If I was EF, I would try and put people in a break, and then try and launch Carapaz on the penultimate climb with the goal of gapping O’Connor and having the folks in the break pull Carapaz from the top of the penultimate climb into the final climb
2 Likes
Yeah…I was debating if it is better for him to wait until the last climb to out in one vicious attack or go for a long one. I think I agree that a long range attack is his best bet - 1) it plays to his strengths and 2) O’Connor would probably hesitate to match him so early.
My thinking for the long range is that Carapaz needs 1 minute to tie O’Connor, and then needs a buffer to account for on paper O’Connor being a better time trialist. Which to me means that Carapaz needs to be looking to get 1:30 - 2 minutes on O’Connor, which points to a longer range attack. Plus if Carapaz does a long range attack, Mas has to go with him, and should work if O’Connor is dropped as gapping O’Connor is also in Mas’ interests
1 Like
Is Mas the most expressive rider? Top5?
Kuss for the stage win Saturday.
3 Likes
Unfortunately, Kuss is nowhere
1 Like
Oh well, it was worth a try.
Annus miserabilis for Visma.
Yes. Given the GC group at the moment, I would have expected Kuss to be in it unless he’s sick. This has been a year to forget for Visma. I hope they have a better 2025 season or Pog will have an arm chair position for a 4th Tour victory
2 Likes
Agree 100%
Watching Sepp last couple weeks, thought maybe his form would build. He’d lost enough time to perhaps be allowed the leeway to go for the stage win today if it was in the legs.
Between crashes and Covid it’s been a difficult season for so many riders. Nothing like making a hard job harder. It does make cycling very relatable. Many of us have had drawn out recoveries from accidents and Covid can hit hard.
2025 - I’ll be rooting for Vinnegard to regain his top form. He did a heck of a ride at the TdF given the crash and lack of preparation time. A couple more years of head to head Pog v Vinno with their excellent support squads is something to look forward to as a fan.
Last climb of the Veulta in progress!!
1 Like
I don’t understand Mas & Carapaz’ tactics today if they want to move up places in the GC
2 Likes
So unless something crazy happens in the ITT tomorrow, O’Connor should end up on the podium
2 Likes
Ben O’Connor has gained a fan. He rode his heart out the last week hanging tough and digging deep. His team deserves kudos as well. Some strong bike racing.
5 Likes
Good for o’Connor if he makes the final podium….i honestly didn’t give him much chance of being there.
I still don’t think he is a top GC rider as all of his higher placings have come as a result of first losing time and then been given some leash to claw back time.
But he rode in a determined fashion after getting the jersey and deserves the credit.
1 Like
I think he is one hell of a GC rider… He didn’t get his Stage win for free; it was a ride as classy as it can be. And he defended his lead against hard charging riders. Roglic beat him but the Slovenian is the most succesful stage racer of the last ten years. No shame in losing against an alien.
Say what?
- Chris Froome - 7 Grand Tour victories
- Roglic - 5 including this year’s Vuelta, but no TdF wins
- Pogacar - 4 including this year’s Tour
- JV - 2
- Bernal - 2
- Quintana - 2
So Roglic isn’t the “best” Grand Tour rider by any stretch.
Stage racer, not GT rider. You may or may not like the PCS alltime ranking, but just take a look how good Roglic was/is. And that is with uncountable incidents.
Where are you seeing that Roglic is the “top” stage racer on PCS?
FWIW, Rog is the SECOND highest current racer (Cav is retired) in the PCS all time list.
Not that I care about their rankings, just answering the question.
EDIT: Well, to tell you the truth, in all this excitement , I’ve kinda lost track of the count. Fixed.
I’d likely agree… Pog and Roglic are the only two in the debate. Yes Froome had a good TDF run, and good Grand Tour years, but he didn’t rack up the stage race wins in the week long races like Roglic has. Yes Pog is dominant in his wins, and head to head, he’s gotten the best of Roglic in a few big ones, and obviously Roglic has a major omission from his pal mares in no TDF win…
But, with that he’s gotten wins at races that Pog hasn’t, including: Dauphine, Burgos, Basque Country, Romandie, and a handful of Vuelta’s. I’m sure he’d be willing to trade all those for a single TDF win, but I do think its fair to say he’s a more successful “stage racer”.
Pogacar 19th, Cavendish 25th and Roglic 26th on that particular listing.
We could move on and all agree that Roglic is an outstanding bike racer with a fabulous palmares. We don’t need a contrived points system or list to recognize his accomplishments.
2 Likes