I am stunned by Sep K's move around 450m to go. He came from 3 riders down (behind Pog), rode up to the front and started pulling all while looking around as if "am I doing it right?"

We have replaced one Wout with another 
9k on the front , shredding the field 
it’s a shame Ineos don’t have a team , because I was hoping for a show down all we have is the same strangling of the race in a different colored kit 

Sky Inoes Grenadiers answer the door when Jumbo comes knocking...

Agree, Mark, I was so looking forward to seeing the two team battle. Today could have been fire, but basically Jumbo just rode everyone to ground, and then all we got was a 300 meter sprint.

I am rooting for Uran for the podium, he's looking good, but not as good as others, doubtful he'll be able to keep Lopez or Porte leaping into 3rd.

Porte has been the surprise rider of the race I think. Unless you count Bernal going backwards...

I heard a great interview with Porte, he was saying this is his last tour as a leader , laughed about winning the masters jersey and how he’s excited to get home to see his 8 day old daughter

I agree with the sentiment that it would have been exciting to see a few more attacks (good effort by Adam Y) or an Ineos v TJV duel today. 

Sorta amazing that Pogacar is able to be such a fly in the ointment to today's Jumbo dominance. I don't recall Quintana or others even being able to really challenge fortress Froome so effectively this late in a tour. Pogacar can give Roglic a run for his money or even win, but given he doesn't have the team support that Roglic does, he can't afford to have a mechanical or get caught out in the crosswinds or fast descents.

Then again, as today proved, anyone can have a "jour sans" and their chance for a podium can go right out the window

How long until POGs lack of team starts to seriously count against him? Good to see Porte rolling back the years. Sky gambling on Carapaz seems to have gone badly wrong...Kiwato seems to be the only Sky rider with any form??

Poj ca simply cruise on the wheels , de la Cruz was there till late
The TT will be where he nails the win

Woof, so many favorites getting left in the dust.



Either Bernal really didn't or couldn't train properly because of the pandemic or...?

We'll see how the situation evolves, next week has some hardcore stages, but agree POG doesn't need a team, as long as Jumbo rides this way, he can just ride wheels, if form stays as is, he is the best climber in the tour, and could maybe open a monster gap in the TT. 

eloy said:

We'll see how the situation evolves, next week has some hardcore stages, but agree POG doesn't need a team, as long as Jumbo rides this way, he can just ride wheels, if form stays as is, he is the best climber in the tour, and could maybe open a monster gap in the TT. 

I'm with you @Mark Taylor & @eloy. Pog (we're all going to have to learn how to spell his name, not just say it ) is on the rise, and Roglic has been strong for too long... he seems due for a 'day without' more than any of them.

Sep may be able to keep the time bonuses away from people here and there but there will be no hiding on the big mountains and that TT could show some absolutely massive gaps.

Also how about both Porte & Uran coming out of the wings to brawl for podium spots. Fanstatic.

I heard somewhere that Bernal was training like a monster during the quarantine. While today may simply have been a fluke, he may also be over trained. I heard elsewhere that Geraint was also thought to be overtrained. 

^ @PatrickGrehan Ineos DS Nicolas Portal died (tragically) earlier this year, I read that he was the dude that made it all work, now a too-many-cooks mess.

Also, I vant know where magic fountain of watts in Slovenia.

JohnMalcolmson said:

^ @PatrickGrehan Ineos DS Nicolas Portal died (tragically) earlier this year, I read that he was the dude that made it all work, now a too-many-cooks mess.

Also, I vant know where magic fountain of watts in Slovenia.

I don't think Portal's absence can explain "everyone is out of shape" unless he was overseeing all the doping. Porte was the DS not the head trainer.

Lol "fountain of watts" made me spit out my coffee.

Now if you turn your attention to the tirreno adriatico thread you will see some interesting results for Sky...

RE: Race for Green.

I am wondering about Bora's 'choice' not to pull back Trentin's weak-seeming escape after the first  hour of yesterday's stage.  

Bora should have been able to chase it down and start anew.  I couldn't tell if their riders were tired or Sagan decided he couldn't rid himself of the Bennett shadow, so it was better to let Trentin's move go so it could take most of the points, thus minimizing any benefit to Bennett.

RE: Stage into Lyon.

I was wondering what Kamna was doing on that attack.  The longer it went on, I started to think it might provide a springboard for Sagan to attack and shred the group, and then win either solo or from a group of three.

Sagan was in the mix, and in a position to counter when Kamna was caught, but either he was afraid of using all his matches or didn't have the legs.  

RE: Fountain of Watts

Is Van Aert training in Slovenia?  

I m a huge Van Aert fan , but didn't that 9k pull raise anybody else's eyebrows 

Mark Taylor said:

RE: Fountain of Watts

Is Van Aert training in Slovenia?  

I m a huge Van Aert fan , but didn't that 9k pull raise anybody else's eyebrows 

What are you saying - that a 70+kg classics rider shouldn't be able to pull uphill next to the likes of Sepp Kuss & Tom Dumolain, shred the field and then roll in on pace with a former TDF winner? I just don't see what you're getting at. Clearly he is using the latest aerodynamic magnetized socks with a special breathe right strip. It's basic marginal gains, really.

@Jules The UCI have their eye on Van Aert and are extremely concerned that he flauts the most important rules: those aerodynamic, magnetized socks are almost certainly too tall.

It has taken a couple of days for this to sink in but if Bernal is saying he did his "best power ever" and he's getting dropped - hard by a 1/2 dozen guys on a different team I'm saying there is a new kid on the doping block.

Somebody is using something new - or at least new to the peloton.

I'm not saying Bernal is clean but it reminds me of Lemond getting dropped. He didn't get slower, but the peloton got faster.

The other thing that is surprising is how many guys were in that final group on Sunday. That is some pretty rarified air usually, but there were like 1/6 dozen dudes there.

 i don't know if I believe the Bernal PRs thing. He was dropped by guys like Porte and then by Nairo (who was dropped by everyone else) the other day. I find it easier to believe that he just doesn't have it this year. 

agree w Rob, while it is totally possible that some Colombians and Slovenians have found the new doping trick, I don't actually think Bernal hit his best numbers up Puy Mary.

also worth note, right now find myself rooting for Uran to stay in the podium (doubtful) and Pierre Roland for Polka dots, and Trentin for green. 

Bernal has no reason to fib about his best numbers ever. In fact all the advantage is for him to do the opposite and say he's having an off day. If his "best" gets him dropped like a stone not only do his competitors have nothing to fear but his job prospects look like shit.

Regardless; I smell a big, hairy, stinky rat.

Here's an approximate power estimate based on the data of riders around him that suggest Bernal is not putting out his best watts 

https://cyclingtips.com/2020/09/power-analysis-the-20-minutes-that-dropped-egan-bernal/

I think you need to take a wider look. For the past 20 years systematic doping has been characterized by one thing: a single team driving the front of a race, often in the high mountains with larger riders shelling climbing specialists. First Postal, then Sky, now Jumbo.

It's not really the ride "on the day" that can be the smoking gun - the numbers people are quoting are all kind of within the range of believable, but the overall picture is very, very suspect.

I don't have any problem watching & enjoying pro wrestling - the drama is real, and when they aren't maiming themselves on shitty road furniture that criminally negligent race directors allow it's a beautiful spectacle.

All that written if Jumbo (and the other leaders) aren't doping I'm Steve Buscemi.

Maybe Bernal is sick. He doesn't look like he's putting any power into the pedals let alone some PBs. I think the tour is really going to be brushing covid tests under the rug this year

Also I have no evidence. This is really all speculation based on that one Bora rider wearing a soft shell jacket

cpulvidente said:

Maybe Bernal is sick. He doesn't look like he's putting any power into the pedals let alone some PBs. I think the tour is really going to be brushing covid tests under the rug this year

Anything is possible but why would he say he's at his best when he's sick? For me it doesn't pass the sniff test.