[11waterloo]

Are we allowed to start getting a bit excited yet? Looks to be a more varied route than usual with less of the endless nailed on sprint stages that normally dominate the first week or so (though a run of sprint stages does save on the transfers!) I don’t know about the practicality of it, but is there any way of opening the game up using the long lists that most teams already have or just using the full list of riders? It is quite good fun playing about with potential line-ups, especially for the purist game, even knowing that the final roster will probably change. Obviously, if it creates difficulties, I wouldn’t want to add to the burden of running the game but, if it doesn’t, let’s get the TdF party started!   Here are a couple of links to the current state of the start list. https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/tour-de-france/2022/startlist.                                https://firstcycling.com/race.php?r=17&y=2022&k=8  

Topic

[Daniel Norton]

Why do none of the bookies or
Why do none of the bookies or experts think Jungels can win today? Is he injured?

[Dr Winston]

Crikey… i got away with one

Crikey… i got away with one there. If i had have done two it would have been Philipsen and Pinot for Kamna and Teuns…. Crikey again.

Pinot is a crap rider… no race craft whatsoever.

Speaking of which. Roglic has had a mare but remains the second best raw talent for GC riding, imo. I’ve commented before that his weakness (if he has one) is trying to win races twice over instead of just learning to sit on wheels when leading a race… sometimes ending up with him crashing or blowing up. Vingegaard is far better tactically than Roglic… very impressed with him again.

[Daniel Norton]

I’m having a mare!  Picked

I’m having a mare!  Picked Barguil (looked on form and going for KOM) and he went out with COVID.  Put Sagan (was either him or Pederson!?!?) in and he looked ill so I’ve had to drop him for Pinot today…

Poor breakaway riding from FDJ.  Why did Pinot let Matthews go so far up the road, THEN ask Kung to chase? 

[Dr Winston]

Mmmm…short list was Teuns

Mmmm…short list was Teuns and/or Kamna… only one made the break.

[Dr Winston]

Doh… going from bad to

Doh… going from bad to worse. Missed the deadline today due to a drama…literally… Gonna take a wild guess that Bora have earmarked today.

[Daniel Norton]

Pidcock’s thoughts would be

Pidcock’s thoughts would be interesting.  There is also what the people who pay his wages think.  British team?  Possible British GT winner.  I wonder how many years before they ask him to take a winter off and focus on TT and specific winter endurance prep.  Sponsor pressure might even come into it.

I love watching cyclocross, but the publicity for sponsors of a Pidcock GT win must appeal.

[Dr Winston]

Potential for sure… but

Potential for sure… but would he want to. His training would have to change which would probably mean ditching one of (or both) cycclo cross and mountain biking… One thing i do know is that the cyclocross lads don’t like putting that cyclocross bike away, as WVA and MVDP can confirm, and also cyclocross would appear to help enormously for training ready for the classics. It would be nice to know Pidcock’s own thoughts on it.

[11waterloo]

He seems pretty strong willed

He seems pretty strong willed so I’m sure he will have his goals set out and a plan to achieve them. I agree though, if he has GC ambitions in a Grand Tour, something currently in his programme will have to give. Quite a few riders see cyclocross as their winter sport and do fine on the road whilst combining the two – I can’t think of any GC riders who do though. The mountain biking does impinge on the road season so, I guess, that would be the first thing to be shelved. 

[Daniel Norton]

Slightly off topic but…

Slightly off topic but…

Pidcock quite obviously has potential as a GC rider.  To target a grand tour, he needs to focus on specifically training for it over winter.  As he has basically already won the World title in Cyclocross and has Olympic gold in mountain bike, what more can he do in those disciplines?  Does anyone else think that Pidcock has a big decision to make in the next couple of years about what he focuses on in winter?

[11waterloo]

And, generally, the host

And, generally, the host broadcaster for the TdF is brilliant so I shouldn’t moan! 

[Steve K]

Yes but (I think) that

Yes but (I think) that’s Eurosport/GCN splitting between the supplied pictures from the host broadcaster, and their own pictures of Brad on the bike.  It would need the host broadcaster to do the split screen for it to cover two parts of the race.

[11waterloo]

Very true, they happily do it

Very true, they happily do it when Bradley Wiggins wants to remind us that he is still best mates with all the riders from his motorcycle! 

[Rendel Harris]

Don’t know why they can’t

Don’t know why they can’t make more use of split screen or picture in picture in those situations.

[Daniel Norton]

Can’t say I have a problem

Can’t say I have a problem with following the GC battle rather than a lone rider in front.  Luckily there wasn’t a French rider in third in the break, or we’d have had to watch them fail to win rather than see the race.

[Hirsute]

I need not have bothered with
I need not have bothered with being vague about the winner given the rapid news item !

His gap was going down and I wondered if he’d be caught but no real coverage of how he was doing. I’d have thought a top 10 GC would have coverage.

[Author]

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