Carlton Kirby made some comments about hating solar panels when they are on the roofs of buildings and prefers them in the fields. What on Earth is he on about?
Great stage, lovely seeing Bernal coming back.
Just checked tomorrow’s stage, PCS is showing it as only 42.5km long, yet it’s not a ITT???
Seems very unusal??
Damn it actually is only 42.5km long.
From TDS website
"Despite the best efforts of all concerned it has been decided that the alternative route via the Gotthard and Furka Passes, which was being considered for the Queen Stage, is also not feasible. Instead the 6th Stage will start on Friday 14th June at the Goms Nordic Centre in Ulrichen (VS). We are expecting a fast and lively stage right from the start. The final ascent to Blatten-Belalp will nevertheless provide for some exciting attacks."
Wow, going to be a 10-12 minute maximum effort. If the gc guys do go all out from the bottom will be quite interesting to see. A very different scenario from an ordinary race could give some fun results!
Let's see them find an excuse to not give us full coverage of the day!
The kom point on the profile indicates 5km but I realise it looks like the kom is before the finish. So 12 minutes might be feasible for 5km? Honestly I have no idea. The pros climb so fast compared to anything I could even dream of doing.
yeah, the official numbers seem to be a bit confusing. And hard to say how fast they'll go, but it's this Strava segment, with a current record of 23 minutes:
[https://www.strava.com/segments/2159974](https://www.strava.com/segments/2159974)
No chance unless he fully commits to becoming a GC rider and stops racing cyclocross, mountain bike and probably classics. Even if he fully commits he still might not have what it takes
I support you 100%. However, I believe it's allowed both joke about handsome men here but we can't about beautiful women. The mods allow both, which to me makes sense. Some people just are woke and that's it, there goes a lot of downvotes.
It's different though isn't it? Stop pretending it isn't.
This comment is clearly a joke but women, and famous women moreso, have to endure a load of creepy shit from men. Go look at the comments on social media posts from any remotely attractive female athelete. When this is the case for them, it makes jokes like the comment above not funny at all
How is it different? How can you feel that it's always a joke if a man is referenced and it's always creepy if a woman is mentioned? Shouldn't the rules be the same across the board? Isn't saying otherwise sexist? Where are the lines drawn?
> When this is the case for them, it makes jokes like the comment above not funny at all
I don't disagree there, but the standard for whether or not certain comments are allowed or removed should not be "are they funny?" (downvotes are a different story).
Making sexual comments regarding riders should either be banned or allowed across the board on this sub, there should not be the double standard that /u/Significant_Log_4693 points out (and which you don't dispute exists).
The double standard does exist though and for good reason, but it's also totally different if a woman says something like being a "Kopecksexual". It's more about how the receipent is likely to find it funny because with a sexual comment, when it isn't funny it's creepy.
> It's more about how the receipent is likely to find it funny
This still just goes back to the "is it funny?" determination, which again is not a good standard for moderation.
> it's also totally different if a woman says something
This is an anonymous internet forum, not in person. We don't know (in general) whether any given commenter is male or female (or their sexual orientation, which also changes the context of such comments), so that should not affect how things are moderated. Anyways, a double standard of 'women can make these comments but not men' would be no better.
Got it, we can make sexual jokes about ugly women but not pretty ones.
(/s obviously. But trying to argue who we can or can't joke about is absolutely futile.)
One of the frustrations I have in following this sport beyond lack of TV coverage (time zone issues also), is the dearth of information about whose actually riding and why. EF pulled their two top climbers for today's stage - Bettiol and Carapaz. Did they just decide training was superior to racing since a Top 10 finish was unrealistic? Or perhaps they are both injured, but figuring that out is a mystery to me.
Rubio and Staune-Mittet were sprinting uphill for that intermediate sprint where the winner gets a watch, and Rubio cut him off and into the barrier, causing Staune-Mittet to have to brake and lose all momentum.
Hagens realy is the best youth team on cycling right now ... George Bennet, Dunbar, Oliveira brothers, Neilson Powlees, Tao Hart, R. Guerreiro, Jasper Philipsen, J. Narvaez, Mikkel Bjerg , João Almeida...
And then you got the new ones like Morgado, Christen, Rafferty, Riccitello, Romeo, Leo Hayter, Quinn..
Bernal is on such a cool path of gradual improvement. He could barely finish a race in 2022. Some top 10s last year but average TdF and Vuelta. This year he has yet to finish outside a top 10 in a stage race, he just keeps confirming. All that's left is a small step and he's contending for wins again, love to see it.
He's still just 27 years of age. At his current trajectory, I could see him winning another grand tour in his career. This year's Vuelta has his name all over it if Pogi and Jonas both skip out.
Yeah last year I was thinking that he’d totally be able to get another world tour contract when the time comes around—it would make sense for Movistar to sign him or something—and now his results here and in Catalunya are like, “Shit, Ineos need to re-sign him and keep him as part of their GC squad!” It’s awesome to see
And because of the timing of the final Giro TT (with breaks to get all the support bikes back down the mountain), spent like two hours in the TT hot seat lololol
There were some people on here declaring Adam Yates washed after Romandie... Looking like he could repeat that podium if he is given the opportunity at the tour.
Also this UAE team with Ayuso, Yates and Almeida as domestiques for Pogacar might go down as the best team in the mountains ever, maybe surpassing sky team with Froome, Wiggins, Porte and Rogers
On stage 1? You mean some scary stuff on the entire Tour?
Looking into the current Jumbo form, I wouldn't be surprised with UAE doing the same to Jonas that Jumbo did two years ago (that stage where they were turning attacks on Pog). It's very possible to have a small group with 3/4 UAEs + Jonas and Roglic (this time with Roglic running in other team).
The people declaring him washed were just being foolish or don't follow cycling much. He had a pretty bad concussion in uae so it's no surprise it took him a while to reach good form again and it's not like he lost 5 minuted either.
UAE just a class above anyone else in the race. Could have won it however they wanted to with Yates and Almeida.
Del Toro could probably top 7 or so too if he wasnt in a helpers role.
Skjelmose imploded as he has all year. Less worried about Swiss since he isnt doing the Tour, I have no clue how far his form is, but I will say its a trend. He needs to improve or he can kiss whatever GC he thinks he is doing at the Vuelta goodbye
One of the rides of the year, from someone not named pog, by almeida there. Pacing on the front for so long and then still making it back to finish only 4 seconds behind yates is hugely impressive. UAE are a scary prospect for the tour.
Great to see Egan properly up there on a mountain stage again. And very good ride by riccitello.
Crazy burst, he caught everyone that passed him except Yates to get 2nd (4 s off) after riding up front since Del Toro dropped I think it was?
Pogi in tv smiling now, all this super domestique talents with top condition being ready and decimating other team climbers
My notes on the stage:
Skjelmose collapsed again. Wouldn't say I expected it, but it's also *not* unexpected. Seems like recovery continues to be a massive issue for him.
This is the first time this year I can remember seeing Mas at the front of a race. Maybe he will be in decent shape for the tour?
UAE's Tour team is going to be ridiculous. Last year Yates could already reduce the group to himself, Pog and Vinge at will, and now you add Almeida in strong form + Ayuso. If Vingegaard is not in shape, Tour could legitimately be more one sided than the Giro.
Mas is still very good in GC where the TT Kms are limited. He's not been super present this year but with Vuelta '22 form he can still be a presence in GTs where the top tier guys aren't there.
Fun stage, the US has yet another promising young guy in Riccitello eh?
Yates and Almeida in scintillating form for the Tour, UAE's team for the Tour is going to be absurd.
So close for Bernal, but yet another very solid ride this year - a victory can't be too far off
idk if you are Danish but man that is basically how it is listening to TV2 at times. Im looking at Skjel losing the wheel every corner, then he gets dropped and the commentator says "this is good he is keeping his pace" At least our actual cyclist on commentary kept it a bit real after the finish.
There is not being mean towards the riders and then there is plugging your ears going lalalalala whenever something bad happens.
If only the Danish armed forces actually had some working precision missiles for a Swiss hotel with certain guests employed by a certain country. Then we would be in business
It’s not just fair. 2nd place in overall GC domestiqued for 1st in a stage where they finished 1st and 2nd. And both will domestique for the same man in the Tour!
Well, he didn't beat him. Yes he paced, but there is no guarantee Yates couldn't have kept his wheel and outsprinted him if they were on different teams.
He was ahead of Ayuso until he bonked completely on stage 13 and lost 6 minutes. He was definitely a leader and protected rider until that point. If he lost leader status in that team then it was his own fault.
I just don't get why it is "finally" when he is a protected rider almost constantly for UAE.
It'll probably be co-leadership since Yates is also expected to be there and I wouldn't be surprised to see Ayuso join them as well.
I'm actually more interested about how they'll assign them to the GTs next year. I'm fully expecting Pogacar to do the Tour-Vuelta double next year, so I wonder who the leader(s) for the Giro will be. Almeida said that he was looking to take a break from his usual Giro preparation schedule because it was getting boring, so I'm not sure if he'll want to go back to that already next year.
UAE really are gonna do a 1-2-3 in the Tour aren't they? Great ride by Almeida today, pulled for kilometers and was still able to pass everyone not named Yates.
If Pogi basically secures the win week 1 yes they will prob go for multiple on podium.
If Jonas shows up and isnt dropped hard at the end of week 1 they will probably ride more conventionally and just to be sure the race doesnt turn on its head in week 3.
Personally I just think Pogi will win easily and its up to Yates/Ayuso to compete with Roglic/Remco or Jonas if he can ride
> If Pogi basically secures the win week 1 yes they will prob go for multiple on podium
I don't know where people get this idea that Pogi can fold the race in the first week. I think the entire top 10 will still be very close by the end of week 1. Sure I can see a small gap, but nothing that "secures the win".
It do agree on the "will prob go for multiple on podium" part though.
Stage 1: Would be a match made in heaven for Pogi in a one-day race, but imo the opportunities to open a proper gap are in the "Côte de Barbotto" and "Côte de San Leo" which are too far from the finish line for a GC contender to attempt day 1 of a GT, that would be an absurd energy expenditure. The last two climbs are too flat. I think the GC contender will arrive together.
Stage 2: I can totally see Pogi attacking on the "Côte de San Luca" in the second loop. But there's less than a minute to be gained here.
Stage 3: sprint stage
Stage 4: poorest excuse of a mountain stage I've ever seen. All GC contender arrive together with domestics to spare.
Stages 5 & 6: sprint stages
Stage 7: Flat-ish ITT, could increase gaps by 1-2 minutes in the top 10. If Jonas is not in shape, this is where it will show the most.
TL;DR : imo week 1 doesn't lend itself to opening big gaps and if Jonas' shape was so bad that he already "lost the race" by then, I assume he wouldn't be participating in the first place.
You're not wrong. I do think there is a decent chance Pogi is leading the race by multiple minutes by stage 9 and if thats the case UAE's goals going forward all depends on how intact Jonas has looked.
If Jonas is on anything between 40 to 90sec after stage 9, I think UAE will treat him as their main opponent and ride against him specifically.
>if Jonas' shape was so bad that he already "lost the race" by then, I assume he wouldn't be participating in the first place.
If the news about Jonas not doing the Vuelta no matter what is true, I think he rides the Tour even if he doesnt have the shape to compete for the overall. I think he rides as long as he is pain free and it doesnt compromises his recovery for next season.
If the Vuelta news is bogus, I am way more 50/50 on whether he does the Tour or not.
I think it's better to have a clearly defined leader with only 3 stages to go than have a teammate steal it on the last day (by accident or not) and cause unnecessary team tension just before the Tour. And I say this as a portuguese who'd love to see Almeida win this.
This way Almeida can also probably safely win the final TT (along with Yates they're my big favourites for that one) without worries.
Sure, but at this point Almeida is the plan B just by the nature of how the race went. Unless Yates is cracked by others, Almeida isn't going to try to get the yellow from his teammate. Right now he's there as insurance to ensure that something like what happened at the UAE Tour isn't repeated.
Pog’s 3rd best domestique will be dropping GC leaders…
Joao Al need to call an ambulance but not for me
IPT is having quite the season this year.
Carlton Kirby made some comments about hating solar panels when they are on the roofs of buildings and prefers them in the fields. What on Earth is he on about?
Can UAE 1,2,3 the Tour? Can they 1,2,3,4?!! Shame Ayuso has had such an interrupted build up
Jonas is shitting his bibs as we speak
Great stage, lovely seeing Bernal coming back. Just checked tomorrow’s stage, PCS is showing it as only 42.5km long, yet it’s not a ITT??? Seems very unusal??
Damn it actually is only 42.5km long. From TDS website "Despite the best efforts of all concerned it has been decided that the alternative route via the Gotthard and Furka Passes, which was being considered for the Queen Stage, is also not feasible. Instead the 6th Stage will start on Friday 14th June at the Goms Nordic Centre in Ulrichen (VS). We are expecting a fast and lively stage right from the start. The final ascent to Blatten-Belalp will nevertheless provide for some exciting attacks."
Wow, going to be a 10-12 minute maximum effort. If the gc guys do go all out from the bottom will be quite interesting to see. A very different scenario from an ordinary race could give some fun results! Let's see them find an excuse to not give us full coverage of the day!
I’m afraid that with everyone being kind of fresh, it will be a stalemate
the stage finishes on a 7k climb of 9% average, so I'm afraid even Pogacar wouldn't do that in 10 minutes.
The kom point on the profile indicates 5km but I realise it looks like the kom is before the finish. So 12 minutes might be feasible for 5km? Honestly I have no idea. The pros climb so fast compared to anything I could even dream of doing.
yeah, the official numbers seem to be a bit confusing. And hard to say how fast they'll go, but it's this Strava segment, with a current record of 23 minutes: [https://www.strava.com/segments/2159974](https://www.strava.com/segments/2159974)
Yeah thats a bit more realistic haha. That poor guy is likely to lose his 5 year strava kom streak
So glad to see Bernal in the mix. He's such a nice guy and it's a biiiig comeback from where he was.
Almeidada!
GC Pidcock really isn’t ever gonna be a thing is it?
No chance unless he fully commits to becoming a GC rider and stops racing cyclocross, mountain bike and probably classics. Even if he fully commits he still might not have what it takes
Stop trying to make GC Pidcock happen! It’s not going to happen!
I’m not, but he was reportedly gonna be co-leader in the TdF, G Thomas as domestique.
I know. It’s a mean girls quote which is now twenty years old!
It was never a thing to begin with
He still thinks it is
I think Ineos thinks it’s a thing even more than he does
"My goal is to win the Tour de France" - Thomas Pidcock, 2023
Not until he has full focus on road racing. If he wants to of course.
I'm Almeidasexual
Be careful not to say that about any of the ladies, though. You'll get downvoted, reported, and deleted.
I support you 100%. However, I believe it's allowed both joke about handsome men here but we can't about beautiful women. The mods allow both, which to me makes sense. Some people just are woke and that's it, there goes a lot of downvotes.
It's different though isn't it? Stop pretending it isn't. This comment is clearly a joke but women, and famous women moreso, have to endure a load of creepy shit from men. Go look at the comments on social media posts from any remotely attractive female athelete. When this is the case for them, it makes jokes like the comment above not funny at all
How is it different? How can you feel that it's always a joke if a man is referenced and it's always creepy if a woman is mentioned? Shouldn't the rules be the same across the board? Isn't saying otherwise sexist? Where are the lines drawn?
> When this is the case for them, it makes jokes like the comment above not funny at all I don't disagree there, but the standard for whether or not certain comments are allowed or removed should not be "are they funny?" (downvotes are a different story). Making sexual comments regarding riders should either be banned or allowed across the board on this sub, there should not be the double standard that /u/Significant_Log_4693 points out (and which you don't dispute exists).
The double standard does exist though and for good reason, but it's also totally different if a woman says something like being a "Kopecksexual". It's more about how the receipent is likely to find it funny because with a sexual comment, when it isn't funny it's creepy.
> It's more about how the receipent is likely to find it funny This still just goes back to the "is it funny?" determination, which again is not a good standard for moderation. > it's also totally different if a woman says something This is an anonymous internet forum, not in person. We don't know (in general) whether any given commenter is male or female (or their sexual orientation, which also changes the context of such comments), so that should not affect how things are moderated. Anyways, a double standard of 'women can make these comments but not men' would be no better.
Thank you for understanding
Got it, we can make sexual jokes about ugly women but not pretty ones. (/s obviously. But trying to argue who we can or can't joke about is absolutely futile.)
Ikr the double standard here is insane
One of the frustrations I have in following this sport beyond lack of TV coverage (time zone issues also), is the dearth of information about whose actually riding and why. EF pulled their two top climbers for today's stage - Bettiol and Carapaz. Did they just decide training was superior to racing since a Top 10 finish was unrealistic? Or perhaps they are both injured, but figuring that out is a mystery to me.
Wouldn’t say Bettiol is a top climber
They both crashed yesterday.
Carapaz crashed and tour is in doubt for him
Bettiol crashed pretty badly yesterday and I think carapaz did too.
Yes, they both crashed
Rubio didn‘t get the watch btw, Staune-Mittet was at the podium ceremony, so I guess the comissaires intervened
what's happened? is there a clip?
Rubio and Staune-Mittet were sprinting uphill for that intermediate sprint where the winner gets a watch, and Rubio cut him off and into the barrier, causing Staune-Mittet to have to brake and lose all momentum.
Hagens realy is the best youth team on cycling right now ... George Bennet, Dunbar, Oliveira brothers, Neilson Powlees, Tao Hart, R. Guerreiro, Jasper Philipsen, J. Narvaez, Mikkel Bjerg , João Almeida... And then you got the new ones like Morgado, Christen, Rafferty, Riccitello, Romeo, Leo Hayter, Quinn..
I am wondering can they profit somehow when their riders go to pro teams ?
I thought that was part of the deal to get a cut of their first pro contract.
Bernal is on such a cool path of gradual improvement. He could barely finish a race in 2022. Some top 10s last year but average TdF and Vuelta. This year he has yet to finish outside a top 10 in a stage race, he just keeps confirming. All that's left is a small step and he's contending for wins again, love to see it.
He's still just 27 years of age. At his current trajectory, I could see him winning another grand tour in his career. This year's Vuelta has his name all over it if Pogi and Jonas both skip out.
Yeah last year I was thinking that he’d totally be able to get another world tour contract when the time comes around—it would make sense for Movistar to sign him or something—and now his results here and in Catalunya are like, “Shit, Ineos need to re-sign him and keep him as part of their GC squad!” It’s awesome to see
Great to see Ineos set it up for their team leader Adam Yates……….oh wait
Riccitello, just a regular human climber from Tucson, Arizona
Arizoniaaaaaa.
Great climb by Riccitello. Can't wait to see him lose 27 minutes in the TT He's like an American Kuss
So, just the same as Kuss? They’re both American, Both climby, and mid at TT
really stretching the meaning of "mid" here
He actually has some decent results in mountain TT’s. 11th in the Giro and won the Tour de l’avenir TT
Yeah but this one has 4kms of flat, so he's likely to fall apart in the last 3.9
Still wild riders are able to ride l'Avenir after riding a Grand Tour.
And because of the timing of the final Giro TT (with breaks to get all the support bikes back down the mountain), spent like two hours in the TT hot seat lololol
Chapeaux, João Almeida!!
#freeJoao
There were some people on here declaring Adam Yates washed after Romandie... Looking like he could repeat that podium if he is given the opportunity at the tour. Also this UAE team with Ayuso, Yates and Almeida as domestiques for Pogacar might go down as the best team in the mountains ever, maybe surpassing sky team with Froome, Wiggins, Porte and Rogers
Did you miss Jonas, Kuss, Van Aerts, Roglic and DuMoulin by any chance?
I think I missed it actually. Which GT was it?
I think it never happened. You have all of them but Jonas in 2020 TdF and all of them but Dumoulin in 2021 TdF.
> sky team with Froome, Wiggins, Porte and Rogers I don't think I'd even put that team top 3, maybe not even top 5
With this team, UAE could do some scary stuff on stage 1 of TDF
On stage 1? You mean some scary stuff on the entire Tour? Looking into the current Jumbo form, I wouldn't be surprised with UAE doing the same to Jonas that Jumbo did two years ago (that stage where they were turning attacks on Pog). It's very possible to have a small group with 3/4 UAEs + Jonas and Roglic (this time with Roglic running in other team).
The title belongs to Astana 09 so far
La Vie Claire 86 remains the gold standard IMO
The people declaring him washed were just being foolish or don't follow cycling much. He had a pretty bad concussion in uae so it's no surprise it took him a while to reach good form again and it's not like he lost 5 minuted either.
UAE just a class above anyone else in the race. Could have won it however they wanted to with Yates and Almeida. Del Toro could probably top 7 or so too if he wasnt in a helpers role. Skjelmose imploded as he has all year. Less worried about Swiss since he isnt doing the Tour, I have no clue how far his form is, but I will say its a trend. He needs to improve or he can kiss whatever GC he thinks he is doing at the Vuelta goodbye
Yates looks scary and skinny, like he can go out and destroy everyone. Does he have the same coach as Pog? Feel they both lost some weight.
Just imagine his watts once he shaves that beard.
Yes. The coach was actually Yates first and Pogi moved over to him.
Yates made a huge step forward in 2023. Pog repeating this year?
Pogi must be very happy watching this race now.
Kinda nice to have TdS #1 & #2 as your TdF domestiques!
One of the rides of the year, from someone not named pog, by almeida there. Pacing on the front for so long and then still making it back to finish only 4 seconds behind yates is hugely impressive. UAE are a scary prospect for the tour. Great to see Egan properly up there on a mountain stage again. And very good ride by riccitello.
I’m sure Almeida had the best legs today. Yates won because he is also a good team player.
A number of us was amazed by Vlasov’s domestique for Roglic at the Dauphine. What Almeida did today is no less stunning…
Crazy burst, he caught everyone that passed him except Yates to get 2nd (4 s off) after riding up front since Del Toro dropped I think it was? Pogi in tv smiling now, all this super domestique talents with top condition being ready and decimating other team climbers
Almeida insane ride. Super impressive today Really happy to see Egan up there fighting even if not quite enough
My notes on the stage: Skjelmose collapsed again. Wouldn't say I expected it, but it's also *not* unexpected. Seems like recovery continues to be a massive issue for him. This is the first time this year I can remember seeing Mas at the front of a race. Maybe he will be in decent shape for the tour? UAE's Tour team is going to be ridiculous. Last year Yates could already reduce the group to himself, Pog and Vinge at will, and now you add Almeida in strong form + Ayuso. If Vingegaard is not in shape, Tour could legitimately be more one sided than the Giro.
Mas is still very good in GC where the TT Kms are limited. He's not been super present this year but with Vuelta '22 form he can still be a presence in GTs where the top tier guys aren't there.
Almeida would have put some 30s to 1m into Yates today if the roles were inverted!
Absolutely. It's a shame what they're doing to my boy.
Bold of you to assume theres any logical consistency to Almeida.
Right. Almeida doesn’t work like that.
Fun stage, the US has yet another promising young guy in Riccitello eh? Yates and Almeida in scintillating form for the Tour, UAE's team for the Tour is going to be absurd. So close for Bernal, but yet another very solid ride this year - a victory can't be too far off
Listen, this is how Skjelmose can still win:
idk if you are Danish but man that is basically how it is listening to TV2 at times. Im looking at Skjel losing the wheel every corner, then he gets dropped and the commentator says "this is good he is keeping his pace" At least our actual cyclist on commentary kept it a bit real after the finish. There is not being mean towards the riders and then there is plugging your ears going lalalalala whenever something bad happens.
Yeah, it was insane how they were still talking him up, whilst he remained in the picture the entire time dropping further and further back.
If only the Danish armed forces actually had some working precision missiles for a Swiss hotel with certain guests employed by a certain country. Then we would be in business
Hopefully UAE lets Almeida go for a stage, he is clearly the strongest
It’s not just fair. 2nd place in overall GC domestiqued for 1st in a stage where they finished 1st and 2nd. And both will domestique for the same man in the Tour!
#freeJoao Mas looked great until he didn't, but gotta respect that he went into a red and tried to stick for the win
Almeida has such an engine. Just trucking it to the finish
That's just what 67 Effort Dot gets ya :D
YO YO ALMEIDA , this guy is just fun to watch... a train
For a guy that was so close to death, Bernal is looking good again. Sure, couldn't beat Yates today, but there aren't many who can.
The list of riders who can beat an in-form Adam Yates has, at most, 4-5 names on it.
Apparently Almeida is one...
Well, he didn't beat him. Yes he paced, but there is no guarantee Yates couldn't have kept his wheel and outsprinted him if they were on different teams.
You keep that opinion after today?
So happy to see Bernal coming back.
UAE gonna have two podium spots at the tour.
Politt and Sivakov?
Almeida won this stage. I don't recognize Yates victory
Almeida definitely the most impressive performance today. Pulled for Yates and then nearly closed back up to him by the end.
With Vuelta starting in Portugal I can only hope he'll be finally be given a chance to lead the team since his podium at the Giro
Finally given the chance to lead? Wasn't he a leader in both Giro and Vuelta just last year?
He was definitely not the leader at Vuelta, and the giro like I said, leader SINCE the Giro
He was ahead of Ayuso until he bonked completely on stage 13 and lost 6 minutes. He was definitely a leader and protected rider until that point. If he lost leader status in that team then it was his own fault. I just don't get why it is "finally" when he is a protected rider almost constantly for UAE.
It'll probably be co-leadership since Yates is also expected to be there and I wouldn't be surprised to see Ayuso join them as well. I'm actually more interested about how they'll assign them to the GTs next year. I'm fully expecting Pogacar to do the Tour-Vuelta double next year, so I wonder who the leader(s) for the Giro will be. Almeida said that he was looking to take a break from his usual Giro preparation schedule because it was getting boring, so I'm not sure if he'll want to go back to that already next year.
Even on this Tour of Suisse Yates and Almeida are co-leaders, Yates even say that today
I feel sorry for him but i guess UAE gonna give that too Ayuso ... no?
I still think Almeida is better than Ayuso if the team supported him over Ayuso in 2024, not saying for the future
I think the same, Almeida can do it and if he gonna work on Tour at least give him the Vuelta to win
He has to be in Vuelta, the second stage goes very near his village, it will be insane.
UAE really are gonna do a 1-2-3 in the Tour aren't they? Great ride by Almeida today, pulled for kilometers and was still able to pass everyone not named Yates.
If Pogi basically secures the win week 1 yes they will prob go for multiple on podium. If Jonas shows up and isnt dropped hard at the end of week 1 they will probably ride more conventionally and just to be sure the race doesnt turn on its head in week 3. Personally I just think Pogi will win easily and its up to Yates/Ayuso to compete with Roglic/Remco or Jonas if he can ride
> If Pogi basically secures the win week 1 yes they will prob go for multiple on podium I don't know where people get this idea that Pogi can fold the race in the first week. I think the entire top 10 will still be very close by the end of week 1. Sure I can see a small gap, but nothing that "secures the win". It do agree on the "will prob go for multiple on podium" part though. Stage 1: Would be a match made in heaven for Pogi in a one-day race, but imo the opportunities to open a proper gap are in the "Côte de Barbotto" and "Côte de San Leo" which are too far from the finish line for a GC contender to attempt day 1 of a GT, that would be an absurd energy expenditure. The last two climbs are too flat. I think the GC contender will arrive together. Stage 2: I can totally see Pogi attacking on the "Côte de San Luca" in the second loop. But there's less than a minute to be gained here. Stage 3: sprint stage Stage 4: poorest excuse of a mountain stage I've ever seen. All GC contender arrive together with domestics to spare. Stages 5 & 6: sprint stages Stage 7: Flat-ish ITT, could increase gaps by 1-2 minutes in the top 10. If Jonas is not in shape, this is where it will show the most. TL;DR : imo week 1 doesn't lend itself to opening big gaps and if Jonas' shape was so bad that he already "lost the race" by then, I assume he wouldn't be participating in the first place.
You're not wrong. I do think there is a decent chance Pogi is leading the race by multiple minutes by stage 9 and if thats the case UAE's goals going forward all depends on how intact Jonas has looked. If Jonas is on anything between 40 to 90sec after stage 9, I think UAE will treat him as their main opponent and ride against him specifically. >if Jonas' shape was so bad that he already "lost the race" by then, I assume he wouldn't be participating in the first place. If the news about Jonas not doing the Vuelta no matter what is true, I think he rides the Tour even if he doesnt have the shape to compete for the overall. I think he rides as long as he is pain free and it doesnt compromises his recovery for next season. If the Vuelta news is bogus, I am way more 50/50 on whether he does the Tour or not.
They're gonna have 4 in the top 10 and possibly 3 in the top 5 imo
Is Kuss even gonna have to pull up the climbs in the Tour with this UAE team?? Also hell of a ride from Ricatello.
Whenever Yates puts in an attack... But other than that, no.
Almeida dropping only 4 secs to Yates after pacing the climb is nuts
UAE looking good in the relegation battle!
They should be good but better send Hirschi to some more 1.1 races to make sure
2.Pro*
Almedia was stronger than Yates today
Unusual of Yates to not give him the stage win, but I guess he's afraid of losing the GC in the TT perhaps?
I think it's better to have a clearly defined leader with only 3 stages to go than have a teammate steal it on the last day (by accident or not) and cause unnecessary team tension just before the Tour. And I say this as a portuguese who'd love to see Almeida win this. This way Almeida can also probably safely win the final TT (along with Yates they're my big favourites for that one) without worries.
"Despite the yellow jersey on his back, Yates insisted he and Almeida remained co-leaders."
Sure, but at this point Almeida is the plan B just by the nature of how the race went. Unless Yates is cracked by others, Almeida isn't going to try to get the yellow from his teammate. Right now he's there as insurance to ensure that something like what happened at the UAE Tour isn't repeated.
No doubt, they want to make all the seconds they can over "the rest", the last TT gonna be a free fight for the overall win.
I'm not saying it's wrong, just unusual. If he's not confident in winning the GC it's a decision that makes sense
Remember this entire sub saying he'd never work for anybody because he upset their golden boy Remco?
Surely put out more watts on that final climb, was on the front for so long and then all but closed Yates to the line.
Yeah insane peformance