For me it is the contrary, after Froome got caught with salbutamol blood levels through the roof in addition to Wiggins and triacinolome, jiffy bags, etc. makes them a bit suspect. So not a big fan of Ineos.

I like Bernal, but I wish we would race and hopefully win with another team. So would like anyone but Ineos to win, although, Jumbo's ketone affair is a bit controversial too. Really hope Ineos doesn't dominate again, it just makes for some really boring racing.

Bernal? I'm sorry, there's only one Egon*




*Yes, I know they're spelled differently

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

Setting aside the Covid-19 concerns (which are legit and serious), I agree that this may be the most wide open, entertaining and interesting Tour's in years. Maain reasons:

- Check out the parcours - it's crazy! The climbing starts RIGHT away with two very tough days right from Nice in the Maritimes Alps! There are only 2 - 3 stages that are classic Sprinters stages. It's why some teams have passed on even bringing a prized Sprinter on their team and other top Sprinters have given it a complete pass. There is terrain of significance on almost EVERY stage - even outside the classic "Mountain Stages" in the Alpes and Pyrenees.

- With the lay-off and a lack of racing miles in riders legs - who knows how this will go? Throw out the past form charts and how riders, and whole teams performed.

- There is a changing of the guard under way in the sport Froome replaced by Bernal. Sagan will get a sure run for his money in the Green Jersey by Van Aert etc . . .

- Speaking of the Green Jersey, with so few true Sprinters Stages, to do well in that competition you will have to be a TRUE All-Rounder. I'm picking Van Aert.

- As for the GC - this Tour is a climbers delight, and, with only one TT, and it will be a TT that FAVORS the climbers (it's all uphill for the final 5K+ with ramps at close to 20%!!)

My picks - It will be a surprise overall winner in the GC, with a composition of the top-10 there, the likes of which we have never seen! How about that!!

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Steve Fleck @stevefleck | Blog

I think the course was designed for Alaphillipe.

I'm picking Giacomo Nizzolo as a possible contender for the green. He's coming into form and he's decent going uphill.

Someone should buy Pinot a Sufferfest subscription for the 'Mental Toughness' component.

Wout's not going for green, he's already said he's on pure domestique duty. Ewan, Colbrelli, Trentin, Bennett, all fastmen who can get over hills, so could feasibly try to give Sagan a run for his money, but realistically it's Peto's to lose (as usual).

I will continue with my new TdF tradition of waiting patiently for the "great climber" Quintana to make an solo attack on a mountain stage only to have to stop myself from throwing something at the TV when he just sits in looking bored and watches everyone else do their thing..It seems like the TdF just isn't his thing but stick him in the other two grand tours and he goes off..

Quintana is my "Should have seen that coming" pick. He was just killing people this spring. If he can replicate that form.... That being said I am still on the Roglic bandwagon.

Speaking of picks, Cyclingnew has Andy Schleck's choices. Some interesting insights but I think he will be wrong about everyone but Roglic.

Hey this parcours is like the Vuelta showed up to make a celebrity appearance in France...after all the TdF is basically running in the traditional Vuelta slot haha!!! So Nairo often does good in September, and this course is built to his liking. His big problem is his accident in training in Colombia and knee bothering him at Dauphine from that crash. Let's how he recovered from that!

Another Dutchman here! Live in Germany half of my life, but still a fan of Dutch riders of course.
And when I visit my mother I see the Jumbo supermarket in front of her house.

So I'm hoping for TDM, to be the first one since Joop Zoetemelk.

agreed. with the Green Jersey as it is, only Wout could challenge Peto as an all arounder.

for Peto, even if he doesn't win a stage, he gets every point. its awesome. I loved it when Hushov did it in 2009 (1 stage versus Cav's 6). I love it now.

My understanding is the green jersey was never intended for sprinters. Rather it was a reward for the person who placed highly in many stages and many intermediate parts of the course. It was weighted for stage finishes and with many stage finishes being flat over time it became a bit of an award for sprint focused athletes who really could not get over mountains. There may have been a year when Hinault was technically wearing yellow and green at one point inside the Tour de France.

I am personally far more interested in athletes like Sagan and Zabel who are fairly multifacted winning the green jersey compared to a pure sprinter who is kind of dogging every mountain stage trying to avoid the time cut to save the legs for the sprints only.

Some stats from a post discussing last year's green jersey competition.

The polka dot jersey is for the "Mountains Classification". The green jersey is for the "Points Competition". While they don't necessarily recognize the "best climber" or "best sprinter", everyone knows the rules and what you need to do to win these jerseys.

The 2019 green jersey competition between 1st and 2nd (Sagan and Ewan) is a good example. Ewan would probably be the "best sprinter", but he didn't put in the effort required to win the "Points Competition". On stage 3, Sagan finished 5th while Ewan finished 145th, 13:58 behind. On stage 5, Sagan finished 1st while Ewan finished 155th, 16:58 behind. On stage 8, Sagan finished 5th while Ewan finished 129th, 23:47 behind.

On the stages where Ewan finished ahead of Sagan (stages 4, 7, 10, 11, 16, and 21), Sagan was less than 3 places behind Ewan (except for stage 21), and he always finished on the same time as Ewan.

Ewan is probably the better sprinter, but you can't take "days off" and expect to beat the riders who are fighting for "green jersey points" on every stage.

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"Human existence is based upon two pillars: Compassion and knowledge. Compassion without knowledge is ineffective; Knowledge without compassion is inhuman." Victor Weisskopf.

Merckx won yellow, green, and polka dot in 1969.

[mic drop]

Yeah I think that is the main point. This is a Grand Tour not a 1 day race, so the Grande Tour rewards people who are in contention every day

Yellow = in contention every day and finish with "same time
Green = in contention almost every day minus the most massive mountain stages
Polka Dot = in the mix in some capacity on every climb, or at least every climb that is not a stage finish

Both Green and Polka dot ensure the race stays animate through the course....if not less breakaways would happen.

The cool thing is Jalabert winning Green and Polka dot on different years (yes, we can also say some pharma assist was there, but whatever, it was part of those times).

Velogames Slowtwitch League is open

League ID: 652293710

Back after a 2 year hiatus!

Thanks for setting this up. I like how it's the 'Great Big Bike Game' competition with no connection whatsoever with any race organization.

same, only way to get it going again after not being able to the past 2 years.

Thanks for this!

By the way Bernal is saying that his back is not 100% but hopes it will get better through the Tour de France. I guess if I am on the rival teams, its time to put the hammer down immediately in the first few stages in the Alpes Maritimes and try to break his back before it has a chance to get better, or ensure he has to deal with a painful back through the entire thing:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/...rom-his-back-injury/

Does anyone know if his back injury is just pain or if he is getting leg weakness because of it affecting his potential performance?

Yellow and polka dot are consistent from year to year, but the allocation of points can vary through time. You could argue whether or not time bonuses included in a given year has an impact on yellow, but it usually doesn't change race dynamics by a lot.

I recall when intermediate sprints were something like 3-2-1, so they were rarely contested and had basically no impact on the jersey classification. With heavier finish line points allocations in flat stages, that made the green jersey a de facto sprinters jersey.

By making more points available at intermediate sprints, the race is more likely to have an exciting contested sprint in the middle of the stage, but it also means someone like Sagan can mop up points on breakaways and still be close enough all the other days to run away with it. This makes it more in line with Dev's quote above (except Sagan ALSO tends to run away on big mountain stages to get the points and take some time pressure off the climbs).

Team Chamois Whammy is in!

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Anne Barnes
ABBikefit, Ltd
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I saw that. Has anyone had a sore back that has gotten better with more cycling? It's a bit of a concern, I'd have thought.

I suppose it helps to be in your early 20's so it could get better but never heard of a back injury that does not get better moving your core in all four directions (bedding both ways twisting both ways). Cycling you are locked in bent forward with your glutes getting tenser and tenser and hip flexors shorter and shorter. So not sure how he gets better sitting on a bike for 100 hrs over 23 days.

My prediction. Bernal in yellow and Carapaz 2nd in white.
If Bernal still has his back injured, Carapaz will take over for yellow.

I remember a similar thread last year about Giro when nobody even knew or underestimated Carapaz when I did my prediction. You’ll see ;)