Tour de France (2023 from p54)

Just caught up with my recording ... well done Dani Martinez, another excellent young Colombian. 

Leroy Ambrose said:

Sad watching Cav get spat on a 6% gradient today - even sadder seeing him make excuses on Twitter later that he was helping out Bauhaus today. Chinny reckon Cav... Someone tell him it's time to hang up the cleats before he's doing crits at Hillingdon... 

If he keeps going this way I'll be beating him in 2/3 cat races at Hog Hill before long  

Leroy Ambrose said:

Sad watching Cav get spat on a 6% gradient today - even sadder seeing him make excuses on Twitter later that he was helping out Bauhaus today. Chinny reckon Cav... Someone tell him it's time to hang up the cleats before he's doing crits at Hillingdon... 

He can’t be enjoying it. It’s almost sadder to see him popping up in the final run in only to inevitably fade away and not quite feature in the sprint. 

Looks like this years TDF , may be the most open for years, .... if it still goes ahead.

I'd always take Froome, probably a bit bias.  I'd doubt he's finished, but not sure he'll win another TDF, possibly could win the Vuelta:  Will need to see how he finishes the season.  Wout wasn't really a factor last TDF, seemed to understandably lose focus after Froome's crash.  Catroviejo was immense and there has been rumours of Amador riding the Tour - though he was signed for Carapaz and the Giro originally.

Still have Roglic as the favourite.  It'll be interesting to see if Jumbo can dominate at The Tour.  My outside bet is Pogacar.  Whilst I'm not sure UAE can support him up all mountains, he has the power and youthful energy to breakaway.

I think the Tour will finish.  Politically no President would want to stop it late in the day, unless absolutely forced.  I expect the Giro to go ahead.  The Vuelta? Not sure, but Covid pandemics don't follow flu models with a autumn/winter spike.  But I'd be surprised if the Vuelta manages to fully run.  I hope it does, an early November finish for a Grand Tour will never be seen again.

ForeverAddickted said:

Froome has been left out by Team Ineos

Not that surprised.

He seemed disinterested in the Criterium and was well off the pace on all five days. Pretty sure he's keeping his powder dry for a clear run and last hurrah with Start-Up Nation.

More surprised they've left Thomas out. He admitted to being overweight by a kilo, but could surely lose that with the relevant gains in the next week or so.

I'm surprised as Froome at the Tour De L'Ain had very good numbers pulling on the mid-slopes.  The Criterium was just that bit faster on longer stages.

Without Thomas and Froome, Inneos don't have to ride in the traditional Mercx/N European way.  It looks like they'll not beat Jumbo riding this way.  Amador, Bernal and Carapaz can handle themselves in the mountains for a whole Tour.  Any weakness in Jumbo's big engines they can go.  Still think Roglic properly supported by Jumbo, unlike their disaster at 2019 Giro, will win.

Will be looking forwards to watching Froome at the Vuelta though.

Just saw that the yates brothers will split up from next year. Adam is heading over to ineos. Strange as I can't see him getting to go for many grand tours in that team (what with Porte going over there as well) and I never really saw him as a full domestic. 

ForeverAddickted said:

Karim_myBagheri said:

Just saw that the yates brothers will split up from next year. Adam is heading over to ineos. Strange as I can't see him getting to go for many grand tours in that team (what with Porte going over there as well) and I never really saw him as a full domestic. 

Surprised that Porte is effectively going back to Ineos, shame he had his injury issues as he could have been a decent rival for Froome in his prime

Also surprised Richie Porte going back ... always been a favourite of mine. Could be interesting with Yates. 

Porte is even worse than Thomas for having a Jour Sans. 

Yates will get more chances at a GC than Titchy Richie - who's gone back for the cash after failing as a GC contender at BMC and Trek. 

Cav has to hang up now, surely? It was embarrassing seeing him get a couple of bumps and watching his arsehole fall out last week. It's not just his top end he's lost, he's also gun shy. Can't be that in a sprint. 

Connor Swift, Luke Rowe and Hugh John Carthy without checking lineups.  When Brad rode for Cofidis we only had Millar at Saunier Duval in 2006.  After Boardman it was just Millar, until prob the mod noughties.

ForeverAddickted said:

ColinTat said:

Connor Swift, Luke Rowe and Hugh John Carthy without checking lineups.  When Brad rode for Cofidis we only had Millar at Saunier Duval in 2006.  After Boardman it was just Millar, until prob the mod noughties.

Cheers, didnt think of Luke Rowe at the very least!! - It is the four of them though

Good to know its more than just the one guy, although we need a Sprinter to follow in Cavendish's footsteps

All our sprint talent is hoovered up by BC and lives exclusively in the velodrome like hermits. We've had lots of potential in that department over the years get ruined by the Olympic sausage press of the BC Elite Track Programme when they should have been stagiares for pro conti teams in Europe (Adam Blythe, Owain Doull, Phil Hindes, Joe Truman to name just a few).

That's starting to change, as it is for lots of other British riders. Matt Walls has just signed for Bora, and Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright (both from VC Londres) have got contracts with Ineos and Bahrain McLaren, Harry Tanfield had a year at Katusha and is now with AG2R, Matty Holmes - who was bashing round the domestic scene with Madison for a few years is now with Lotto Soudal (and won his first ever world tour race earlier in the year in Oz), and talent like Pidcock has been sensibly left to develop before signing up for a world tour team - so things are definitely looking up.

It's still more difficult for young British kids than continental youngsters because the pro conti setup in Britain is non existent, and - outside the Dave Rayner fund - it's very difficult and expensive to get talented kids out to Belgium and France where they need to race to develop properly. For instance, one of the riders I coach is 17 and has lots of untapped potential (wasted his junior years as a trafleet so doesn't have the experience of junior racing to get teams interested, but won his first race (in the senior categories I might add) by a street, outsprinting the bunch and crossing the line 50 yards ahead of them, had three other podiums in his first four races), and before covid happened I had plans for him to get his second cat license early in the year then take him to Belgium for a couple of weekends to do some kermesses (basically to get his head kicked in and see how much he loved it 🤣) but it's so expensive to do that without any backing, and we'd have been relying on his mum and dad to fund it.

But it's a lot better than it used to be. Of course, Brexit will fuck it right up 😒

Leroy Ambrose said:

ForeverAddickted said:

ColinTat said:

Connor Swift, Luke Rowe and Hugh John Carthy without checking lineups.  When Brad rode for Cofidis we only had Millar at Saunier Duval in 2006.  After Boardman it was just Millar, until prob the mod noughties.

Cheers, didnt think of Luke Rowe at the very least!! - It is the four of them though

Good to know its more than just the one guy, although we need a Sprinter to follow in Cavendish's footsteps

All our sprint talent is hoovered up by BC and lives exclusively in the velodrome like hermits. We've had lots of potential in that department over the years get ruined by the Olympic sausage press of the BC Elite Track Programme when they should have been stagiares for pro conti teams in Europe (Adam Blythe, Owain Doull, Phil Hindes, Joe Truman to name just a few).

That's starting to change, as it is for lots of other British riders. Matt Walls has just signed for Bora, and Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright (both from VC Londres) have got contracts with Ineos and Bahrain McLaren, Harry Tanfield had a year at Katusha and is now with AG2R, Matty Holmes - who was bashing round the domestic scene with Madison for a few years is now with Lotto Soudal (and won his first ever world tour race earlier in the year in Oz), and talent like Pidcock has been sensibly left to develop before signing up for a world tour team - so things are definitely looking up.

It's still more difficult for young British kids than continental youngsters because the pro conti setup in Britain is non existent, and - outside the Dave Rayner fund - it's very difficult and expensive to get talented kids out to Belgium and France where they need to race to develop properly. For instance, one of the riders I coach is 17 and has lots of untapped potential (wasted his junior years as a trafleet so doesn't have the experience of junior racing to get teams interested, but won his first race (in the senior categories I might add) by a street, outsprinting the bunch and crossing the line 50 yards ahead of them, had three other podiums in his first four races), and before covid happened I had plans for him to get his second cat license early in the year then take him to Belgium for a couple of weekends to do some kermesses (basically to get his head kicked in and see how much he loved it 🤣) but it's so expensive to do that without any backing, and we'd have been relying on his mum and dad to fund it.

But it's a lot better than it used to be. Of course, Brexit will fuck it right up 😒

Also a good young lad named Jake Stewart has been picked up by FDJ, he got second place on stage 1 and the overall at the Tour du Limousin (https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-du-limousin/2020/gc)

Seems to me like every single bike in this year’s tour has disc brakes.

And Pogacar for podium.