Ahhhh....July....a hot cup of tasty coffee in the wee hours of the morning, and the days Stage is up on the big screen! What could be better? Having a bulldog snoring away on my lap, that's what! (Sophie is coming up on 12 years old in August)...she's doing GREAT, but 12 is definitely getting up there for Bulldogs, and she's doing much shorter walks now, and boy howdy, she sleeps like the DEAD! Her vision is sharp tho (she can spot a gecko sunning themself on the sidewalk 10+ yards away, tho her hearing is certainly not what it used to be). I've been making the food myself for our monsters almost since I retired (now that I have that kind of time)...and what a difference it makes. It takes me an entire afternoon to make a 2 week batch (half goes in the freezer and the other half lives in the refrigerator). Sheesh...our monsters eat better than I do! (seriously). OK...back to the topic at hand!
I'm pretty excited about this years Tour....Both Vingo and Pogo have had amazing seasons thus far, and neither is coming here off a big crash and in any kind of recovery mode, hooray! Vingo is coming off a dominant Giro win, and Pogo, sheesh, where do we start there? He's done 16 races this season and WON 13 of them!!! He finally got the Monument Milan San Remo this year, it's been on his radar for a while now. Also it's a very unusual win for a 4 time TDF winner (unless you're Eddy Mercyx that is).
So both of them are looking to be in the best condition of their careers right now. And both have really great teams around them, possibly they best they've ever had. I think Pogo still has the nod as he's just not human, but I'm really REALLY hoping Visma can keep Vingo in the hunt. Something a bit different this year is that Pogo has a possible podium contender riding with him! He's only 22 years old, but Isaac del Toro is already looking like the heir-apparent to Pogo on team UAE! Depending on how things work out, he seriously looks like he could make the podium! And Remco of course is always a threat for a podium spot, and HE even has another podium contender on his team: Florian Lipowitz (who actually made the podium last year over Remco)! And even tho Sep Kuss is riding for Vingo, he's a Grand Tour winner of his own right, and if the situation allows it, he could also be a podium contender! Not counting the TTT, there's only the one ITT this year and it's not a huge one, so Remco's superpower is pretty much negated, as he is pretty much the best TT'er in the world right now. And hey, let's not forget Mateo Jorgenson on Visma...he's just getting better and better every year...if he were on any other team he'd be the team Capt and a seriously possible Podium threat, certainly a teams GC rider. But with him and Sep riding for Vingo, their chances of that are pretty slim (as long as Vingo stays healthy and competitive that is...if for any reason that changes I'd think they will get full team support to see what they can do).
And then...there's maybe the next Pogo (that's not already on Team UAE that is), 19 year old Paul Seixas of Team Decathlon! This kid is seriously looking like Pogo was in his early days (which seem like SO long ago, when he was wearing the White Jersey from pretty much start to finish, back when he was just "Babyface"). He's a fantastic climber AND a great TT rider...both of which are pretty much required for a Tour podium (you don't have to be the BEST TT'er to win, but if you suck at it you have very little chance).
And I'm so excited for the TWO Alp d' Huez finishes at the end of this years route, boy if that isn't a recipe for gaining and losing time in the GC then nothing is!)
I'm watching the opening TTT right now as I type...nice to see the NBC/Peacock crew is the same tried and true group of recent years. Visma is getting ready to start with UAE 5 minutes later...I love the new TTT format where the fastest man of each team sets the teams slot (for team placement) and that each rider gets his own true time across the line....that forces all the GC guys so play it right and have a good day...like the old saying goes, you can't win the Tour today, but you can sure lose it. I love the largest crop of true podium contenders that I can remember riding this year. I think more than any year I can remember, today any GC hopeful has to have a decent or better day. And this isn't like a normal ITT as the GC riders can be protected as long as the team has guys that can do it...so it's actually more like a not very crowded road race finish with 2 small climbs at the end...so top TT capability isn't really required for a good finish here.
I'm sad that Wout is out for Visma, he's always so exciting to watch, climbing, springing, Spring Classics monster, and just all-around fantastic rider that Vingo will surely be missing. But other than that both UAE and Visma are stacked with a well rounded support group aiming at a Tour win.
And WOW, Vingo just took the lead by 7 seconds! So now it's all up to UAE and Pogo! Normally it would be smart to let Visma have the yellow and the duties that fall with it, but Pogo isn't a normal rider, he just wants to WIN every single day...so all bets are off. He obviously knows what Vingo did...so the ball is in his court so to speak. I'm betting the house that he wants to stamp his authority on this race right here right now, possibly go wire to wire wearing yellow if he does it today. Wouldn't that be something! Right ow Pogo and Del Toro are out for the win...boy Del Toro looks fantastic! Gads, Pogo just left Del Toro like a motor-bike! He is FLYING! And he's across...holy smokes, VINGO wins by 11 seconds!!!! I would not have predicted that (in fact, I'd have just lost my house if I had truly been betting!)
WOW, Vingo in Yellow on day 1! Boy, I'm actually happy to see that! Confidence is EVERYTHING, and to take the Yellow in a head to head race w/ Pogo is an amazing result! And not just 1 or 2 seconds...11!!! Well done Vingo and Team Visma!!!! OMG, what an amazing start to this years race! I have to say, I LOVE the new TTT format!!
So the Stage results are on the screen, they're calling it 12 seconds between Vingo and Pogo (and Pogo didn't even get 2nd, he got 3rd, tho Filippo Gano who is only 4 seconds back of Vingo won't be a contender at the end). And Remco...slots in 5th today at 19 seconds back from Vingo...yeah, not really the start he hoped for. If he has GC contentions, he can't be giving away 19 seconds on day 1. As far as the other GC contenders, Del Toro slots at 6 place only 26 seconds back, Lipowitz is 8th at 35 seconds, and Sexias is 10th at 39 seconds.
So WOW, what a fantastic crop of GC Podium contenders we have this year! There aren't any 'sprint' stages until Stage 5, so tomorrows hilly stage (that has a 10 second time bonus at the line) should ensure fireworks from the start! Vingo would LOVELOVELOVE to snag those 10 seconds over Pogo, and all the Contenders would also love to have them to cut their losses from today.
So I guess the question of the moment: how long will Visma hold onto the Yellow? He's got a great team but it's a LONG HARD RACE (as it is every year)...I won't be watching the Podcast, but I can guarantee Lance and George and Bradley will be saying it's very smart of UAE to not be in a hurry to take the Yellow. But Pogo doesn't abide by normal tactics. Normal tactics say do NOT go out on a 20-40 k solo flyer when you are truly hoping to win the overall...yet Pogo does things like that again and again. He's SO Meryx like...he is the New Cannibal for sure!
OK...that's it for Stage 1, what a doozy! And on the 4th too! Happy 250th Birthday America! Susie and Rae, I hope you're still out there and doing well, I'd love to hear from you!
As for now, it's "Game ON"!
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