Oh I don´t doubt that it is possible. It´s pretty evident, since they can absolutely blast it up those mountains at the end of long stages. I´m just amazed that it is possible.
It also puts into perspective how careful the riders have to be about burning matches. One big, long effort in the beginning of the stage and you´ll never catch up with the carbs.
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I’m worried about this too - especially since Cav was complaining that it was only them and Alpecin doing the pulling as it is.
For US viewers of NBC - what is going on over Steve Parino’s right shoulder? Steve gives the in-car updates. He is sitting in a UK spec car, so he is in the left seat. Over his left shoulder we can see the view out the window. Over his right shoulder (center of car) it looks like there is a mirror behind him and we can see through the windshield. What’s up with that?
I think later in the race it can be easier for them to find other allies though. E.g. Bahrain might be more likely to help close down a break for Colbrelli now that Poels is out of GC contention. Same for JV and Bora for WVA and Sagan respectively if Vingegaard or Kelderman were to drop out of top 10. Cav is also pretty popular in the peloton which helps when trying to recruit helpers (he’s ridden for about half the teams there!). Also a good chance that at his age and having not expected to go to the Tour that he’ll fade in the second half of the race, certainly teams won’t be thinking he’s so unbeatable that they won’t want to drag him to the finish.
Also, it´s hard to overstate HOW MUCH teams want to win a stage. If there is a team that missed the breakaway and thinks they have even the slightest shot at winning a sprint, they are gonna pull. And specifically because many sprinters are gone now, their maybe-not-the-best-in-the-world guys have a better shot.
You see that quite often. That teams are pulling like crazy and going for the lead out and then their guy comes in at 12th place.
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I hope you are right, but I think you wrong. 
Colbrelli and Mathews look like they might be thinking about the Green Jersey, so maybe those teams will be more willing to pull to the line, but I think Colbrelli was working the intermediate sprints for his points.
Thank goodness. I always hated those riders who only focused on the 3 week GC. They were so boring.
Rest day randomness: Bring back the Combined jersey!!
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MvP best 5 min power PR after the whole day of racing… this is pretty insane and shows how mental aspect is important on this level.
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I wanted to alert you nerds of the Watts Occurring podcast. It’s Geraint Thomas and Luke Rowe talking shop. For me it’s honestly one of the best pro cycling podcasts because you get the real insider’s perspective.
They seem way less filtered than you’d think they would be at times. You learn amazing crap like Carapaz is nicknamed “Billy” in the team because they already had a Richie (Porte).
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I thought their best episode was some time back when they interviewed Rohan Dennis just after he joined Ineos. They gave him a really hard time, then Rohan proceeded to talk about his OCD (like counting windows as he rode a TT). I love the way they “take the piss” out of each other. It’s like being on the team bus eavesdropping
7.34 w/kg. 
Assuming he weights 75kg
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A timely reminder that people really do watch for different reasons.
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I saw him call Carapaz “Billy” on an instagram post and assumed it was for “Billy Goat” because of his surging climbing style. 
I’m late to the party, why is WVA out after being quite good in the standings? And MVDP dropped because it Olympics?
Wow what a first week! Exciting to watch!
WVA was never going to contest the GC. The climbs were always going to get him and we saw that on Stage 9. As far as I know, he’s still in the race (haven’t seen abandon news about him). And yes, MvDP left for the Olympics like he said he would before the Tour started.
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WvA also was saying the Tour was going to be a build for the Olympics and Roubaix after bis April bout of appendicitis set him back a bunch. He didn’t come in the TdF in top form.
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Teams are here to do SOMETHING though right? I get what you’re saying, but even if they’re not accomplishing grand goals, they’re not here to sit in for three weeks. If UAE isn’t going to sit on the front and control pace the way Sky used to, I imagine some teams are going to want to get up there and do it — if for no other reason than it’s an opportunity to get some experience doing that.
not to mention showing the sponsor(s) on telly
