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

mewso

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867503#Comment_120867503

Sorry forgot the sarcasm emoji.

Dodge

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867493#Comment_120867493

Absolutely not flat

Torrey

Will be interesting to see how Remco stacks up against Jonas at next year's tour, cant see Pog beating him anytime soon

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867481#Comment_120867481

I've loved every minute of this and last year's tour right up to the point where JV crossed the line today. I can't shake that horrible feeling and really don't want to believe it. What we saw today is just so hard to comprehend. A 10/20 second gap either way would have made sense as they are so evenly matched. A minute and a half over 22kms on Pog and 3 minutes over WVA is unbelievable.

thebourke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867549#Comment_120867549

I was expecting a gap today of max 30 seconds...

retalivity

Jonas took more time out of Pog in T3-Finish than the actual climb (T2-T3), and a minute out of everyone else. Looks like he just didnt flag towards the end, and just got stronger.

Mefistofelino

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867481#Comment_120867481

There's been several. Before He Who Shall Not Be Mentioned, Indurain did the same in 92 and 94 IIRC, though that doesn't really help matters

walshb

Jaysus, and we have Paul Kimmage now to look forward to!!

Dcully

Pog riding to the numbers but Vingo was literally sprinting off the start similar but roles reversed when he [Pog] done roglic in that famous TT.

I fully expected Vingegaard to put time into Pog like last years TT, he is the best climber in the world and this was a pure climbers TT.

The stage the other day when Pog tried to drop him out of the saddle sprinting while Ving stayed in the saddle and stayed with him easily told me a lot.

I also fully expected him to be stronger week three.

cheese sandwich

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867582#Comment_120867582

I’m slightly interested to see what David Walsh makes of it. He’s been pretty positive about the race up to now

dahat

It’s very hard to take today at face value given the gaps to WVA. Either that or it’s the greatest TT performance ever. 👀🤷

Girly Gal

I think what's really hard to fathom is that Pogacar actually destroyed the field and yet was almost caught on the road. I felt JV would gain some time today maybe 30 seconds, but, almost a min and 40 seconds, that's insane, especially when Pogacar didn't collapse. It just doesn't sit right, I think even the commentators were astonished and possibly thinking what most are thinking right now.

Dcully

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867612#Comment_120867612

WVA is not a pure climber, this was climbers TT.

walshb

Am I right in thinking that JV took a kilometer or thereabouts off Pog?

dahat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867629#Comment_120867629

It still doesn’t sit right at all & saying it’s a climbers TT doesn’t make it any easier to a accept.

griffin100

It looks like Adam Yates has pushed Rodriguez off the podium by 5 seconds. That battle will probably be the most entertaining one for the final week.

Dcully

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867647#Comment_120867647

Accept what?

The best climber in the world won a climbers TT , himself and Pog have shown they are on another planet to the rest of the pro peleton.

Its almost exactly as i expected it to be totally honest 1,2,3 Ving,Pog and maybe a TT powerhouse like a WVA or maybe Kung, Cavanga etc.

I wasnt expecting such a margin between Ving and Pog to be fair but Ving in the last stage showed he was stronger by literally sitting down and staying with Pog as he put in one of his explosive out of the saddle all in sprints to try distance him.

G1032

JV went too far today. Crossed the line. Hard to know what they were thinking. Ridiculous what went on there today

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867629#Comment_120867629

WVA is an absolute animal on any terrain. Look at the split times, he was destroying one of the best in the business even on the flatter sections.

Macy0161

Look its professional sport, so nothing would suprise me but even earlier today people were fancying pog as a better time trialist than Jonas, which just wasn't really backed up.

I wouldn't have thought the course really suited wva either. And it was a clear tactically feck up by uae changing bikes (15-20 seconds on the change, plus from the top to finish).

So we've gone from 2 miles better than everyone else, to the popular one making poor choices and one having a super day so therefore dodgy?

Dcully

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867694#Comment_120867694

LOOOOOOOL

Dcully

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867695#Comment_120867695

I know full well that WVA is an animal, hes easily my favourite rider of them all but look back at last years ITT in the tour, WVA was literally gifted the win by Ving as has been recongnized by both men numerous times since.

dahat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867684#Comment_120867684

It’s the margin that creates suspicion, maybe Podj is ill? Maybe it creates doubt on the performance in other aspects of pushing boundaries.

He destroyed him full stop & no one expected that being honest.

Weepsie

Can people stop the doping insinuations. They're not remotely as subtle as you think and you'll get yourself instabanned from now on.

Weepsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867684#Comment_120867684

Pog and all spectatots should still be annoyed by those motos on Saturday. Wasted energy there and then to be thwarted by idiot motos and fans not getting out of the way.

Dcully

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867724#Comment_120867724

I hear ya, the margin is bigger than expected but Pog did seem to be starting to suffer the end of week 2.

JRant

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867713#Comment_120867713

I can fully accept Ving winning today's stage. What's I'm finding really hard to wrap my head around is the gap he won it by. Winning by 10/20/30 seconds would have been a phenomenal performance, week 3 in the tour, and nobody would have batted an eyelid.

Weepsie

Today was remarkable, but it was in no way more remarkable than 2020 when Pog put just under 2 mins into Roglic and Dumoulin by 81 seconds. Wasn't much more remarkable than the Giro just gone either.

I think what's annoying is Jumbo have sort of just Sky trained their way to this. UAE did some attacking, Jumbo did lots of controlling and sitting on wheels and waited for the TT so they can no bore us for the rest of the week. Kelderman and Kuss have both been caught up in crashes though and UAE didn't take enough advantage of that.

griffin100

I would look at today's stage in the same way I do at Froome's Stage 19 of the 2018 Giro and Nibali's comeback at the 2016 Giro. Just good old fashioned sports entertainment as they used to say in the WWF.

Weepsie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120867741#Comment_120867741

Again, Giro just gone, and 2020 Tour de France. Nobody thought they were remarkable because they liked the result. People don't like the potential spectactle has been ruined..

Could be possible that the TT setup was not as comfortable on a recently broken wrist as the regular bike too.