The Tour Of France 2021

[Nivag]

It would take a colossal miscalculation by the sprinters teams for it not to nowadays. They'll do the drinking-champagne-whilst-riding thing for the procession to Paris, then when they hit the circuit start racing, A small break might be allowed a lap or two but they'll be brought back.

One thing I have read is that the finish line has been moved this year - it's a lot further up than in previous years, so the drag uphill from the final right hander might catch out anyone going early.

I hadn't realised they'd moved the finish line.

 

[twistedAM]

Today’s bet at a tempting 22/1 is Mike Teunissen as I think Jumbo should give him a chance though Van Aert might play the ego card.
I hope I’m wrong and it’s 35 but at 4/7 no point in betting on that.

 

[Cid]

I hope we we see Cav leading out Morkov, before handing his mechanic the green jersey stuff.

 

[twistedAM]

I could see Quickstep letting Ballerini go and no one bites so he wins it with Morkov second and Cav third and they all gift their bikes to the mechanics

 

[David Clapson]

Who put them on ebay.

 

[David Clapson]

Let's have a monster attack by Politt. I bet he could hold them off for 30km.

 

[Cid]

That cofidis tech removing a bit of plastic bag (from a derailleur at speed)...

 

[Cid]

One Moer time?

 

[Cid]

Well this is tense.

 

[Cid]

AHAHAHHAHAHAHAAHAHAHJHJAHAHAHA

 

[Mogden]

I think I stopped breathing at 600m.

 

[Cid]

Should've worked on stage 19 eh?

 

[David Clapson]

Well done Wout.

 

[David Clapson]

Wout makes Cavendish look old.

 

[rubbershoes]

Bad positioning by Cav

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

QS lost that on the final back straight, just before the turn into the tunnel. The Cofidis group that came up fast on the inside pushed them too far back. Meant Cav lost his lead out a bit too early due to the effort they had to make to get back to the front.

Ah well, awesome display of power from WvA, to win that as well as TT and mountain stages is pretty special.

 

[twistedAM]

QS lost that on the final back straight, just before the turn into the tunnel. The Cofidis group that came up fast on the inside pushed them too far back. Meant Cav lost his lead out a bit too early due to the effort they had to make to get back to the front.

Ah well, awesome display of power from WvA, to win that as well as TT and mountain stages is pretty special.

They only replayed the last few 100m - at one point Cav seemed to just choose Van Aert's wheel instead of trying to regroup with Morkov but I'm not sure as it was all happening so fast.

 

[beesonthewhatnow]

They only replayed the last few 100m - at one point Cav seemed to just choose Van Aert's wheel instead of trying to regroup with Morkov but I'm not sure as it was all happening so fast.

There were 2 mistakes IMHO from QS - the one I mentioned above, plus I think they waited too long to wind that little 3 man break in, should have done it half a lap or more sooner. If they had it wouldn’t have needed such an effort so they’d have had one or two more guys to pull to the finish.

 

[David Clapson]

I thought Cav had much less acceleration in the final sprint than we've seen recently. Perhaps tired because he'd been in the wind too much in the final km, and because of the pace in the final 10 km.

 

[Cid]

Cav gets boxed in on the left, with Morkov dropped somewhere around 500m... Whether that was because he didn't have the legs, or because Cav had been boxed in, not sure. Van Aert has a consistent leadout througout, while Cav is trying to get decent position behind him. Wout goes left from behind his leadout, which further boxes Cav in around 210m, then Cav has to freewheel around 140m, while Wout is starting his sprint. That, I think, is the killer.

DQT were properly fragmented on the run-up to the sprint, which came out of the stuff bees mentioned I think. There's an annoying cutaway at about 1km where he gets separated from Morkov.

 

[Cid]

He might have had a chance of rejoining Morkov at 550m, that would have involved dropping behind Philipsen and hoping Morkov was there to pick him up... Not an easy one.

 

[Mogden]

I got the feeling there was a bit of fear from Cav that a unwise move might see him clash with others and put him out completely.

I shall not miss the repeated snatches of The Chemical Brothers. I like their music but hearing that same bit again and again for 3 weeks has pissed me off.

 

[planetgeli]

The freewheel bit was weird because it really looked like he didn't have to do that. I'd like to hear what he says about it, it's almost like he saw something that wasn't there.

 

[Cid]

I'm not watching it again, but I think I'd go more to what Mogden mentioned... with Wout moving over, he's just in a very tricky position.

N.b - I don't think I'm faulting Wout on that - the line choice thing is only a factor once the sprint is fully engaged right?

 

[twistedAM]

Ah well onto the Tour de Wallonie which probably has a stronger sprint field!!! Starts Tuesday I think.

 

[twistedAM]

I'm not watching it again, but I think I'd go more to what Mogden mentioned... with Wout moving over, he's just in a very tricky position.

N.b - I don't think I'm faulting Wout on that - the line choice thing is only a factor once the sprint is fully engaged right?

I was talking about the final bend where Cav came off Morkov’s wheel and went on to Van Aert’s. Might have been a decent choice but for Teunissen’s leadout and Philipsen’s Anyone But Cav tactics.

 

[Cid]

I was talking about the final bend where Cav came off Morkov’s wheel and went on to Van Aert’s. Might have been a decent choice but for Teunissen’s leadout and Philipsen’s Anyone But Cav tactics.

Oh yeah, I agree with that... I was more taking issue with the 'Cav too weak'/'flinched at the last moment' posts. Lanterne Rouge has his take up now, which has the footage paused at convenient points:



I was confused by his tacking onto VA, but reckon he just had the best line out of that corner... Then, as you say, the A-F guys box him in. After that he's just in a series of bad positions, that he can't really extricate himself from. Sure there are 'maybe he could have...' moments, but there always are and they're mostly risky as fuck I think. Green jersey/health/reputation. 42mph.

 

[David Clapson]

He's blamed himself for switching trains: Mark Cavendish: My fairytale Tour de France shows you should never give up

I just made a bad decision in the end. I left my lead-out man and I thought that I’d find a better way but I didn’t. I let the boys down and I got boxed in

 

[Cid]

Yep... It's a weird choice... Maybe doubted Morkov, maybe thought Wout's line was better. The moment he does it is off screen so I guess we don't know. But if he's back again next year I think he'll have reviewed it quite a few times.

 

[David Clapson]

He eventually went under Wout. I don't know why he didn't do this a fraction earlier. There was enough room.