Not sure Ineos has it wrapped up just yet, Pinot is looking quite game. He can TT and Thomas’ luck may run out if he keeps throwing himself on ground. Wouldn’t be surprise for haymakers from GC guys down time, to test how Ineos is feeling.

Here's hoping. I just thought today was more proof of what we knew, that everything has to go absolutely perfect for everyone else. Almost the entire team wipes out. Thing 2 goes up the road safely, then Thing 1 get a short pull and solos himself right back to front. Meant with no disrespect of course.

Can Groupama, Astana and EF do enough to protect and,or counter every move? Doubtful in my mind. Jumbo may. Maybe Alaphilippe will think he has enough of an outside shot for them to become a surprise wildcard and break things up.

Ah, let's be fair to Bora for bringing Daniel Oss on board for Peter. He's Peter's best friend on the bike and in the bus. Bora also has been drilling the intermediate sprints for Peter. That Peter chooses to follow Viviani's wheel at the end makes complete sense.

And yes, Nibali got paid and rides for a team that doesn't support him much.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

Like today, I hate to be so right. What a mess. A cycling team can't ride like individuals one day and a team the next day. It takes practice and a dedication to each other.

OTOH Ineos looks like a team in every race.

If the (well informed) announcers know EF's weakness, then why doesn't EF's directors workout these problems. Doesn't seem like the directors have experience on their side. Team needs help. https://en.wikipedia.org/...on_First_Pro_Cycling

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

Nibali was very well supported at the Giro. Particularly Pozzovivo. Not very well supported in this race mostly because they burned up the team at the Giro (apparently Nibali included).

Tru dat (as the young people say). And Sagan had/has me wondering how many more years when we see what Alaphillipe and What lol Van Aert can do now. Bygones.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

This doesn't look like the usual Ineos train this year. The last few days I thought they were just being cagey and saving their team to dominate the last week. But after the crash only Poels was able to really contribute to bridging Thomas, and Poels couldn't finish the job, leaving Thomas to have to lead out the the sprint over the last 400m.

Interesting dynamic there. Thomas does a monster bridge effort, then it's Thomas instead of Bernal doing the Pinot-chasing. If I was the defending TdF champion I might be a little pissed off at my 22 y.o. understudy.

thanks

moved halfway across the country to Berkeley Midwest, aka Madison. holy crap there are so many cyclists and cycling infrastructure here

Are we seriously talking about Sagan falling off the cliff? Lol. Sagan is contesting top 3 pure sprints and the next day hanging with the climbers on brutally hard days. Guy is a once in a lifetime freak.

Earlier this year, he was below Sagan level and being philosophical about it. So between last year's TdeF crash and his divorce, this Sagan fan boy was seriously concerned. I'm doing much better after seeing the "Incredible Hulk" at the finish line.

However if Sagan and Alaphillipe go head to head in the coming years, we could be in for something. Alaphillipe has a big personality too. Maybe Alaphillipe will want to be Hinualt though now that he has tasted yellow. No more polka dot jerseys for Alaphillipe. And what about What Van Aert?

I hope Sagan enjoys his time now as the people he used to beat are retiring. Wish Peter the best.

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Indoor Triathlete - I thought I was right, until I realized I was wrong.

Sorry, maybe out of context. We can in a tri (done enough tris in crappy weather to put on and remove a vest or even a rain jacket just to survive the bike). Definitely would not need to put on a raincoat on a TT bike for a bike race (they would just start with warm clothing in cold weather stage race TTs). Froome probably does it so often on his road bike, that its kind of automatic, until a gust hit his front deep wheel on a TT bike and the weight distribution of the TT bike is different.

OK back to the discussion of today's race. What a disaster for Woods losing 14 minutes (at least that's what I see). I guess he is relegated to stage hunting and helping Uran

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I just want my own personal moto ike the leads. It would help on that extra 1/wkg

after the way de gendt (and wellens) have ridden in the breaks so far this tour - ain't nobody gonna wanna join dem on their end o season bike-venture. maybe instead of strava koms there could be a new category like cumulative time you were able to hang on their wheels (bonus points for teuns/ciccone for dropping one and then both (but deductions for not getting back off the front 2 days later like a real rider)).
what a stage, what a ride by de gendt, pinot showing maybe lombardia win is something he can do more often.
who will be setting the infernal tempo when (if?) alaphillipe finally cracks? poels? lutsenko? gaudu?
i bet there is a huge grupetto early tomorrow and most just praying for the rest day.

TJ was done before he started. It was inevitable that he was going to have 1-4 bad days.........and go for a stage win. Crashing out although disappointed, should not be unexpected.

Meh, I'm not really on board with all the TJ hate. Sure, he's not a real GC contender. He was there to support Uran. He's pretty consistent at finishing Grand Tours. He's finished 6 Tours de France 8 starts. Which isn't that bad. He's also a tough mofo, finishing the longest stage of the tour with a broken hand and bloody face.

agreed on not hating on TJVG. all pro bike riders are incredible bike handlers - its just bad luck when they crash because they make expert moves to avoid crashes so frequently it seems like the rare crash must be rider error. report back when youve ridden 2000 miles inches away from 170 other riders often cms from the wheel in front praying not to get dropped and tell us you could see everything coming up in the road.

i also sense TJVG might be turning a corner where he sweats the occasional bad day less and focuses on just how damn good he is on the good days. i respect that. finishing that stage, having ridden all but the first few minutes with all that discomfort is no small feat. i hope he can out swinging soon at the next race.

how hard will they race tomorrow -- might not be anyone left if they race like today again - what a stage.

I think we're all missing the biggest part of today's race. There was about 19km left to go and the helicopter panned down to a big horse and it's baby horse, foal? The big horse either gets spooked or just starts running along with the cyclist. The smaller horse follows along.
A hedge comes up and the big horse slows down and turns. The little horse jumps the hedge, goes down a steep hill and ends up sliding down on his butt!
I can't believe they didn't replay that!

yeah. it was brutal today. like a LBL.

too bad they still got two more days before the rest day


haha, good catch; though it could be a pony, which is a small-statured adult horse

I kind of wonder if Sagan gets in the break tomorrow? He does that on occasion and tomorrow might be the perfect day. Kind on want to tune in early to see how the race unfolds. I could also see GVA making a move tomorrow.

Oss’ job has never been to lead Sagan out. Nibali’s team doesn’t suppose to him? Do yourself a favor and start watching more bike races than TdF.

hell, that one year, GvA, Matthews, and Sagan went into a break

can't remember who won though. I think Matthews?

Yep, that was the moment I have forever disliked Matthews....he sat on the entire time and never took a pull. I don't think i have ever seen Sagan speak to him after that, seriously.

Edit: 2016 stage 10, he did have a teammate but still should have done something.

Welcome! When the weather's nice the riding here is pretty amazing. Hope you're finding plenty of rides to join in....

Have a look at the replay of the crash, the Ineos train was in great shape with 6 riders (plus Bernal further up the group), when Woods lost his wheel he took out the front 3 including at least one smashed bike. Thomas, Poels and one other (Castroviejo maybe?) were the only ones able to get back on their bikes quickly, and given how close they were to the finish they couldn't wait for anybody else. The third rider burnt himself out quickly with the initial acceleration to get them up to speed, leaving just Poels and Thomas. I don't think yesterday casts any doubt on the Ineos train (Thursday's stage maybe was more worrying for them), it just shows how strong Thomas is managing to bridge that gap at a time when the peloton was motoring for the finish, and then still have the gas to be right up front mixing it with the sprinters at the finale.

Also don't think Bernal needed to do any Pinot-chasing (even assuming he had the form to do so). With only him and Thomas in the group and Thomas recovering from his bridge back on they had no need to lead the chase, and there were likely concerns as to whether Thomas had gassed himself bridging so it made sense for Bernal to just maintain position and play it safe. He certainly hasn't shown the form yet that many people were expecting from him, but also we're only 1 week in and haven't yet hit the high mountains which are his hunting ground. This time next week we'll have a much better idea of whether he and Thomas are going to be tussling for leadership, and also whether the likes of Pinot can mount a sustained challenge.

Yeah, Ineos did a great job bringing Thomas back. I think it was Moscon's bike that was broken in half, and yes that was Castroviejo helping out.

Alaphilippe's attack seemed to catch everyone flatfooted (except Pinot). You would think Ciccone would've been following Ala around and sitting tight on that wheel, but I suppose he was pretty well gassed by then anyway. Pinot obviously knew that Ala was gonna' go - I have to wonder if they talked a bit ahead of time?

Great ride by De Gendt to stay away; the guy is *such* a beast in the breakaway! He had good things to say about De Marchi afterwards, which I thought was pretty cool. Pretty sure we'll see the two of them in the breakaway in the future!

And a great ride by Ala; even though it was predictable that he would roll for those extra seconds at the top of the climb; he made it stick and then kept going for more.

Smart riding by Sagan. If you watch the sprint he realized pretty early that Matthews was going hot on the left; swung over and followed that wheel to 5th but didn't try to go around. No wasted effort there. Sagan's awareness of what is going on around him in the finale is surreal; in years past he got by on talent alone but nowadays he's pretty damn savvy.

Really one of the best stages in a long time!