Bernal will never be more than a super-domestique now….at best.
Which is damn shame….three way battles between Egan, Pog and Fishboy (and eventually Remco?) would have been awesome.
Re Bernal I was thinking the opposite, seemed like major progress to me compared to Catalunya
True. Is in the middle of Remco and Froome curves.
It’s been tempered. But I do get excited with the little signs. Today’s Top 10 was enough to recover most of the losses from the many tiny wagers
Yes, he is in his own schedule. Not as fast as some of us, but not left for dead.
Just bookmarking, to come back for receipts later 
Pidcock is on the hunt for some UCI points on the mountain bike the next couple of weeks.
He’s riding a prototype Pinarello with prototype electronic Suntour suspension.
It’s going to be interesting to see where he’s at. In general his class is way, way up there. If he’s not quite firing it could be some big battles as some of the XCO guys definitely are firing.
Saw a picture of him today. Using a volar slab a fairly lose-fitting wrap around. They’re either not very smart/professional or not very worried at all. He might as well be on a thumb spica splint. At this point I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s gripping a handlebar in 4 weeks. Maybe less, lol.
Ineos no longer has the upper hand in “tech”. They can still operate at a high level, but no longer able to produce miracles. Froome was their last miracle.
I read a few of these comments before I watched the stage. From what I read it seemed like Bernal had absolutely fallen apart.
Turns out he was top 10 and 50 or so seconds back on one of the biggest climbs of the year. I don’t know how anyone can see that and totally rule him out.
It wasn’t a group of the best climbers in the world of course but I still found it impressive show of form so far. 
Because Roglič, Vingergaard, Pogačar and probably Remco would have put another 30 or more seconds on him. More even if it were in a grand tour with fatigue accumulating.
And, adding more context, he finished a week stage race in this company in 8th 1:53 in arrears. This is without those mentioned above, plus Almeida, Jai Hindley and even teammates Tao and G. I mean, him doing a top 10 in a grand tour next year is probably a very good result for him… But Ineos has zero interest in backing that.
No doubt they would have.
But… This is the first real season back. He’s gone from two DNFs, to 92, to 8th in one week races this year. That’s a pretty good progression.
He may never compete with Vingegaard and Pog. But that’s not surprising to anyone. Most can’t. I don’t think Bernal at his former best could beat them either. But they’re not at every race.
I’m just saying 8th overall isn’t the disaster I was reading here. He’s still young. I’m not so quick to say he’s done. I’m also not saying that he’ll for sure be at the top again.
We also have no idea what Ineos’ plan is for him or what it was in this race. Maybe they wanted him to keep it cool most of the race just to see how he’d perform today.
Simple…because
Lower level of competition, still finished 50” back, etc. long long way from being back to his former self.
I’ve never had the sense that even his best self could even be particularly close to competing with the current best. 2019 in particular seems like an fluke transitional year post-Froome but pre-peak Rog and Pog ascendency.
Nothing against him, but I think he was extremely lucky to have his moment when he did.
I get what you’re saying, but TdF and Giro in your early 20s takes more than just luck. He was even 3rd at Strade Bianche which is surely not his ideal parcours. He beat G, reigning Tour champion, who himself beat Froome for his win. Perhaps all his luck came early and all his bad luck came in the shape of a bus, but it’s easy now to forget that he was expected to be the major player for years to come. I’ve still got my fingers crossed for him.
According to an article in a trainerroad blog post, she started (hormonal) transition in 2019 (when she was 23?)
Apparently it’s sparking controversy.
Pls keep this BS out of this thread. This is strictly for Pro Racing.
UCI’s Tour of the Gila isn’t a Pro race?
Don’t play dumb. You know exactly what this BS is.
This is never going to be settled for athletes that transition from male at birth (amab) and go through male puberty and all the governing bodies, UCI included, are never going to make everyone happy.
The best science based examination of the subject was this. Trans athletes in women's sports: Is this fair? - YouTube
So you consider it BS, but it’s definitely Pro Racing… So you can either ignore it or discuss it and sorry it seems to salt your onions, but it’s here and it’s definitely on topic.
Agree that it’s about a pro who races. But it’s not about pro racing. It’s about a man beating women in a women’s race. (Which I fully believe is unfair, for the record.)
So, I don’t think the conversation is relevant to what this thread is intended for. But if you start a new thread, I’ll definitely chime in.
Looking forward to daily discussions beginning Saturday. Excited to see how things play out between Remco and Roglic, but holding out hope Geraint can pull a shocker.