jaggyness Posted July 19, 2019 Share Posted July 19, 2019 Can't wait to see how things unfold tomorrow on the road to the Tourmalet.I know today was unexpected but this is absolutely the first really big test of whether Alaphillipe is a genuine GC threat or not. He can obviously climb after winning the polka dot jersey last year but he wasn't a threat then and it'll be interesting to see what happens when ineos and potentially jumbo visma start really riding on the long slog of the Tourmalet if DQS and Alaphillipe can stay with them 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
printer Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I think you might have mistaken last years highlights for this years race. La Course is on later today. It was a great race though.Yes, my bad. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 I know today was unexpected but this is absolutely the first really big test of whether Alaphillipe is a genuine GC threat or not. He can obviously climb after winning the polka dot jersey last year but he wasn't a threat then and it'll be interesting to see what happens when ineos and potentially jumbo visma start really riding on the long slog of the Tourmalet if DQS and Alaphillipe can stay with themYep, a few of the stages where he racked up points last year he was allowed to by the GC contenders as he wasn't a threat. The big question is if his team are good enough to support him through the next couple of big stages. Yesterday was certainly a surprise though. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Now that's what I call #Rapid! 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggyness Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 A major worry I have is that if Alaphillipe cracks today or tomorrow then there's no evidence so far any of the other GC candidates with the possible exception of kruiswijk could remotely challenge Thomas. I know anything can happen but it could also become a bit of a procession. A bit like the dark days when LA was running away with it every year 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Pinot wins the stage with Alaphillipe just 6 seconds down. Thomas was dropped in the last km or so and was 36 seconds down on Pinot. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Florentine_Pogen Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Just waiting for all the rumours to start flying re. Alaphillipe, assuming they haven't statrted already. He's sum boi. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daydream Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Alienphillipe amirite? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Just waiting for all the rumours to start flying re. Alaphillipe, assuming they haven't statrted already. He's sum boi. [emoji468]By the looks of it, a lot of GC riders being found not to have peaked at the right time.As Roglic found out to his cost, in the Giro, maintaining form over a 3 week GT is an extreme science nowadays.I wonder at what stage do you think Alaphillipe'll have, actual, pish thrown at him?Pinot must be kicking himself at getting caught out in the crosswinds.As for Quintana, his move to Arkea Samsig looks good business for Movistar, he's done at GT level.Sent from my XT1039 using Tapatalk 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Honky Tonk Man Posted July 20, 2019 Share Posted July 20, 2019 Listening to Thomas today it sounds like he isn't in the same spirit as last year. Alaphillipe's to lose now. Buchmann has been quietly effective and Thibault looks like he is up for it. Changing of the guard? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Listening to Thomas today it sounds like he isn't in the same spirit as last year. Alaphillipe's to lose now. Buchmann has been quietly effective and Thibault looks like he is up for it. Changing of the guard?His comments after the ITT, regarding Alaphillipe "winning if he kept riding like that", set alarm bells ringing with me.Don't think I've ever heard Froome talk about competitors in such regard, including last year, until he realised the time gap to his team mate was insurmountable & in the interests of the team.Given his disrupted program prior to the tour. He can only hope of riding himself into form, through the third week & hope the leader fades.Noticeable that Bernal's tactic, of riding but not contributing with the lead group, seemed to stall the attacks until the final 200m. To my mind, had he tried to pace Thomas, their losses would have been bigger. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peasy23 Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 This is brilliant, Dutch tv filmed a wee bit about the Tour workers who are tasked with looking for cock and balls paintings on the road and quickly adapting them to look like something else. [emoji23] 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 This is brilliant, Dutch tv filmed a wee bit about the Tour workers who are tasked with looking for cock and balls paintings on the road and quickly adapting them to look like something else. [emoji23] Watch the subtitles, "Ja Hoor" had me giggling away.[emoji23][emoji23][emoji23] 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Briggs Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 15 hours ago, Honky Tonk Man said: Listening to Thomas today it sounds like he isn't in the same spirit as last year. Alaphillipe's to lose now. Buchmann has been quietly effective and Thibault looks like he is up for it. Changing of the guard? No way! It's too early to make a statement like that. This year's race will be decided in the Alps. Alaphillipe's record on long climbs in GTs is not good. Buchmann has no record in GTs whatsoever. There's nothing in his palmares to suggest that he can win a GT. Pinot's GT record is poor, peppered with DNFs. He's nothing at the TdF over the last four years. Thomas and Bernal still have team of dedicated domestiques. That should give them a significant advantage over Alaphilippe, Buchmann, Kruiswijk, Pinot and Uran. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jaggyness Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Looking like Thomas is going to have to pull a ride like Froome at Finestre. Or ineos are going to have to switch to Bernal and now 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cairn Terrier Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Looking like Thomas is going to have to pull a ride like Froome at Finestre.I believe it’s called “doing a Floyd”. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 Good tactics from Ineos, having Bernal mark Pinot. Thomas seems to be gaining some form.Alaphillipe screwed the nut & limited his losses.Any one of the top 6 could take this. Best Tour for years.Not forgetting another fine stage win for Simon Yates, lost in the GC furore. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiddy Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 I believe it’s called “doing a Floyd”.Mayweather?[emoji46] Oh you mean a #Landis! *Quote by Jumbo Visma's George Bennet IIRC. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bishop Briggs Posted July 21, 2019 Share Posted July 21, 2019 4 hours ago, jaggyness said: Looking like Thomas is going to have to pull a ride like Froome at Finestre. Or ineos are going to have to switch to Bernal and now Why? Thomas is still 27 seconds ahead of Bernal. Brailsford will back him 100% whilst he is the team's best placed rider. Thomas is second in the GC and has tomorrow's rest day plus a couple of easier stages to rebuild his strength. It would be madness to write him off at this point in the race. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
btb Posted July 22, 2019 Share Posted July 22, 2019 3 hours ago, Bishop Briggs said: Why? Thomas is still 27 seconds ahead of Bernal. Brailsford will back him 100% whilst he is the team's best placed rider. Thomas is second in the GC and has tomorrow's rest day plus a couple of easier stages to rebuild his strength. It would be madness to write him off at this point in the race. As long as Thomas is still the Ineos's best placed rider, Bernal has made up 59 seconds in the two mountain stages since the TT. Unsurprisingly Thomas's body language was a lot more positive in the post-stage interviews than the previous two days. All to ride for in the Alps for Alaphillipe, Thomas, Pinot & Bernal. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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