Tour De France 2019

ewal

Really hope Alaphillipe or one of the other riders with a bit of panache finds a way of beating the Ineos machine.  It's unlikely though - even if Thomas has a bad day, they've got the likes of Bernal waiting in the wings. And Thomas is likely to gain time on everyone else today.

crunchman

ewal said:

Really hope Alaphillipe or one of the other riders with a bit of panache finds a way of beating the Ineos machine.  It's unlikely though - even if Thomas has a bad day, they've got the likes of Bernal waiting in the wings. And Thomas is likely to gain time on everyone else today.

Can't support a Frenchman.

Would love it if Yates could win though.

axisus

I just can't get into it this year, haven't seen any stages yet. As a massive G fan this is weird. 

joneve

axisus said:

I just can't get into it this year, haven't seen any stages yet. As a massive G fan this is weird. 

First week was pretty dull other than the one hilly stage where De Ghent broke away for basically the whole race and Alaphillipe and Pinot were trying to catch him. Should liven up this week though. Loads of riders in the 10 ten with nothing to lose now, so hopefully will make some charges in the mountains. 

ewal

crunchman said:

ewal said:

Really hope Alaphillipe or one of the other riders with a bit of panache finds a way of beating the Ineos machine.  It's unlikely though - even if Thomas has a bad day, they've got the likes of Bernal waiting in the wings. And Thomas is likely to gain time on everyone else today.

Can't support a Frenchman.

Would love it if Yates could win though.

Why?

ewal

As in, why can't you support a Frenchman?

MagicPigDetective

If GT doesn’t win, I think it would be great to have a French winner after their barren 34 years. It’s their race after all. 

ewal

And let's not forget Alaphilippe's reaction when Adam Yates crashed last year.

crunchman

Didn't expect that.

Alaphilippe is for real.

Blaendulais

Is he for real.......suddenly awesome....oh no we've been here before....hes had a jiffy bag sent to him 

ewal

Alaphilippe obviously hasn't read the script. Superb!

sev112

It’s always boring, that’s what makes it fabulous  wondering what Alaphilippe has been doing to be so different from previous years.  Hopefully it’s honest because it’s fabulous watching him

duotone

sev112 said:

It’s always boring, that’s what makes it fabulous  wondering what Alaphilippe has been doing to be so different from previous years.  Hopefully it’s honest because it’s fabulous watching him

He’s lost quite a bit of weight from what the commentators were saying, so he could be more prepared for the harder mountain stages.

Looking forward to the weekends cycling, the time trial isn’t my cup of tea.

ewal

Blaendulais said:

Is he for real.......suddenly awesome....oh no we've been here before....hes had a jiffy bag sent to him 

I don't think he's done anything too unbelievable yet. The TT course suited him. The climbs have suited him so far. The next couple of days will be interesting. Will he ride defensively? Just mark Thomas? Can Pinot attack? What will the might of Ineos do, now they need to attack?

crunchman

He's got a big enough lead now that he could get away with losing 30s on a couple of the big mountain stages.  If he completely cracks, it's different, but if he can limit his losses he's got a bit of a buffer.

He does look strong though.  I don't see him losing 5 minutes today.

sev112

Day before Paris, last “real” stage completes with Frenchman Alaphilippe 10 seconds behind the leader ....
does DQS break tradition and try to get him an overall win in Paris ....?
any precedents does anyone know?

BigLicks67

I was concerned that Alaphilipe was hardly breathing at the end of the TT, whilst G was puffing like a steam train. Hopefully, this is just JA coming into his physical peak at 27 and not some other nefarious methods. God knows the French could do with a win.

guitars4you

Ineos can go with 2 options today 

1) Let Bernal ride with Thomas and both push hard early on, with the full INeos team when they get to the Tourmalet

2) Let Bernal go off early on a break - 2 parts to this - He can get back to 3rd, at least, maybe more - But also with a good lead he becomes a threat to Alaphilip - Thomas + Ineos would not need to chase down the break - Not sure Q/Step have a strong enough team to hunt down the break - If required Bernal could drop back later on to help Thomas - Two pronged attack for Team Ineos - I'd favour this option and do it before Q/Step do likewise with Mas

sev112

Do you think any of the other teams would let Bernal get in a break? Surely they would close it down?

guitars4you

sev112 said:

Do you think any of the other teams would let Bernal get in a break? Surely they would close it down?

valid point but there are always options -  The Col Du Soulor is an option today during the ascent - Push 'n' hit hard and see who follows

There are still 3/4 other days but best not to leave any attack on Alaphilip to long - Looks good to have a battle