Originally Posted by
MinnMan
Not really. If he had a mechanical at 1.5 km out, then their high pace had nothing to do with him being out of contention.
Disagree, as I've said by losing him at that high pace they could've unnecessarily ridden a leadout with no sprinter of their own at the end to finish it off. Because they went off the front, faster than necessary to even ensure a small bunch sprint, they could have easily led out Trentin instead.
Senechal had 2 pro wins before today, do you really think the team expected to gamble on tearing the field apart in the last km with him as the backup plan? Senechal just barely pulled it off, he was for sure still working hard without thinking about saving energy for the sprint until very late. It was meant to be Jakobsen or bust, but luckily no one else reacted properly, with that AF guy possibly winning it for Senechal by letting him have a brief breather.
Edit to add:
Velonews quoting Jakobsen does not mention a flat, just that he couldn't close the gap created with him behind Ineos. Yes, Senechal mentioned that he though it was a mechanical, but if Jakobsen didn't say it himself, that could just be Senechal trying not to upstage their sprint leader.