UKH

Set the digibox - ITV4  live coverage 11am and highlights 7pm.

No prologue so stage one targeted by one day specialists trying to get the GC jersey, Van de Poel or van Alert in yellow?

Ineos 3 leaders (Rodriguez, Bernal, Martinez) PLUS Pidcock and Thomas. Top heavy with talent.

Pogacar Vs Vingegard should be tasty.

And Cav to cheer on for the sprint stages.

PS Cav documentary on Netflix

https://www.cyclingweekly.com/racing/netflix-to-air-mark-cavendish-document...

Tha’s either very witty, or my favourite autocorrect this week!

Entirely deliberate, honest guv! 

G isn't going.

I'm rooting for Pog.

I’ll be watching Simon Yates’ comeback

Anyone else doing the Velogames fantasy tour? We could set up a UKC league if there were a few of us on there. Entries can be made up until 11am tomorrow I think.

https://www.velogames.com/

So I joined velogames, selected a team and created a league imaginatively called "UKC TDF LEAGUE"

https://www.velogames.com/velogame/2023/leaguescores.php?league=115897714

League ID 115897714

Thanks, joined. Looking forward to a good Tour. Hope UAE is just sandbagging JV with Pogi's form, be a shame if he's not truly competitive 

.

Great result!

What wrist injury? 🤣

Great result too!

Do you think if they weren't brothers they would have arsed about in the last km and lost it all?

That was an exciting sprint finish for Stage 2, looks like it’s going to be a brilliant TDF.

No messing about - GC competition started on stage 1!

And one hell of a start line today - Yates & Yates in yellow & green respectively.

All digits crossed for Cav in Monday's sprint.

Another great day of racing.

Wonder what the mood is like around the dinner table at Jumbo, will Vingegaard  regret not helping a little to close the gap for Van Aert? The mindset during Stage 2 is very different to Stage 21 but Cav and G weren't even in the same team. 

I'm the Lanterne Rouge after stage 2 in your UKC Velo league, the consequence I think of picking a team based on sentiment not form. Still, 19 stages to go, all to play for. Another great show today, the Pog looking strong, Jumbo Vis not quite able to boss it around like last year. Missing Roglic.

I'm clinging on in the gruppetto

It did look like JV (Jumbo and Vingegaard)  let down Van Aert in that final. When Lafay went, Wout's lead out man (maybe kelderman?) just couldn't pick up the pace, Vingegaard might have made the difference. 

Not so much let him down as just burned all their matches too soon. Great bit of riding from Lafay, the sort of move that only really works from a reduced group. Vingegaard is playing the long game and saving energy it's not spectacular but it is smart.

Definitely 

And with a bit of luck/lack of attention. Van Aert was very quick to shut down Pidcock`s similar move

Time will tell and you might well be correct but I'm not sure a 20 second effort on a flat finish will have taken any more out of him than sprinting against Pog for the bonus seconds at the top of the final climb.

I seem to remember Van Aert singlehandedly saving Vingegaard significantly on the cobbled stage last year, it didn't seem to affect Van Aert too much on the subsequent stages when he was in yellow. I'm sure Van Aert will be supportive and  professional this year, but it might be a marginal gain lost. 

I don’t think Vingegaard pulling for WVA would have any effect on his long term chances. Pissing WVA off may well do. 

I haven't watched the finish in detail, was he even in a position to do a spell? It's easy enough for us to say to say he should have done a stint but different when you're on the rivet and have to make a split second decision. Even if he could have done I expect a quick chat with WVA and an apology if it's necessary would probably smooth things over.

He might have been on the rivet racing Pog for the bonus seconds at the top of the climb, but then he made the decision not to ride with Pog over the top to allow WVA and others to catch up, after that it was just a cruise to the finish for him. Apparently it was the DS`s decision, it seems a very different one to UAE allowing Adam Yates to contest and win stage 1. I know which team I'd prefer to be riding in at the moment.

Why would he waste the energy to do a pull? WVA has already said he's not contesting the Green jersey, his wife is expecting a baby and he's said he will be at the birth, so probably won't finish the Tour, plus it's not like he needs another win at the Tour to add to his Palmares 😉

Wout's reaction at the finish suggests his 'not bothered' comments may not be all that truthful!

I'm sure he's bothered about the win, but not sure it's part of the big plan for the team, especially if he's not likely to finish the tour. 

Agreed. What a support rider to have, surely want to keep him on side

Tim Declercq.....what a beast!

Reminds me of Stijn Vandenbergh.....also a great machine of a cyclist....used to love watching him always at the front in the classics. The unsung heroes....

The pundits said it would be a very safe finish on the wide motor racing track but it was a brutal thing to watch.

Fingers remain crossed for Cav on Friday but two mountain stages to savour before that.

Let the GC battle re-commence!

It's not looking promising for him. What are the odds on a Philipsen whitewash?

You might be right, but he came through in the Giro. I think he lost his only lead out man too.

Cav got pretty boxed in yesterday. IF he gets a clear run I think he has a fair chance. Looks to be in good shape, just needs a wee bit of luck. MVP is doing a lot to make the Philipson more dominant than he otherwise would be.

It's all kicking off now!

Indeed!

Tadej had nothing left did he! Awesome ride from Wout again today he's such an asset in the team that can wreck other teams plans or strategy. Vinegard put in a great performance and Hindley played an absolute blinder.....it's been a great tour so far, each stage different...

Bloody hell yes (just watched the highlights).

A three way GC race - I'd love that.

Once again, how good must it be to have Sepp Kuss on your team? Several of outstanding performances today but he did a brilliant bit of work for his leader. Domestique Deluxe.

It beats the Sky/Froome days hands down.

It was funny to hear the pundits (ITV4) asking "why did they let a Giro winner high in the GC get in the breakaway?".

The Tour is usually far more controlled than the other grand tours so it just doesn't happen.

So annoyed I am in the office for the Tourmalet!

"Jumbo Dismal" has joined the UKC League.

What a ride by WvA.

What a ride from Pog after all the hard work from Jumbo-Visma and WvA. Another really good day for the tour. 

Best Tour for years so far.

The footage of Pogacar before the final hill where he's pulling faces and flapping his lips was hilarious! What a lad!

I thought last year’s Tour was really good but this one is absolutely brilliant.

Who are you backing to win?

If they keep taking and losing time at the current rates then definitely Vingegaard!

Has to be Pogacer, I love his attitude, he races for fun, the total opposite of the likes of Froome.

Only saw the last few minutes but Jonas in yellow at the expense of burning through a lot of matches to get there. Agree, excellent tour so far. Pog will keep things fresh, welcome break from the years of death by sheer depth of team talent. Honourable mention for James Shaw today too. 

The answer today is not the answer it was yesterday.

That was one hell of an attack.

Another funny one from ITV4 referring to Pogacar: "he will eventually be too old for the white jersey but not yet".

Pogacar's post race interview was so funny, 10th win, look out Mark (Cav) I'm coming for you.

Such a character 

Last year early on Pog was taking a few seconds here and there at intermediate sprints, climbs, stage wins etc. I can see him clawing back the current deficit just through outsprinting Vingegaard without any need to repeat yesterday's attack.

Or, and I'm probably just saying this because it would be exciting to watch, fortunes might flip back again next mountain stage, and they alternate dropping each other throughout the tour.

I can see exactly that happening, at least until one gains a decisive advantage which would then lead to the other having to go all in on some sort of longer attack. It's clear that they're pretty evenly matched and one shouldn't read too much into who has the upper hand on any particular day unless the gap is minutes rather than seconds.

Anybody fancy answering in words of one syllable some dumb-ass questions about tactics? Knowledge level: "I have a bike. Sometimes, I even ride it." (I jest).

Referring to the Netflix Docu on the TdF, all time stamps from E8 Road to Paris:

1) 2m 26s Vingegard asks for a 'really hard pace'. How can that help him beat Pogacar?

2) 6m 29s Commentator says: "Pogacar has managed to isolate Vingegard" How? And to what end? I mean, if the top two GCers are duking it out together, where is the advantage to either? Don't they just draft each other?

3) 14m "Will Van Aert be able to support his leader?" What support?

4) 14m 58: Vingegard: "We want to have Wout in the breakaway so if I get in trouble he can help me" and straight after the pundit says "In order to shield Jonas..." What "trouble" is he talking about, and what "help" can Wout give him? What is meant by "shielding". Is it all about drafting?

5) 16m Wout: "...then drop back and protect Jonas." Same question as 4) I guess: what "protection" can he give Jonas?

6) 18m: So Vingegard and Pogacar catch up with Wout, who then charges up till he runs out of juice. Vingegard goes on to win the stage. What exactly did Wout do that helped Vingegard win the stage? I mean, Vingegard drafted Wout. Pogacar drafted Vingegard. 

Here endeth the dumbass questions. Be gentle with me.
 

By having team mates set a hard pace you discourage attacks and keep the pace at a steady level. If a team leader asks for this it's usually because they feel good and the gamble is that it will hurt the opponent more than it will them. Worked for Vingegaard two days ago, didn't work yesterday.

A leader is isolated when they have no more team mates in the group, this means that they need to chase down attacks by rivals themselves. You can't draft someone who has put in an attack and gained a gap.

Sit in front of him and set the pace. WvA can punch a big hole in the air!

Yes, shielding = drafting but also shepherding them through the bunch. Trouble would be if he was dropped for some reason. In that scenario WvA would pace him back up to the lead group.

See above

See answer to 1.

All your questions are really about how different types of rider come together as a team in support of a leader. Vingegaard's abilities are largely about watts/kg rather than pure watts. When the road goes up watts/kg and the ability to maintain the watts are pretty much all that matters. He's got dinky little climbing domestiques like Sepp Kuss to support him by setting the pace in the mountains. On flatter roads it's more about the pure watts and that's where a beast like WvA comes in. He can lay down the power and drag Vingegaard around on flatter roads and in the wind. Of course he can climb a bit too.

Pogacar on the other hand doesn't seem to need that kind of support!

Thanks for your reply. So in my no. 6) Wout's role was to put in a punishing pace uphill, which would inevitably punish both team mate Vingegaard and adversary Pogacar, but stop Pogacar launching an attack, and banking on Vingegaard having better 'staying power' at that pace than Pogacar, and winning as a result? 

Edit to say you already answered my Q. in your first comment! Thanks!

Yes, that's pretty much it. I don't think they'd be hoping that WvA's pace would crack Pog, just that it would stop him attacking and perhaps hurt him more than it hurt Vingegaard.  It might also get rid of any weaker rivals.

Cav so close!

It's not often I scream at the telly like that! Gutted but it shows he's got the legs.

Where the feck is Cav?

Oh well, not this time.

There he is!

Feck, he's going to win!

Oh no, he's not.

Good effort to him getting in the mix, looked like he went ok early, and when Jasper properly kicked there wasn’t much contest

I thought he had it, absolutely astonishing that he is still able to ride like that. He reckoned at the start of the tour there are 5 sprint stages for him so that leaves only 2 to go. 
 

He had issues with his gears jumping. Would have been very close otherwise

Attributed to a change of wheel earlier in the stage. They shoulda left it at 7 speed blocks/cassettes and 3/32 inch chains.  

So close!

Were you in my living room!?

Aw, what a shame for the Missile . . .

Gutted.

Me too

But what a career! Funny that so many of the current peleton watched him as children and amazing how many other sprinters have been and gone whilst Cavendish has remained.

Yup!  No more screaming "go on Cav" at the TV and terrifying the dog!

I never thought cycling would become a sport that had be jumping around the room shouting. Remember watching him in 2012, got me interested in the sport. Suspect he got a lot of people interested in cycling. Not a bad legacy really.

Very sad for Cav suffering yet another serious accident and I’m very sorry to think of him going out in this fashion. Personally, I think the symmetry of the top sprinter and top all-rounder sharing the most stage wins is very satisfactory. I didn’t really think he’d manage to get the extra one, though yesterday’s performance nearly told me where to get off!
Also, I don’t think Cav would ever put himself in the same category as Merckx, as would other oldies like me who grew up worshiping Eddy.

I thought Christian Proudhomme's comments were right. Winning that 35 stage wouldn't have made Cav a better rider than Merckx - it's not comparing like with like. But he doesn't need a 35 TdF stage win to be the best sprinter of the tour, he's got that sewn up and his rivals have a long way to go to come close.

Still, I'd have loved him to get a stage win this year and it's all the more gutting to see him crash out after Friday's near miss. I'm not ashamed to admit I welled up a bit seeing the footage of him in the ambulance, and in the video montage at the end!

Astana are making noise about a 2024 contract.  But it's all becoming a bit of a distraction from a great TdF so far.

Pog is clawing back those seconds! Will we see any GC fights in the hilly stages to come or is it a waiting game until Friday's mountain finish to see who has the better legs?

Friday, Saturday & Sunday - cat 1 & HC climbs - a long weekend for the GC and hard weekend for the sprinters trying to beat the cut!

Vingegaard looks surprisingly relaxed given what looks like the inexorable clawing back of seconds by Pog.

Trivia alert:
Vingegaard's full name is Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen. I wonder if the Rasmussen is dropped to avoid unfortunate confusion with a previous Danish holder of the yellow jersey.

It's a great tour so far because of all the stories and subplots, not despite them. Cav, Jakobsen, GC, the Yateses, sadly Mas and Carapaz, Wout's rumours, Pello and the emergence of Philipsen

Hell of a stage win for Kwiatkowski to hold off Vingegaard and Pogacar.

Pogacar - chipping away but that's sufficient as he is consistent.

Great result for Kwiato and Ineos, but I'm not sure he "held off" the big two.  It was a curiously orchestrated race by UAE - it looked liked they switched to a plan B at some point and the chase became more throttled back.  Either way Pog got some bonus seconds which  JV didn't. 

I think he did hold them off, apparently Pogaca was over one and a half minutes quicker up the climb this time compared to when he won it in 2020. 

On the trivia note: Jonas Vingegaard Rasmussen was married to Trine Marie Hansen which they announced just before this TDF. Now his full name is Jonas Vingegaard Hansen. It’s quite common to use the more special/rare surname if you have more than one, and all the surnames ending on ‘sen’ are very common in Denmark.  Sen is a derivation of son. 

It is disturbing (to us Danes) to see Pogacar cutting second by second from Vingegaard. Hopefully he has spared his men lately, so he can make it harder for Pog in the stages to come. 

That is surprising.   Short stage, I guess, but a climb being ridden flat out by a top team usually sheds many more riders than Soler did.

Thanks for the naming convention, it's trivia but interesting!

Vingegaard (JVM?) is capable of taking an occasional bite out of Pogacar on the last climb of a mountain stage.

Pogacar is capable of taking a nibble out Vingegarrd in the finish line sprint of mountain stages on a daily basis.

It's very finely balanced so a stressful weekend for Danish cycling fans but great for the rest of us!

Hopefully the final descent today will be safe for everyone.

Now when does the ITV4 coverage start today...

...NOON!

I've got him in my Velo team so was very pleased with his win, less so with Uran and Lampaert who thus far have accrued me a disappointing nul points combined.

Helluva crash! Hope nothing too bad.

Well that was unexpected.

First time Vingegaard has ever beat Pogacar in a mountain sprint. 

Funny to see both the 1st & 2nd GC teams keeping pace up to prevent attack by 2nd & 1st GC holders. Don't think I have seen that before - both doing the same thing.

Nail biting stage again. Pog was stronger in the end, but Vingegaard gained a second overall because of the bonus seconds from the last col. well played, Jonas!

Pog was too diplomatic to say it but that camera bike cost him on the summit. 

True, but after Pog was in front he didn't ride looking backwards like a track sprinter so Vingegaard took advantage of that.

Good for Vingegaard's confidence to beat Pog on a mountain sprint and psychology is not a marginal gain.

It's all so close anything could happen.

A brilliant race for the stage and a brilliant race for the GC.

Hope no serious injuries.

Wow, another great stage today.

The timetrial on tuesday could end up being cruical in the race for 1st and also for 3rd.

Anyone more knowledgebale than me (that will be a most hardcore cycling fans) care to speculate what the possibly gaps in a 22km TT are going to be between Vinngegaard and Pogacar and also between Rodriguez and Yates?

Obviously 2 mountain stages to go after the TT, but its been hard to split them in the mountains so far.

You may be right. I’m in the Dolomites, so I don’t see the incident live. I read the online commentaries and the summaries on the Danish media. Biased as that are

Today appeared to be a close contest between the two. Still +10 sec to Vingegaard. Luckily he avoided a crash.caused by a spectator. Is it me, or are they more frequent these days?

The margins are so tight the time trial may change the podium line up but I have no idea how. It only needs 10-20s time differences.

After Friday I was convinced Pog would have chipped away into yellow for the rest day. 

PS the ITV4 rest day summary is usually well worth watching.

Anyone else think the Eurosport/GCN highlights are total and utter sh**e?

E

Yes. I subscribe to gcn+ but watch ITV4 coverage despite ad breaks.

Today I thought there would be a UAE/JVM Solare/Van Aert collaboration for the stage ahead of a UAE/JVM competition for the GC.

Then Yates dropped Pogacar!

Incredible racing.

Best start recording ITV4 then start watching after one hour, fast forward through the ads, finish on time. Perfect.

Live they only gave coverage to 10m going over the finish line for the winner. So obsessed were they with the GC contenders, rather than those going for the stage win.

That's not eurosport/gcn's fault, they get the feed from the TdF organisation.

But there is only 10s between 1st & 2nd, and only 19s between 3rd and 4th place. 

It's hard to take 19s from someone when racing them on the road and they can stick to your wheel.

But if you are a slightly stronger time trialer 19s is not a lot to make up even over a "short" 22km time trial.

Ive been watching live and its preferable to ITV with its frequent,  massive ad breaks.

Seconds rather than minutes between Vingegaard and Pogacar. Which way is hard to say.

And probably preserves your mental health - those are not the ads I'm used to seeing.  Daytime TV?

I never really noticed what they were for, just the length/frequency. The ITV commentary team is much better than GCN but I'm afraid the ads swung it. One bonus of GCN is Jens Voight on the motorbike. It's also much better for not just being Kelly/Kirby combo.

I’m enjoying the ITV highlights coverage but I do record and fast forward the ads.

I like the fact that they keep choosing Analysts who are a foot taller than Gary Imlach…

I can't watch ITV4 for that reason. 

E

Not to mention Handsome Pete - it's just as well I'm not married otherwise I'd worry about my wife watching.

But what's the dangling earrings all about!!!

I tend to watch ITV4 as I prefer the commentary but switch to Eurosport for the after race chat.....Orla, Adam et al...!

Sometimes I need to have a wee lie down after seeing her outfits.

Including Ellen van Dijk.

She, Cadel Evans & Marcel Kittel have been very good.

Live stream without ads on cycling.today. Can sometimes need refreshing but has been pretty reliable this year.

Perhaps I should just watch ITV4 but switch to GCN+ for the ad breaks but I'll do anything to avoid Kelly & Kirby commentary.

In reply to 

What’s the best time to start watching live today for the top 10 riders? Thanks

The Tour website shows the start times for all riders:

https://www.letour.fr/en/stage-16

Note that the times shown are the times in France, so adjust for the UK.

Perfect, thanks

Holy shit, I didn't see that coming! An outstanding performance.

indeed!

So much time taken over such a relatively short distance - that's one of the best TT performances I've ever seen. I wonder if Pog will have anything in the legs for  tomorrow's brutal day?

Incredible!

Anyone a bit disappointed the gap is now so big? I loved the constant attack riding trying to niggle a few seconds here and there. Team JV and JV have shown they can respond to UAE attacking and I suspect we will see one outright assault (probably tomorrow) then that’s it.

No, because Pogacar will continue to throw everything he has at it.

Pogacar has nothing to lose so he will go hard and it has to be early to make a difference.

Despite the defeated look on his face towards the end today, Pogacar will not give up.

Yes in a way I’m a bit disappointed but you can’t take it away from Vingegaard, what a superb time trial. A big day tomorrow but I can’t see JV losing the tour now.

Yes, 5% faster than Pog and 9% faster than Wout...

No, I don't believe it either

This.

E

I want to believe it but he was going like… like Floyd Landis.

Or some of the others from the doping era. I hope JV is clean and Pog too. Jonas said, he had the best day of his career. I believe that.

Today could be pivotal despite the increased gap from yesterday if one of the top 2 crack. All about the top teams inflicting pain on each other and testing the powers of recovery (natural or otherwise) from the rest day and short TT. Yates faced with burying himself for Pod instead of defending his podium place?

I'm not believing anything either way, I'm just enjoying the spectacle at face value.

There does however need to be a bit of an allowance for someone just having a good day. There isn't really any point in watching if every great performance is going to be met with accusations of doping.

on the climb for Cote de Domancy to Combloux (6.05km / 6.84% / 414m)

13m21s

27.19km/h

1861VAM

7.6w/kg (est)

on the list of all time VAM scores, puts him right up there (with some dodgy historical names) plus Roglic/Pog/Kuss

Noteably - Pog/Roglic/Kuss/Landa/Mas have all recorded higher VAMs than Armstrong/Dumoulin/Schleck/Pantani/Basso

These new ketones must be good!

Todays stage looks savage (queens stage?). Be very interesting to see how JV has recovered after doing one of the greatest TT's ever 24hrs earlier. I would think this is Pogs best chance to try and break JV.... otherwise not sure where else he can do it. Can't wait to watch it

Is it coincidence or is there a map geek at cycling news?

Oh well, thats the tour over as a competition

still 2nd & 3rd places to fight for, & of course Vingegard could have an accident & open up the competition again

All true - but I was hoping for some sort of attack from Pog, but he seems to have run out of steam ... the classics and injury in TdF prep catching up with him

Looks like it. It has been great so far though.

It has been fantastic. Imagine next year with Evenepoel in the mix with Ineos!!

Has that been confirmed?

Sadly for me, two negatives don't make a positive.

But yes, it will hopefully make for an even more interesting race (not that this year has been bad!)

They thinks it over, it is now.

Has there ever been  twins in the top 5 of the classement générale before ?

I don’t think so, but not sure about the Schleck brothers. Just tried to find out and surprisingly thee have been quite a lot of brothers in cycling over the years.

https://pezcyclingnews.com/features/brothers-in-arms-famous-siblings-of-the...

What am I missing? I don’t understand what you’re referring to…

The last two names on the list make the name of a map projection, Gall-Peters.

It was pretty obscure.

Indeed!

Sad to see a great champion and a great competitor crack. It's a brutal spectacle.

Both UAE and JVM got people up the road and it really worked for Vingegard.

Unusual that so many mountain stages taken by the breakaway riders rather than GC contenders.

The, “I’m gone. I’m dead”, quote is sure to live long in the Tour’s memory.

I think he used a stronger word 😂

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=uqeUjOhzY_0&feature=youtu.be

No shortage of drama today either! 

Maybe because Campenarts sacrificed himself and the breakaway just did not arse about - very unusual!

Campanaerts doesn't have much of a sprint so they must have had a chat and decided Eenkhoorn was the better option.

It would have been grand to see them battling neck and neck up the last airfield climb - though of course with the TT result from the day before that probably wouldn't have been a decisive fight.

Another win for the breakaway - about the fourth time (two each of mountain & two sprint stages?) where "that's not supposed to happen" applied.

I reckon Asgreen is one to watch at the worlds.

Mohoric too for that matter. Blast up Montrose St, hit the dropper then swoop down to the finish...

I'll be watching as a Lidl clad volunteer crossing guard.

Or not Morohic as he's just announced he's not riding the worlds.

Remco Evenepoel might want to keep a hold of his nice jumper.

Yeah there's that too. I was thinking about a bet though and you're not getting great odds on Remco.

Are you going to watch?

Probably.

Women's tour starts today

French times.

NEUTRALISED START : 12:15 

EXPECTED ARRIVAL : 15:19

UK coverage on Eurosport Disney+ and GCN+

https://www.letourfemmes.fr/en/stage-1

My money is on a Dutch winner.

Paris - another exciting stage with unexpected attacks (Pogacar) and a photo finish. Brilliant!

Very reminiscent of the 2021 Amstel Gold photo finish.

I think Philipsen won.

Anyone know how system works? The photos were better when you could see the actual line on the road…

It takes a very thin photograph of the line, and then again a fraction of a second later.

The final image is a composite of all the thin strips. 

Interesting. I can see how that works assuming the camera is properly aligned with the line on the road which I’d expect it will be.

Exciting tour. I think Pogacar won some fans with those sprint lap shenanigans and proved something to himself at least.  Poor Jonas was a worthy winner, but failed the 'Murray test' on the microphone at the end. He's a brilliant bike racer and strong tactician but we want sport stars to have rock star personalities these days. The Pinot-mania showed how desperate France is for a French win. 

Another aside, amazing how English has become the Tour lingua franca, compared to those earlier generations trying to break into the pro ranks, where language was a significant barrier.

Vingegaard announces he will ride Vuelta - with Roglic. Geraint just sighed forlornly into his beer Sepp Kuss going as well (giro/TdF and Vuelta!! surely he could be a GC rider at a different team?) Evenepoel/Ciccone/Almeida/Carapaz ... Roll on 26th August!

They are going for the triple! But who will it be? Difficult having two captains on one team. 

I felt for him too, if only he’d had a few days to jot down some words or for someone on the team to write something for him, they left him hanging a bit.

Thank the team and support crew.

Thank the tour and the fans

Make a joke about being being outnumbered on the podium by the rival team.

Thank your rival, say you wish he’d not broken his wrist and had been on full form so you could have kept the fans guessing right to the end.

Thanks and love to Family.

Yay.

Cheers

Toby

I doubt that will be an issue. Having won the TDF I reckon Jonas will be quite chilled and happy to let the road decide.

TDF is not everything. Vingegaard has just announced, he wishes to go to the Olympic’s in 2024. Depending if the Danish Olympic Committee think he’s qualified…

In the meantime, in Copenhagen today, he is being celebrated as a national hero. Tomorrow in Glyngore, his hometown. 

interesting interview with Froomie who mentions how the power outputs seem to be more sustained than when he was on top form.. carbs are mentioned (100g/hr)- maybe bananaman is right?

youtube.com/watch?v=PZXlZQ8FGJQ&

I think it's good that JV and Jumbo (JV!) still back the Olympics. If a sport doesn't recognise the Olympics towards the top of the tree, it's just commerce. I'm looking at you golf.

I should qualify my 'Murray Test' comment above - it wasn't meant disparagingly. I'm sure it was electric in Copenhagen - as it should - the road decides.

Great link, thanks. For anyone looking at it - skip to about 3/4 through for the interview with Froome. Best to skip the presenters, who look like they’re 100kg plus - must be huge power though

More on Froome by LeMond, never heard this suggested:

youtube.com/watch?v=7xq5PQvBFvI&t=1766

Femke Van den Driessche was (in)famously the first to be busted for mechanical doping. During the 2016 cyclo cross world championships it was discovered, her bike had a hidden electro motor.

Yes, I meant I'd not heard of it in relation to CF. There's the notorious Spartacus moment that's referred to in the vid as well.