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You mean Captain Future, Superman and Aquaman? Of course they are unhurt. Landani on the other hand is human.
I was just being silly (as I usually am, but I don't want to put a smiley behind every sentence I write, that would look even sillier...) It's startling, however, how many things are not going right for the favourites before the Tour.
Buchmann also has only had 3 1/2 racing days since the end of the lockdown and only 5 more all year. That's fairly ridiculous for a Tour de France challenge.
He doesn't have the desire or the fitness after his mental health battles - Mitchelton is happy he's back racing and in decent form.
Covid19 should have been added to the list. The >4000 cases and rising is not good for Aug 29 since it will not decrease by that time but the deaths are extremely low fortunately. The race is in danger of being cancelled midway if it starts. Also covid may decide the winner based on the rules
What are the rules?
If anything, I can see the race being completely bonkers if there's a looming threat of race cancellation
It looks like Roglic and Bernal are the two favourites, with a slight edge for Roglic at the moment.
Pinot, Dumoulin, Buchmann, Quintana and Landa are next in line. Between these five, it's really unclear who you'd fancy.
Pinot looked the best at Dauphine. Maybe not super strong on the last day but still his form is exactly where you'd want him to be right now. He was the strongest climber in last year's race, and he'll need to be again this year if he's to have any chance of winning. Could be his year, or could be the usual.
Dumoulin is the most interesting - it's not often that the man who finishes 7th in the Dauphine is one of the biggest Tour favourites, but his form really did look good. That is, as good as one's form can look when not riding for GC. It's actually really difficult to properly gauge his form at the moment; he barely did anything for himself, but when he did attack on the final day he looked good. But surely you'd expect him to drop that group after sitting on for 15km while they worked frantically at the front. Still, he's looking good and he has the greatest GT pedigree out of all his rivals.
Buchmann looked to be at exactly the same level as Pinot in the Dauphine - pretty good for his first race back. Most likely would have podiumed if not for all the crashes, but he did crash and at the moment that's very worrying. Last year he was outclimbed by only Pinot and Bernal, and he'll be hoping to take another step this year. However, it all depends on his shape following the crash. He'll need to get back to 100% soon or he could be out of contention in the first week.
Quintana was of course super strong in the early season, but since the restart he's been inconsistent. A lot of that inconsistency is probably down to the injuries he sustained back in Colombia. The final day at the Dauphine did not look good at all, but he still has a very good chance.
Landa looked really strong, but like a lot of guys the final day at the Dauphine was just not good at all. He attacked early on and then got cramps. What does that tell us? I really don't know, but surely it won't happen again in the Tour.
Then there's Guillaume Martin. If you go by his reputation, he'll be looking to finish just inside the top 10. If you go by his form (most importantly, his form in this topsy turvy restart world) he could end up winning the bloody thing.
Pinot, Dumoulin, Buchmann, Quintana and Landa are next in line. Between these five, it's really unclear who you'd fancy.
Pinot looked the best at Dauphine. Maybe not super strong on the last day but still his form is exactly where you'd want him to be right now. He was the strongest climber in last year's race, and he'll need to be again this year if he's to have any chance of winning. Could be his year, or could be the usual.
Dumoulin is the most interesting - it's not often that the man who finishes 7th in the Dauphine is one of the biggest Tour favourites, but his form really did look good. That is, as good as one's form can look when not riding for GC. It's actually really difficult to properly gauge his form at the moment; he barely did anything for himself, but when he did attack on the final day he looked good. But surely you'd expect him to drop that group after sitting on for 15km while they worked frantically at the front. Still, he's looking good and he has the greatest GT pedigree out of all his rivals.
Buchmann looked to be at exactly the same level as Pinot in the Dauphine - pretty good for his first race back. Most likely would have podiumed if not for all the crashes, but he did crash and at the moment that's very worrying. Last year he was outclimbed by only Pinot and Bernal, and he'll be hoping to take another step this year. However, it all depends on his shape following the crash. He'll need to get back to 100% soon or he could be out of contention in the first week.
Quintana was of course super strong in the early season, but since the restart he's been inconsistent. A lot of that inconsistency is probably down to the injuries he sustained back in Colombia. The final day at the Dauphine did not look good at all, but he still has a very good chance.
Landa looked really strong, but like a lot of guys the final day at the Dauphine was just not good at all. He attacked early on and then got cramps. What does that tell us? I really don't know, but surely it won't happen again in the Tour.
Then there's Guillaume Martin. If you go by his reputation, he'll be looking to finish just inside the top 10. If you go by his form (most importantly, his form in this topsy turvy restart world) he could end up winning the bloody thing.
Head says Dumoulin
Heart says Ana de Armas, but she's not competing here.
So Dumoulin. No injuries, great team, has got the experience, will normally not lose a lot of time anywhere and can smash the time trial, and the upward curve of his form is promising.
Heart says Ana de Armas, but she's not competing here.
So Dumoulin. No injuries, great team, has got the experience, will normally not lose a lot of time anywhere and can smash the time trial, and the upward curve of his form is promising.
Yeah the most important thing will be To get in yellow as soon as possible.
In that case my heart says Cecilie Uttrup Ludwig. Though, I suppose she could still try something at La Course.
She's nice but shes no DumoulinI'd root for her too
I'd root for Harry Shum jr.
Damn, why do we have to watch a bike race with all these cyclists?
Damn, why do we have to watch a bike race with all these cyclists?
You go to the Giro with the same team and win that too after it gets canceled after 2 weeks.
TREBLE HYPE
Two COVID-19 cases and teams will be out of Tour de France
ASO explain Tour de France medical protocol in 18-page document
www.cyclingnews.com
I've made up my mind. Pinot will win this bike race going as 4th strongest rider into the final week- behind Roglic, Dumoulin and Bernal but Ineos and Jumbo will be thrown out of the race for 2 covid cases among their mechanics.
Ugh. I fear you are right (Bernal). Not buying that he has a real back issue. I think he's just getting his form cranked up now. -- True, this is somewhat of a departure for Ineos, where the TDF leader usually looks fairly dominant going into the big race, but we saw Bernal's form get stronger and stronger in last year's version. And the time trial profile really suits him, as a mountain stage. Hope I'm wrong. Nothing against Bernal, I'd just like to see a winner come from another team.
Roglic was looking way stronger than everyone at the Dauphine, and maybe it made more sense for Bernal to fine-tune his prep for the TDF rather than race hard for lesser positions.
Valverde's done this his entire life. When's the last time he was underestimated? His first year as pro? Yet he's always downplaying his chances. Listen to him after the Dauphine and you'd think he was finishing in the grupetto on each stage. I suspect the point is to lower expectations.
I think the big boys are happy for Valverde to fight for a top ten, I think they know he will not last or be able to fight for a podium. It's just the other lower pecking order riders who need to worry about being lower down than a pensioner.
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