And that was after 2 days of going for it while Vinge was hiding out. As much as Pogacar is tactical and knows when to twist the knife, he also looks like he has fun just racing.

Doesn’t seem to matter to Pogacar. Yesterday was an extremely tough day with the average speed high and the constant chasing down of early attacks, yet he still sprinted at a level a sprinter would have struggled to match, all the while finishing looking like he’d been out for an easy Sunday morning club spin.

Some riders suffer from no support, he seems to thrive from it. Unless he has a mechanical or crash then it’s hard to see him being beat. His luck with mechanicals, and his bike handling from his MTB days make these incidents unlikely too.

Just hope there is nothing untoward in his performance. He’ll rewrite the record books in every type of race and having to expunge the record he’ll end up with would be a bigger blow for cycling than Lance.[/quote]
I personally feel Lance was such a big shock as he was our (US) hero and he beat cancer and had the huge research thing going...I doubt Pogocar would hurt more. People are still upset over Lance.

But, I can't help but think there's NO way that Tadej is clean. He never looks tired when he crosses the finish line. I think he puts on an act when being interviewed after a race to not be so suspicious (and probably coached on it too).

He won yesterday, wins today and turns to 2nd place finisher as he crosses with a smile and raised arm to celebrate. Come on. No way.

He will win many more races and I feel like every time he rides in a race, people are looking to see who will get 2nd. He's invincible right now, unless he has a mechanical or crashes ( I don't want that to happen).

I don't know. I'm jaded, as a longtime fan. So I won't be surprised if something emerges.

But if he did have some unbelievable, undetectable doping regime that no one else has, it'd probably take team support. And, dang, UAE as a team has looked pretty, well, pedestrian. Almost....bad. Outside of TPo wins, of course

The sprinters clearly don't get it, as Gaviria has been awful, and Kristoff looks better at Wanty. The classics guys don't get it, as Hirschi, Costa haven't rocked the world. Almeida has been good at times, but nothing surprising. George Bennett is George Bennett. McNulty is....McNulty. Formolo is Formolo.

Your response might be that this is all part of the master plan, to dope just one guy to avoid detection.

But until I get evidence to the contrary, I'm giving him the benefit....

I think my wife is suspicious about how much I enjoy the pre-race coverage on GCN.

It doesn't hurt that Orla is attractive and her wardrobe is pretty cool, but she really is quite good at her job. I think GCN in general is great.

The opening of each stage is great to watch. Watching the curating of the break is revealing. Fred not Phred Wright and Freddie Tenth Avenue Frisson both looking to get up the road.

Orla is a babe and my wife doesn't mind Robbie, so its all fair.

The whole crew is awesome really. I think in my lifetime they are producing the best coverage I've seen.

GCN is great. Some of the info you get from the various contributors is brilliant, during the giro they cut to Wiggins during one stage and he explained how the sprinters form a pack and get over the mountain stages together. It’s the kind of output that’s top quality, because you didn’t know you needed to know it until you do.

See Pogacar now has a cancer foundation. Very noble but already rumblings of similarities and intentions.

From PSC: "HIRSCHI Marc (UAE Team Emirates) has 7 bottom-10 results out of the last 10 results."

He's racing Upside Down

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

It's strange. His team let him go for very dark reasons. DSM is a shithole it seams, but I think they knew what was going on.

Bardet could podium but he'll have to be saganing.

Poor Kevin Vermeake. Looked to be in over his head. Probably good that he's done for now. Was a dangerman and not the good kind.

The "regular" GCN folks [not necessarily GCN+] also do some goofy shit

---

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

Is the implication here that Hirschi's entourage (namely a certain Cancellara) is a snake when it comes to business dealings, or are we talking implications to the tune of what San Milan did some decade back?

I would love to be wrong. Problem is, that we'll probably never know. I am not saying UAE is only working with TP for a special program. In wondering if he's working alone with someone, or a team of someone's.

I know he is young, and I'm shocked at how good he is at such a young a age. I feel like he's far and away the best rider among the world's elite. Think about the top guys and how good they are. But TP is sooo far above them. I feel like he legitimately could win just about any stage he wants of any race.

Anyway, I would love to be wrong and hope no news breaks of anyone in the next few years. I sadly hoped Lance was clean, knowing in the back of my mind it was more likely he wasn't. But I still hoped.

NvHd earned a Belgian Tripel today. Great composure by Wout, as he was a little boxed in the run up, and calmly found his way through.

But, not as boxed as Thibaut earlier.

Crazy sprint by WvA.

Pinot looks boxed and blocked.

Boxed Pinot usually aint good :p

Boxed Torrentes, otoh, can be quite good

Box pinot is about as good as Pinot’s Tour is going—hard to enjoy and even worse in the morning.

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

WvA exhibited good poise, holding off until the last. Impressive.

For me it is also the way he races! Why is he trying to sprint with wout and Matthews, you are a GC guy. Never afraid to burn matches it seems!

Counter argument to that is of course that I'd he was not clean he would not so that as to raise suspicion.

Good to see Jungle Bob in the front of the race yesterday. And today so far. Joe is in there too but his body language early on suggests working in this break for another 130k might be too much. Doing the double is hard.

Uran Uran is up there so they're probably not going to get much of a leash although it is an incredibly strong group so maybe they won't be brought back.

While I'm at it, UAE has done a good team job. It's one thing to have numbers at the front, it's another to to have 1 or 2 when it really matters. Bam Bam and Majka have done done stellar work, imo.

Pogacar, (and Wout) are clearly the best all around riders in the peloton but both get beaten, and both win by small margins. They surely both have another gear but are also both super smart. I think their dominance is a believable dominance, different from the blood bag days. Athleticism is only part of the package as we know. Jo Venga had Tadej beat. Had a gap. But Tadej could not allow it. I think that desire is a big deal. He did not need the stage win. The doping suspicions around Tadej (or anyone who is dominant) are understandable, but no. (Young rider development programs are a whole other discussion.) He's going to have his bad day soon. It's just that his bad day will be better than most others' good day.

my first login in a year or so but I gotta say "JungleBob!!!"

Socks?

Bandage?

he does have the word circus on his butt. it is a pretty sweet look - maybe he is hitting da clubs tonight before the rest day tomorrow? i do think there is a 'sock height' rule so in order not to be fined/ disciplined (uci points/ gc time) i'm guessing he must have some bandage type reason.

sweet ride by jungels - that was a high powered break - going it solo from about 2k from the top of croix is a massive ride.
surprised no one moved an inch off the wheels for a 35-40 minute Bennett tow up the climb.
it seems like a waste to have castro (ineos) and wout in the break and not use them with some bridging attacks (esp as jumbo had 5 dudes in that group).

i hope jumbo (and ineos) were watching how much Bennett was struggling in the winds on the flat before the last climb.

again the speed was very high. the 3 days in the alps are all summit finishes and have less flat between the climbs every day - time gaps are going change.
finally, if there is anything to the idea that a micro dent in Tadej's armor might be heat and altitude - there are loads of that on tap.