2024 Tour de France, week 2

 Once again, I'm amazed at how suddenly the first week of le Tour has passed us by! A LOT has happened (as it always does), but this year I'm trying to do better at remembering some of these things.

I have a theory as to why time seems to speed up as I (we) age, and it's this: I believe that my life gets in a 'rut' so to speak, meaning I'm not doing as many 'new or memorable' things as I did when I was younger. Due to this, as the days and weeks go by, I have fewer 'memory points', which I believe are important in virtually slowing down the passage of time. The more memory points I have, the slower time seems to have been passing by as I have more memories (which is why vacations and such are easier to remember).

So on that premise, I have been taking notes the past week and will post some of the things that I want to remember from this years Tour (I will try for no more than two MP's for each stage, one would be best). And please feel free to post your own Memory Points!

Stage 1, Saturday, June 29th. Stage start in Florence Italy, Frank Van Der Brock, Team FDJ, 23 years old, riding in his FIRST Tour, been in the break all day, stays away as the break comes apart, and then his captain Romain Bardet bridges the gap solo (WOW!) and Frank then pulls Romain all the way to the finish behind a CHARGING peleton DESPERATE to catch them (and failing). Bardet pulls out to WIN the stage and earn his FIRST Yellow jersey of his career (and this is his LAST Tour)! As they cross the line, Romain turns and points to Frank with both arms, showing his gratitude to his amazing domestique (who SO HUMBLY let his chance to win a stage AND a Yellow Jersey slip into his Captains hands), and yet Franks smile and joy at the outcome of the stage was undeniable! We shall see, but I think THIS might be one-of, if not THE most memorable things from this years Tour! It was an AWESOME moment (and this is only Stage 1)!

Stage 2, Sunday, June 30th. Virtually unknown (to me at least) rider Kevin Vauquelin, team Arkea, wins the stage from the breakaway (Arkea's FIRST stage win since the team started racing in the Tour 11 years ago). As for the GC, there are 4 guys tied for zero time: Pogo, Remco, Vingo and Carapaz. The only notable absence at zero time is Rigo, who is not even in the top 10.

Stage 3, Tuesday, July 1st. Last day in Italy (the finish is in France). Biniam Girmay, Team Intermarche Wanty wins in a bunch sprint, which is both his and the teams FIRST TDF win! Also it's the first win for a rider from Eritrea, (a TEENSY little country in north-east Africa). Girmay has been trying for two years now, and this was a really wonderful win for him in a field of top sprinters, and hopefully it gives him the confidence-boost he needed and he will continue with more Tour wins! Great memory of this years Tour! Also of note today was Carapaz (Team EF Education) gets the Yellow on count-back. So the first 3 stages have had 3 different Yellow Jersey wearers, and for all of them it's their 1st time (that's pretty cool too!)

Stage 4, Tuesday, July 2nd. Today Pogo sprints away from the rest of the GC guys in the final 1k of the Col de Galibier climb, and then his INSANE descent (down the steep side) is absolutely hair-raising-scary, and he wins the stage (and the Yellow Jersey) after putting time on all the other GC favs! Of the rest of the GC it's Remco now in 2nd ahead of Vingo, Ayuso and Roglic. I will remember that blistering descent for a long time, it was amazing and certainly death-defying! I was cringing at every turn, overcook one and you would likely be hurt bad (there are no guard-rails, just rocks and the steep mountainside). I think I still have goosebumps!

Stage 5, Wednesday, July 3rd. This was a day of days! Cav WINS! I'll say that again: CAV WINS! It was his 35 Tour Stage win, the most of ANY Tour rider EVER! It was really looking bad for him right from the start in Stage 1 (when he fell off the back the moment the first Cat-4 climb started). His team (Astana) rallied to him and shepherded him to the finish under the time cutoff, and the rest is history! Stepping ahead of the greatest Tour rider of all time Eddy Mercyx and his 34 wins is huge beyond measure! I loved it when after the race Christian Prudhome (TDF Director) was interviewed by Steve Porino, and in English he said that for the first time in recorded history, every sprinter AFTER the race was smiling, and all came up to congratulate Cav! This is a HUGE memory point for me! I've been rooting for him to get this win for years now! (tho I STILL disagree with him about the fault for his crash into the barricades in the 2017 Tour Stage 4, after trying to slip thru a non-existent spot against Peter Sagan, who was ejected from the race for causing that crash. IMO that was on Cav, Sagan was holding his position and trying to stay upright and not crash himself. However this event is much like politics, and there are two obvious sides here, this is just my thoughts). That said, I still love Cav and wish him well (and hope he can win at least one more stage before he hangs up his Tour career). 

Stage 6, Thursday, July 4th, Happy Independence Day America! Today's MP is Dylan Groenewegen winning the bunch sprint ahead of Phillipson (who was later relegated for improper sprinting, forcing Wout Van Aert into the barricades where he had to stop his sprint or do a Cav into the barricades). It was memorable to me due to his history, that being blamed for the horrific crash of Fabio Jakobson in the 2020 Tour of Poland. His career almost ended (he was banned for 9 months!) and had a very difficult time mentally and physically coming back to winning ways. Jakobson was hurt VERY badly (in a coma) and had a long and difficult recovery. It was obviously not intentionally caused, but every sprinter I think is on the knife-edge of causing a crash if they are to be a good sprinter in the world scene. The video of the crash is quite disturbing, it's like a truck ran into the barricades as parts were flying everywhere. Jakobson has recovered and is back to his winning ways also, so it's great to see they both have moved past this terrible event.

However, my biggest MP for today isn't even Tour related. We took our monsters (Sophie and Abbey) for an afternoon walk as usual (it was near 80 in the afternoon today, which is QUITE hot for us). After the walk they always get treats, and then dinner is usually around 4pm. About a half hour after their treats it was dinner-time, and when Sophie came out she was moving slow, and her tongue was hanging out of her mouth quite a LOT (WAY bigger than normal)! She hovered over her food bowl, the giant tongue kind of laying over the kibble trying to get it into her mouth, with a large drool line hanging off her mouth. Normally she attacks her kibble like a hungry lion and it's gone in 30 seconds. Not tonight however, she was obviously struggling, and seemed to have little control of her swollen tongue. After she finally managed to eat she went to lie down, and her breathing was ragged and short (wheezing). We were quite concerned and decided it was time to take her to Doggie Urgent Care. We had no idea what was wrong nor why, but she was not doing well. Her tongue was SO large that it didn't really fit in her mouth anymore, and her breathing was difficult, so it was a no-brainier decision. The vet thought this was some kind of allergic reaction, from what was unknown. They sedated her and did a full inspection insider her mouth (no smoking gun was found, tho there was a cyst/blister type thing at one of the saliva-glands, tho in the end didn't see that it was the cause/problem). They gave her a shot of Benedryl and also steroids (to help w/ the swelling and her breathing) and put her antibiotics (her blood work showed slight increase in white blood cells). They kept her thru the night, and I brought her home early this morning. She is way better (much closer to normal) other than her obviously swollen tongue (see pics). So she's home now and we are babying her (more than normal). She's doing quite well and we are so relieved (of anxiety AND money, Urgent Care isn't cheap). But we had to be sure, so no regrets there.

Back home after spending the night at Urgent Care. Her tongue isn't normally that big. It doesn't even fit in her mouth right now, poor girl!

She's such a good girl! Pretty cute too, and hey, she turns 10 at the end of August!

Stage 7, Friday, July 5th. The ITT, the race of truth. Cav is the first starter (meaning he's in last place). Today's MP is that the favorites (Pogo and Vingo) were trounced by the up and comer Remco! He really put on a performance to be remembered! It was his FIRST TDF win, so now he has wins in all 3 Grand Tours. It wasn't enough to give him the Yellow Jersey, but it did show the world that he is for real, AND that Vingo isn't where he was the last 2 years (due to his recent injury), and in the GC he is now just ahead of Roglic!

Stage 8, Saturday, July 6th. Hilly stage. Today's MP encompasses not only today but nearly every stage so far, as it's about Jonas Abrahamson of Team Uno X. A youngster from Norway, he was in the Stage 1 breakaway and at the end of the day had won both the Polka-dot AND the Sprinters Jerseys. After that he has been in every breakaway there has been, continuing to get points in both the KOM and Green Jersey competition (he wore the Green for 2 days before losing it to Biniam Girmay after his sprint win) and has since been in the KOM Jersey. Today he WAS the breakaway since the start, as not one other rider would go with him. So he soloed on to ALL the KOM points for the day (and the mid-point Sprint win points), and made it seriously hard for the Peleton to catch him. It finally took FIVE sprint-teams helping each other to reel him in! CVV on the Moto was behind him most of the day, and it was just awesome to watch this kid CRUSH it in what turned out to be a horrid day of rain, wind and lots of climbing (over 8000' on the day). They FINALLY caught him with only 10k to go. I really like this guy, and every day on the podium getting his Jersey he seems SO delightful and happy, and I believe he will have a fantastic career! In fact, you know who he reminds me of? Spartacus! Yep...Fabian Cancellara! I foresee him blasting his way into the record-books not only in the Tour, but in Spring Classics, you know, the HARD ones! He's BIG young man (175lbs, which is huge for a cyclist) and what a huge diesel motor he's got! I think he's a breath of fresh air, and will be rooting for him not-only to hold his KOM thru to Nice, but in future races as I think he is an up and coming Force to be reckoned with! (he also reminds me a bit of another Norwegian, Thor Hushvold. Even tho Jonas isn't (yet) a sprinter, Thor was one of the few hilly/mt stage sprinters, able to power himself over the climbs and go for the stage wins when the "Pure sprinters" are off the back. I think Jonas will also be able to do that too given the opportunity. Keep your eyes on this guy!

Stage 9, Sunday, July 7th. Hilly GRAVEL stage! 1st time ever (or at least since the early decades of the Tour) doing dirt roads! 14 Sectors totaling 32km spread among the 199km route. What I will remember about this stage is that it was like watching a Spring Classic/Monument, but without the carnage that usually entails from the cobble-stones! I vaguely remember when they added cobbles to the Tour on a few years back, and it wasn't pretty for the GC guys. Cobbles are better for bigger riders with the power to push higher speeds thru them. The mountain-goats have a much harsher ride and use even more energy. I will say that the 'gravel' sectors made the race feel like a classic, the preparations were very similar, teams having people all over the place with wheels, knowing the team cars could be a very long time coming for spare bikes and wheels. It turned into a fantastic GC battle! In the end there were no changes to the top riders, but I did love it when Pogo attacked on one of the later sectors. All in all I think it was a very fun stage to watch, and I hope they do more in the future (especially considering that "Gravel" has become an international sensation).

Monday, July 8th. 1st rest day.

Stage 10, Tuesday, July 9th. Hmm...BO-RING! That stage was a real snoozer until the last few k. No breakaway, the peleton held a pace that I could probably hold (ok, not). I think the MP for me today is that Cav certainly isn't the sprinter he was just a few years back (which I think we all knew)...he just can't hold his place behind his sprint-train anymore. The Astana guys had him in pretty great shape w/ just 5k to go, and then when it gets down to 1k he's just GONE (and other than the stage he won, this is how the rest of the sprint stages have been). I was rooting for Bimini but Phillipson got him today and Bimi took 2nd (still in the Green Jersey).

Stage 11, Wednesday, July 10th. The HALF WAY point! Hardest stage so far with SIX categorized climbs...in riding order, the sprint point, then a 4, 3, 2, 1, 2 and a 3 with just a few hundred meters to the finish. Should have been a solid break day, but boy oh boy the Peleton didn't get the memo! The 1st TWO HOURS was pure death, held just over 50kph average speed! Finally a 10 man break established and got up to about 2:30 gap before Pogo put his guys on the front and reeled them in. And then a half-k from the top of the Cat 1 Pogo attacks, made it over the top and another descending machine! However Vingo dropped Remco and Rigo chasing Pogo, and reeled Pogo back in on the final climb! Was NOT expecting that! He caught Pogo just before the summit, and they go over 1/2 (there are time bonuses for top 3 places, Pogo gets 8, Vingo 5 and Remco took the 3) and then they descended together with Remco dropping Roglic and reeling the pair in just a bit (Rigo was holding w/ Remco but slid-out on an inside corner, didn't lose much as he jumped back on the bike, but it was enough for Remco to finish 3rd by himself. The finish after the Cat 3 is a slight uphill kicker and Vingo is leading Pogo who is biding his time to attack for the win. Pogo attacks and Vingo holds him off, nips him at the line! Was not expecting THAT either! I'd say this was a HUGE win for Vingo, his confidence really needed that! He took everything Pogo had and still beat him for the stage win (and more time bonus). Vingo is still behind Pogo by 1:14, behind Remco by only 8 seconds! I think Vingo just showed the world that he IS on par with Pogo, and that Remco and Rigo are NOT. When we hit the final week and several Mt-top finishes on BIG mountains, I think it will be Pogo and Vingo, just like today. Remco had some work to do to catch  up with these 2 guys, and Rigo, well, I think it's a bit late in his career to step up to their level. The mind boggling part of all this (and a big MP for me) is that Vingo IS this good after being hurt SO BADLY just a bit over 2 months ago! So not only did he have to recover from all those serious injuries, but how on earth did he train enough to be back on par with Pogo? It just seems humanly impossible! 

Stage 12, Thursday, July 11th. Another pretty boring flat stage. Two things of importance to remember: Roglic goes down (taken out by another rider) in the final 6k, gets back on bike with team but still loses a big chunk of time, moves from 4th to 6th (thru no fault of his own). That sucks. Then, on a positive note: Bimi wins AGAIN! That's THREE for him and his team (who had never won a Tour stage before)! That's just fantastic, well done Bimi and your team!

Stage 13, Friday (woo-hoo!) July 12th. Yet ANOTHER boring flat stage, tho at least this 'flat' stage had lots of smaller unclassified hills, which succeeded in really spreading out the peleton. Of note today before the start, Roglic abandoned the race (he's been down twice now). That guy just can't buy a break at the Tour! Such a shame, as he's a great rider! Anyway, Team Bora is now without their master, drifting in the wind so to speak. Back to the stage...there was an excellent large break that eventually was brought back, then more jumpers whipping off the front, all pulled back, but the peleton was fractured to do it. Final sprint was Phillipson followed by Wout Van Aert (missed it by less than a wheel). Oh, also of note (from Stage 11), the jury relegated TWO sprinters...one was earned (can't remember who, but he totally blocked Wouts chance at the win, pretty much pinned him against the barricade making him stop his sprint) and one wasn't (Cav was relegated for improper sprinting...tho the boys in the booth reviewed the video many times, and he was screwed...the leadout guy for one of the teams just pulled out from in front of his sprinter, and right in front of Cav and just started coasting...Cav had no choice but to veer or crash...that penalty (Cav took a solid hard-earned 5th) seems highly unfair. They really need to start penalizing the sprint TEAMS when their leadout guys do that, as THAT is a cause of a LOT of the action (just my thoughts). Relegating a leadout man doesn't do anything, but if you relegate HIS sprinter then THAT would make the entire Sprinter-team start thinking about how they do it. 

Stage 14, Saturday, July 13th, the end of week two. We are now in the BIG MOUNTAINS, the Pyrenees to be exact. Three mountains all in the final half of the stage: the Cat HC Col d' Tourmalet, the Cat 2 Hourquette d’Ancizan, and finally a mountaintop finish on the HC Pla d' Adet. The high mountains are always so beautifully horrific (from a rider perspective, especially sprinters) and I always love the video of the amazing roads that switchback up and down these monsters. The Tourmalet is probably one of the most famous climbs in all of the Tour, and never disappoints the viewers. I think the biggest takeaway today (for me) is the Team Visma and Vingo's riding without Sepp Kuss when the road goes up. Pogo attacked as expected on the final climb (half-way up, which is 5k from the finish). As always, it was a blistering attack and Vingo responded as best he could (with Remco immedietly on his wheel). Today was not the same Vingo we saw back on Stage 11 when he clawed his way to Pogo's wheel and then beat him at the line. Today Pogo slowly added to the gap while Vingo finally dropped Remco. Pogo hit the line and it as 39 seconds later that Vingo crossed, and 1:08 for Remco. Also there were time bonus at the line, 10 seconds for Pogo, 6 for Vingo and 4 for Remco. When the dust cleared Vingo had moved into 2nd place, down 1:57 to Pogo, and Remco sits in 3rd at 2:22 back. Pogo looked GREAT on his attack, Vingo looked good, and Remco took the biggest hit, showing that he may be an amazing TT'er but his big mountain climbing isn't up to the other two (yet). And tomorrow is the Queen Stage, an even BIGGER day than today! It will be VERY interesting to see if Pogo can add more time, or does Vingo take some back. Great day in the Tour, and Pogo was amazing!