79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 07/02/2023 11:15 AM |
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So far, I'm liking. (After opening Sunday). Yesterday's crash taking out two team leaders sucked but for the most part, it hasn't been an opening weekend crash derby. I think the roads have had a lot to do with it. Seriously hard but not yet true mountains.
Fun to see Victor Lafay take advantage of the favorites watching each other, then Van Aert waiting too long to go. New face to me but I'm impressed. Second day he's been active. OC, do you have a scoop on him?
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/02/2023 12:35 PM |
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| No scoop. All I know is that lots of fingers are pointing to Jonas as needing to help out van Aert in that instance. Wout had already controlled things on several occasions and needed to hold back for sprint. Benoot and Kelderman were also sapped which just left Vingegaard. But I can see flipside in which Wout and Pog are 1-2 and Jonas loses more seconds. Tell that to the Belgians 😂 |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/02/2023 05:43 PM |
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| Another fan. Excellent courses to start the race. Huge fan turnout - who sometimes ignored the barriers. |
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huckleberry
Posts:824
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| 07/03/2023 01:24 PM |
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| F#ck the Belgians. JV did the right thing. WVA is one of my favorites, but he was outfoxed. Love that Cofidis finally got the win. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 07/06/2023 10:53 AM |
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That was savage! I thought fish guy sat on the front way too long and expected Pogačar to attack but thought it would come with a few hundred meter to go, not 2k.
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/06/2023 12:43 PM |
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It's a two-horse race already but game on. Pog looked comfortable behind Jonas so I was wondering about JV's game plan; the attack didn't come as a surprise.
Definitely liking this years course, more varied like what Giro typically does, with GC action from the start. But not expecting to see this every year because major parts of France are not being visited this year. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/06/2023 07:54 PM |
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| Just watched the replay. WVA is such a stud. Give him another raise! |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/06/2023 07:57 PM |
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| PS: tech question: the feed from the motos includes the crowd noise but no moto noise. I don't know how they do it, but I am impressed. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/06/2023 07:59 PM |
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PPS: a holes with flares go f yourselves
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/07/2023 10:34 AM |
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Wow....I thought Cav had it today. He played it perfectly as he could...he had to launch then or lose his momentum. He just got beat by a faster guy.
Jasper was impressive today....Alpecin made a bit of a mess of the sprint. They hit the front too early and ran out of guys. MVP had to sit up as a result and then reaccelerate. But Jasper was able to use his raw speed to overcome the tactical errors.
Just a great race overall, so far.... |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/07/2023 11:01 AM |
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VDP noted they could not see distance markers that they use for timing of leadout. He'd been sprinting for a while and then suddenly saw it was still 300 to go. Jasper made the most of it by using Cav.
Girmay seemed not happy about Jasper's move on Cav's wheel which effectively cut him off. It was a fairly massive sideways move. Comparatively Girmay had no issue with the shoulder bump he received from VDP the other day, which saw VDP relegated. What is or isn't allowed in sprints remains wildly subjective. Maybe from Girmay's perspective is that in the earlier incident he was not in contention anyway, today he was. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/07/2023 02:56 PM |
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| If Cav had VDP for a leadout man . . . |
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79pmooney
Posts:3189
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| 07/07/2023 06:01 PM |
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| This Tour is shaping up to be a Tour of the super domestiques. No, they don't quite butt heads or at least, not very often but ... VDP and Kuss, at their respective arenas, are world class. (Been a fan of Kuss since he tore apart that Utah race.) |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/07/2023 09:24 PM |
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Posted By Frederick Jones on 07/07/2023 02:56 PM
If Cav had VDP for a leadout man . . .
Cees Bol is a certified excellent leadout. Seems Cav had some gearing issues that may have cost the win. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2886
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| 07/08/2023 07:03 AM |
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| Not what I've seen, at least so far. Jasper hasn't had to start his sprint 10 or 20 bike lengths back. |
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