Was it sensible? Not particularly but it was pure ciclismo and wonderful to watch. It was so close to succeeding and could have done with Remco to relay with instead of Thomas turning himself inside out to stay with a rope throw of Pogs back wheel.
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Over about 3 minutes Thomas went from 110% in to close the gap/brief recovery/might as well pull though and see what happens (which netted about 2 good turns)/just hanging on/nope, we're getting caught, active recovery commences now. It worked, he and Pogi rolled in together around 45th place in the middle of the front group without Thomas having to do that one last effort.
How can Thomas compete with Pogacar when he was completly dead after a small hill of 5.%? When we reach Prati di Tivo, it is gonna be carnage
I'm not much of a Thomas fan but I don't think what we saw here was "completely dead", completely dead would have looked like "f@(k there goes Pogacar, I'm just gonna stay right here the sprinters will catch him before the line". Besides although @samhocking repeatedly points to Thomas's pedigree as a track cyclist he seems to come closer to Pogi in long sustained efforts than in top end these days.
I love Thomas as a person hes so refreshing, he just seems like the most honest worker even feelt bad he couldnt pull with O Connor yesterday when he was dead that speaks volume, I ofc cant know but I think hes a 10/10 dude certaintly seems that way. Just a legend and a good human off the bike which matters more when its all said and done anyway. Feel kinda gutted for him having to loose the way he did last year but then again Roglic is also easy to like.
Indeed he wasnt dead by no means but seemed to have plenty enough trying to follow the pull from Pog.
Pog just followed the wheel in front he said, whereas Thomas did have to bridge the gap Pog was opening up so he probably went to the red and that's difficult to recover from. Amazing Pogacar said he wasn't even pushing, didn't' attack, just ended up off the front and said he hasn't even done a real match burning attack yet. Scary!
He wont. Like oconer who said he learned his lessons & will never get close to pogi again when he attacks
He is waiting for Prati di Tivo. Probably where he will kill the giro. A hard mountain stage after a decisive TT is the recipe for huge differences in the finale.
It looked like he was only given permission to follow an attack not to initiate one so as soon as Honore leaped he was on it instantly
He is riding the giro as training blocks, thats been stated before the start. I dont think he went into the red at all yesterday or real match burning attack as you say, think thats sensibel to think atleast when we know what they said before the start (one thing is what they say after with excuses etc another is the goal in advance).
Atleast its the proper way and best way to approach it if ur him and the team too which makes me believe it but if Pog can hold back his true nature come 3 week is another thing I dont know it remains to be seen.
Not sure its wise to be making such efforts like today* when you are attempting the double but just noticed that Pog has dropped down to 165mm cranks. The reasoning is to improve his cadence, reduce the load on his leg muscles and improve aerodynamics. Marginal gains.
*Today is a good example why Jonas Vingegaard will never be as popular as Pogacar. A robot versus an animator. The last GC animator was Alberto Contador. This is something else.
*Today is a good example why Jonas Vingegaard will never be as popular as Pogacar. A robot versus an animator. The last GC animator was Alberto Contador. This is something else.
I didn’t hear of the change until recently. But looking at his Strava file I notice significantly higher cadence than normal. 105 for much of the latter part of today’s stage which is not common for him historically. Also noticed it against Narvaez the other day.
At the Tour, Teddy and Remco having fun each day. With Rogla lurking behind, ready to stomp.
And, yet, Thomas said Pogi was "kicking my head in".
I agree that no one is as aggressive and thus entertaining as pog (he is to an extent that is maybe hurting him), but vinge attacks every hill from far out and had his Team creating 3 weeks of havoc in the tdf. Pog and Contador are even more aggressive, but vinge is not by any means an example of a passive cyclist. Pog vs vinge GTs are maybe the best thing in cycling!
He survived the first flat stage. 2 more to go. Please no crashes!
Before every GT people talk about how it's all about saving as much energy as possible, especially when you target two GTs in a row. And then Pogacar does a casual 3km all out effort on a sprint stage. Yeah...sure...
Not sure he'd say anything if it was really the case. I've raced long enough to know that "oh man you're killing me" means "I'm good back here keep hammering".
getting ridden clean off the wheel and having to destroy yourself to close it again isn't the best bluff, mind
From tactical point of view such move does protect you from crashes and the main rival was tired down. Still mostly likely such moves are all about entertaining the fans and to have fun on the bike. On how much it will cost Pogi in terms of Euros and fatigue. Looks like that is less relevant and not a part of some serious strategy.
As for my initial impression for this years GT strategy. Looks like they are prepared to sacrifice a bit of punch to try to do better on climbs.
As for my initial impression for this years GT strategy. Looks like they are prepared to sacrifice a bit of punch to try to do better on climbs.
This was the fifth consecutive Grand Tour stage where he was on the attack. Pretty normal if it was in the middle of a mountainous block mid-race but the streak includes Champs-Élysées and a flat Giro stage. The guy is nuts 
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