Critérium du Dauphiné May 30-June 6 2021

[TourOfSardinia]

GC

Thomas passed Van Wilder!

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Hehe, Wurtz in his exit interview saying, that noticing Valgren right in front of him, gave him extra motivation for the sprint (he passed him)

 

[broppo]

smart move by thomas so ineos will work for him again instead of Porte

 

[Red Rick]

Amazing how Kwiatek blocked the bunch at the curve

Roadblock FC strikes again

 

[Anybody_but..]

Froome Watch

He reminds me Nibali Giro asss, LOL

 

[Escarabajo]

He reminds me Nibali Giro asss, LOL

Nibali was miles ahead of Froome!

 

[Anybody_but..]

Roadblock FC strikes again

Learned a lot from TJV2020TdF

 

[Samu Cuenca]

First individual stage win for G in the Dauphiné.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Roadblock FC strikes again

Smart riding.

As long as the rules allow for it, you can't blame the ones using them in a clever way.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

What a cool exit interview with G.

 

[yaco]

Having a hairpin in the final kilometre is a flaw in the design of the stage - It actually made the stage meaningless.

 

[IndianCyclist]

Great by G.
Good show by Postlberger. He survives another day

 

[johnymax]

The difference in the end was the moto pacing Thomas got there. Great attack, though.

 

[Red Rick]

The difference in the end was the moto pacing Thomas got there. Great attack, though.

When the most expensive domestiques aren't enough.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Having a hairpin in the final kilometre is a flaw in the design of the stage - It actually made the stage meaningless.

I completely disagree.

All the teams have access to scout finishes, and those that got caught out by it, can only blame themselves.

 

[jaylew]

Wow, what a move by G. A tribute to the current race leader?

 

[movingtarget]

smart move by thomas so ineos will work for him again instead of Porte

Porte said yesterday that Thomas was still the leader.

 

[Anybody_but..]

First individual stage win for G in the Dauphiné.

He won GC of Romandie, but it was first stage/race win since TdF 2018.

 

[yaco]

I completely disagree.

All the teams have access to scout finishes, and those that got caught out by it, can only blame themselves.

Scouting is irrelevant when the final has a fatal flaw design - You can't have a hairpin with 1km to go when there are 40 or 50 riders left in the peleton.

 

[Anybody_but..]

When the most expensive domestiques aren't enough.

When you have had Kwiatek, the smartest dom in pelotons, for many years.

 

[Vasilis]

Scouting is irrelevant when the final has a fatal flaw design - You can't have a hairpin with 1km to go when there are 40 or 50 riders left in the peleton.

Why is it a fatal flaw? And you can't know in advance how many riders will be left anyway, apparently they expected more from that last climb. Either way, I don't see why a hairpin would be an indisputable flaw.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

The difference in the end was the moto pacing Thomas got there. Great attack, though.

In a way you are right, but on the other hand, the motos are always right in front of the peloton, so when someone attacks from it, the moto draws away with that rider, disadvantaging the peloton.

On a straight road, the moto can draw out a big lead on the rider (and have little effect), but when the road is twisty like today, the choice becomes "no pictures of the leader" or "slight motorpacing" - and often we end up with motorpacing being the choice made (by TV production), for a minute or two, until the race officials can sort it out over the radio.

However, with a short range attack like today, everything compresses, and thus the advantage is magnified...... clever bit of racing by Thomas really.

Most pro riders know how to use the motos to their advantage, and factor it into how they attack.

 

[Leinster]

Scouting is irrelevant when the final has a fatal flaw design - You can't have a hairpin with 1km to go when there are 40 or 50 riders left in the peleton.

A hairpin in the final km with a reduced group is an opportunity to attack. Everyone who got a copy of the road book knew that. Bahrain should have known that if they wanted a sprint for Colbrelli, they needed to control the race coming out of that hairpin. They didn't control it, so Colbrelli lost.

 

[luckyboy]

Wonder what Colbrelli can achieve in the TDF. Can he be at the front in any of the first two stages (3km at 6% and 2km at 7%) and can he stay close to Ewan/Bennett on the pure flat stages - to make a real green jersey attempt? Guess he was far away on Mur de Bretagne in 2018 so that will be out of the question.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Scouting is irrelevant when the final has a fatal flaw design - You can't have a hairpin with 1km to go when there are 40 or 50 riders left in the peleton.

Why is it a flaw exactly?

Races have key points close to the finish all the time, it may be the last corner before the straight, it may be a little hill 1 k from the finish, it may be a roundabout which is important, or a pavé, or whatever.

The good teams position their leaders for those kind of things.