Tour de France 2019 stage 7: Belfort > Chalon-sur-Saône 230k

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Good, 2nd chance Groenewegen had and he took it. That last uphill bump was more Ewan terrain than I thought, he came awfully close.

Btw, Groene started his sprint way earlier in the wind than Ewan did. So if he gained a little at the end that's normal, but their end speed was the same..

Did 'Groany' just drop an f-bomb in the interview? Hee hee

In general, it's not a big deal here. They throw around curse words on dutch tv all the time it never gets censored. So nobody cares.

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Viviani apparently had a flat on his front wheel.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

Ewan had to pull around Viviani. That cost him the win. But he's getting closer.

But Ewan covered more distance in that time, moving to the right around a couple guys and then moved back left while Groenewegen was going in a straight line. In any case, not much between the 2 of them.

Euh, yeah, that's what happens when you are slipstreaming in a guy's wheel. You need to get beside him to go past him. That's basically sprinting 101, no? Can't sprint through another rider obviously. Though i think the general consensus is that it is a bigger benefit compared to being in the wind. And if it's not, then it was his choice not to do the same as Groenewegen, and pull out of the slipstream earlier.

This seems like a nonsensical discussion tbh. The only guy that was sprinting faster into the wind, might have been Philipsen, who came from way back. Groenewegen had good positioning, good timing and won deservedly, given the fact that he sprinted into the wind for much longer than Ewan.

 

[Wvv]

Re:

Viviani apparently had a flat on his front wheel.

Really? Any proof?

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Re: Re:

Viviani apparently had a flat on his front wheel.

Really? Any proof?

It was reported on danish TV post-stage.

I got on late, so didn't hear the source..... but would assume it was either Moerkoev or Asgreen.

Edit: Looked it up, the source is Moerkoev, who says he found out upon arrival at the team bus.

Btw, odd that you require "proof" - do you think I'm just making sh*t up?

 

[Flamin]

Really impressed by Philipsen. Great lead-out the other day, now a strong sprint for himself, and he seems to have no problem with steering and fighting for position.

Deserved win for Groenewegen since an almost certain yellow jersey got taken away from him. I hope Ewan wins one as well. He's been great but his team is by far the weakest.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

Btw, odd that you require "proof" - do you think I'm just making sh*t up?

Your reputation precedes you :lol:

Really impressed by Philipsen. Great lead-out the other day, now a strong sprint for himself, and he seems to have no problem with steering and fighting for position.

He's been "great" all year, and immensely consistent. He's always "up there" but never winning. The only race he won, was because Ewan got disqualified. He's got roughly 20 top 10 spots this season. But given the fact that he seems stronger in the hilly/mountainous work than other sprinters, i'm wondering if he'll improve as an actual sprinter, or if he'll become more of a classics guy, that's "also fast in a sprint".

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Re: Re:

Btw, odd that you require "proof" - do you think I'm just making sh*t up?

Your reputation precedes you :lol:

Reputation

 

[Wvv]

Re: Re:

Viviani apparently had a flat on his front wheel.

Really? Any proof?

It was reported on danish TV post-stage.

I got on late, so didn't hear the source..... but would assume it was either Moerkoev or Asgreen.

Edit: Looked it up, the source is Moerkoev, who says he found out upon arrival at the team bus.

Btw, odd that you require "proof" - do you think I'm just making sh*t up?

Haha, don't take it as an insult, but when involved in a discussion I like to have a source to prove what I'm stating.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

Btw, odd that you require "proof" - do you think I'm just making sh*t up?

Your reputation precedes you :lol:

Reputation

It's a joke. Relax.

 

[Jagartrott]

In the replay, you could see Ewan's wheel jump up the final 20-30 meters. I guess that's where he lost the win. Bring on the real racing though - stages like today are not exactly advertisement for cycling. Two riders who know they are doomed in the break, and then 200 km of nothingness.

 

[Flamin]

Re: Re:

Btw, odd that you require "proof" - do you think I'm just making sh*t up?

Your reputation precedes you :lol:

Really impressed by Philipsen. Great lead-out the other day, now a strong sprint for himself, and he seems to have no problem with steering and fighting for position.

He's been "great" all year, and immensely consistent. He's always "up there" but never winning. The only race he won, was because Ewan got disqualified. He's got roughly 20 top 10 spots this season. But given the fact that he seems stronger in the hilly/mountainous work than other sprinters, i'm wondering if he'll improve as an actual sprinter, or if he'll become more of a classics guy, that's "also fast in a sprint".

This is the Tour. Not comparable to the lesser races he's done well in.

 

[jaylew]

Re: Re:

Ewan had to pull around Viviani. That cost him the win. But he's getting closer.

But Ewan covered more distance in that time, moving to the right around a couple guys and then moved back left while Groenewegen was going in a straight line. In any case, not much between the 2 of them.

Euh, yeah, that's what happens when you are slipstreaming in a guy's wheel. You need to get beside him to go past him. That's basically sprinting 101, no? Can't sprint through another rider obviously. Though i think the general consensus is that it is a bigger benefit compared to being in the wind. And if it's not, then it was his choice not to do the same as Groenewegen, and pull out of the slipstream earlier.

This seems like a nonsensical discussion tbh. The only guy that was sprinting faster into the wind, might have been Philipsen, who came from way back. Groenewegen had good positioning, good timing and won deservedly, given the fact that he sprinted into the wind for much longer than Ewan.

You're welcome to your opinion, I guess.

 

[Lequack]

Didn't we use to get interesting mountain stages for the weekends?

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Re:

Didn't we use to get interesting mountain stages for the weekends?

We will, it's just smaller mountains

 

[Broccolidwarf]

Würtz saying to danish TV, that the tempo hike when Martin and Quintana got dropped, was a planned attack.

He, van Avermaet and Naesen were bored and agreed on trying an attack together, just after the intermediate sprint, to shake things up.

Unfortunately the DQ boys were on point, and quickly shut them down.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Re: Re:

This is the Tour. Not comparable to the lesser races he's done well in.

I think you missed my point. I wasn't downplaying his sprint today. I was wondering about how he'll evolve. Compared to a guy like Jakobsen, who is just a year (i think) older, he gets top 10 finishes a lot easier. But he also never manages to convert those into wins (unlike Jakobsen). Will he evolve more into a sprinter (perhaps at the cost of his climbing abilities) or will he evolve more into a classics type rider (perhaps at the cost of his sprints).

You're welcome to your opinion, I guess.

Thanks, but it's not really a matter of opinion as much as it is a fact, isn't it? Stay in the wheel of another sprinter, to get drafted in the slipstream, but you'll eventually need to get around the rider you're tailing, in order to pass him, making you do more meters. It's a trade off. As such, it is silly to say Ewan was faster/stronger. Circumstances were different, and both made a choice they thought was best for them. Groenewegen won.

 

[Forever The Best]

Oh look, a stage where a GC contender gets gapped and other contenders' teams don't use the opportunity. What a brilliant race so far.

 

[Wvv]

You can see it's true, about the flat front tyre. Apparently he got it with 2 kilometres to go.

 

[RedheadDane]

Re:

Würtz saying to danish TV, that the tempo hike when Martin and Quintana got dropped, was a planned attack.

He, van Avermaet and Naesen were bored and agreed on trying an attack together, just after the intermediate sprint, to shake things up.

Unfortunately the DQ boys were on point, and quickly shut them down.

I'm just impressed by the fact that Würtz decided to play with the big boys! Shame DQ wouldn't let them have a bit of fun…

And look who finished dead-last:

174
Offredo Yoann
Wanty - Gobert Cycling Team

He did have some company, though.