3rd time’s the charm! That’s a team win! First pro victory in the TdF, not bad.
Looks like a changing of the guard, these youngsters are coming fast!
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That was definitely a team effort. The other 2 Sunweb riders in the break stuck on almost every single attack for like 60k.
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Ok, I didn’t even watch today’s non event stage. But very excited for what’s coming. Everybody knows the tour starts tomorrow. I believe we will know who wins this thing in the next 3 stages. Buckle up.
Tomorrow: 4400m of elevation gain.
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Pretty savage profile tomorrow…GC boys are gonna have to come out and play. J-V needs to be smart and not burn all their matches early like they have done on other stages.
To that end, I expect a break to go away tomorrow and fight for the stage win…GC boys will be keeping their powder dry until the final climb, so they will let the break run.
You seem to dislike bike racing a lot for someone who is such a fan of the TdF. There can be a lot more to enjoy in this sport than the days that decide the GC in a Grand Tour.
Today was a terrific stage, particularly the last 50k. Both fantastic racing tactics and poor racing tactics were on display. We got to see a master class by Team Sunweb on breakaway tactics and a first ever professional win from a first time Tour racer who has been on the podium on two stages earlier in this race. Great story and very exciting stage
Give the non-power:weight ratio stages a try sometime, they are different and can be extremely exciting
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You missed out on probably the best stage of the tour thus far.
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Yes, I have to admit that in my own practice and as an spectacle I find the flats really boring. In the TdF it gets exacerbated by the fact that nothing at stake for GC happens there. I did watch all the other flat stages and found the last 10k somewhat entertaining.
You seem to be a practitioner of flat racing. I am a practitioner of big mountain high altitude climbing.
I’m glad the Tdf has something for everybody.
Stage 9 was the best for me so far…
What’s an non event stage?
Tour starts tomorrow? Well, I guess Thibaut Pinot will be glad to hear that - since he was one of the favourites before the tour started 
Great race by the whole team sunweb in stage 12. All three riders in the break did an amazing job. That was some of the best tactical rides I’ve seen in a while.
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But you didn’t even watch today’s stage so how would you know this wasn’t better?
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I actually like nearly all types of road racing. The only days I struggle to watch are the time trials, those are pretty tough watching for me, but I thoroughly enjoy the tactics of the sprint stages, the climbing stages, and everything in between
That being said, give me the classics over the grand tours any day
I’m torn here: I love to watch the classics as in watching an exciting race for a few hours. BUT the stories, drama, and emotions of a Grand Tour that unfolds over the weeks are hard to beat. Without having even hit the high mountains this year we already have the drama around Thibaut (and maybe Buchmann), the yellow jersey controversy regarding Alaphilippe, pure emotions from Sam Bennett after his first TDF win, and after a dramatic second and third place I think pretty much every ‘neutral’ cycling fan was rooting for Hirschi in the last stage.
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While there has been a lot of complaints about boring stages, stages like today always risk to have zero GC attacks until the last 500m of the race; which some may qualify as boring.
Fingers crossed for the breakaway.
Exciting start so far!
I love watching time trials, especially team ones, and I’m missing that this year, so there really is something for everyone! (Not a big fan of track cycling though, but that rarely features in grand tours)
As there’s no realistic contender I’m especially rooting for, I’d just like to see an exciting race that goes down to the final TT. My prediction is that Roglic will win sufficiently comfortably that it’s not terribly engaging. I could well be wrong. As a side note, I’ve said for a while that I think it would be really good for the TDF for a Frenchman or an Italian to win (the overall) soon.
Big boys are definitely letting the break go…it is now up riders up front to pace properly and grab a stage win. The tailwind is going to be a big help for them.
But that is a big group now…could get a bit unwieldy. EF definitely looking to take back the team lead, though.
All of the top 10 GC will crash before tt and richie porte wins the tour 
If Porte somehow found himself leading going into the TT then I’d still wager good money on him crashing out on the last bend himself!
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