Tour de France 2020 TdF2020 - SPOILERS

[DrSpoke]

https://www.breitling.com/us-en/pres...-release/33450

[KJMUNC]

Originally Posted by DrSpoke

https://www.breitling.com/us-en/pres...-release/33450

Nice find.....wouldn't be my first choice, but hey - good for him.

[pdmtong]

Originally Posted by soulspinner

Here here. I cant tell but I read he was riding EPS 12 speed. Not totally retrogrouchy

you can tell, look at the droopy ear thumb shifter paddle in the picture....

[jemoryl]

Originally Posted by Clean39T

Hot Take: Ineos lost despite their bikes, UAE won despite theirs.

Sent from my Pixel 2 XL using Tapatalk

Not to put down any particular brand of bike, but Pogacar probably could have won on a Workswell frame off eBay with an Ultegra groupset. Just saying.

[redir]

Originally Posted by reuben

That would be the maillot gris.

Ha! Exactly.

Originally Posted by Mark McM

Well, the closest thing might be the Lantern Rouge, the unofficial award for the slowest rider in the tour. This year it was won by Roger Kluge.

Sam Bennett was the Lantern Rouge in 2016, and then wins the Green Jersey just 4 years later.

If first you don't succeed try try again. That's an impressive story to say the least. My hat is off to anyone who starts the Tour never mind finsihes it even in last.

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by pdmtong

you can tell, look at the droopy ear thumb shifter paddle in the picture....

Right! Anyway rather have c64 with SR mechanical and rim brakes. Probably better for a fat old guy............

[soulspinner]

Originally Posted by jemoryl

Not to put down any particular brand of bike, but Pogacar probably could have won on a Workswell frame off eBay with an Ultegra groupset. Just saying.

Ya thats exactly what I think. YMMV. And I still want the Colnago...

[harlond]

Originally Posted by ultraman6970

"Pogacar was amazing, but UAE didn’t did anywhere near the work Jumbo Visma did."

They did not need to do any work, the team was handicapped badly... the only option was just follow wheels and they got super lucky because easily pogacar could have had a lot of punctures and mechanical in the hills aswell... I know he got crashes but if you look at it... when it counted he did not have any problem at all, and that has to do with luck. Rider can be the best ever but if there's no luck u can be forgotten forever.

As for jumbo... well they learn and sure other teams learn their lesson, you have to put the nail in the coffin when u have the chance to do it.

When did JV fail to put time into Pogacar when they had a chance to do it? I did not see the whole race, but I never saw that happen in the stages I watched.

I know a lot of people--and not just any people, but Eddie Merckx--are criticizing the amount of time JV spent in the wind. But that didn't allow UAE to better support Pogacar at the end of decisive stages: Pogacar was always alone when the road curved up. Nor did it mean that JV was not there when Roglic needed them: JV always had a guy, and usually multiple guys, with Roglic at the end of the stage.

I suppose JV could have tried to put Pogacar under pressure by sending Dumoulin or Kuss up the road. But the one time Kuss got out ahead of Roglic, Kuss was immediately criticized. Maybe I'm forgetting things, but I don't recall Froome's teams or Armstrong's teams employing that kind of strategy. They rode more or less the same as JV.

Evidently I'm missing something here, because I don't see what was wrong with JV's strategy, and the stories I've read don't make it clear (which maybe is me). JV worked its domestiques hard, but obviously not too hard because 2 of them finished 2nd and 3rd in the time trial. All I see is that JV turned out not to have the strongest guy in the race. Barring bad luck for the strongest guy, which Pogacar didn't have, that usually means you lose.

Anyway, Eddie Merckx says I'm wrong, so I almost certainly am. I just need someone to tell me how and why. Thanks.

[homagesilkhope]

Originally Posted by harlond

Anyway, Eddy Merckx says I'm wrong, so I almost certainly am.

Good avatar, motto, tagline - whatever you call it. For nearly everybody (but Eddy, of course). I may adopt it unless it's trademarked/copywritten already.

[jlwdm]

Originally Posted by bikinchris

Sagan's sprint was as good as ever. He has never beaten a true top sprinter in a big field sprint. Sagan needs to drop the sprinters or go in a break.

You must have been watching different TDF feeds than I have the last number of years. Clearly Sagan was not in any kind of usual form. He is not a true sprinter but he could hang in an get a lot more points than he did this year.

Jeff

[jlwdm]

Originally Posted by harlond

When did JV fail to put time into Pogacar when they had a chance to do it? I did not see the whole race, but I never saw that happen in the stages I watched.

I know a lot of people--and not just any people, but Eddie Merckx--are criticizing the amount of time JV spent in the wind. But that didn't allow UAE to better support Pogacar at the end of decisive stages: Pogacar was always alone when the road curved up. Nor did it mean that JV was not there when Roglic needed them: JV always had a guy, and usually multiple guys, with Roglic at the end of the stage.

I suppose JV could have tried to put Pogacar under pressure by sending Dumoulin or Kuss up the road. But the one time Kuss got out ahead of Roglic, Kuss was immediately criticized. Maybe I'm forgetting things, but I don't recall Froome's teams or Armstrong's teams employing that kind of strategy. They rode more or less the same as JV.

Evidently I'm missing something here, because I don't see what was wrong with JV's strategy, and the stories I've read don't make it clear (which maybe is me). JV worked its domestiques hard, but obviously not too hard because 2 of them finished 2nd and 3rd in the time trial. All I see is that JV turned out not to have the strongest guy in the race. Barring bad luck for the strongest guy, which Pogacar didn't have, that usually means you lose.

Anyway, Eddie Merckx says I'm wrong, so I almost certainly am. I just need someone to tell me how and why. Thanks.

I think JV used the strategy that LA's teams and Ineos used. The difference is that those teams used those other climbers to increase the speed more on the last climbs and then the leader would try to ride away from just a few riders. JV did not get aggressive on the final climbs and I think it was because Roglic was not strong enough.

Kuss was rightfully criticized because he should have been sticking with his team leader. His moves made no sense.

Jeff

[jlwdm]

I am glad they held the TDF and very disappointed in the fans getting so close to the riders and yelling with their masks pulled down.

I am a fan of Froome, but I do not see him winning again.

Jeff

[Clean39T]

Originally Posted by jlwdm

Kuss was rightfully criticized because he should have been sticking with his team leader. His moves made no sense.

Jeff

We don't know what the team was instructing so we can't really blame Kuss for any of his 'moves' during the race. On the last big climbing stage they may have sent him with Lopez when he attacked to try and be an anchor on him and/or to set up for Roglic to bridge across, but Roglic clearly didn't have the legs and it seemed as though Kuss was called back at that point. Which is a shame, since I'd have loved to see Kuss get free for a win. He definitely was the super-est of all super-domestiques in this year's Tour.

[bikinchris]

Originally Posted by jlwdm

You must have been watching different TDF feeds than I have the last number of years. Clearly Sagan was not in any kind of usual form. He is not a true sprinter but he could hang in an get a lot more points than he did this year.

Jeff

Maybe we are talking about different riders? I just went back and watched clips of Peter Sagan wins. He doesn't win against the big sprinters on flat stages. He excels in winning uphill sprints (admittedly against top sprinters) and sprints where the best sprinters are gone because of hills. ONLY the sprinters can beat him. It would be dumb to allow Peter in your break.
What he does get is hype. Announcers just falling over themselves to invent new superlative terms to describe Sagan besting riders who can't compete with the Caleb Ewan type sprinters.

[weisan]

There's a lot more to sprinting than simply top-end speed and raw power. If those are the only two criteria, we would see Theo Bos and Andre Greipel win a lot more...

There's knowing how to position within the peloton to save energy and knowing when to move up...

There's having a lead-out train...

There's mad bike handling skills and a death wish...

There's choosing the right wheel...

And finally, there's luck...

Sagan, with the lack of a lead-out train, for the most part, has consistently done well in the other departments.

But with more wins, draws more attention and a target. He's marked at EVERY race.

Last but not least, I think the pandemic has impacted him somewhat this year. You could tell he's not in his usual playful self. He made an interesting comment before the tour. He called on all fans to stay at home. It seems like he's not very keen to be there. But he had to. That's his job and he's paid a lot of money.

Peter is an emotional and a sentimental guy. He has said more than once, he's not a machine.