diphthong

Eric F indeed correct. fireworks aplenty. now let's see how well team jv/rider jv defend against tadej and the others during tomorrow's little donnybrook...

Eric F 

Pogi being totally isolated on the Galibier with 4 Jumbos was telling. UAE has burned way too many matches, and Pogi's big efforts in the first week may be catching up to him. We will see how he responds tomorrow. Was today just a bad day, or is the tank too far drained?

diphthong

pogacar's loss of gbennett is huge. still plenty of long uphills, punchy climbs and that little tt near the end tho. vingegaard has plenty of work cut out for him.

we'll see if wout is still able to keep the green jersey with the maillot jaunt defense (altho his points lead looked pretty insurmountable last i looked).

happy to see bardet looking strong. he will be carrying an entire nation's expectations of a stage win on his back tomorrow.

thinking the abandons will come fast and furious tomorrow. we're at 159 riders now...do we get down to 147 or so? and does mvdp ride la vuelta? as much as i'd like to say yes, thinking no.

diphthong

slcbob yet another horrible prediction under the bridge. if pinot wins tomorrow, do i get partial credit?

diphthong

let's see what ole lennard has in store for the peloton tomorrow. we've got a climber's dream stage on tap, finishing with alpe d'huez.
he's the horrible prediction winner/loser for stage twelve.

Eric F 

The green jersey for WVA is on the priority list for Jumbo, but WVA has done a great job with pretty much locking it up without having to lean heavily on his team. It seems that Jumbo is well-built to defend yellow. The question - as always - is whether Jonas can keep it up without a bad day. I don't think the race for yellow is over. Pogi is a young, brash competitor, and will punch back. We shall see how he recovers from today. I do not expect him to go quietly.

GrainBrain

I don't think so, he put in an awesome effort on stage 9 10.

Oh too bad about today Tufts. Maybe you can get your buddy Betiol to tug you off tomorrow?

​​​​​ Wish I had The Faith to add Bardet to my fantasy team!

slcbob

I don't know if I'll be able to un-read ^that^.

There was a fleeting moment when my VG team had Vinegaard and Bardet. But then I went all Pog and had to make tough / poor choices.

diphthong

ye of little faith…

diphthong

me neither.

MinnMan

J-V has the strongest team and UAE's team is further depleted by covid and the like. I think J-V will protect Jonas pretty well tomorrow, and that, after today, the fireworks will be minimal.
But I'm looking forward to it.

Paul Barnard

I didn't get to watch today's stage, but reading about it made it sound like it was a good one. Had anyone predicted this?

1sp33d

I haven't watched the tour in years but tuned into this one on stage 3 and have been blown away. What a race!

Yesterday was another crazy day to see Tadej P finally look human. Jonas V is a guy you just want to root for. Quinn Simmons is fun to follow and watch his video blog they post each stage.

MinnMan

Give Pogacar credit for trying to attack,anyway.

And Froome was actually kind of a nice surprise.

Eric F 

I am ecstatic about today's win by Pidcock. Huge fan of this young master of cycling. I'm curious to know if anyone has won at the level he has in 3 separate disciplines - World Cup race winner and World Champ in CX, World Cup race winner and Oly Gold in MTB, and now a TDF stage winner. It's pretty remarkable.

diphthong

was expecting him to cover dani martinez, yatesie and gthom and maybe go for a stage win on one of the classic-styled stages/finishes since he's
had pretty solid results in classics races in his short time. he's not even 23 yet. with bernal recovering, carapaz supposedly on the way out and both
yatesie and gthom aging out, ineos just found their new gt patron...if he wants it. don't wanna pigeonhole the guy tho...loving his versatility.

MinnMan

I don't get the feeling that Pidcock wants to be a GC contender, though I could be wrong.

What a great descender he is, though. That was mad skillz

GrainBrain

Ganna is an incredible rider! Would like to see him as leader in more races that suit him

GrainBrain

Seriously what the f*** Caleb?

Eric F 

Pidcock wants to be a MTB'er

one4smoke

So, how does Pogacar gain any time on Vingegaard? Stage 20?

Scoondle

I used to be an airport baggage handler. Now I watch the Tour de France all day. And What A Year To Be Doing Nothing.
This is the best TdF since the late 80s.

gpsblake

Stage 15 might be very interesting as record 100F (38C) temps are expected. Rules are already being waved for littering, feed zones, water bottles. Plus they are going to have water sprinkers and firemen douse the roads with water 15 minutes ahead of the TDF to cool down the hot asphalt. They always have the option to shorten the stage under the weather protocols. Will the hot surface create more flats for riders?

Are they allowed to wear things like electronic coolers or can they use things like those so called "cooling" towels they sell?

slcbob

Inferior to ice in pantyhose, which will be used extensively.

1sp33d

Maybe the heat will be Kryptonite for Pogi or Vinn?

Interesting to see how the hills really spread out the riders even more than the mountains. Maybe it was just fatigue?

Oh and the segment with Quinn Simmons' family. That was funny. The media or the way they were portrayed on TV or something pissed them off. You could tell they didn't want to talk at all.