with a broken kneecap. Froome is looking half-dead. The Giro must be catching up with him. Coppi managed the Tour and the Giro in the same year, but he did have amphetamines and probably other stuff too to see him through the worst parts. Unfortunate because I prefer him to Geraint. Froome just seems to have a bit more of a "cycling personality". Not a glamorous one, sure, but it's there. Whereas Geraint - the pronunciation of his name is the most exciting thing about him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigFatCoward Posted July 27, 2018 Author Share Posted July 27, 2018 4 best riders are all very good time trialers as well. The age of the mountain goats is over. As it should be, grand tour winners should be able to do everything. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeor Posted July 28, 2018 Share Posted July 28, 2018 4 hours ago, dog-days said: Whereas Geraint - the pronunciation of his name is the most exciting thing about him. Yeah, I didn't expect much from the last stage but it was typical defensive riding - make no moves yourself except for a sprint for the line at the end. To be fair, he's leading by a couple of minutes so doesn't need to do anything, and he did win a couple of stages earlier on that put him in this position. But he's rarely been threatened all Tour because the Sky team are just so dominant and there's no single rider out there who can really take him on. Hope Sagan can get better to have a shot at the Champs Elysees, but that's looking unlikely in his current condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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