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Tour de France 2019 stage 14: Tarbes - Tourmalet 117 km

Page 18 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.

Will Alaphilippe lose the maillot jaune tomorrow?

  • Yes

    Votes: 19 22.9%
  • No

    Votes: 64 77.1%

  • Total voters
    83
  • Poll closed .
Re:

hrotha said:
Disgraceful display today.
What else did you expect? The commentators love this, the audience loves this, the riders are too chickenshit to try anything, most of the riders who attack on climbs are either not here, or way off form. (Or testing his strength and defending maillot jaune in Ala's case)

What an awful stage. I hope Ala manages to win this.
 
Re:

Climbing said:
A truly great stage with an attack only 1km from the finish, you have to be kidding guys...
Only good thing is Ineos getting demolished.
Early attacks will come, one cannot complain when INEOS starts to show cracks. And that after the time trial and the first true mountain stage.
 
Re:

Climbing said:
A truly great stage with an attack only 1km from the finish, you have to be kidding guys...
Only good thing is Ineos getting demolished.

From what I saw this was a great stage. Lot of GC guys that nobody thought of were really struggling and somebody said that Ala gifted that win for Pinot. That is horseshit. He was riding on the limit in the end. Pinot deserved that and in my opinion that was a great stage because the race is now totally wide open. Usually we have a pretty good picture about the leader, but now?? This is such a unique situation.
 
Re:

Dekker_Tifosi said:
Expected Pinot win is expected

Alaph... no words. If he keeps this up he wins TDF no prob.
Kruijswijk looking great for podium. Also seems to have the best support left in the final (and no double leader role).
Ineos look frail. Thomas is not 2018 form. Bernal is too young (he should've beaten Pinot if he wants leadership).
I also expected more from bernal but although he didn't massively impress He was still too good for ineos not to keep him as their 2nd leader. If this wasn't just an off day for Thomas he won't be anywhere near yellow when they come to Paris. Bernal on the other hand is still among the strongest climbers and still looks like a good bet for the podium or maybe even the win
 
Re: Re:

Gigs_98 said:
Dekker_Tifosi said:
Expected Pinot win is expected

Alaph... no words. If he keeps this up he wins TDF no prob.
Kruijswijk looking great for podium. Also seems to have the best support left in the final (and no double leader role).
Ineos look frail. Thomas is not 2018 form. Bernal is too young (he should've beaten Pinot if he wants leadership).
I also expected more from bernal but although he didn't massively impress He was still too good for ineos not to keep him as their 2nd leader. If this wasn't just an off day for Thomas he won't be anywhere near yellow when they come to Paris. Bernal on the other hand is still among the strongest climbers and still looks like a good bet for the podium or maybe even the win

And with Mas having a shocker, the white jersey is his for the taking.
 
Re: Re:

Bardamu said:
Simurgh said:
This was a truly great stage, and not only because Pinot won, but that we actually got action rather early with Movistar finally taking up the mantle, and later FDJ. I would have liked Jumbo taking the initiative a bit earlier than they did, since they had three riders deep into the finale. I noticed Thomas hanging on the back of the group and had a feeling that he might didn't feel too well today, but history in mind, I didn't dare to hope that it was more than Froome-style yo-yoing. The question is whether it was an off-day - if it isn't just an off-day, will Bernal step up?
Let's hope that their indecision will lead to their downfall.

Exactly what I was thinking! If they don't know which horse to bet on, when others turn up the heat in a crucial moment...that is the chance for Pinot, Kruijswijk and I guess even Buchmann too!

As others have said, it was truly great to see INEOS fall apart - not because I have an inherent dislike for them or their riders, but rather a dislike that stems from me not liking superiority in general - especially not superiority that has gone on for so long; since the start of this decade! And unfortunately superiority in cycling usually equals strangled defensive racing, where the outcome is 99% given beforehand. When the Alaphilippe/Pinot raid happened, I genuinely started to believe that someone (Pinot) could challenge INEOS - even though I expected an honorable podium placing in the end. Today is the first time since 2014 I guess, that I genuinely believe that INEOS can be beaten, and that they won't have a rider in yellow, when entering Champs-Elysees. Let's see, if the euphoria today will dampen tomorrow, like Froome did the day after Machucos.
 
Awesome by Pinot and Ala. I’m cheering for them. Those that are upset about Ala, I get it, but there’s a first time for every GT rider to shine and he obviously has quite the pedigree and is still young. Also, I’d be curious about the numbers. Could be wrong but with Froome out, Dumoulin out, Simon Yates riding for stages and not in peak shape, Quintana long since past his prime, Nibali riding for stages and out of shape and past his prime, Bernal and Thomas not on the level of peak Froome/Contador AND with their prep messed up...could it be that this year’s quality is significantly off from normal Tour winners? Add in that last year GT was kicking away from post-Giro Dino and Froome and maybe he was overrated a bit.
 
I also don't think that the stage was really good. The outcome and the way GC's shaping up, however, was great. Looks like we have an open battle but had Ineos ( Thomas) won that stage everyone would complain that it was goddamn shite. Heck, we had 10 people with 2 km.

High hopes for tomorrow, but does a team (and a rider) will risk with a hard pace or attack from far-out? I doubt. We have strong Jumbo, but the podium is (I think) too valuable for Kruijswijk to try anything risky,
 
Re:

VayaVayaVaya said:
Awesome by Pinot and Ala. I’m cheering for them. Those that are upset about Ala, I get it, but there’s a first time for every GT rider to shine and he obviously has quite the pedigree and is still young. Also, I’d be curious about the numbers. Could be wrong but with Froome out, Dumoulin out, Simon Yates riding for stages and not in peak shape, Quintana long since past his prime, Nibali riding for stages and out of shape and past his prime, Bernal and Thomas not on the level of peak Froome/Contador AND with their prep messed up...could it be that this year’s quality is significantly off from normal Tour winners? Add in that last year GT was kicking away from post-Giro Dino and Froome and maybe he was overrated a bit.

Good post.
 
Re: Re:

Forever The Best said:
hrotha said:
Disgraceful display today.
What else did you expect? The commentators love this, the audience loves this, the riders are too chickenshit to try anything, most of the riders who attack on climbs are either not here, or way off form. (Or testing his strength and defending maillot jaune in Ala's case)

What an awful stage. I hope Ala manages to win this.
I didn't expect much but usually on the Tourmalet someone attacks before the last kilometer.
 
Geraint Thomas after the finish...

"From the start I didn't feel great. I was hoping I'd come around a bit and obviously on the last climb it was just a matter of staying there as long as possible. I knew they'd kick at the end and I just tried to ride at my own pace and not go with them and die and lose more time."
 
Well I'm going to whine but only about the fact that I kept getting kicked out and couldn't join while the race was on!

The race was the slow burn of attrition and I'll admit I was jumping and yelling when Ineos fell apart and then Thomas was dropped :).

Great win for Pinot!!! Alaphillipe is just So Strong right now. He was struggling more than once but was still there and could have won I think. I hope he stays strong tomorrow so he'll get a rest day and hopefully a couple of easy stages before the big 3 next week. If he falters it appears to be anyone's race! Movi needs to do some major regrouping!

I'm for one am enjoying this race so far!
 
Jun 24, 2019
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The moaning on this forum is pathetic. That was compelling viewing with a dramatic finale and yet if the GC guys aren’t trying to push each other off cliffs or attacking in the neutral zone loads of you start crying and complaining how boring it all is. Accusing the riders of cowardice is appalling. Stop moaning or follow another sport. I loved today and have loved every minute of this enthralling Tour.
 
Five of the last seven stages are either tough or very tough. Each stage could bring big changes to the GC. If there is aggressive riding, things could change day to day or one or two guys that are feeling strong could distance the rest, but after today it's hard to tell. The top 10 is quite packed. Alaphilippe, who knows how long he'll keep the jersey and the two minute advantage, he could lose it all tomorrow or take it to Paris, I am not shocked at anything right now. Thomas had tough final two kilometers but he's not out of it. His form may be on a downward curve so he could bleed even more tomorrow then it could get really dangerous for Ineos, especially if Bernal doesn't have it either. I thought today was the last stage where Bernal may not attack, as an order from Brailsford just so they see how well Thomas is going. I don't think they'll keep Bernal on a leash for much longer if Thomas loses another 30 seconds tomorrow.

Visma was excellent today. I thought Crushweek was going to attack. Maybe he didn't want to, maybe he physically couldn't. He seemed fine to me so I am a bit disappointed he didn't try at least a little dig once Bennett peeled off. He was never going to win a group sprint to the line, but he did ride very well to limit it to 6 seconds to Pinot and stay with a much faster sprinter in Alaphilippe. If Visma keep this going then I suspect Crushweek is here to stay in the top 3 and looks good to challenge for the title, especially if Thomas's form keeps falling.

Pinot has had a strong tour. The only minus was the crosswind stage and those are so often up in the air, you never know what to expect and often just a momentary strategic error, bad placement can decide the stage and can potentially lose you a stage and the overall.

Movistar literally defeated themselves today. Landa is their leader now but he's not in the top ten on GC and he's too far back (IMO) to challenge for the win and even the top 3, but he looked solid today, despite losing a bit towards the end. Quintana, I am not sure what's happening to him at the tour the last few years. He's gradually gotten worse. He should be romping these tough climbs and distancing everyone or at least making surges. He's getting dropped by guys that he normally destroys (I am not talking about Pinot, Landa, Crushweek, Thomas...but other minnows).

Should be a fascinating last week of the tour!
 
Re:

YavorD said:
I also don't think that the stage was really good. The outcome and the way GC's shaping up, however, was great. Looks like we have an open battle but had Ineos ( Thomas) won that stage everyone would complain that it was goddamn shite. Heck, we had 10 people with 2 km.

High hopes for tomorrow, but does a team (and a rider) will risk with a hard pace or attack from far-out? I doubt. We have strong Jumbo, but the podium is (I think) too valuable for Kruijswijk to try anything risky,

I think most riders are intelligently waiting it out. Alaphilipe is an excellent races w steady progression..is he a 3 week gran tour guy? I don't know. Most experts say no.
The TT ride by Alaphillipe was brilliant. Is holding the yellow jersey too costly for his team?
The top @12 in GC are not completely destroyed in any way. As Thomas cracked a little so will others. Can't wait for the 2nd rest day and the conclusion to what I think is an excellent race.
With so many favorites out w injuries or funny withdrawal reasons it's anybody's race
 
Re: Re:

hrotha said:
Forever The Best said:
hrotha said:
Disgraceful display today.
What else did you expect? The commentators love this, the audience loves this, the riders are too chickenshit to try anything, most of the riders who attack on climbs are either not here, or way off form. (Or testing his strength and defending maillot jaune in Ala's case)

What an awful stage. I hope Ala manages to win this.
I didn't expect much but usually on the Tourmalet someone attacks before the last kilometer.
To be fair you are right. That was awful even for usual standards.
 
Re:

Pricey_sky said:
Nice win for Pinot, he must be gutted about the crosswind stage. Jumbo continue their impressive Tour.

Alaphilippe held on easily, Can he back it up again tomorrow?

As far as Pinot is concerned, I feel that he was likely more gutted in stage 11 than he is now. He now has a strong time trial and a stage victory on a stage when people were marking him. Now he just has to keep plugging away and race smart, he knows he has the legs.

The downhill finishes concern me for Pinot, I hope he marks Alaphilippe and follows his line assuming Alaphilippe is still a factor.

I don't know what to think about Alaphilippe. Four big mountain stages left and I can see a stage where he rolls backward down the mountain and I can see him holding on.
 
Re:

YavorD said:
I also don't think that the stage was really good. The outcome and the way GC's shaping up, however, was great. Looks like we have an open battle but had Ineos ( Thomas) won that stage everyone would complain that it was goddamn shite. Heck, we had 10 people with 2 km.

High hopes for tomorrow, but does a team (and a rider) will risk with a hard pace or attack from far-out? I doubt. We have strong Jumbo, but the podium is (I think) too valuable for Kruijswijk to try anything risky,
Today’s entertainment value came more from who it was happening to, rather than what was happening. For the first time in a long time we saw Ineos outnumbered in the final selection, and the suspense then was about who would take up the slack. Jumbo stepped in pretty much by default.

The question now is, who will take that role tomorrow and in the Alps? Quickstep don’t have the riders to control a stage like tomorrow, and Sky and Movistar certainly won’t want to now. Jumbo or FDJ have the manpower to do it, but would that mean burning off men early, that they’ll need for the finale?
 

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