Critérium du Dauphiné 2023, June 4 - 11

[Rackham]

Overkill is good actually.

I find it somewhat similar to the stage Thomas won when Porte won the overall. As Bruyneel would say: We Might As Well Win.

Just to further elaborate on my previous points: I've seen stuff like this before, i.e. Tour de France 2021 stage 3 when Wout van Aert was allowed to go stage hunting & chase the jersey as well, i.e. which left Rog to fight for position himself (Colbrelli incident ensued). So this sort of "we might as well win" stuff hasn't always gone well. Laporte was also literally meters away from losing the stage today.

There's a reason we never saw Jumbo try to get Affini a stage win in the Giro, or allow Bouwman to go hunting for the KOM jersey. This one has Niermann written all over it & if they approach the Bilbao stage in the TdF in just under 4 weeks with the same sort of intent (aka stage hunting with someone other than Vingegaard), then something bad could happen.

Like I said, it's too much. Vingegaard will naturally deliver stage wins later this week so what happened today was a form of vanity from the DS.

In my opinion.

 

[Carols]

It was a gift. Simply because it required the best rider in the race (Vingegaard) to work on the front to make it happen. This is the 3rd for Laporte, after Paris-Nice 2022 & GW.

FYI Benoot & Van Baarle are also perfectly capable of stage hunting but the objective here was pretty clear: Laporte gets the stage & the jersey.

People are free to think it's cool, I happen to think it's a little bit overkill from a team which will win GC with Vingegaard in this race.

IMO they want the jersey stage 1 to end of race. LaPorte winning was all part of the plan.

 

[titan31]

Just to further elaborate on my previous points: I've seen stuff like this before, i.e. Tour de France 2021 stage 3 when Wout van Aert was allowed to go stage hunting & chase the jersey as well, i.e. which left Rog to fight for position himself (Colbrelli incident ensued). So this sort of "we might as well win" stuff hasn't always gone well. Laporte was also literally meters away from losing the stage today.

There's a reason we never saw Jumbo try to get Affini a stage win in the Giro, or allow Bouwman to go hunting for the KOM jersey. This one has Niermann written all over it & if they approach the Bilbao stage in the TdF in just under 4 weeks with the same sort of intent (aka stage hunting with someone other than Vingegaard), then something bad could happen.

Like I said, it's too much. Vingegaard will naturally deliver stage wins later this week so what happened today was a form of vanity from the DS.

In my opinion.

I'd agree if they do this in the Tour, that would be dumb as whilst WVA will be a favourite, there's a lot of guys who can win that stage 1, and having Vingegaard work unnecessarily in the Tour would be dumb.

Today though, Laporte was the overwhelming favourite particularly after Hayters abandon and it's good for Vingegaard to do some work here for his teammates as he's going to need them a lot next month.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Some people are so stupid.

If the win today for Laporte was a 'gift', then any time any rider won a race with teammates in the race it was a 'gift'. Laporte won with the support of his team, it was their goal today to win with him.

Was roglic gifted ParisNice when Van aert worked for him last year? Was Roglic gifted the Giro when Kuss dropped back to help him on Monte Bondone? No

Please stop pretending that Laporte is not one of the best rider in the world at the moment and doesn't deserve team support. He's the best hilly sprinter in the race. You are criticising Jumbo for wanting to win the stage with the most suitable rider for it. The exact opposite would warrant criticism. And they did the exact same with WVA the last 3 years

Anyway Jumbo only had to pull so hard on the last 10km because of the ridiculous moto draft for Herredgots

 

[Netserk]

Some people are so stupid.

If the win today for Laporte was a 'gift', then any time any rider won a race with teammates in the race it was a 'gift'. Laporte won with the support of his team, it was their goal today to win with him.

Was roglic gifted ParisNice when Van aert worked for him last year? Was Roglic gifted the Giro when Kuss dropped back to help him on Monte Bondone? No

Please stop pretending that Laporte is not one of the best rider in the world at the moment and doesn't deserve team support. He's the best hilly sprinter in the race. You are criticising Jumbo for wanting to win the stage with the most suitable rider for it. The exact opposite would warrant criticism. And they did the exact same with WVA the last 3 years

Anyway Jumbo only had to pull so hard on the last 10km because of the ridiculous moto draft for Herredgots

The better take is that Belgian Pozzato was gifted 3 stages in the Tour last year.

 

[Danskebjerge]

Today was a good example of rainy conditions making cycling more interesting to watch. The wet roads helped the breakaway, and I'm against neutralizing or cancelling stages because of it (unless maybe in Paris when the GC is already decided or something like that).

 

[Armchair cyclist]

what I saw was a team desperate to get a stage win for a Frenchman on French soil.

Team attempt to win sporting competition (and succeed) rather than lose by not trying shock!!!

 

[Rackham]

Team attempt to win sporting competition (and succeed) rather than lose by not trying shock!!!

Here's Jacky Durand on French Eurosport with an analysis of the final 400 meters (aka how Vingegaard almost lost the Tour de France today): https://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/c...alette-de-jacky-durand_vid1926169/video.shtml

Hint: Vingegaard almost fell.

Was it worth it for another Laporte win? That's a rhetorical question. As I said, it was too much & in no way worth the risk. Jumbo will naturally collect stage wins later this week in any case.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Here's Jacky Durand on French Eurosport with an analysis of the final 400 meters (aka how Vingegaard almost lost the Tour de France today): https://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/c...alette-de-jacky-durand_vid1926169/video.shtml

Hint: Vingegaard almost fell.

Was it worth it for another Laporte win? That's a rhetorical question. As I said, it was too much & in no way worth the risk. Jumbo will naturally collect stage wins later this week in any case.

NO risk, NO glory. – Primož Roglič

www.primozroglic.com

 

[Red Rick]

Here's Jacky Durand on French Eurosport with an analysis of the final 400 meters (aka how Vingegaard almost lost the Tour de France today): https://www.eurosport.fr/cyclisme/c...alette-de-jacky-durand_vid1926169/video.shtml

Hint: Vingegaard almost fell.

Was it worth it for another Laporte win? That's a rhetorical question. As I said, it was too much & in no way worth the risk. Jumbo will naturally collect stage wins later this week in any case.

If that's almost crashing then I almost crash getting out of bed in the morning.

 

[Valv.Piti]

What laughable arguments honestly.

Scary thing is, I believe you aren't trolling. This is actually your opinion!

 

[Dazed and Confused]

Today was a good example of rainy conditions making cycling more interesting to watch. The wet roads helped the breakaway, and I'm against neutralizing or cancelling stages because of it (unless maybe in Paris when the GC is already decided or something like that).

Agree. Nothing should be cancelled because of bad weather. Some riders are better in certain conditions and should have an opportunity to shine accordingly. This is an essential part of road racing. As for the Paris thing, I love to see more action there.

 

[awavey]

Zoom probably also wouldn't be very useful on twisty roads. I don't think anyone has invented zoom that can go around corners.

very true, but there is a middle ground compromise, camera bikes dont have to be as close as todays certainly was to get the pictures of the race, and it ought to be one of the things the moto riders are thinking about all the time during a stage.

 

[Gratemans]

It was a gift. Simply because it required the best rider in the race (Vingegaard) to work on the front to make it happen. This is the 3rd for Laporte, after Paris-Nice 2022 & GW.

FYI Benoot & Van Baarle are also perfectly capable of stage hunting but the objective here was pretty clear: Laporte gets the stage & the jersey.

People are free to think it's cool, I happen to think it's a little bit overkill from a team which will win GC with Vingegaard in this race.

I think that's a really weird way of looking at this stage. Yeah Laporte kinda got a stage gifted last year. But how does that in any way relate to this one?
This profile was tailor made for him. God forbid his teammates try to help him win it. It's just outrageous I tell ya!

 

[theyoungest]

Laporte was also literally meters away from losing the stage today.

Next time, he should shut up and work for Vingegaard. That's what you get for almost losing a race.

 

[Potomac]

Sandisfan awake at this hour, what is happening?

Check for pods.

 

[yaco]

The mistake made by Jumbo was not pushing a bit extra on the climb and catching Herregodts before the top of the climb - Then you can control the race.

 

[Rackham]

What laughable arguments honestly.

Scary thing is, I believe you aren't trolling. This is actually your opinion!

Just because a majority of people here have one view of the stage it doesn't make the contrary opinion 'trolling', nor laughable. I happen to agree with Jacky Durand (I posted that clip because some here were trying to pigeonhole my argument into one of a total minority viewpoint) & yes, Jumbo Visma's all-for-Laporte racing yesterday raised eyebrows.

Vingegaard got himself in a bit of a wobble once his pull was done & the sprinters flew past. That's a fact. Just a little more imbalance there & the conversation afterwards is entirely different. For me considering what Jumbo wins (& will win, especially in the Dauphiné itself) it was in no way justifiable, especially considering this sort of tactic where they combine stage hunting with sprinters & overall GC has failed them before (see TdF 2021).

And if you want 'laughable' commentary, try reading one of the previous (well liked posts as well!) where the Masnada superfan unironically compares going all in for a stage win for a sprinter on the team (using Vingegaard to pull) with GC battles in previous races, i.e. as if a teammate pulling the overall GC leader to win the race is comparable to the GC favorite pulling for a mere stage win for one of his teammates who is a sprinter. It's obviously not the same thing.

But whatever, I've said everything I had to say & it's really just a tactical disagreement with Jumbo's DS. I think Niermann behind the wheel is overly zealous for stage wins. That's all.

If that's almost crashing then I almost crash getting out of bed in the morning.

In literal terms this comment implies you wake up getting shoulder barged by half a dozen sprinters flying past you. It does raise an interesting question regarding your sleeping habits, but that's another topic.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Even if you just try to keep your GC guy at the front until the last 3 kms you can still end up in dangerous situations, I don't think the risk factor is a very compelling argument tbh. Guys like Laporte also deserve some team support once in a while, it's not a tactical blunder to go for a stage win...

Also, it's the Dauphiné. Who cares?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Don't worry Rackham, I think his comments on certain subjects are absolutely laughable as well, but you really stand alone with this one. I really cannot follow your reasoning at all. Im usually able to do that since you're pretty good at articulating stuff and usually is reasonable, but this one is a clear miss to me.

 

[Berniece]

Is the finish hard enough to see Alaphilippe shine today?

 

[search]

Is the finish hard enough to see Alaphilippe shine today?

in the pre-stage interview, he just said that Cavangna will try to join the breakaway, and if it comes back together, they'll sprint with Vernon.

 

[Eddy Evenepoel]

and if it comes back together, they'll sprint with Vernon.

Today must be too hard for Vernon?

 

[Netserk]

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Early crash… Kruijswijk, Cras and Combaud have abandoned. Classic Kruijswijk