one4smoke

Sagan may not win every sprint, but there is no other rider that gets you as many points as he does. Yeah, a few of the pure sprinters can outrun him, that is... when the course is flat and easy enough ...so they can stay in the running.

But he and Alaphilippe are the two best in the sport right now. Both, just basically really good at every aspect. With obviously Sagan leaning more to the Sprinter’s side, and Alaphilippe more to the Climber’s side.

GrainBrain

Unfortunately his left hand was fractured and he abandoned. A bitter blow to EF.

I will reflect on if I shall make the forbidden transfer. Curses I can make no transfer till Wednesday or Thursday. I will probably go ahead and swap TJ for Woods.

Geraint looking awesome and well placed during the sprint finish.

2cam16

Peter is smart. He knows how much he needs to keep his lead and to pull away from those "close" to his lead. He knows who's around him at the finish.You know he has more in him. Definitely Alaphilippe is like him but on the other side. I like this guy. He has years to come.
Poor Tejay is out. He admitted it was his own mistake.

Rajflyboy

TJ can never hold it together in the tour

I think he looks like he is on deaths door every year (too thin). A lot of people can’t handle being that thin. Even Sagan said he can’t come to the tour at a reduced weight. He could not have the power to keep up.

diphthong

the riders are losing weight during the tdf. if you come in already lean...tejay has issues (who doesn't?) but i have a
renewed respect for him after this particular ride. looking for him to slay it in the vuelta. that race gets potentially
better every day. maan, that is gonna be a fun time in the vuelta fantasy league.

stage eight...love this stage. lots of bends, hills and descents. speaks to breakaways and to a gc rider or two or more
getting caught out/exposed. again...a buncha riders that could take this but still looks more like a classics stage and the
first name that popped into the empty cranium was gva so going with gva to take stage eight.

Rajflyboy

They are reporting that the teams are measuring every calorie each rider is consuming each day (even counting feeding during the race). They did not do this in the past.

slcbob

^ I heard the same report. Was that Steve Porino gossiping from the back of the moto while he fiddled with the musette? I suspect there's a shred of truth to it as being an new area of marginal gains, and everything is just more more more science, and then you have some teams like AG2R and Movistar and Wanty that just can't/won't/aren't.

diphthong

stage nine...thinking barguil or the green bullet. let's go with barguil.

one4smoke

Matthews is due a win. Maybe today?

diphthong

matthews has consistently been in the mix. real bummer about de marchi today.

one4smoke

Everybody took it rather easy today, except for the breakaway. I suppose Ewan is the next in line to take a stage for the pure sprinters. Who wins first, him or Matthews?

Gonna be very difficult for anyone in our little league to gain ground, with most having virtually the same picks. Will take some major withdrawals for those picks that vary just a tad, for anyone to make up points. I don’t think the running order has moved since we started!

slcbob

Yes, it has pretty much settled in to a rhythm contrived by conventional wisdom unconstrained by hard choices.

So what do you say? How about a free transfer for anyone who is willing to exchange a rider still in the race who has scored points, to take Richie Porte?

Live a little dangerously Buck the odds.

GrainBrain

I will leave TJ in my lineup, even in this fantasy world it seems cruel to turn away after his awful crash.

My thoughts go out to demarchi, the tour is a cruel beast that fuels our insatiable joy in watching these great men suffer.

I went out for a near 100km ride the other day on two lane country roads and every so often found myself straying from the white fog line. My bike handling skills orders of magnitude less then these men.

I'll take up your Porte proposition.

Who should I transfer, Fuglsang or Bernal?

I'm keeping the rest of my ragtag band of GC hopefuls, breakaway bandits and domestiques. Also keeping Sagan because he's cool. Herrada got me points so happy Bastille day!

2cam16

Haven't touched my line-up and I will leave Tejay in there too.

Caretaker

Well why not, it's fantasy after all.

diphthong

stage ten-sagan the hulk.

diphthong

i def miss the usual format. i seem to remember saying somewhere that i'd be happy skipping july and going straight to late august. viva la vuelta!

2cam16

Because above.

slcbob

Our values:
Honor
Integrity
Lack of Commitment


Our picks? THIS SHALL NOT STAND.

DLBroox

Made some bad choices from the start because I was having trouble with the browser I was using but am keeping them. I’m good winning Lantern Rouge legitimately!

dstrong 

What a fantastic first 10 days of the tour! Every day filled with compelling racing and great finishes! While Ineos hasn't been their usual dominant self and claiming yellow early on, both Thomas and Bernal are sitting pretty to assume the lead if/when Alaphilippe falters (should hold yellow until Saturday). Good for my fantasy team but a bit like not being an F1 Mercedes fan and watching them win every race. Predictable.

van Aert continues to impress and could join the Sagan/Alaphilippe conversation in the next few years. I had him on my fantasy team up until the minute and swapped him out for Viviani...which I'm fine with.

Looking forward to a short, intense week of racing!

GrainBrain

Viviani seems to be doing well, but oh the look on his face as van aert pipped him on the line! What is going on with Michael Matthews leadout train? They need to get out of his way!

slcbob

Rest day reflection: yes, Colbrelli and van Aert would have been good picks.

I almost predicted that there would be a rest day casualty. I'm glad to see there wasn't, and that I am almost able to take a more upbeat and positive view of the world.

How about Xandro Meurisse, picked by 1% of players, racking up 121 points to date? !! Just outside of the top 10 and the clear winner of the diamond in the rough cup at this point, though with no reason for us to venture into the rough with no budget cap, it's a pyrrhic victory.

Is stage 11 lumpy enough for Sagan? Not lumpy enough for van Aert to be free of Groenwegen? I'll float Ewan as the victor, with little confidence that I'm right.

diphthong

rest day recap...

slcbob leading the pack with tim/onefor smoke in second and dstrong poised to potentially leapfrog either/both.

wout woot yet again. jumbo killed the first half of le tour. they also effectively ruled the giro with primo in contention
for so long. great year and some great rides for that team. i think the biggest disappointment so far is team movistar.
impression of the sprinters is that for the first time in a long time, no one has separation speed. wins are a combination
of speed, luck, positioning and teamwork with everyone's top speed seemingly about the same. nothing new with luck,
positioning, et al but there's no automatic other than sagan ruling the green jersey roost. thought deegee would be exhibiting
that separation speed. have loved the lumpy, classics styled stages we've had so far. hard and fast enough to keep the gc guys
and bantamweight climbers honest and right in the classics specialists wheelhouse. and how long can alaphilippe hold the
maillot jaune? burned a lot of matches in the first ten stages. super-talented but i think the inexorable grind of the usual gc
suspects will spectacularly crack him in the alps. he may well leave the pyrenees still wearing yellow.

diphthong

stage eleven...thinking a breakaway succeeds. wellens goes again but calmejane has been bery bery quiet. going with calmejane.
as much as i'd like to pick lampaert from dqs or naesen/gallopin from ag2r, i think they'll be staying home to cover their respective gc guys.