Julian Alaphilippe wins crash-marred 1st stage of Tour de France
Makes me think what a shame Alaphillippe was robbed of his late stage win a few years ago when they cancelled the stage due to snow--he was busting it on ahead, and likely would have won the whole Tour if they had let him hold onto it that day. Small consolation, but nice to see him back in yellow for a day.

Mathieu Van der Poel honors late grandfather in winning second stage of Tour de France

nice:

Quote:"It's a shame he is not here, but what can I do," the 26-year-old Van der Poel said about Poulidor, while holding back tears after his maiden Tour stage win following a blazing attack.

Poulidor, who died in November 2019, took part in 14 Tours from 1962-76, finishing in second place overall three times and third five times. Nicknamed "Poupou" and "The Eternal Runner-up," Poulidor was adored by French fans but could never win the famed yellow tunic worn by the race leader after each stage.

"I imagine how proud he would be," said Van der Poel, whose father, Adri, was also a professional cyclist and wore the yellow jersey for one day in 1984.

Tim Merlier wins Tour de France Stage 3 as top contenders tumble on crash-marred day

The final sprint was disrupted by another crash when Caleb Ewan's front wheel slid from under him on the final turn. He brought down Peter Sagan with him. Ewan, who won two stages last year, broke his right collarbone and abandoned the three-week race.

Tour de France riders stage protest over road safety debate

Mark Cavendish posts 31st stage 4 win in Tour de France return

After what he's been through and how long he's waited to get back, this was nice to see as well...

Quote:On Tuesday at the Tour de France, the tears of sadness made way for those of happiness after the "Manx Missile" posted a 31st stage win at cycling's biggest event.

"Just being here is special enough. I didn't think I would ever get to come back to this race," said Cavendish, the greatest sprinter in the race's history.

The 36-year-old veteran sat on the road and cried after his triumph in the fourth stage. He was congratulated by teammates, who worked hard in the stage finale to put Cavendish in an excellent position for the sprint.

Police find and arrest spectator who caused mass Tour de France crash

The spectator who caused a mass crash on the opening day of the Tour de France has been arrested and placed in custody, according to RTL.

Race organizers threatened legal action in the aftermath of Saturday’s incident and French police soon opened an enquiry, launching a search for the culprit.

After appealing for witnesses, the person has been identified, found, and is now in police custody in Landerneau, according to RTL.

The person is accused of involuntarily causing injury and faces a fine of €1,500.


A spectator holding a sign sparked a massive crash on stage 1 of the Tour de France (Image credit: NBC Sports/ASO Broadcast)

ITT today. A little wet to start, but drying out as they go along.

(06-29-2021 11:15 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Mark Cavendish posts 31st stage 4 win in Tour de France return

After what he's been through and how long he's waited to get back, this was nice to see as well...

Quote:On Tuesday at the Tour de France, the tears of sadness made way for those of happiness after the "Manx Missile" posted a 31st stage win at cycling's biggest event.

"Just being here is special enough. I didn't think I would ever get to come back to this race," said Cavendish, the greatest sprinter in the race's history.

The 36-year-old veteran sat on the road and cried after his triumph in the fourth stage. He was congratulated by teammates, who worked hard in the stage finale to put Cavendish in an excellent position for the sprint.

Yeah, it's a good story and and exciting race finish but I'm not the biggest Cavendish fan - I was definitely rooting for the breakaway. All great sprinters have to be cocky and aggressive but in his heyday Cav was an arrogant and entitled tool who was defensive and rude to anyone who didn't kiss his ass. Ask reporters who covered him back then. Eddy Merckx has more class in his little finger than Cavendish has in his entire body - I'll be sad if Cavendish break's Merckx's record for stage victories (which still seems unlikely but now looks at least possible).

Hopefully the last few years have humbled him a bit...

(06-30-2021 09:35 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  ITT today. A little wet to start, but drying out as they go along.

Very exciting result. Having MvdP and Wout Van Aert 1st and 3rd in GC is awesome. Neither is a serious contender for GC but both are absurdly strong riders across disciplines and are capable of being great disrupters if not legit points (green jersey) contenders. Hell, MvdP already is - just read about what he and Alpecin-Fenix did to put him in the yellow jersey.

(06-30-2021 01:48 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Yeah, it's a good story and and exciting race finish but I'm not the biggest Cavendish fan - I was definitely rooting for the breakaway. All great sprinters have to be cocky and aggressive but in his heyday Cav was an arrogant and entitled tool who was defensive and rude to anyone who didn't kiss his ass. Ask reporters who covered him back then. Eddy Merckx has more class in his little finger than Cavendish has in his entire body - I'll be sad if Cavendish break's Merckx's record for stage victories (which still seems unlikely but now looks at least possible).

Hopefully the last few years have humbled him a bit...

A lot of athletes are not so likeable, and perhaps that's been the case more often than not in the past. Ever seen the movie "Downhill Racer"? The anti-hero was certainly a thing a long time before today. I feel fortunate to have seen the times when there was not as much "noise" surrounding athletes as there is today with all the constant media and online stuff. But perhaps you're more right than wrong on your points above. We'll never know as those athletes of yesteryear functioned in a different environment than today's do. As will tomorrow's. Dale Murphy just isn't everyone's cup of tea, which I do find a shame, but still.

Here's the scoop on today's time trial, which certainly proved interesting:

Tadej Pogacar routs rivals in Tour de France time trial

(06-30-2021 03:15 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  But perhaps you're more right than wrong on your points above. We'll never know as those athletes of yesteryear functioned in a different environment than today's do.

I'm neither - these are opinions. Not being aware of certain athletes' behaviors/attitudes in 1969 has no bearing on whether an athlete today is behaving like a jerk. I don't really have an interest in determining whether there are more or less jerks in sports these days but I wouldn't be surprised if the number is in line with the general population.

Well, Brookes, Cavendish had himself another good day:

Mark Cavendish does it again, posts 32nd Tour stage win

Quote:Back in the race for the first time since 2018, the British sprinter has regained some of the luster of his youth to dominate the field again.

After winning Stage 4 on Tuesday to start his unexpected comeback to the top, the best sprinter in the history of the race took a step closer to Belgian great Eddy Merckx's record of 34 stage wins.

Cavendish, known as the Manx Missile, received a late call-up last month as a replacement for Sam Bennett, the best sprinter of last year's Tour.

In addition to Merckx's record, Cavendish's next goal will be to win the best sprinter's green jersey in Paris. Lefevere said he does not want to set targets for Cavendish's aging legs since reaching the French capital after crossing the Alps and the Pyrenees is already a big challenge for his protégé.

Mathieu van der Poel kept the race leader's yellow jersey at the end of the 160.6-kilometer (100-mile) transition stage in central France with an eight-second lead over defending champion Tadej Pogacar. The main contenders enjoyed a quiet day in the peloton, conserving energy for the Alpine stages this weekend. There were no significant changes in the overall standings.

(07-01-2021 01:59 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Well, Brookes, Cavendish had himself another good day

Much to my chagrin. He looks incredibly strong and just as importantly he's got strong support and is getting great lead outs. I have to revise my prediction: I think there's now a very good chance he at least ties Merckx this year. Only needs two more wins.

Dammit.

My man Wout was supposedly going hard for a win today but he's not the sprinter that Cav is, and probably doesn't have as good a lead out. I think he's going to have to take some chances to get a win. Problem is that he's 3rd in the GC at the moment so he's marked by the peleton. Can't really get away with much.

But tomorrow's a new day. Longest stage of the tour at 259km and ends in the mountains. Not hugely difficult climbs yet but enough to give opportunity for riders who want to try to blow up the peleton. Should be fun.

Great day. Huge break that included the yellow jersey, with riders attacking the break in the latter half of the day, and the peleton couldn't/wouldn't keep up. Impact on GC still to be seen in the mountains.

Bummed that Wout didn't make an earlier move, but seeing that he and van der Poel were able to sprint for 3rd says a lot - they hammered to bridge that gap. I generally root against Ineos (they buy an all star team every year, control stages, and make racing much less interesting) so I wasn't bummed that Carapaz made a huge effort that ultimately was for naught. Let's see what happens with Nibali now. He won in 2014 so he's a GC rider but he's 36. He was in the break today and gained a lot of time on the other GC guys. Biggest news was probably Roglic. 2nd last year, one of the favorites this year. Crashed hard the other day then TT'd well in Stage 5. Got dropped on a Cat 2 climb today. Barring a miracle he's out of contention now.

Tomorrow = real mountains. 5 categorized climbs, 3 of them Cat 1. If I had to guess I'd say that Pogacar (last year's winner) finishes at or near the top of the GC but it's a decent bet Ineos will try to take control. Pretty unrealistic to think MvdP will hold the yellow jersey. Quite a few riders made a huge effort today on a really long course. Tomorrow is gonna be painful for them.

that was a helluva stage right there.

in case you were wonderin'...

2021 Bikes Of The WorldTour | Who's Riding What In Pro Cycling This Year:

well, today's sateg 8 was even better. Race broken. Wow.

Indeed. That ride by Pogacar was historic. The race is over; it will now just be the fight for 2nd and 3rd.

Dude is 22.

(07-04-2021 09:26 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Indeed. That ride by Pogacar was historic. The race is over; it will now just be the fight for 2nd and 3rd.

Dude is 22.

well....
Primoz Roglic & Mathieu van der Poel Withdraw From Tour de France

(07-04-2021 10:48 AM)GoodOwl Wrote:  

(07-04-2021 09:26 AM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  Indeed. That ride by Pogacar was historic. The race is over; it will now just be the fight for 2nd and 3rd.

Dude is 22.

well....
Primoz Roglic & Mathieu van der Poel Withdraw From Tour de France

Nothing surprising about MvdP - he wants to get ready for the Olympics and was never a contender for GC. But Roglic? He was not just a contender but one of the favorites. His TT time was good but the crash must have taken a bigger toll that be admitted.

And if yesterday wasn’t enough to convince everyone, today hammers home the point: Pogacar is absolutely in a class all by himself.