Such a great move. Thought he was too far back and then in a split second he’s in perfect position. He may not be the fastest finisher but he’s certainly the best at positioning and finding the right wheel to follow.

Get the official TdF thread going, will ya.

Can we have a separate Green jersey thread?, after Froome's "miraculous" Giro I have lost all interest in watching the GC aspect of the Tour, but I am very fascinated by the Sprint competition, I think that Gavaria might be the first rider in a while that can at least challenge (though I doubt beat) Sagen.

When you see the kind if watts people put out in Zwift races Froome's stage 19 effort was pretty poor. I mean 395 watts when he attacked would get him no where against the 50kg kids riding round at 400 watts for a zwift race.

I watched the overheads replay and he had a complete alley to the left and I thought for sure he jumps but he waited until Gaviria went and then jumped on him. Old Peto probably would have changed gone earlier. Such great road sense and patience.

TdF? Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Maybe we make book on when Phil Liggett has his Howard Cosell moment.

I like the green jersey suggestion and things to focus the discussion on aside from the GC. Young riders, who gets in the break, podium babes, cool French stuff.

I’m normally in agreement about TdF snoozer but think this year might be different. Porte, Nibali, Bardet, Landtana at their best while Froome is a bit of an unknown. Plus, COBBLES—remember the last time they featured when everyone crashed out and Nibali showed what a boss he is? Then all the other action with Peto, Jungle Bob & stage hunting squad, Dan Martin and so on.

I’m optimistic...

How about the stage 17 staggered grid start ala F1 start. That will be interesting/weird.

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Brooks Doughtie, M.S.
Exercise Physiology
-USAT Level II

For sure, the short format makes for more spirited racing; 65k is barely a warm up for Froome.

Cobbles. I’m in.

The moment will be the first time when a GC contender attacks a major climb, I'll have to look at the schedule to see what day that might be.

Ar we talking "Down goes Frazier!!!" or "that little monkey gets loose, doesn't he?"

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"What's your claim?" - Ben Gravy
"Your best work is the work you're excited about" - Rick Rubin

Podium babes no más. Plenty more to talk about, though. Maybe Sagan will grab another rider's butt this time. :)

QFT.

300's is weaksauce.

Definition of chaotic sprint today, talk about bike skillz.

I heard that about the podium trim/babes/hotties/smokeshow/talent. I am sick to my stomach over this development. For fooks sake, the French invented chauvinism. I for one believe we can objectify and respect at the same time, but really, I'm just trolling the hell out of whatever women may be following this thread.

On an up note, we just had podium girls at our local pro am races this weekend. So there's that....respec yo.

It'll take a lot more than beating Sagan on a sprint stage to take the Green Jersey from him. Sagan has already proven he can win the Green Jersey without winning a single stage. Assuming Sagan is on decent form, I think Matthews is the only one who can challenge him at scooping up points where all the pure sprinters can't hang.

I think Matthews is a real threat, however the problem for Matthews is he typically is behind Sagan in the true sprints. That's Sagan's real advantage in the points jersey, he can do punchy climbs and sprint at a very high level. Matthews is really going to need to attack the hilly, intermediate point opportunities if he wants to be in the conversation this year. Last year it sort of fell to him (he did ride well though). Assuming no bogus disqualifications or Gavira/Kittel deciding to eat pavement, I think Matthews only hope is to climb like a goat.

I think an on form Kittel/Gavira/Cav/Greipel/(insert True sprinters) plays into Matthews and more so Sagan's hands because they will all eliminate each other sharing stage wins.

Should be fun.

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"It's good enough for who it's for" - Grandpa Wayne

Only the UCI can stop Sagan from taking Green Jersey...

Well, it's hard to argue with facts.