2021 Bretagne Classic, 1.WT, 29 August

[RedheadDane]

Honore was re-catching the front 2-3 times in the final 20 kilometers so not sure which moment you are talking about. At the end he caught them after the final climb but Ala lost to his compatriot in the final sprint.

Right at the end.

I will admit I was hoping he'd just go straight past them, but probably not strong enough for that.

What's the difference if you don't know the result?

It's hard to avoid results when I'm...

1: Frequently checking PCS for full-results.
2: Not really bothering with avoiding results, because - again - I really don't see the point if it's not live.

 

[tobydawq]

It's hard to avoid results when I'm...

1: Frequently checking PCS for full-results.
2: Not really bothering with avoiding results, because - again - I really don't see the point if it's not live.

That doesn't really answer my question...

 

[gunara]

How did I miss it for that Vuelta stage? No decent stream, is unfortunately the answer.
Reading what happenned, I'll catch the replay and still enjoy it it seems

 

[Orbit501]

Your post is contradicting itself if getting to the sprint 2 v 1 against by far the strongest rider on the day is not putting a foot wrong all race

Cosnefroy was just the strongest in the race today. Short of having Ballerini up there as well and then taking it in turns firing off the front, not sure what else the Steppers could have done really.

Perhaps Honore sits up a bit earlier in the sprint, forces Cosnefroy to lead Ala out? Looked to me to be pretty good timing from Ala for the sprint though.

P.S. Ala had already tried dropping Cosnefroy on one of the climbs ( before Pont Neuf I think) and failed.

 

[RedheadDane]

That doesn't really answer my question...

I tend to know the results.
And it makes a difference simply because it's not live.

 

[roundabout]

Cosnefroy was just the strongest in the race today. Short of having Ballerini up there as well and then taking it in turns firing off the front, not sure what else the Steppers could have done really.

Perhaps Honore sits up a bit earlier in the sprint, forces Cosnefroy to lead Ala out? Looked to me to be pretty good timing from Ala for the sprint though.

I fully expected Honore to attack when he was going past the 2 when he caught them back for the last time. Instead he settled into leading out the sprint. I feel that was a mistake, but that's just my opinion only

 

[tobydawq]

I tend to know the results.
And it makes a difference simply because it's not live.

I still don't get it at all. Why not just not check PCS? But okay, I don't think this leads anywhere, so probably best to just drop it.

 

[Orbit501]

I fully expected Honore to attack when he was going past the 2 when he caught them back for the last time. Instead he settled into leading out the sprint. I feel that was a mistake, but that's just my opinion only

I agree with you, that was THE moment. Maggie and Hatch both called the same. Clearly Honore just didn't have the legs left to do it though.

That for me is why this is such an impressive win for Cosnefroy. The Steppers tried everything they could with what they had but couldn't beat him.


P.S. You could also be spot on though. Even if Honore did have the legs (which I doubt) perhaps they just thought Ala won't get beat in a sprint so we'll take it to that. If so, then they did put a foot wrong

 

[RedheadDane]

I still don't get it at all. Why not just not check PCS? But okay, I don't think this leads anywhere, so probably best to just drop it.

Why watch replays, when you can watch it live? Most of the time it works out.

 

[steffr222]

What a finish by Cosnefroy. He did an amazing job, and DQS, well that was a self-made defeat. Really didn‘t understand why Honore didn‘t just take his speed and attacked when he came back - Cosnefroy would have had to react then.

 

[Orbit501]

Why watch replays, when you can watch it live? Most of the time it works out.

For me, if we're talking highlights as replays, then I agree. Highlights are often not great at giving you a sense of what's gone on.

Most of my replays I just watch 'as live'. That works a treat I find.

 

[DoYouEvenRideBruh]

Why watch replays, when you can watch it live? Most of the time it works out.

I'm also a big fan of watching stuff live and live only. Dunno what it is about but somehow I lose interest in replays even if I don't know the result yet.

 

[RedheadDane]

For me, if we're talking highlights as replays, then I agree. Highlights are often not great at giving you a sense of what's gone on.

Most of my replays I just watch 'as live'. That works a treat I find.

For me it's just too much work to avoid every page where I might potentially see a result - and it's not just PCS, and similar pages - in order to pretend I'm "watching it live" later on. Most of the time it's not problem skipping back and forth between races, and I suspect the issue here was that they were... slightly quicker thane expected over in Spain.
At least the stages in the Netherlands and Germany didn't also finish at the same time. Or the cat.2 race in Skive.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Unofficial info from Alaphilippe's camp. He had a quick chat with Pogacar:
Ala: Tadej, have mercy on us Frenchmen and let us win on our home soil!
Pog: No problem, I'm going to watch La Vuelta. Cya!

 

[Carols]

I just finished watching the last 75KM of this! Chapeau Cosnefroy ! 1 against 2 DQS including Ala. Great race, so animated .

 

[Carols]

Unofficial info from Alaphilippe's camp. He had a quick chat with Pogacar:
Ala: Tadej, have mercy on us Frenchmen and let us win on our home soil!
Pog: No problem, I'm going to watch La Vuelta. Cya!

Pogi was Dropped fair and square!

 

[tobydawq]

What a season Honoré is putting together, by the way. In his last five races he has been top 5 in all of them: 5th in the Danish Nats, 3rd in San Sebastián, 5th in Poland, 2nd in Druivenkoers Overijse and 3rd today.

Impossible not to select him for the WCRR.

 

[Red Rick]

59	Jonas Vingegaard		Jumbo-Visma	+ 4:53​	2​
60	Tadej Pogacar		UAE Team Emirates	+ 6:30​	2​

The rivalry lives on

 

[noob]

To my noob eyes it looked like Cosnefroy simply had more power in the sprint because of sheer size. Alaphilippe is such a tiny little thing.

Fun to see Pogisatva get dropped, and still be as cool as ever.

Interesting to compare this race wolves with Deine tour wolves. Way more coordination here!

 

[johnymax]

What a win by Cosnefroy, destroying the World champion and the Tour champion in the process. Mightily impressive.

 

[SafeBet]

I was checking the results and if I'm not mistaken Alaphilippe hasn't won a meaningful flat sprint all year

Plouay: beaten by Cosnefroy
San Sebastian: beaten by Covi for 5th
LBL: beaten by Pogacar
AGR: beaten by Matthews and Bala for 4th

Lacking his usual kick at then end of bigger races?

 

[Andy262]

Just caught up with this and what an entertaining race it was.

Brilliant for Cosnefroy. That was a really well deserved win and to take it from Julien all the more rewarding..