why did adam yates abandon pogacar near the end? lol
1. To try and get Vinny to react. Pogi would then get on Vinny's wheel and catapult off and try and hookup with the other UAE rider up the road
2. If Vinny doesn't chase then Yates gets a gap and waits up the road for Pogi to try and get some separation and then he can do some pacing and leave Vinny out to dry
How are you guys watching this without getting bored? Are you guys sitting on the couch with your eyes fixed on the race every day for 4+ hours? Honestly the attacks and sprints to get bonus points are interesting, but most of the race is very uninteresting to watch, and I say that as a cyclist. Most of the stars just hide in the peloton til like the last half hour or so
I watch the extended highlights on YouTube while sipping on some San Pellegrino or some other cold beverage. My place gets warm midday in July so I usually nod off for bits here and there. I usually awaken to Phil Liggett's excited commentary when stuff is getting interesting. This is interesting to me in the way golf probably is for golfers. It's a sport I've done recreationally and can relate to on some level that way done on a completely different level in terms of performance, grandeur, and pageantry. Been doing this since the Lance days and it's an annual tradition.
Liggett's commentary is excitement based. He is usually out of touch with the action and frequently gives out bad info
Another exciting stage. Lots of gamesmanship at the end.
I thought Pogacar would take some time off Vinny. Then I thought he would get dropped. Then, I thought he had a breakaway at the very end, only to get caught again. And all of that happened in the final couple of minutes!
Great ride by Wout Pohls for the win. I thought the early crash would give Powless enough gap to hold on to the KOM, but he didn't have the legs today. Ciccone looks to be the better rider for KOM. At 58 to 58 points, it couldn't be any closer!
Another exciting stage. Lots of gamesmanship at the end.
I thought Pogacar would take some time off Vinny. Then I thought he would get dropped. Then, I thought he had a breakaway at the very end, only to get caught again. And all of that happened in the final couple of minutes!
Great ride by Wout Pohls for the win. I thought the early crash would give Powless enough gap to hold on to the KOM, but he didn't have the legs today. Ciccone looks to be the better rider for KOM. At 58 to 58 points, it couldn't be any closer!
Pretty clear Powless doesn’t have the legs for the big climbs now. I wouldn’t say he’s totally out of it, but Ciccone looks stronger.
I think the TT is in Pog’s favor. Big day Tuesday. Aside from the final mountain stage don’t see many other time opportunities, baring misfortune.
I watch the extended highlights on YouTube while sipping on some San Pellegrino or some other cold beverage. My place gets warm midday in July so I usually nod off for bits here and there. I usually awaken to Phil Liggett's excited commentary when stuff is getting interesting. This is interesting to me in the way golf probably is for golfers. It's a sport I've done recreationally and can relate to on some level that way done on a completely different level in terms of performance, grandeur, and pageantry. Been doing this since the Lance days and it's an annual tradition.
Liggett's commentary is excitement based. He is usually out of touch with the action and frequently gives out bad info
Gotta agree with this. He's a bit of a drama king. Bob and vdv are more fact based. He didn't used to be this way. It sounds like he was told to add more emotion to his commentary to "bring to the casual fan".
It's tough to say whether it's his inability or the fact that he is pushing for the breaks every single day. Ciccone is in the same boat but, he didn't try to get into every break last week.
The GC guys sit back and don't burn their matches.
Pogacar didn't look great at this point, the move could have backfired and ended up launch an attack for Vinny.
So far Vinny hasn’t shown a desire to counter, just defend. He either can’t, or he’s saving it for Tuesday. Can’t wait to find out. If he loses the yellow he’s going to have to TT up a mountain to try and lose Pog. If they keep doing the team train thing I don’t see Pog faltering.
Liggett's commentary is excitement based. He is usually out of touch with the action and frequently gives out bad info
Gotta agree with this. He's a bit of a drama king. Bob and vdv are more fact based. He didn't used to be this way. It sounds like he was told to add more emotion to his commentary to "bring to the casual fan".
Phil had his day but should have been put out to pasture a decade ago.
Eurosport coverage is 100x better on every level, and Sean Kelly / Robbie McEwen destroy Roll and Vandevelde with one leg... just like on the bike.
It's weird how touchy the life of a sprinter is. Every year or so you have new guy who just cleans up. The previous guy just disappears seemingly. Notable exceptions of course--Cav, McEwen, Zable, Hushovd...
I could name 10 guys that were unbeatable then gone in a year.
Agreed. For all that goes into a sprint (positioning, timing, teammates, good luck throughout stage, crazy power, etc.) It’s amazing that year after year there seems to be a “guy to beat” who takes nearly every sprint stage.
I'm not surprised there's little depth in grand tour sprinting. There are only a few top sprint teams every year. If a couple of them crash out, one guy is left to clean up,
This post was edited 3 minutes after it was posted.
It seems likes sprinters have careers where they are really great for a while and then they are done. Even someone like Cavendish was really great at one time but then really struggled.
It seems likes sprinters have careers where they are really great for a while and then they are done. Even someone like Cavendish was really great at one time but then really struggled.
He won 34 Tour stages, in 9 different years, between 2008 and 2021. Wish I could struggle like that.
It's true that Phil Liggett's commentary is not what it used to be... Bob has to correct Phil occasionally, but Phil Liggett is a living legend.
His commentary is no longer "dancing on the pedals," but he still has an occasional comment that just captures the moment. In this tour, as Pog and Vinny are suddenly caught by Rodriguez on the final climb, who was at the time only seconds behind Hindley, Paul exclaims, "We could be looking at the podium!" At the time, it was an electric comment that exactly captured the excitement of the moment.
I'm looking forward to the time trial. If Pog gets the yellow, and I think he will, it will be interesting how the tactics will change for the remaining mountain stages.
It seems likes sprinters have careers where they are really great for a while and then they are done. Even someone like Cavendish was really great at one time but then really struggled.
He won 34 Tour stages, in 9 different years, between 2008 and 2021. Wish I could struggle like that.
Fair point. bad example. it seems as if one sprinter dominates each year but then someone takes their place. Cav dominated at one point, but then it was Sagan, Kittle, McEwan. Now it's Phillepsen. Nobody can seem to beat him but how long will that last. Maybe it's the same will all cyclists and the sprinters just stand out.
He won 34 Tour stages, in 9 different years, between 2008 and 2021. Wish I could struggle like that.
Fair point. bad example. it seems as if one sprinter dominates each year but then someone takes their place. Cav dominated at one point, but then it was Sagan, Kittle, McEwan. Now it's Phillepsen. Nobody can seem to beat him but how long will that last. Maybe it's the same will all cyclists and the sprinters just stand out.
I think this is it. Every sprint stage is in a sense its own competition. So if you're the strongest sprinter with the strongest lead-out, you'll win over and over again because not much changed between stages.
The same is probably true with the other disciplines, but the format and need for recovery obscures things. If winning stages were the biggest prize instead of the yellow jersey, I think we'd see Pogacar and Vingegaard winning the vast majority of mountaintop finishes, especially if recovery were as quick as it is from sprinting. As it is, they are each mostly racing each other, and it doesn't matter too much if someone else takes the stage win. There are a lot of stages where one of those two is the strongest rider on the day but for various reasons someone else wins the stage/KOM points.
If every stage were a time-trial, we'd also see the same two of three at the top every time, again leaving aside recovery.
Pogacar didn't look great at this point, the move could have backfired and ended up launch an attack for Vinny.
So far Vinny hasn’t shown a desire to counter, just defend. He either can’t, or he’s saving it for Tuesday. Can’t wait to find out. If he loses the yellow he’s going to have to TT up a mountain to try and lose Pog. If they keep doing the team train thing I don’t see Pog faltering.
I'm confused about this too. The margin between them is essentially a tie. I think of Pogacar as ever-so-slightly stronger in shorter time-trials (although Vingegaard is also fantastic and has beaten him a couple of times in the longer ones). Yet both seem to be racing as if Vingegaard is in the driver's seat and Pogacar needs to make something happen.
Am I misjudging their abilities, or is this just the symbolic power of the yellow jersey?
How are you guys watching this without getting bored? Are you guys sitting on the couch with your eyes fixed on the race every day for 4+ hours? Honestly the attacks and sprints to get bonus points are interesting, but most of the race is very uninteresting to watch, and I say that as a cyclist. Most of the stars just hide in the peloton til like the last half hour or so
flat stages are super boring for 90% of it . All other stages are quite good to awesome. It's not all about the leaders final ranking. Who's is gonna make the breakaway? what about the fight for the polka dot? will the breakaway hold? Will the leader fight in the last ascent or can we see a big move already in the penultimate one? Who is dropped early in the stage? Who crashes and DNF? Which team is spending energy in the peloton to catch the breakaway? etc
So far Vinny hasn’t shown a desire to counter, just defend. He either can’t, or he’s saving it for Tuesday. Can’t wait to find out. If he loses the yellow he’s going to have to TT up a mountain to try and lose Pog. If they keep doing the team train thing I don’t see Pog faltering.
I'm confused about this too. The margin between them is essentially a tie. I think of Pogacar as ever-so-slightly stronger in shorter time-trials (although Vingegaard is also fantastic and has beaten him a couple of times in the longer ones). Yet both seem to be racing as if Vingegaard is in the driver's seat and Pogacar needs to make something happen.
Am I misjudging their abilities, or is this just the symbolic power of the yellow jersey?
With Pogacar having a bunch of team mates still in play and Vingegegegeggegegaard having none left and the possibility that Pog was just play acting that he was struggling, the conservative and sensible thing for Vingegegegeggegegaard to do was just hold his wheel. After all, he's in yellow and there are 3 more decisive stages to come. In the end, seems clear that Pog was acting b/c his attack was pretty vicious. He also pressed the lap button on his computer shortly before Yates going so on balance seemed to be all part of the plan.
It's true that Phil Liggett's commentary is not what it used to be... Bob has to correct Phil occasionally, but Phil Liggett is a living legend.
His commentary is no longer "dancing on the pedals," but he still has an occasional comment that just captures the moment. In this tour, as Pog and Vinny are suddenly caught by Rodriguez on the final climb, who was at the time only seconds behind Hindley, Paul exclaims, "We could be looking at the podium!" At the time, it was an electric comment that exactly captured the excitement of the moment.
I'm looking forward to the time trial. If Pog gets the yellow, and I think he will, it will be interesting how the tactics will change for the remaining mountain stages.
He also said in almost the next breath that Yates was catching up to Vinny and Pogs when in fact he had come up on them with Rodriguez and was in the process of getting dropped