(07-18-2022 06:42 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(07-18-2022 06:21 PM)GoodOwl Wrote:  Watched Stage 7 in the Mountains....Amazing how Pogačar won it at the end. I thought he was a little too far off, but 24% grade at the finish was the killer...except for Pogačar. His teammates played it near-perfect for him.

And remember, after the 24% they had to finish on GRAVEL! Try riding out of the saddle on road tires on a steep grade. It's awful. That was such a brutal finish, but super exciting.

Quote:Why team Ineos wasn't in the attack was beyond me. They have four riders in the Top 10 (at this juncture, anyways.)

Hate those guys. They don't know what to do when they don't have a race favorite and resources to smother the peloton. It's absolutely GREAT for racing that they are not doing the Ineos thing.

You are going to love Stage 8. But Stage 11 is gonna knock you flat.

It was a pretty amazing stage. I'm gonna watch the All_Star game tonight, so I'll be following further off the back, I'm afraid! Still hope to stay close enough to finish!

I'm not gonna give it away but today's stage was absolutely wonderful. Massive efforts by so many guys - just great racing. I wanna give all those guys hugs.

Next to last day and I am just now finding this thread (sigh). Will look for you next year and maybe contribute a little. As for this year’s contribution ,Wout van Aert is a freak.
Will check in tomorrow.

(07-23-2022 08:56 AM)2mean Wrote:  Next to last day and I am just now finding this thread (sigh). Will look for you next year and maybe contribute a little. As for this year’s contribution ,Wout van Aert is a freak.
Will check in tomorrow.

I like to refer to him as My Man Wout ™.

Was great seeing him in the TT leader’s chair watching Pog and Jonas, and seeing that little smile. Knew his teammate was gonna stay upright and keep yellow, and knew he’d win the stage.

Today’s finale was a little anticlimactic. I would have loved to have seen Wout win (or even contest it) but more importantly I was hoping for a really exciting bunch sprint with organized lead out trains, etc. But it ended up being kind of chaotic and sloppy. Jesper is a great sprinter and certainly one of the favorites but I didn’t get the kind of exciting team tactics I was hoping for. Bob Roll, in the run up to the start, mentioned the extra 800m after the last turn before the finish and how teams/sprinters would have to adapt. it’s easy to wonder if he was prescient - there was really only one proper lead out (for Dylan G), that didn’t really pay off for him… but kinda did for Jesper who was on Dylan’s wheel.

(07-24-2022 03:38 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(07-23-2022 08:56 AM)2mean Wrote:  Next to last day and I am just now finding this thread (sigh). Will look for you next year and maybe contribute a little. As for this year’s contribution ,Wout van Aert is a freak.
Will check in tomorrow.

I like to refer to him as My Man Wout ™.

Was great seeing him in the TT leader’s chair watching Pog and Jonas, and seeing that little smile. Knew his teammate was gonna stay upright and keep yellow, and knew he’d win the stage.

Today’s finale was a little anticlimactic. I would have loved to have seen Wout win (or even contest it) but more importantly I was hoping for a really exciting bunch sprint with organized lead out trains, etc. But it ended up being kind of chaotic and sloppy. Jesper is a great sprinter and certainly one of the favorites but I didn’t get the kind of exciting team tactics I was hoping for. Bob Roll, in the run up to the start, mentioned the extra 800m after the last turn before the finish and how teams/sprinters would have to adapt. it’s easy to wonder if he was prescient - there was really only one proper lead out (for Dylan G), that didn’t really pay off for him… but kinda did for Jesper who was on Dylan’s wheel.

Wout Van Vert on his seat tube was great. I am not sure how I feel about the finish line move. Hope Sagan can come back strong next year so there might be an actual race for the green jersey. Though if Wout is near this form, it will be over before it begins. Him riding Pogacar off of Vingegaard's wheel after being off the front all day, I have no words.

(07-25-2022 11:26 AM)2mean Wrote:  

(07-24-2022 03:38 PM)Brookes Owl Wrote:  

(07-23-2022 08:56 AM)2mean Wrote:  Next to last day and I am just now finding this thread (sigh). Will look for you next year and maybe contribute a little. As for this year’s contribution ,Wout van Aert is a freak.
Will check in tomorrow.

I like to refer to him as My Man Wout ™.

Was great seeing him in the TT leader’s chair watching Pog and Jonas, and seeing that little smile. Knew his teammate was gonna stay upright and keep yellow, and knew he’d win the stage.

Today’s finale was a little anticlimactic. I would have loved to have seen Wout win (or even contest it) but more importantly I was hoping for a really exciting bunch sprint with organized lead out trains, etc. But it ended up being kind of chaotic and sloppy. Jesper is a great sprinter and certainly one of the favorites but I didn’t get the kind of exciting team tactics I was hoping for. Bob Roll, in the run up to the start, mentioned the extra 800m after the last turn before the finish and how teams/sprinters would have to adapt. it’s easy to wonder if he was prescient - there was really only one proper lead out (for Dylan G), that didn’t really pay off for him… but kinda did for Jesper who was on Dylan’s wheel.

Wout Van Vert on his seat tube was great. I am not sure how I feel about the finish line move. Hope Sagan can come back strong next year so there might be an actual race for the green jersey. Though if Wout is near this form, it will be over before it begins. Him riding Pogacar off of Vingegaard's wheel after being off the front all day, I have no words.

Yeah, the finish line move might have been a mistake - I don't think it's a coincidence the sprint was such a mess.

Wout dominated this Tour in a way only yellow jerseys do. If he wants to do this again next year, as you imply, there are very few if any who can deny him. But... the one guy who might be capable just wasn't fit this year: Mathieu van der Poel has been trading wins with Wout for years - back to junior days even - and is an incredible rider in his own right. I was hoping to see those two tangle this year but MvdP just didn't have it.

It also depends on the parcours. There has been an effort to make the Tour more exciting and it certainly paid off this year, but if they look at this and decide they need more bunch sprints and/or less Classics-style racing that will tend to neutralize Wout and others like him.