The cycling thread

[Jon Crofts]

Le Tour 2020, no Froome or Thomas in the Ineos team.

[Ad@m]

I know!

Dave Brailsford is a ruthless bastard!

[Somniloquism]

Froome I can understand. However is G leaving or do they have different plans to win it this time which requires different personnel to implement?

[Jon Crofts]

G is a strange one, I don’t think anyone really saw him as a grand tour winner, maybe he had a monument in him but I’d put G firmly in the lieutenant space, a modern day George Hincapie if you will.
I suspect he’ll be off.

[Somniloquism]

Good ride from Lizzie today. Not many outsprint Vos.

[SteveN]

Brilliant sprint by Ewan to win Stage 3.  Almost Cavendish at his peak like. Hopefully Sam Bennett will get his chance later, I'd like him to win the final stage in Paris.

[Somniloquism]

Brilliant sprint by Ewan to win Stage 3.  Almost Cavendish at his peak like. Hopefully Sam Bennett will get his chance later, I'd like him to win the final stage in Paris.

I supposed it helped it being a head wind as that would always favour the trailer hidden from it.

[Somniloquism]

Yates wearing Yellow as Alaphillipe penalised 20 seconds.

[Jon Crofts]

Yates wearing Yellow as Alaphillipe penalised 20 seconds.

Probably deliberate by Alaphillipe.

[Somniloquism]

Yates wearing Yellow as Alaphillipe penalised 20 seconds.

Probably deliberate by Alaphillipe.

Yep, after seeing the video clip, official feed person stationed within 20KM does seem like tactically they wanted off the front.

[SteveN]

Van Aert looks the real deal, climbs, sprints and time trials, the new Eddy Merckx.

[Somniloquism]

Van Aert looks the real deal, climbs, sprints and time trials, the new Eddy Merckx.

Think he will be the Super Domestique for Roglic and / or Dumolin this year. But I will be surprised if it isn't a Jumbo-Visma jersey on the podium at the end and pretty much a 1-2-3 in one of the TT's.

[charlatan]

Why would you deliberately take a 20 second penalty to lose the yellow jersey when your team does not have to put any effort into defending it?

Also there's only one TT this year and it has a first category climb at the end.

[Somniloquism]

Why would you deliberately take a 20 second penalty to lose the yellow jersey when your team does not have to put any effort into defending it?

Also there's only one TT this year and it has a first category climb at the end.

It is kind of unwritten that if your teammate has the yellow jersey, then your team has the duty to defend it. You are right they don't have to but if they didn't then you might find some of the other unwritten stuff like dropping pace at certain occasions or attacking in a feed zone or others will then be ignored against that specific team. Now Mitchelton Scott have to use their energy up and DQS can concentrate more on trying to keep Bennett in Green, although they failed badly today.

Yes, that TT will be interesting. I wonder how many swaps for drops will occur in the last section.

[AV82EC]

Super tactics from Sunweb today attacking on the penultimate climb and catching everyone on the hop. Alaphillipe throwing a wobbly was quite amusing as well.