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.
Stage 11 done...snooze (until the last 5 miles). Bunch sprint, big surprise winner (not). What's up with all the other sprinters this year? I find it hard to believe Phillipson is that much better than everybody else. What happened to Wout? He was in there and just was swarmed out of any chance with about 200m to go...it's like he's not got his heart into the sprints this year. Christian did mention a 'rumor' that he might be heading home for the birth of his child any day now...wow, I'm not sure, but I think the team would have something to say about that...it would be quite a blow to their Yellow Jersey aspirations in Paris. He IS a pro (one of the best), and this is his job at the most important part of the entire season..sure he WANTS to be there. We shall see I guess.
ReplyDeleteOh, just thought of one other thing (I mentioned it before maybe on Stage 1, but for some reason tonight it came to the front of my thoughts during the last few K's): the stupid new Green Jersey color. Yep. S.T.U.P.I.D. It's not even GREEN for crying out loud, it's some kind of strange evergreen something or other. And can you see it from the helicopter views? NO. Er, I mean N.O. Looking for Phillipson in the closing K's and you can only find him by finding his teammates, and work your way back, and there is a rider in a kit that looks a bit diff from his teammates, but by NO MEANS is it obvious (like the Yellow). The old Green was a brigh light green, different than any other jersey out there, and you could find that one in a flash from any view. DUMBDUMBDUMB of the ASO (assume that's who made the change). Changing things for the sake of change isn't smart. Changing things to make them better is. This is NOT BETTER. FIX IT. PLEASE!
ReplyDeleteOK...that rant has run it's course...I feel better now. Continue doing whatever you were doing before this most important rant was unsuspectingly sprung upon you...or as the Military would say, "as you were".
Stage 12 is in the books...what a crazy stage for the first 60+ miles...no idea what that was all about but the pace was just ridiculous! No change for the KOM, Green nor Yellow, they just had to survive. 5 climbs of note, three class 3's and two class 2's...that's a pretty decent amount of climbing, especially considering the average speed they held (over 30mph). Can't think of anything else to say just now...except that I'm done watching early so can get a bit more sleep tonight, hooray! (July is always a tired month for me).
ReplyDeleteIt seems like every year of the past couple, the race is getting faster and faster, yet less and less competitive (outside of between Vingegaard and Pogacar). I wish we could see less domination and more competition.
ReplyDeleteI guess I'm always amazed that there are so very few actual competitors for the yellow...the last 3 years it's just been Pogo and Vingo. 3rd place might as well be another race, and everybody not named one of those two is going thru the motions, but when dinner is served they are all eating at the kids table. I wonder why there can't be 3 or 4 teams with true contenders AT THE SAME TIME. I can't recall ever really seeing that...it's always just 1 or 2. It was good to see Ineos FINALLY win one...boy are their days in the sun gone. Up until today they might as well have been a domestic team, the gap-fillers. I think if I was the ASO I'd have some words with the lower echelon teams about heavy participation in the daily breakaways. In prior years EVERY SINGLE DAY multiple riders from the lower tier teams would be flying off the front the moment the flag goes, no matter how obvious it was that the break won't stand a snowballs chance in Hell. This year, over and over again they aren't coming out. A lot of the ludicrous pace we've seen in the stages front half this year is due to that...it just seems like it's either 1 or 2 or 20+, with almost nothing in-between. It has been a bizarre year for sure. And tomorrows stage is a doozy...three Cat 1's and an HC..that will have the peletons attention. With Alps stages Sat, Sun, a rest day on Monday, and then the Queen stage on Tuesday (with a finish on the slopes of Mont-Blanc), just wow! And then Stage 20 is also a Mt stage! Talk about a tough race...with Yellow and 2nd place just 9 seconds apart, things will get nutty for sure. I think the ITT on Tuesday will decide things...IF they are still within 30 seconds of each other on that (which I don't expect), well, THAT will make for an exciting final week for sure!
ReplyDeleteSaturday morning, early...the stage is live (I rewound to the start of course)..still in the studio talking about what's in store for today, and I totally had forgot about one thing I meant to talk about yesterday after the stage. UAE on the final climb. For the first time in my poor memory, they were THERE! Pogo had FOUR GUYS with him while Vingo had 1! The UAE guys were pouring it on but Vingo held tight as one after another temp guys dropped out, and in the end Pogo nipped 4 seconds (and the 3rd place time bonus of 4 more seconds). So I can't help but wonder was that on purpose (Jumbo's lack of the usual guys on the final climb)? Were they saving their guys for these next two stages while UAE burned some matches for very little gain? If so it was quite a gamble, unless Vingo felt good enough to go with that plan, betting on himself and the team today and tomorrow. It was odd to see a lot of UAE and very little Jumbo on that climb, we are used to it being the other way around. OK...that was it, wanted to get that out before todays stage to see how things play out...there is over 13,500' of climbing today, and another 12,000+ tomorrow. And speaking of LOTS of climbing, today is do or die for Nielson. Today is when the REAL KOM fight begins. He MUST be out in front getting some points, cuz we all know that Vingo and Pogo will be scooping the big points (the HC finales with time bonuses available). He will need the full team I'd think helping here, but what else do they have to do? Name one other EF guy who has done something of note so far this year...exactly. Their GC guy has been gone since Stage 1...so start REALLY working for Nielson...maybe we will see that today. I REALLY have my fingers crossed for him to get out there and score those three Cat-1 points today...sending him energy...gooooo Nielsonnnnnnn! And now back to the Stage...Game ON!
ReplyDeleteStage 14 did not disappoint! Wow! The boys keep saying they think overall after today that Pogo has the upper hand (even tho he lost 1 sec after the bonuses were added). I disagree. Pogo has been looking to be the stronger rider ever since the ONE DAY that Vingo took him to task..ever since that it's been all Pogo. But today Jumbo threw everything they had and Pogo not only held fast but then put HIS last guy (Yates) on the front and was trying to turn the tables and put Vingo in distress. And when Pogo attacked it looked like it had worked, but he was unable to seal the deal and Vingo pulled his way back. And then just marked each other, with Vingo now in the drivers seat (behind Pogo) and when HE launched his attack Pogo couldn't pull it back, and suddenly, instead of Pogo pulling back a few more seconds, he LOST a few more seconds. And it was only Adam Yates catching back up I believe that let Pogo get 2nd on the stage regaining 3 of those 4 seconds with Vingo finishing right on his wheel. What a fight...a duel to the death. I think that was the most exciting day so far...a stalemate on a huge mountain stage! What will TOMORROW bring? We can only wait...how deep did they each go today?
ReplyDeleteOh shoot, and I totally forgot about Ineos (considering I was just dissing them the other day about not doing ANYTHING of note, and now TWO Stage wins in a ROw!), specifically Carlos Rodriguez today. He was dropped on the final climb, clawed his way back over the top just behind the dueling dudes, PASSED them as soon as the road started down, and held them Adam Yates off all the way to the line! And it's his FIRST Tour! No WONDER I hadn't heard of him...I have to think we will be seeing more of this young man!! What a great surprise! And oh sad, Vingo took the KOM Jersey today (he get to wear it tomorrow as he is tied w/ Vingo, but he no longer owns it...so sad he couldn't get a few more points today...he got nipped on the 1st Cat 1 and only got 8 instead of 10 points, and that was the diff. Well, EF has some work to do. Get it back guys...but that may be a tall order...
ReplyDeleteAnd Stage 15 is done. What a crazy, spread-out stage! Riders all over the place, big groups, small groups, just a wild one! Sad that Nielson lost his KOM, but it was looking bad as he just hasn't been able to contest the bigger mountains with the new owner on Trek...unless he can do some magic on either Weds or Saturday then it's lost. Tomorrow is the 2nd rest day...then a time trial. THAT will be interesting...I'd say that there will be a time diff between Vingo and Pogo..but which way? Locked at 10 seconds, fighting tooth and nail today to TRY to get even a few seconds to no avail..just wow. Sad that Sep hit the deck due to that careless spectator (looking the wrong way w/ the cell phone out into the road it appears). He didn't quite seem himself later in the stage...Vingo was alone for the last few K's, but he as up to the task and stuck like a band-aid to Pogo on his attacks. Oh, how about the guy up in one of the front breaks trying to take a water bottle on a high-speed descending turn? Not too smart...one handed doesn't do it (I would know..I hit the dirt on Saturday...a bee landed on me as I was descending, one hand leaped off the bars to swat the bee off me, and in that moment the front wheel hopped and washed out...I hit pretty hard in an instant...sheared off my brake-pod on the left side, but I'm ok other than some lost skin and a nice bruise on my left thigh..think that landed on a rock. What really hurts is replacing that $230 brake pod...and resetting my "days without a crash" counter to zero...it's been YEARS. Ah well..I've had worse...none of the scabs are directly on the joints thankfully...so I'll heal fast and everything is on my left side...so I can sleep without sticking to the bed. But yeah...1 hand on the bars, not a good idea. Anyway, it's coming down to the end...I'd say that Rodriguez has #3 locked up if he can TT well...I have no idea, but we will find out on Tues. Well, off to bed...SOME of us (and by SOME of us I mean ME) have to work tomorrow!
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