86th Tour de Suisse (2.UWT) // June 11th - 18th 2023

[Extinction]

Tbf for the TdF, lots of climbs there will suit Remco. There's probably a ton of routes there, particularly if they go heavy on TT Kms that would make him one of the favourites (Pog and Vingegaard also being strong ttists doesn't help though)

It also comes down to the pace up which they are ridden and the effects of pressure on performance.

 

[pastronef]

I asked a Bahrain staff member. he confirmed me Maeder's crash is very serious. let's hope he gets better fast

 

[Andy schleck]

Big Doppie, you seem to have something against the high mountains, which, in the 20th century, made cycling the most grueling sport in the world.

Here in Italy riding up maintains is synonomous with epic cycling.

Long climbs with a lof of altitude are the perfect conditions to make big gaps between the gc riders. Even col iseran that is not that steep, just because of the altitude, did big gaps on tour 2019. Granon also did last year.
I miss cime de la bonette in the tour france, it could make a lot of gaps. Passo dello stelvio in the giro also did the same.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Did Mäder and Sheffield crash at the same spot?

 

[Big Doopie]

Big Doppie, you seem to have something against the high mountains, which, in the 20th century, made cycling the most grueling sport in the world.

no. i loooooooooooooooove the high mountains (yes, even if Remco proves not to be competitive with the best). however, i do feel that the move away from longer distances in mountain stages (actually all stages) changes what stage races test. i aslo think that short stages with these super steep climbs lead to less excitement, rather than more. bring back the longer stages and long climbs like these (8% range) and you will see more drama (as we have seen the last three stages with great individual rides and some unexpected "collapses"). also you bring back the longer mountain stages and then you can balance with a reasonable amount of ITT which leads to more attacking racing as riders like Gall have to take more time in the mountains. it is a simple equation which i think GTs (and Prudhomme in particular) have completely misfired on.

Here in Italy riding up maintains is synonomous with epic cycling.

why i rode up stelvio, gavia and the dolomites in 2021. why i head to abruzzo to climb sasso and blockhaus very shortly.

 

[Extinction]

Long climbs with a lof of altitude are the perfect conditions to make big gaps between the gc riders. Even col iseran that is not that steep, just because of the altitude, did big gaps on tour 2019. Granon also did last year.
I miss cime de la bonette in the tour france, it could make a lot of gaps. Passo dello stelvio in the giro also did the same.

The Gavia!

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

Did Mäder and Sheffield crash at the same spot?

I’ve seen that reported yes.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Last times it took this long before news came through, was in Poland. One came back, one didn't.

God damnit. Come on Gino.

 

[Tim Cahill]

 

[RedheadDane]

I asked a Bahrain staff member. he confirmed me Maeder's crash is very serious. let's hope he gets better fast

Seems we might have reached a point where getting better fast is less important that just getting better, however long it might take.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Based on the images we have, it would appear that they crashed here. It looks such an innocuous curve (less than 90 degrees and really quite gradual), but there's a long straight into it so they would have carried a lot of speed and been too slow to brake.

The place where the picture above was taken is about 30 metres away from the road which gives an indication of how far down they went...

 

[Extinction]

no. i loooooooooooooooove the high mountains (yes, even if Remco proves not to be competitive with the best). however, i do feel that the move away from longer distances in mountain stages (actually all stages) changes what stage races test. i aslo think that short stages with these super steep climbs lead to less excitement, rather than more. bring back the longer stages and long climbs like these (8% range) and you will see more drama (as we have seen the last three stages with great individual rides and some unexpected "collapses"). also you bring back the longer mountain stages and then you can balance with a reasonable amount of ITT which leads to more attacking racing as riders like Gall have to take more time in the mountains. it is a simple equation which i think GTs (and Prudhomme in particular) have completely misfired on.

why i rode up stelvio, gavia and the dolomites in 2021. why i head to abruzzo to climb sasso and blockhaus very shortly.

I've thought that an exact repeat of an 86 Tour route or the Giro that year, 600-700 km longer than today's versions and some mountain stages of 230+ km long would be fun to watch.

I raced up Gran Sasso and Blockhaus, both are tough, also for the wind, but Blockhaus is harder.

 

[therealthing]

Thank goodness Sheffield looks OK. Very worrying for Mader though

 

[search]

Based on the images we have, it would appear that they crashed here. It looks such an innocuous curve (less than 90 degrees and really quite gradual), but there's a long straight into it so they would have carried a lot of speed and been too slow to brake.

the live broadcast showed Ayuso going round there (at 6.4k to go)

 

[Ricco']

t looks such an innocuous curve (less than 90 degrees and really quite gradual), but there's a long straight into it so they would have carried a lot of speed and been too slow to brake.

Rewatching Ayuso taking that corner, it is more deceptive than it looks as it's a blind corner to the left which tightens in the end. Entering there with more speed than recommended and with an early apex makes it very harder to correct the trajectory.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Rewatching Ayuso taking that corner, it is more deceptive than it looks as it's a blind corner to the left which tightens in the end. Entering there with more speed than recommended and with an early apex makes it very harder to correct the trajectory.

Blind corners are the worst, unless you know the road really well.
***, I just hope Mäder gets better.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Rewatching Ayuso taking that corner, it is more deceptive than it looks as it's a blind corner to the left which tightens in the end. Entering there with more speed than recommended and with an early apex makes it very harder to correct the trajectory.

You get the same impression from the google maps location Elbow posted, if you go back a few hundreds of meters. That said, the actual location does not have rocks, trees, walls etc to crash into. But we don't know how far down Mäder went.

 

[jaylew]

Evenepoel is not putting 46 seconds into Skjelmose on a 25.7K TT, especially one that includes a climb, and Skjelmose is normally a better ITT rider than Ayuso.

Are we sure about that? The only time they've gone head to head is in the 1st TT of this race and he only beat Ayuso by 6 seconds.

Also, not sure why Ayuso was tapping his helmet at the finish. He sat up and lost several seconds at the end to a Skjelmose group that was sprinting all out in a race that might be decided by seconds in the TT.

 

[Elos Anjos]

If they crashed at the same place it suggests that one was following the other.

 

[Samamba]

The fact that there is still no news really isn't a good sign.

 

[BR2]

I am just catching up. Terrible to hear. Of course like everyone else I hope for the best.

 

[Extinction]

Based on the images we have, it would appear that they crashed here. It looks such an innocuous curve (less than 90 degrees and really quite gradual), but there's a long straight into it so they would have carried a lot of speed and been too slow to brake.

The place where the picture above was taken is about 30 metres away from the road which gives an indication of how far down they went...

The thing is, when on such roads at high speed on a long descent, even an easy curve can catch you off gaurd on the wrong trajectory when it's too late. God damn this sport sometimes! Come on Gino!

 

[Devil's Elbow]

If they crashed at the same place it suggests that one was following the other.

Mäder was dropped from the Sheffield group well before the summit, right? So I don't think so.

 

[staubsauger]

The one thing that I didn't expect at all was yesterday's long range attack.

That's why it was so smart by Gall to do that undercut attack yesterday. If you wait for the queen stage. Everyone is altert. Ayuso turns out to be better.

Yesterday's attack created that "That little really goes for it" surprise moment, everyone inside the peloton and watching had.

Apart from Jip actually. She called Gall going for it earlier. So she was just on a bad day today. Certainly was more insightful the days before.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Also, not sure why Ayuso was tapping his helmet at the finish. He sat up and lost several seconds at the end to a Skjelmose group that was sprinting all out in a race that might be decided by seconds in the TT.

Wasn't he signalling that he had overcome his injury by pointing at his head and his lower leg?