Tour '25

[stompandgo]

Jonas never does anything halfway.
;^}

OUTSTANDING!!!

 

[stompandgo]

I think Milan has a great chance today (Stage 3) as long as he can get over the Cat 4 and recover enough to contend. My take is that Phillipsen will be protected today as MVDP has no chance of keeping the yellow more than a few more days. One of the GC teams is going to go for it on the Cat 4 and it's possible that he could lose it today.

That said, sending MVDP up the road yesterday was a great move.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

My doctor rates my sleep habits as deplorable to abysmal. Trying to watch the TdF live from GMT-7 (Pacific Daylight Time) is NOT helping.

Quite the final 10 km in Stage 2! Came into Stage 3 at 100 km to go this morning only to find that the riders have somehow colluded to soft-pedal it with no attacks!

How does that come about? When will the knives come out? On the Cat 4 climb at ~30 km out?

 

[Chargeride]

You just know Jeremy has his motor switched off the entire Tour.
Le Guilt le Grande

 

[Rás Cnoic]

My doctor rates my sleep habits as deplorable to abysmal. Trying to watch the TdF live from GMT-7 (Pacific Daylight Time) is NOT helping.

Quite the final 10 km in Stage 2! Came into Stage 3 at 100 km to go this morning only to find that the riders have somehow colluded to soft-pedal it with no attacks!

How does that come about? When will the knives come out? On the Cat 4 climb at ~30 km out?

yeah this year seems to be less suicidal breakaways by small teams for sponsor TV coverage then in the past.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Ouch.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

What are the odds? You stop to take a discreet roadside piss and before you're done, a crash directly across the road brings the cameras.

Classic Gumperson's Law: The least likely contingency will always occur at the most inopportune time.

 

[stompandgo]

WHAT THE ACTUAL F&^%

Coquard you stupid POS. It was an intermediate sprint. You're not even in the top 5. You stupidly try to open a hole for yourself and Girmay's leadout pushes you back. You have every right to battle for position, including contact, but you don't get to barge into others at the front of the field when there was nothing there. Now one of the best stage winners is out of the Tour.

DUMBASS

I hope this haunts you for the rest of your life.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

WHAT THE ACTUAL F&^%

Coquard you stupid POS. It was an intermediate sprint. You're not even in the top 5. You stupidly try to open a hole for yourself and Girmay's leadout pushes you back. You have every right to battle for position, including contact, but you don't get to barge into others at the front of the field when there was nothing there. Now one of the best stage winners is out of the Tour.

DUMBASS

I hope this haunts you for the rest of your life.

Very nasty that. Wasn't sure he was out, last pics I saw showed him getting treatment on the verge but couldn't tell if he'd be able to limp to the line or if he had a collarbone or something.

 

[stompandgo]

He had a sling put on and went into the meat wagon. His abandonment was announced a few minutes later. Kaden Grove has taken his assignment and finished 7th in a crashy sprint.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

He had a sling put on and went into the meat wagon. His abandonment was announced a few minutes later. Kaden Grove has taken his assignment and finished 7th in a crashy sprint.

Ah thanks. Classic crash ridden early TDF stage there. Haven't seen who was caught up. Remco holding shoulder.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

You just know Jeremy has his motor switched off the entire Tour.
Le Guilt le Grande

Yeah, it's gonna be a tough 3 weeks in my own personal Tour de Carlsbad. At least I'm guaranteed a win if I don't crash out.

Lifting weights now. Gotta get that yellow bike over my head on the podium. Wait till you see me in the yellow skin suit!

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Yeah, it's gonna be a tough 3 weeks in my own personal Tour de Carlsbad. At least I'm guaranteed a win if I don't crash out.

Lifting weights now. Gotta get that yellow bike over my head on the podium. Wait till you see me in the yellow skin suit!

Yellow skin suit and a carrot on a rod tied to handlebars and you'll get up ANY hill.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Yellow skin suit and a carrot on a rod tied to handlebars and you'll get up ANY hill.

Exactly.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

So sad for Philipsen. He and Alpecin had a good Tour ahead.

More footage of the crash. Not clear now that any one rider was at fault. When are we likely to hear from the judges?

Looks like today's route used up the last of the flats. Didn't see a single one in tomorrow's "hilly" stage.

 

[stompandgo]

Judges are responsible for results only. Commissaires handle regulation infractions. At a stage race, this is not in the President's (UCI Chief Referee) hands alone, the decision is made by a jury composed of multiple referees. Their decisions are reported out in a communique.

Here are the penalties for the sprint reported in the latest communique:

• Bryan Coquard (Cofidis) - yellow card, a 500CHF fine and 13 points at points classification - irregular sprint
• Edward Theuns (Lidl-Trek) - yellow card, a 500CHF fine and 13 points at points classification - irregular sprint
• Davide Ballerini (XDS Astana Team) - yellow card, a 500CHF fine and 13 points at points classification - irregular sprint in final sprint
• Danny van Poppel (Red Bull-Bora-Hansgrohe) - yellow card, a 500CHF fine, 13 points at points classification and relegation to 36th place - irregular sprint in final sprint

A yellow card means a warning. Two yellow cards in 30 days means a DSQ for the entire race and a 7 day suspension after that race has concluded.

I watched it live, and via multiple replays. Coquard was the problem. The others were in the area. The comms saw something that led to this. I just didn't see it on tv.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Yeah, it's gonna be a tough 3 weeks in my own personal Tour de Carlsbad. At least I'm guaranteed a win if I don't crash out.

Got to thinking later, why not a solo Tour de Carlsbad?

Completed hilly Stage 1 this afternoon: 20.1 mi, 1,000 ft of climbing, 12.0 mph average speed. Pogi's got nuthin' on me.
;^}

Did as much as I could in OFF, @Chargeride , but needed some help on the steepest pitches (probably 8-10%). Most of the SPORT came from using it through intersections and then forgetting to back off.

View from the high point at the top of College Blvd. The finish was on the Coast Highway. My first stage win!

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Great finish - brilliant steep town climb and swooping descent with huge crowds. Tour at its best. More sifting of GC pretenders. Lot of hopes dashed there. But what an elite group on that descent. Love it.

 

[Jeremy McCreary]

Even better than Stage 3's final 10 km! Pogi just called it "pure racing", and you can tell he really savored it.

 

[Rás Cnoic]

Even better than Stage 3's final 10 km! Pogi just called it "pure racing", and you can tell he really savored it.

Glorious. Short steep climb in the back streets of Rouen. Those twisty city roads. Brilliant sunshine. Enormous crowds and Pog ripping the race apart as he does and that swooping descent, Remco attacking almost overshooting, cat and mouse and Van Der Poel looming (green jersey ambition now?? Makes sense).