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Tour de France 2021 Tour de France: Who will finish on the podium below Pogačar? First rest day poll

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Who will finish on the podium below Pogačar?

  • Total voters
    109
  • Poll closed .
Hugo Koblet

Hugo Koblet

May 9, 2010
10,958
2,327
25,680
For the moment the battle for podium seems to be between 5 guys.

O'Connor was riding like a madman today, and his Giro last year seems to indicate that he's very good in the third week. He probably has the weakest time trial of the 5, but he did defend himself relatively well in the first ITT of this Tour. With his 3 minutes advantage on the other contenders, he's my favorite to take 2nd place.
Carapaz is the obvious choice as he's on paper the strongest of the contenders and also tends to improve as a GT goes on. However, I don't think he has looked as sharp as one could have expected this Tour and he has already spend a lot of energy. He also doesn't have the strongest time trial - even though he did decently in the first one - and I just have a feeling that he isn't quite where he wants to be.
Uran has looked solid and has a good ITT, but in recent years he's had a tendency to fade in the third week. He's also not very agressive and will have to rely on his time trial, which I don't think will be enough to grab a podium spot.
Vingegaard is in unknown territory but has looked solid, even though he was in slight trouble yesterday. He has the strongest ITT of the 5, but will it be enough? I have a feeling that it won't.
Mas has looked sharper than ever in the beginning of a GT and always improves a lot towards the third week. His ITT was disappointing but I expect him to be a lot better in the second time trial. He also looked good yesterday despite crashing earlier on the stage. Overall, I think he looks better than ever and he's my pick for the last podium spot.

Of course a lot can still happen, but for now at least it looks like a fight between those 5.
 
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Gigs_98

Gigs_98

Feb 18, 2015
13,501
9,021
28,180
Ineos have been so disappointing so far. Carapaz has been more or less like expected but other than that? Thomas can put some of his disappointment down to his crash but then let's not forget he already lost time on the Mur de Bretagne before he ever went down. Considering that I think his shape is as much of a problem as his crash. But then there should have been way more options than just those two. What's been up with Porte for example? Is his performance crash related too? And Tao? He's a gt champion after all.

They went into this race genuinely having 4 shots at the podium and there is only a single one left. I expected that if none of them would be strong enough to put up a fight against Pogacar alone, Ineos would at least pose a danger because of the strength of their team but so far it's been a complete no show. I mean, even the helpers have been disappointing. The best one so far has probably been Castroviejo, the guy who originally wasn't even planned to race this Tour and is coming off the Giro...
 
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Cookster15

Cookster15

May 14, 2011
5,433
5,514
23,180
Most likely is Carapaz and Uran to fill the podium spots. But as an Aussie I hope Ben O'Connor can prove me wrong. Great ride today so we now see what his recovery is and if this is enough to minimize the expected time loss to Uran in the second ITT.

But I am also happy that I am still interested in this Tour after following Pogi's crushing superiority.
 
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Pantani_lives

Pantani_lives

May 3, 2010
4,334
4,099
21,180
There's an unwritten law in cycling that an effort has to lead to something. Carapaz went very deep in the Alpine stages without being rewarded. He would deserve the second place because of his attacking spirit, and because he at least tried to compete with Pogacar, but cycling isn't always fair. Uran and Mas are bores who just ride for the podium on regularity over three weeks, and it might work. Carapaz will need a minute over them before the time trial, so he has to attack in the Pyrenees.

My wild guess:
  1. Pogacar
  2. Carapaz
  3. Vingegaard
  4. Mas
  5. Uran
  6. Kelderman
  7. Lutsenko
  8. O'Connor
  9. Gaudu
  10. Bilbao
That would mean a podium with UAE, Ineos and Jumbo, as expected before the Tour.
 
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