9 minutes and 13 riders in the break… looks like a day for the breakaway. Too bad for Cav.
Although the wind has calmed down it seems, so maybe DQS will put in one epic chase.
Sagan went home today. Apparently his knee is still damaged from the crash with Ewan.
Doesn’t the research show that Ketones work the best for a sprint stage? I might be misremembering, but I thought that was the conclusion on the science of getting faster podcast.
You may be right and if so, I stand corrected!
Some interesting takes here as well: Understanding Ketones: What does the wonder drink actually do? | Cyclingnews
This is some very exciting bike racing now! Love this!
I’m becoming an Alaphilippe fan. He has worked for Cav (team player role) and is putting himself in a lot of moves. Doing the rainbow stripes proud and such.
Bit sad to see how Sagan’s departure and how his last few seasons have gone. Know his antics have rubbed folks the wrong way at times, but he’s a pretty good bike racer and adds spice to the racing. Hoping he gets it all together again and doesn’t just fade away.
Easy take, words are free, but I don’t think this tour is as over as some might think. Stages 17 and 18 look brutal. If Pog shows weakness and someone else comes into form, it could be surprising and interesting. Big if’s… But the last few days of the tour often bring surprises. More specifically, Uran is a fairly quiet guy who knows how to win races. He looks solid to me. Ineos won’t remove the pressure on UAE. While good, UAE is not strong enough to command those two stages in the old style of USPS and Sky.
As the adage says: It’s not over until the emaciated guy lifts the trophy on the Champs.
Pretty sure that’s the old saying 
woohoo 
It honestly must be hard to maintain the drive after you are a multi-millionaire and have won every race there is to win.
I’ve often thought he was bored and trapped by his own success and having to keep going in order to keep his giant entourage employed. I thought he would have taken some breaks by now to race MTB again or go crush it on the gravel scene in the US just for fun.
Team Peter is definitely an enterprise.
Will see if he finds the right motivations and has a resurgence. I’ll root for him to do so.
It would be phenomenal to see Uran and EF take the win. Highly unlikely I think, but still fun to dream about.
Agree! Just being a fan having fun.
Definitely not willing to bet any hard earned DarthBucks ™ against Pog at this point.
I see his career a bit differently…so much unrealized potential. Only 1 Flanders and Roubaix win each and so many other races that fit his abilities untouched. Milan-San Remo, Amstel, potentially even Liege, etc.
Three World Championships in a row - over a dozen grand tour stages. I guess you can’t have it all.
No one said he hasn’t had a great career…or that he had to “have it all”.
But an honest assessment of his skills and capabilities shows that he there was much more he was capable of winning.
I’ve always thought of Sagan as a natural talent having fun and winning on his terms. Less machine-like (some GC guys) and more real.
Except after three WCs, he had a giant target on his back. Everybody was riding his wheel for a while. It’s tough to get more results when all the best in the world are riding your wheel and watching your every move.
Wonder how guys like Boonen, Cancellera, Museeuw and others managed to do it…
I think Sagan is one of those potential big time heroes who doesn’t quite live up to being the amazing role model people might desire. That’s probably on the collective “us” more than him.
Read his autobiography on a recent plane ride. It’s a weak book as books go. I came away thinking he really didn’t know what story to tell and tried to be too cute and irreverent. I kept wondering if he had just a little more maturity he might have won even more. But on reflection, that’s unfair and to judgmental on my part. He’s won a crap ton of big bike races, world tour life is brutal hard even at the top, he has been entertaining and seems a decent enough dude.
If he was different perhaps he doesn’t achieve anywhere near what he has done. But as a fan, can’t help but think he left wins on the table.
Again, rooting for him to put the last couple seasons in the rear view and to have many more successes. While it’s a fans right to be critical, basically always rooting for these guys to do well.
$0.02
Back to the tour – I want to see Cav get another one tomorrow. What a great story this is and so much fun to watch. But will take everything being perfect to get the W. Those other fast guys are not going to let him win. DQS can make it happen though. Wondering if he’s going to make it to Paris and keep green. Another very tough ask with those two huge stages looming large now.
Was hoping to see some gorilla madness today at the final but didn’t happen. Was a nice win for Politt though. Love it when guys just throw down like that and go for it.
p.s. Museeuw was poetry on a bike (and a Mapei guy too). For those new to the game, find some video. That’s how you want to pedal a bicycle. Even post surgery the guy was amazing. @Power13
It would be great to see Cav go into stage 21 with 34 stages wins, which would setup an epic battle for the win on the Champs Ellysee
If he can make it to Paris, I think he’ll break the record. Whether he can make it there through the Pyrenees… 
Some speculation that it will be tough to get through the mountains because he did not really prepare for the Tour, etc…we’ll see. I hope he does.
Agreed re: Museeuw…i have a lot of mixed feelings about his past, but he was class on a bike.
