2nd rest day is done, and now Stage 16 (the ITT) is done, and not only done, but WELL DONE! Wout had the 3rd best time, Pogo had the 2nd best time, and HOLY SCHMOLY, Vingo just left FLAMES in his wake, beating Pogo by 1:38!! NOBODY expected that! I was thinking 5 to 10 seconds, and that being either way...but this? I think I will drop the rest of the extra letters from both of their already shortened name, now they are just V and P...they are both too good! The rest of the peleton is just wondering what planet they are from! One thing I will say, after watching V finish and pull his helmet off, that man can suffer like nobody I've ever seen! Riding a bike hard and fast requires that, and to be a pro endurance athlete in any sport requires that...but sheesh, to endure that amount of pain when you are all alone, no teammates or even enemies to draft behind and use for morale, just you and your heartbeat banging in your head, legs screaming in agony, and to hold it to the end. #1 and #2 in the GC standings going 1 and 2 in the ITT, that's pretty rare (usually one of the TT specialists spoils the party for most of the top GC guys). P set the fastest time of everybody at the moment he crossed the line, so it's not like he had a bad day or was slacking off...he beat ALL of the rest of the peleton, and then about 20 seconds later his world was rocked by V's scorching ride. Seriously...that's incredible...I will shut up my fingers now...I'm speechless after that performance!
Tuesday, July 18, 2023
Tuesday, July 11, 2023
2023 Tour de France, Stages 10 thru 15 (thru the 2nd rest day)
Wow, the race is just a half-stage from being half way done...it always sneaks up on me...one day it's the start, then a few stages, and BAM...half way!
Today's stage wasn't the most exciting to watch, but it looked VERY HARD for the riders...it was hot, quite fast, and did I mention HOT? 97 at the finish...yikes!
Crazy that Vingo and Pogo were off the front early on...can't recall seeing that before! Lots of possibilities, tho I was really rooting for Nielands (the solo breakaway guy)...held off some serious firepower until about 2k, really gave it his all. And then won by Bilbao (wasn't he the breakaway guy on Stage 1, name the same as the finish town I recall, but he couldn't hold off the speedy guys tho he was pretty close. In the end the Peleton finished a ways back, no change in the top riders whatsoever. Gosh, this seems to be the first day that I can recall that there wasn't any fireworks in the top of the GC ranks! Poor Nielson had a long day, didn't get any points and was off the back (on purpose maybe, saving energy for tomorrow?)
Tomorrow is another 'hilly' stage. Hope it isn't quite so hot, that really makes a ride hard (at least for me, I SUCK when it gets hot...my body goes into survival mode and I can barely make the bike move.
And hey, I'm done with the stage and can actually do something ELSE for a bit before bed! I have the TV all to myself thru the end of the Tour now (Jeannie flew to Hawaii for a girls trip, she got there just this afternoon). All right...I'm out.