Tour de France 2019 stage 4: Reims > Nancy 213,5 km

[Saint Unix]

DQS are just incredible. I don't think I've seen such a finely-tuned winning machine in cycling before. They're cleaning up every single kind of race apart from the big stage races, and doing it with an impressively wide range of riders too. We've seen teams dominate a specific type of race before, but DQS are sh*t hot in every race they show up for. I give Remco a maximum of two years before he's winning the TdF on his own while the rest of the team goes stage hunting.

That leadout today was as perfect it can get. An absolutely insane effort by Jasper Philipsen was the only reason that sprint was even close in the end. Viviani could pretty much just coast in for the win.

 

[Velolover2]

I'm just glad I got the hat-trick and is leading the stage prediction game.

 

[tobydawq]

Imagine if Gaviria had been on the wheels of Philipsen and Kristoff. That would have been a strong rival to Deceuninck.

 

[hfer07]

Viviani gets redemption

I was expecting a bit more from the Jumbo-Vista boys, but DQS got it right this time

 

[Velolover2]

Looking forward to the medium mountain stage tomorrow.

Alaphilippe has indicated that QuickStep will not be doing any of the pulling but he will take the opportunity if it becomes down to a reduced sprint.

So it's likely that it will be one for the breakaway.

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Re:

Tonton! That your band?

 

[Alexandre B.]

Re:

That leadout today was as perfect it can get. An absolutely insane effort by Jasper Philipsen was the only reason that sprint was even close in the end. Viviani could pretty much just coast in for the win.

That and Richeze intentionally messing with Kristoff.

 

[KZD]

This is one of the worst sprint fields I ever remember in a Tour. The only top sprinters are Viviani, Groenewegen, Sagan, Ewan and maybe Kristoff. Actually around the same level as the Giro sprint field which says a lot.
If Groenewegen and Ewan continue without positioning themselves well I can see Viviani winning 4/5 stages.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Great sprint!

Alaphilippe - what a boss!
Asgreen is out for the day, so he takes the responsibility and leads Moerkoev to the 500 m mark in yellow - CHAPEAU!
Perfect lead out by DQ, Moerkoev and Richeze have perfected the art.

Kristoff looks great, and is possibly the largest threat to Sagan for the green, especially as he will probably ride the mountains like Sagan, as they both have GC contenders..

In the GC battle, Ineos Mitchelton and FDJ look great, keeping their captains up front and out of trouble till the 3 k mark.

Movistar, EF and especially Astana less so. - Again Fuglsang is all by himself in the final 10 K, where it is especially important to keep him near the front. - It is odd to me, that a team which is - on paper - the 2nd best "GC team", cannot seem to get it right whenever the road is flat.
Especially Lutsenko and Sanchez should have been there (Cort was excused today, he crashed and broke a finger, so couldn't brake well and was sent to the back).

Benoot looks strong, he might surprise us all in the GC

For tomorrow:

I notice a lot of names, that have dropped time on purpose today - which bodes well for tomorrow:
Würtz, Kragh, Berhane, Caruso, Cummings, Dennis, Terpstra, Schachmann, De Marchi, Wellens.
I'd not be surprised to see most of them in an early break tomorrow.

 

[del1962]

Re:

Before the TDF Groenewegen was the fastest man on a bike. Now apparently there is no competition for Viviani.

Ok.

I think Groenewegen is still effected by his stage 1 crash

 

[del1962]

Re:

For tomorrow:

I notice a lot of names, that have dropped time on purpose today - which bodes well for tomorrow:
Würtz, Kragh, Berhane, Caruso, Cummings, Dennis, Terpstra, Schachmann, De Marchi, Wellens.
I'd not be surprised to see most of them in an early break tomorrow.

Suprised Dennis has lost so much time, thought he would test himself on GC

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

For tomorrow:

I notice a lot of names, that have dropped time on purpose today - which bodes well for tomorrow:
Würtz, Kragh, Berhane, Caruso, Cummings, Dennis, Terpstra, Schachmann, De Marchi, Wellens.
I'd not be surprised to see most of them in an early break tomorrow.

Suprised Dennis has lost so much time, thought he would test himself on GC

Dennis would be a great rider to have up the road in the mountains. Him losing time could well be part of the plan for BM.

 

[tobydawq]

Re:

Great sprint!

Alaphilippe - what a boss!
Asgreen is out for the day, so he takes the responsibility and leads Moerkoev to the 500 m mark in yellow - CHAPEAU!
Perfect lead out by DQ, Moerkoev and Richeze have perfected the art.

Kristoff looks great, and is possibly the largest threat to Sagan for the green, especially as he will probably ride the mountains like Sagan, as they both have GC contenders..

In the GC battle, Ineos Mitchelton and FDJ look great, keeping their captains up front and out of trouble till the 3 k mark.

Movistar, EF and especially Astana less so. - Again Fuglsang is all by himself in the final 10 K, where it is especially important to keep him near the front. - It is odd to me, that a team which is - on paper - the 2nd best "GC team", cannot seem to get it right whenever the road is flat.
Especially Lutsenko and Sanchez should have been there (Cort was excused today, he crashed and broke a finger, so couldn't brake well and was sent to the back).

Benoot looks strong, he might surprise us all in the GC

For tomorrow:

I notice a lot of names, that have dropped time on purpose today - which bodes well for tomorrow:
Würtz, Kragh, Berhane, Caruso, Cummings, Dennis, Terpstra, Schachmann, De Marchi, Wellens.
I'd not be surprised to see most of them in an early break tomorrow.

Maybe check the standings before you declare Kristoff Sagan's biggest challenger...

The guy clearly has no intentions of trying for green.

Besides, he is way, way too bad a climber to "ride the mountains like Sagan". What would that even mean?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

Before the TDF Groenewegen was the fastest man on a bike. Now apparently there is no competition for Viviani.

Ok.

I think Groenewegen is still effected by his stage 1 crash

Yes, he also mentioned this and i'm sure it's true. But it's a bit disingenuous to downplay Viviani's win for a lack of competition.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Re: Re:

Great sprint!

Alaphilippe - what a boss!
Asgreen is out for the day, so he takes the responsibility and leads Moerkoev to the 500 m mark in yellow - CHAPEAU!
Perfect lead out by DQ, Moerkoev and Richeze have perfected the art.

Kristoff looks great, and is possibly the largest threat to Sagan for the green, especially as he will probably ride the mountains like Sagan, as they both have GC contenders..

In the GC battle, Ineos Mitchelton and FDJ look great, keeping their captains up front and out of trouble till the 3 k mark.

Movistar, EF and especially Astana less so. - Again Fuglsang is all by himself in the final 10 K, where it is especially important to keep him near the front. - It is odd to me, that a team which is - on paper - the 2nd best "GC team", cannot seem to get it right whenever the road is flat.
Especially Lutsenko and Sanchez should have been there (Cort was excused today, he crashed and broke a finger, so couldn't brake well and was sent to the back).

Benoot looks strong, he might surprise us all in the GC

For tomorrow:

I notice a lot of names, that have dropped time on purpose today - which bodes well for tomorrow:
Würtz, Kragh, Berhane, Caruso, Cummings, Dennis, Terpstra, Schachmann, De Marchi, Wellens.
I'd not be surprised to see most of them in an early break tomorrow.

Maybe check the standings before you declare Kristoff Sagan's biggest challenger...

The guy clearly has no intentions of trying for green.

Besides, he is way, way too bad a climber to "ride the mountains like Sagan". What would that even mean?

Kristoff had diarrhea on stage 1, which is the reason for his poor results on that stage.

As for riding like Sagan in the mountains, it means going with the early break, to contest the intermediate sprint, and then back up your GC captain for a little while when he catches up

 

[Velolover2]

Re: Re:

Before the TDF Groenewegen was the fastest man on a bike. Now apparently there is no competition for Viviani.

Ok.

I think Groenewegen is still effected by his stage 1 crash

The length and mild hill could have been a factor too. He just survived the climb.

Could also explain why Kristoff was very good today. He prefer longer, harder sprint stages.

 

[tobydawq]

Re: Re:

Great sprint!

Alaphilippe - what a boss!
Asgreen is out for the day, so he takes the responsibility and leads Moerkoev to the 500 m mark in yellow - CHAPEAU!
Perfect lead out by DQ, Moerkoev and Richeze have perfected the art.

Kristoff looks great, and is possibly the largest threat to Sagan for the green, especially as he will probably ride the mountains like Sagan, as they both have GC contenders..

In the GC battle, Ineos Mitchelton and FDJ look great, keeping their captains up front and out of trouble till the 3 k mark.

Movistar, EF and especially Astana less so. - Again Fuglsang is all by himself in the final 10 K, where it is especially important to keep him near the front. - It is odd to me, that a team which is - on paper - the 2nd best "GC team", cannot seem to get it right whenever the road is flat.
Especially Lutsenko and Sanchez should have been there (Cort was excused today, he crashed and broke a finger, so couldn't brake well and was sent to the back).

Benoot looks strong, he might surprise us all in the GC

For tomorrow:

I notice a lot of names, that have dropped time on purpose today - which bodes well for tomorrow:
Würtz, Kragh, Berhane, Caruso, Cummings, Dennis, Terpstra, Schachmann, De Marchi, Wellens.
I'd not be surprised to see most of them in an early break tomorrow.

Maybe check the standings before you declare Kristoff Sagan's biggest challenger...

The guy clearly has no intentions of trying for green.

Besides, he is way, way too bad a climber to "ride the mountains like Sagan". What would that even mean?

Kristoff had diarrhea on stage 1, which is the reason for his poor results on that stage.

As for riding like Sagan in the mountains, it means going with the early break, to contest the intermediate sprint, and then back up your GC captain for a little while when he catches up

Okay but you're vastly overrating Kristoff climbing-wise if you think he can do that.

Besides, he doesn't participate in the intermediate sprints.

 

[Avoriaz]

Re:

For tomorrow:

I notice a lot of names, that have dropped time on purpose today - which bodes well for tomorrow:
Würtz, Kragh, Berhane, Caruso, Cummings, Dennis, Terpstra, Schachmann, De Marchi, Wellens.
I'd not be surprised to see most of them in an early break tomorrow.

There's a group of 8 who finished at 6'17". They could have been discussing tactics for tomorrow - Wellens, Haga, Gallopin, Ladagnous, Lampaert, Scully, Schar, and Postlberger

 

[Kwibus]

Re:

Before the TDF Groenewegen was the fastest man on a bike. Now apparently there is no competition for Viviani.

Ok.

This isnt logic my friend. Viviani got a great leadout, while Groenewegen messed up.
There is plenty of competition for Viviani, but his team bossed it.

Besides Viviani is ofcourse world class.

 

[Nirvana]

Re: Re:

Could it be an issue for DQ that Lampaert has to play the Asgreen role, and therefore can't play they Lampaert role?

Turns out the answer to that question was "No!"

Also in Brussels he was missing, probably with Alaphilippe that is able to work for two taking them to the front and then also delivering the train almost inside the last 500 meters they don't need him, today they were so launched that probably even Richeze could have finished in the top 10 if he would have continued sprinting.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Re: Re:

For tomorrow:

I notice a lot of names, that have dropped time on purpose today - which bodes well for tomorrow:
Würtz, Kragh, Berhane, Caruso, Cummings, Dennis, Terpstra, Schachmann, De Marchi, Wellens.
I'd not be surprised to see most of them in an early break tomorrow.

There's a group of 8 who finished at 6'17". They could have been discussing tactics for tomorrow - Wellens, Haga, Gallopin, Ladagnous, Lampaert, Scully, Schar, and Postlberger

Some of them yes, others are that far back, because they are in terrible condition due to crashes or because they have spent most the day working at the front of the peloton.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Re:

This is one of the worst sprint fields I ever remember in a Tour. The only top sprinters are Viviani, Groenewegen, Sagan, Ewan and maybe Kristoff. Actually around the same level as the Giro sprint field which says a lot.
If Groenewegen and Ewan continue without positioning themselves well I can see Viviani winning 4/5 stages.

That we can end up with a slightly thin sprint field at the Tour despite the current crop of top level sprinters being unusually large is a result of two teams having five of the top ten guys on their books. That combined with the three best of the previous generation effectively falling off the face of the earth simultaneously and an injury or two leaves us with a field of four and a half. That said four and a half top sprinters isn’t notably bad. It wasn’t long ago that there were only three top sprinters in the peloton. And not long before that the second best guy in the world was Tyler Farrar.

 

[Flamin]

Re: Re:

Caleb Ewan leadout seem not to be in the game

What do you mean? They delivered him straight in Viviani's wheel. He has said he doesn't want a classical lead-out, he wants to be dropped off in the best wheel. They did that well here.

Look where Ewan came from. Way back with a kilometre and a half to go. He already spent quite some energy before De Buyst picked him up at the very last moment.

Quick Step was simply amazing. I did expect Viviani to win with a bigger margin vs Kristoff though.

 

[AQETUYIOI]

What good does EBHs turn on the front, do for team DD/Nizzolo?
https://youtu.be/N4Ly2tUlWxY?t=14

 

[Robert5091]

Chapeau QS - Viviani got it right this time, and Kristoff showed he's still has some pace left. Jumbo-Visma need to work on their lead out train and has Sagan lost that "certain somrthing"? Time will tell.