Tour de France 2023 ***spoilers*** Warning in OP

Raoul Duke

Vingegaard gained a second, but I think that was a moral victory for Pogacar and UAE. Jumbo's plan was to test Pogacar to the limit and break him. That completely failed and if Pogacar had timed his attack(s) better, he'd probably now be in Yellow. Yates was also superior to Kuss. It was UAE's poor decisions towards the end that handed the advantage to Vingegaard rather than anything Jumbo did.

On GCN afterwards they talked about another mistake by UAE, which I don't think I've seen mentioned here and which passed me by at the time. In that last KM, Pogacar should have left Yates go ahead to claim 2nd place, so that Pogacar could claim 3rd place and the 4 seconds bonus, leaving Vingegaard with nothing. Would have loved to have seen smart bike riding like that.

We'll no doubt see the same tactics tomorrow from Jumbo, but they should probably let the breakaway get properly away before putting the pressure on.

And, as expected, Pidcock just isn't able to recover properly after hard stages. Don't know if this can be trained into him or not. I suspect though that we'll never see him go for a Grand Tour.

eagle eye

Stage 15

Stage 14 was one of the best I've witnessed in all my years following the Tour de France.

Stage 15 is another brutal stage if it's rode hard. Will Jumbo do the same thing again and make it brutal or will this one be a slow burner until the final climb? I think Yates performance will result in a major rethink by Jumbo. They went so hard yesterday that Kuss was done early.

Will either of the big two crack on this stage? I have no idea if either of them have an advantage right now. What I do think is that Vingegaard has to go early and try burn out Pog. If he waits then Tadej will beat him in the sprint.

Jumbo burned all their matches yesterday, UAE the day before and yesterday too. I don't think either team will fancy going all out on this stage.

I think the breakaway wins this stage and I'm looking at two who were in it yesterday but shut it down as soon as they were caught. That's Pinot and Ciccone, Pinot finished 13 minutes behind, Ciccone 28. I think Ciccone fancies the polka dot and he'll work for those points and he could go all the way but as much with my heart as my head I'll take Thibaut Pinot for the win.

Squidgy Black

Lot of people saying Jumbo were taking it easy yesterday in preparation for today to go all out with the rest day coming up tomorrow, I’ve a feeling they might be disappointed.

Raoul Duke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120857738#Comment_120857738

People are saying that Jumbo were taking it easy yesterday?

retalivity

Dani Martinez a DNS due to effects of a concussion from the crash yesterday, how the hell did they let him continue on yesterday? And he was in the break chasing mountain points!

Squidgy Black

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120857794#Comment_120857794

Concussion protocol is only a ‘new’ thing in cycling sadly, think the UCI only introduced a protocol a couple years ago, and the likes of British Cycling only published advice for the first time this year.

Post crash the main focus is scrapes and bruises, if there’s nothing broken you get back on the bike and ‘see how it goes’

Squidgy Black

Van Hooydonck looks in bad shape there, taken out by a fan taking a selfie

edit: was actually Kuss taken out by the fan and he’s at the back of the group now, Hooydonck was just collateral

odyssey06

Crash in the peloton - idiot taking a selfie caught a rider. Van Hooydonck (Jumbo-Visma) is back on bike but shredded.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120858009#Comment_120858009

Pity that heavy handed Spanish Gard isn't around now.

CramCycle

Jesus, holding a block of ice to keep the swelling in Gogls wrist down. Cyclists are stupidly hardcore.

breezy1985

So which non French member of this group is gonna take the win today 😁

retalivity

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120858155#Comment_120858155

Ciccone.

It's grand though, Guillaume Martin will go into yellow!

eagle eye

Please, please, please let it be Pinot today.

Jumbo at it again now. I don't understand it. Yates showed they are wasting their time yesterday

retalivity

Gaudu is fecked

eagle eye

Anyone know why Van Baarle is riding on the front of the peloton?

breezy1985

Marc Soler showing WvA a masterclass in not riding for the team.

retalivity

Soler is gas. Ciccone will be raging he got no points there.

CramCycle

I'd say the opposite of all the commentators. It isn't that Soler is being selfish, he has been told, go mental as it will cause the more egotistical in JV to burn up. If you get the win, great, if you stretch WVA, great. WVA is burning himself for no reason, UAE who are renowned for not being as tactical as others found a weak spot in JV to pick on.

Just a thought

CramCycle

Scrap that,

griffin100

Would love to see a Guill Martin win here.

dahat

Wout will win…..

mewso

Great sequence there watching Pidcock get back on.

Squidgy Black

Kuss has popped

retalivity

This is great

Squidgy Black

Pog looking back over his shoulder, I’d say he’ll launch soon

Dr. Bre

In situations like this they should have a split screen. Leaders and yellow jersey group. Camera Nearly missed the winner going over the finish line lol

CantGetNoSleep

Biggest win of his career according to Eurosport? Did he not win Liege Bastogne Liège ?

Squidgy Black

Can tell this stage is gonna play a huge part in the Netflix series, they’ll say WvA was so focused on the stage win that he left Jonas to try and survive against UAE and all their domestiques

eagle eye

This is a fantastic battle, who is going to win the Tour and by how little?

Squidgy Black

Would love to know what he said to Pog as he passed him to cross the line