2020 Tour de France Discussion

Eurosport piping in some nice discussion about race in cycling. That’s why I love cycling coverage. You always learn something.

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May well have missed this upthread, but anyone else notice DQS using the Venge? Not a great endorsement for the new “one bike to rule them all”!

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Think Sagan is definitely missing something this year. It’s not just the Tour, he was slightly off his usual pace in the run up too.
Personally I found it quite boring watching Sagan win green from intermediate sprints year after year so I’m glad Bennett looks like he’ll take it.

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I’m a big Sagan fan but he does seem to be missing something this year. That said, Bennett looks really strong and is an exciting rider to watch as well.

I’m not a huge team Ineos/Sky fan but Bernal dropping out of the race was disappointing.

What can you say about Jumbo-Visma other than WOW. They are certainly the team controlling this race. Rojlic looks great and Van Aert is arguably the strongest rider in the peloton. This is a much more exciting TdF than I expected.

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I think Sagan is someone who needs to race to get in top shape and feel the racing. Normally he’d have had a full classics season, regroup then hit the tour. Obviously this year that was taken away from him.

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I wonder why Bora didn’t set a blazing pace on this stage trying to spit the sprinters out the back. Instead they let Cavagna stay off the front and get top points.

Maybe they think it’s useless? Sagan would need a win and Bennett some bad luck.

I think Sagan is one to race into fitness, which seems to be the case with quite a lot of riders, including the likes of Geraint Thomas.

Somebody get that guy a watch!

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What an amazing ride. Pulling of two wins like this in the same tour is just insane!

Yes and Yes :slight_smile:

I think Sagan is maybe 1% off and is facing challenge. He made some desperate mistakes and, I think, failed to adjust tactics. Meaning he’s used to having his way and being in the right spot and powering ahead. Being just a touch off this year he needed to adjust a bit. Just a bit. Didn’t seem to do that.

But… as upthread with Bernal and others, 2020 is a crazy year and this is just observation and discussion. As fans do.

Bennett really made the most of the opportunity and having DQS on his side made all the difference.

Oh… and that thing I wrote earlier about the break not making it today? Nevermind!!! But to be fair, never thought a break with all the green jersey men would get away. Always a danger of making predictions on the inter webs.

Boy that finish today was great. Lets see that power file for the last 15 km so we can dream of being 30% that good. Pretty scenery too.

Anyone want to comment again on how the flat stages are “boring” I kid, I kid!!

TT will be fun tomorrow and looking forward to the big sprint showdown in Paris. Fortunate to have walked the Champs many times and can only imagine how much fun it would be to race on it.

Cheers to another fine day and banter here on TR

Rider: TIME ?!?!?!?

DS: It’s 4:32pm

Rider: Arrrrrrrggggggghhhhhhhh…!!!

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Stages like that frustrate me the most. A guy makes a big effort, the rest of them look at each other and then 5 minutes later the gap is too big. Pleased he hung on but you just wish they’d chased him down.

On this occasion it was probably a reluctance to bring Bennett or Sagan to the line but it happens a lot.

it’s called racing :laughing:

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It’s called, “i’m not chasing, you chase”, “well I’m not chasing you’ll have to chase”, “no you chase!”.

All that effort to be there then that :man_shrugging:

I blame Luke Rowe, he’s a serial offender for this in one day races :grinning:

You have to appreciate the timing of the effort. Trentin made an effort before and was reeled back in. Everybody was a little tired including the guy who attacked but he did it and held them off. Sagan and Bennett were doing their own thing so it was up to the other guys.

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It’s the last attack that wins.
Sounds completely obvious, but a bit of luck, a bit of timing, tired legs, ungodly watts and a couple of seconds hesitation, and you create a winning gap.

I was hoping Luke Rowe would be the one, but he’s already attacked and was hanging off the back I think when Anderson launched.

Great tour for Sunweb, and they still have a shot at the Champs Elysées.
Their leadout train has looked excellent, if timed right, with the wide non technical finish, Cees Bol might have a good shot.

Probably Ewan though.

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Rowe would have only towed up guys who would wipe the floor with him in a sprint…he was undoubtedly looking to do the same thing as SKA, but got beat to the punch.

That group was never going to the line in a sprint,it was only a question of which counterattack would stick.

The type of negative racing that’s plagued Sagan for most of his career.

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In amateur racing, had a teammate who called it: “lazy decisions - always regretted”. Unless you win a lot of races, it’s better to put in the effort and try to get a result, be in the break, be in the final sprint, than to be lazy and hope someone else does the work. They don’t and then you finish in the pack and spend the weekend telling your spouse about how you shoulda, coulda, woulda…

I mean, I’ve never done that but I hear others have ;-]

Big Time Pro Race calculations are very, very different of course. If you aren’t the top sprinter its a rock and a hard place trying to find exactly the right moment.

Anywho… what a beautiful stage and attack today. Spectacular ride and win.

TT Tomorrow and Spots: Assume Carapaz will soft pedal the start then drill the climb to maximize points. Will be fun to see who gets the Strava KOM on that segment.

Today is going to be interesting with the flat to steep climb and potential bike swaps. 4 options on what to ride:

  • TT bike the entire way
  • TT bike to base and swap to climbing bike
  • Aero race bike with tri bars
  • Climbing bike the entire way

I think TT all the way might not work best due to the proper climbing section, likewise the climbing rig is too draggy on the run in.

As I see it (disclaimer I am not a pro nor DS!) you’re either going to want to swap or build a hybrid TT/road bike, something like a SL7 with clip-ons and deep rear wheel and hope the loses over more “pure” bikes are made up on no having to swap bikes and get up to speed. Could work for bikes like a SL7 that are pretty damn slipppery but still not exactly weighty.

I’m really hoping we see some out of the box thinking, something along the lines of ultra bike racing, gravel bikes with deep wheels, tri bars and relaxed-ish geo. Cherry picking ideas from many disaplines.