diphthong

who ya got for catalunya stage three? thinking ben king in a breakaway to finish off that big climb with a win.
other two names that popped into the noodle were kuss and josé herrada but since both (as are 70+ riders)
are within two minutes of the podium, they won't get a lot of freedom. ben king is already 10 mins down and no
one on his team is closer than 7 mins to the podium. team rally be hunting stage wins. go ben!

slcbob

What documentary, MinnMan ?

I'll hunt for it. Starting with the catchy titles like LandaGate. Mas o menos. Balachella. By a Nairo Margin. Unzue upon a time.

MinnMan

The Least Expected Day on Netflix. It's about their 2019 season.

MinnMan

Actually, this one

GrainBrain

Oh nice, I remember seeing Ben pull off a long distance win in the 2018 Vuelta, I checked and he won two stages that year. Didn't realize Rally was in this !? Lucky for me I paid the nbc piper so I can stream this live. Maybe a chance for de gendt as well, though to be honest it'll probably be some unknown youngster. There's a lot of gc firepower so maybe the whole race is controlled till that final hc finish so I'm saying it's going to be Almeida who defends ... Green? Is that what the leaders jersey is ...?

slcbob

^ white with green stripes. Different color stripes on white for all the leader jerseys.

It's weird to see a non-maillot jaune / non-ASO race on NBC.

Almeida had a heckuva run last year but there's a lot of mountain GC firepower. It should be a barnburner. I wonder who will chase the break, and then EVERYONE will light it up.

diphthong

oemgee...a chaves sighting!

slcbob

David Hunter hops on the Movistar laugh train here in his "DS Mode" section. Ha ha. I wonder if he watched the movie.

Interesting hypothesis that Soler was sand-bagging it today. Maybe Froome, too? Nah, I don't think so. But best wishes for Chris and let's see what the crafty Spaniards get up to.

GrainBrain

Soler was practically with the early grupetto I'm thinking he'll try. I thought of Dan Martin before reading that great website and insight! Maybe de gendt will get someone to work with him?

Nah; Ineos will slam it to the line, where Hugh pips Kuss.

Also in other news Morkov and Bennett are awesome as usual

diphthong

catalunya stage four looks to be a banging one...kuss, kamna or lucas hamilton? horrible prediction heart sez kamna...horrible prediction hed sez kuss. kuss.

diphthong

fly kamna fly! big move. gonna be difficult to keep the entire peleton at bay on that last big climb.

*edit* wings clipped early on final climb. good effort tho, lk.

GrainBrain

All was not lost since kelderman didn't have to chase. Feel good result at least with Chavez! Holy jeebus Rohan is a force to be reckoned with!

MinnMan

When he wants to be.

Ineos Grenadiers in da house. What a strong team. Even for the Ineos/Sky teams of yore, I can't remember a team with such depth. Can J-V compete with them again in the Tour this year?

diphthong

yah, if ineos brings this team to the tour (or any gt) gonna be tough for primoz or tadej or anyone else to take the top step. still early tho...ineos could implode.

MinnMan

I was never as much of a Sky-hater as many others. Yeah, I kind of resented that their winningest feature was their bank account, and I didn't think it was healthy for the sport for one team to dominate so.

But now it's also apparent that part of the problem was Froome. I find the current Ineos Grenadiers squad to be much more interesting and likable.

I wish Froome well and I'm sorry that his career has hit such a tailspin, but his quick exit from center stage has been a blessing for the sport.

diphthong

horrible predictions continued...catalunya stage cinco...the 41 yo green bullet.

dnf for hindley on stage cuatro...anyone know why? couldn't find it and didn't watch the stage.

GrainBrain

There were a TON of DNS yesterday, George Bennett, Jai, Zackarin among like four others. Bennett had stomach issues but didn't hear about the others.

Hoping a decent break forms on the first climb to stay away. Geraint alluded to his preference for Sky tactics so won't see anything fantastic there but maybe they send carapaz into the break and watch movie star chase all day. Would be cool to see some Rally guys in the break.

... Yes I had to lookup that reference ... He's only 40 till April 25th ... and looking really, really good still ... I'm younger and barely drag my feet out the door in the mornings ... Too bad he's so close on GC but if he rides the Ineos train he could sprint for it. But yesterday I watched Mas pull the train and then ... Chavez went darting out

​​​​

MinnMan

It really does seem that Movistar has gonzo tactics. the Lanterne Rouge lit into them after stage 1. But I'd love to see Valverde get a little glory here.

slcbob

Good for Chavez. Finally something to smile about. Though it hadn't stopped him.

Froome isn't the most entertaining rider but he's a class act. Sky tactics were Sky tactics whether he was the featured rider or not. I think the issue transcends him. Was it the TdeF or Vuelta last year when they lost Plans A, B, and maybe C and instantly turned into a wolf pack of their own? What a crew of "domestiques." I'm not a Sky hater or lover either, but it should be interesting to see how they roll in whatever new m.o. they're framing up.

I'm Team WVA for E3. As I write this, a formidable break has already formed in Catalunya. In the unlikely event they come back, I think Sagan may have a great chance to disappoint again, a little bit of the wheels of Bala and Almeida.

diphthong

yay kamna! finally stays away for the win.

diphthong

since the horrible predictions seem to be rolling along in a comfy fashion, let's posit hirschi as the catalunya stage six winner. been quiescent so far...

GrainBrain

I'm thinking Mohoric myself but who are we kidding with The Train.​ finishing only a minute back yesterday ...

slcbob

I bet a Hirschi win would change ooga-booga from quiescent to tumescent in a heart beat.

This is one where I had hoped Sagan would score me some points (I realize that's another thread) but there's a lot of break away stuff between there and here. I don't think I'll get that. Or a pony for Christmas.

GrainBrain , Mohoric or Cavagna do have a compelling nouveau cache to them. I hope for the former. But if I were a wagering man, I'd split my bet between the latter and de Gendt.

slcbob

Well that was unexpected. When I finally get my pony this Christmas, I'm going to name him Trigger and we'll go on long walks together in the wilderness.

Welcome back from Covid, Peter.

one4smoke

Not much competition in that sprint ...but still great to see him win.