Quintana’s poker face is so good, even his own team doesn’t know when he is tired. Lol.

Just out of curiosity, why is Alaphillipe’s initials LLF?

haha, the TDF only crowd comes to light:)

<Golf claps>

Jumbo & FDJ looked as good or better than anyone else today, we’ll see if they can keep it up. Maybe Ineos had a collective bad day because they didn’t give any reason for anyone to fear them. Pinot and Steven Kruiseship might be legit contenders. If LFF gets through tomorrow he’ll be a real threat. Still think a major concern is not having a team built for GC but if Mas rides for him, who knows?

Over the moon. I'm secretly happy, but I'll never tell the misses or her father. What is funny though is their complete lack of skepticism of anyone French, but Jumbo and Ineos certainly still are doping according to them. ;)

Highly entertaining tour, but like many others I am quite skeptical of things at the moment. I will enjoy it for what it is.

le fuck face. Classics joke. ;)

Ala is remarkable right now.

Hey! I resemble that remark!
I do follow the classics, Giro and vuelta, as well as a couple smaller tours but I rarely comment. In the US, it’s easy to follow the TDF. I have no time for VPN’s and stuff.

LOL.
Well, I even got the initials wrong too.

I am sure the samples of French riders get special treatment just like motos in Italy give Italian riders the video tow (and it's know to happen in France to French riders). Let's call it home court advantage and enjoy the show. France is due after Fignon blew a certain yellow in 1989 with a flapping pony tail and crappy position and not using aero gear. Its been a 30 year wait for France. Let's allow this fairy tail to play out. Froome crashed, Dumoulin on rehab, Nibali cooked, Landa likely missing top end after Giro drag race. Its the best chance France has had in a long time. Between Indurain, then Riis, then Ullrich and Pantani then Lance, then Contador all on the various derivatives of the Conconi medical legacy and team Sky on marginal gains, French panache has not quite panned out. If the French are benefiting from the lineage of Dr. Conconi's disciples well, they won't be the first country to roll with that.

It’s actually little french f***er

Slightly xenophobic, but in my defense, I didn’t come up w/ it, nor do i use it

I consider it a term of endearment, rather than xenophobic!

Two.

Tomorrow is 185 km with three cat 1 climbs of around 10km in last 60km. MTF.

Then Alps:

Thursday, Stage 18, 208 km, two cat 1, then HC d'Izoard, then HC Galibier, then 20km downhill to finish.
Friday, Stage 19, 126 km, two climbs one HC and MTF on cat 1.
Saturday, 130 km, three climbs, cat 1, cat 2, and MTF on HC.

Alaphilippe's coach says he's going to crack and when he does it will be big time time loss. But the shift to shorter mountain stages may benefit Alaphillipe. If he can get through next Thursday, he will start dreaming.

---

________
It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Did we all forget that JA won the polka dot last year. This is a guy that can climb decently, fearless descender, good time trialist. This is a surprise but not so much what you think about it. Now there’s still great suspense in this race because he could also have a gigantic meltdown like Simon Yates. But I really want to see him win.

How on earth the last winner of the tour GT commit to ride for a 21 yo kid with 2 tour starts and whom, by the way, is behind him in the GC???? SMH

Certainly won't happen unless or until GT loses some more time and is out of contention for podium. If he's in that position then I think he would have no problem riding for Bernal though, he's a very decent guy and good team man, if his own chances are gone he'll do anything he can to help the team. Whether he'd actually be much help is another question, if he's cracked and lost time then he may not be capable not hanging with the select climber group on the big mountains.

I do think this third week is one of the most brutal Tour finishes there's ever been. 6 mountains over 2000m still to come, and some shorter mountain stages on Friday and Saturday where the pace could be savage from the start. Winner will be whoever doesn't have a bad day (or at least whose bad day isn't as bad as everybody else's bad days!). Going to be a great week of racing.

This 100%. There are two branching paths of outcomes... LLF gets dropped tomorrow or stage 20 because he is unable to sustain a climbing effort for too long, or he wins. I’m partial to the former; he was at the very back and struggling until the last 750m, when it looked like his ability to sustain an explosive 1’-2’ effort on terrain that suits him saved him.

I think Alaphilippe will either finish 1st or 4th (behind Pinot, SK, Bernal). Thomas showed he can’t hang on the sustained efforts (his supposed strength), getting dropped before the stage wound up.

I think Bernal is the most likely of the three challengers, as Pinot has an explosive finish that overshadows his ability (or relative lack thereof) to consistently grind long climbs over multiple stages (see not only this tour for his explosiveness, but his Lombardia prowess and Alpe d’Huez 2015; see every GT he’s competed in for his inability to consistently grind).

In sum, I see Bernal as favorite, Alaphilippe as a close second, followed by Pinot and SK.

I wouldn't write off Buchmann, looked strong yesterday and he's had some decent GC finishes (including strong days on the big mountains) despite spending much of his career to date supporting other riders. He won't have much support, but then after yesterday I'm not sure any of the leaders is going to have a lot of support. Certainly the Ineos train looks a shadow of it's usual self (and proved me completely wrong when I predicted they would put on a show of strength yesterday!).

Can't quite believe that Alaphilippe is practically even odds to win with 4 big mountain days still to come, might have to take out a little wager against him.

Also, I think Alaphilippe is LFF not LLF.....

That’s all true but winning the polka dot jersey is not the same as GC run. Their day is typically done before the action really goes down. Does speak to the capacity needed and ability to recover though.

Speaking of Frenchmen, I feel bad for Bardet. He has been going backwards for a few years and maybe could use a change of team scenery.

Yeah its been a sad tour for Bardet. Interestingly he has looked great in some classics/monuments the past few years. Looks like he might be up to something clever today.

Alaphilippe was riding as he should. He was at the back because that is where GT was. He was most always on GT's wheel in what I watched (last 7km). When GT dropped, he moved up in the group.

---

________
It doesn't really matter what Phil is saying, the music of his voice is the appropriate soundtrack for a bicycle race. HTupolev

Ya, I think people are too quick to write off GT. He crashed in the TdS and abandoned (early speculation that he might not even start the TdF), and probably came into this race a bit weak. That may swing in his favor later on.

I know Bernal isn't an explosive finisher and Alaphilippe is, but you'd think if he was the stronger rider he could have fought Alaphilippe for those bonus seconds yesterday. Bernal looked just fine yesterday, and maybe he just wasn't thinking after the confusion on what to do when GT fell off, but it seemed like he should have fought harder for that place.

I agree he looked indecisive, but he was the one who first tried to close down Pinot, and he couldn't do it. I think he was at his limit.

Love seeing Viviani taking pulls at the front.

I guess I should have said that in anticipation of Bernal outclimbing GT and moving up in GC. That's my bet anyway.

morning all. I've been away and not in on this thread but today, TODAY, I saw DQS put the whole team on the front and I got misty just thinking about Spring. bring on the loop!

this has been a great tour. pretty stoked for the LFF.


edit: I didn't coin it but I use LFF as a term of endearment. i love the spring nicknames and jargon.