Watching the peloton - Professional Road Racing thread 2026

stompandgo said:
Today's stage was one of the best all year. I'll admit it, I like time trials. I was pretty good at them. I only did one team time trial (40km) in my career, and it was really hard. Often, watching time trials is like watching paint dry. Today was the exception.

This race had everything. A very close GC coming into it. WVA crashing on his TT bike the week before and blowing up halfway through. Ben Tullet and others getting flats. A number of riders throwing their chains. Netcompany's Oscar Onley threw his, and the team slowed up to wait for him. Paul Seixas took a hairpin turn too hard and nearly crashed coming out of it. It was literally calamity after calamity.

In the end, Visma, after all that, ends up winning the stage by nine seconds over Netcompany. Alex Baudin and EF went all out so that he could keep the jersey. It's rare that the cream rises to the top so early, but it did. The GC battle has been set.

Baudin 10:01:01
Vauquelin, Onley +0:12
Jorgenson +0:15
Ayuso, Skjelmose +0:47
Nordhagen and Amarail for Visma within a minute and in the top ten.
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Great TTT. I was terrible at TTs! And never did a team one, but I absolutely love watching them & I hate when the big tours don't have them. I'm not sure about the rule change from the time of 5th finisher down to 1st. But I can see the interest in having the dropped riders time counting individually in GC, really changes the dynamic. And like with Ineos a dropped chain suddenly can have race changing implacations. Looks like serious competition between Onley and Vauquelin, which I predicted when both landed at Ineos. Seixas now a minute behind, gives the others some hope in mountains ahead. Building up to a great final days of the race.
 
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Have to admit, TTs aren't my cup of T. But glad to see Jorgenson looking strong after his nasty crash early in the season.

Too bad about WVA — was looking forward to watching him today. Hope he's back in form tomorrow, but if today was a crash residual, probably not. Also hope the bad luck that tends to follow him around hasn't returned.
 
Jeremy McCreary said:
Have to admit, TTs aren't my cup of T. But glad to see Jorgenson looking strong after his nasty crash early in the season.

Too bad about WVA — was looking forward to watching him today. Hope he's back in form tomorrow, but if today was a crash residual, probably not. Also hope the bad luck that tends to follow him around hasn't returned.
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Missed that. I mean saw him dropped but just thought he'd down a big stint as per team plan?
 
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I have been watching the replay of stage 4 of Avergne, and there has been no video in the last 10km or so. Crazy!!! So they just cut back to the final km and the break is only 8 seconds out front. The break is sprinting with the peloton on their heels, and Quinn Simmons, in the stars and stripes, takes the sprint win from the break. Outstanding. I absolutely hate the current Team USA jersey.

Crossing the line, he shouts what appears to be: "f*ck yeah, bitches!". There might be a fine coming.
 
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stompandgo said:
I have been watching the replay of stage 4 of Avergne, and there has been no video in the last 10km or so. Crazy!!! So they just cut back to the final km and the break is only 8 seconds out front. The break is sprinting with the peloton on their heels, and Quinn Simmons, in the stars and stripes, takes the sprint win from the break. Outstanding. I absolutely hate the current Team USA jersey.

Crossing the line, he shouts what appears to be: "f*ck yeah, bitches!". There might be a fine coming.
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In the post-race interview I saw, Simmons came across as a fairly normal guy till the end, when he was asked if this would be his most memorable win. He said no, that would be his win at the Tour de Suisse. When asked why that one, he got weird and evasive, eventually saying, "You know why" as he turned and walked away with some attitude showing.

What was that all about??
 
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Quinn has always struck me as a free spirit. On the other hand, he's a loyal domestique in big races, who will crush himself for the team win. The question was reasonable, and the reporter may have been giving him an opportunity to mention Gino again. Why that was an issue for him, only Quinn knows. He did the right thing and walked away.
 
stompandgo said:
Quinn has always struck me as a free spirit. On the other hand, he's a loyal domestique in big races, who will crush himself for the team win. The question was reasonable, and the reporter may have been giving him an opportunity to mention Gino again. Why that was an issue for him, only Quinn knows. He did the right thing and walked away.
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Yeah he's a bit of a spiky character for sure. Sport needs characters like this though, better than winning riders droning on about watts. Cav and Wiggins equally spiky & didn't do either any harm.
 
True that. Also, these reporters stuff a microphone in their faces before their heart rate has even come down. Satellite time costs big bucks, so I get it, and we all want the coverage. However, it is the rider that controls the interview, not the "journalist", and they have every right to end it as they see fit.

Cycling, like most sports, and especially highly aerobic sports, have their share of "characters". It's a part of the "color" of the sport. I was mostly a focused and quiet type, until you did something stupid or inappropriate. Then I would be in your face, and on my list.
 
One of the Total Energies riders in the break is having a problem with his rear derailleur, so he unclips and starts kicking it at 30mph+. Some of the banter:
"I do not recommend doing this"
"I have been reluctant to adopt electronic shifting, for reasons like this"
"If all else fails, kick it"
 
Missed the climbing part of Stage 5, coming in at 86 km out. Pretty boring from there till the last minute or so, then fun watching WVA take the sprint.

Guessing the next (and last) 3 days will be more exciting with 35,000 ft of total climbing in not much total distance. Seixas is currently 60 sec back in GC, Jorgenson only 15 sec. I'm pulling for Jorgenson.
 
Jeremy McCreary said:
Missed the climbing part of Stage 5, coming in at 86 km out. Pretty boring from there till the last minute or so, then fun watching WVA take the sprint.

Guessing the next (and last) 3 days will be more exciting with 35,000 ft of total climbing in not much total distance. Seixas is currently 60 sec back in GC, Jorgenson only 15 sec. I'm pulling for Jorgenson.
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3 mountaintop finishes, two long and steep. I bet Seixas is planning an explosive attack on one at least, pog style, counting on powering away and then claw his way into a big lead. It might be a case of playing the Felix Gall game of not trying to match him due to his power, but going at own pace to try and limit loses under a minute by top. Jorgenson, Onley and Vauqulien perhaps in frame to try this.
 
There are virtually no sprinters in this race. It's going to blow up in the mountains, for sure. My money is on Visma, as they look like the strongest team out there. There are lots of potential winners, but will the teams let them get up the road?
 
With two Visma, three Netcompany, two Decathlon, and two Lidl-Trek in the top ten, I think the answer is, yes. Anything can happen, though.
 
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