Le Tour

MIS may get another stage

MIS may get another stage this weekend with Simon Yates.  Really have rescued their tour without a GC contender.

MinardiM189 wrote:

Picking which rider will win from the break is too big a lottery today so gone with safe transfers.

Viviani, Groenewegen & Ewan out – Bernal, Pinot & Kruijswijk in.

SAGAN
BERNAL
PINOT
KRUIJSWIJK
COLBRELLI
MEURISSE
WELLENS
PORTE

With a bot of luck, Meurisse, Sagan and Colbrelli to be in the break.

Hopefully Trentin doesn’t do anything.

I went Trentin, I hope Matthews doesn’t do anything!

Honestly, it is a gamblers world so I am GC plus Sagan and Colbrelli with one gamble in Trentin.  MIS have really embraced stage hunting since GC hopes faded.

With Fuglsang out, the whole

With Fuglsang out, the whole Astana team will be going for the break tomorrow.

Picking a winner tomorrow will be pot luck.

Maybe the break only goes on the final climb.

MinardiM189 wrote:

Sniffer wrote:

Five in the break. Being kept on a short lead.  Unless anything unusal happens, looks like a sprint.

There will be crosswind later but maybe not strong enough to have an impact.

Interesting to see Viviani is still going for points at the intermediate sprint, I didn’t expcet that.

 

Nor did I. No chance of winning the green jersey and beeen really good as a domestic for Alaphillipe in the mountains…..dunno what he or his team have got out of contesting that intermediate. I expected Colbrelli and Sagan with a somewhat confused Matthews wanting the points.

Sniffer wrote:

Five in the break. Being kept on a short lead.  Unless anything unusal happens, looks like a sprint.

There will be crosswind later but maybe not strong enough to have an impact.

Interesting to see Viviani is still going for points at the intermediate sprint, I didn’t expcet that.

MinardiM189 wrote:

Rumours flying around that QS are not going to help chase today, leaving all the work to Jumbo & Lotto. A few tipsters backing the break.

I’m hoping it ends in a sprint –

SAGAN
VIVIANI
GROENEWEGEN
EWAN
COLBRELLI
MEURISSE
WELLENS
PORTE

The break is definitely a possibility. 

I don’t see DQS chasing.  I didn’t pick Viviani today (I have Ewan, Groenewegen, Sagan and Colbrelli) to save a transfer, but he has worked so hard in recent days that it is hard to see him beating others who have been able to take it a little easier on those tough mountain stages.

Lotto will chase. Jumbo and Bora have GC contenders too.  Will Bahrain do any work?  Can’t see Colbrelli winning though.  Sunweb, same issue whether Matthews or Bol sprints.

I want a sprint too, though I have kept two GC riders for their points and to save transfers for later in the week (Bernal and Pinot). 

Secret_squirrel wrote:

MinardiM189 wrote:

Looks like this TdF could be all about who is and isn’t using ketones.

JumboVisma, LottoSoudal, Quickstep are using them, probabbly some others too.

Of the other teams Sky & Sunweb and other teams have said they are not using them becuase of unknown long term health impact.

The miraculous transformation of Alaphilippe into a world class climber does suggest that something is going on.

 

Hmm if it looks like doping and acts like doping it should be classed as doping.  Let’s hope WADA pull their finger out and ban them – particularly as there are no long term health studies of their use.

The problem is, what is the difference between ‘drugs’ and ‘food’?  If I rode having eaten nothing but grilled chicken, and I’m beaten by someone eating only strawberries, is the sugar they contain cheating? There’s a chemical in there that helps them go faster/harder.

It was rumoured a few years back that ketones were Team Sky’s ‘secret’ and then it all went quiet – now Ineos are saying they don’t use them because of the health impacts?