Tour de France Tour de France 2020 | Stage 21 (Mantes-la-Jolie - Paris, 122 km)

[Zinoviev Letter]

I would like to think that the sprinters teams would put their egos to one side and not pull to curb dangerous moves if there was a true GC battle raging on the final day.

Sadly in reality I think they are far too selfish for that to happen.

lol come on man. competing for the win on the champs isn’t being selfish, it’s their job. just like when bora mucked around with the gc battle and messed with stage hunters trying to get green back, it’s their job. nobody steps aside and says oh some other competition is going on, better put our ambitions aside at the biggest event for our sponsors

 

[SarahtheDane]

Fabio Aru reclaims his leadership role at UAE and pulls a Vino on the Champs Elysees.

That seems difficult. If anyone pulls a Vino today, I'm guessing Søren Kragh Andersen.

 

[Andy262]

TJV all wearing yellow
now makes them look like
an unwilling entourage
for the UAE yellow jersey.

Oh, I don't know. The way it panned out their train worked as well for Pog as it was meant to for Rog. Maybe he should be sharing the champers with the Jumbo choo choo.

It's not like his own team were much help.

 

[geisterhome]

The false flat that starts just after the Adidas store on the Champs is a great place to launch a winning attack.

I personally hate the Champs stage. Why softpedal for 100 km? You might as well just hold a 2 km drag race from Concorde to the Arc.

Would be awesome to have another mountain stage after the final TT. 4 big climbs, almost no flats. Then to Paris.

 

[Breezy1985]

Ernesto Colnago displaying the winning frame.

Article:

ERNESTO COLNAGO ED EDDY MERCKX IN LACRIME PER TADEJ POGACAR

Grande emozione per il maestro che fornisce le bici al re del Tour de France

www.tuttobiciweb.it

Google Translated:
Ernesto Colnago cries tears of joy, celebrating yet another victory at the Tour de France at 88 . «I have won some with Merckx - he tells us in the throes of emotion after following on TV the feat of Tadej Pogacar in the time trial of the Planche des Belles Filles -. By the way: Eddy was the first to call me, we were both crying on the phone. What a thrill… ».

The master from Cambiago is happy as a child, who last night went to the company he founded and to which he dedicated his life, to personally make sure that a yellow V3Rs chassis was ready to leave for Paris. «Tadej is a family boy, raised by Andrej Hauptman, reported by Fabrizio Bontempi in Saronni, who was very good at putting him under contract when he was still an amateur. Then we did ours, but he took so much longer: this is one of the most beautiful talents I've ever seen. And I met some champions in my life »says one of the greatest artists in the world of cycling with a lump in his throat.

Before enjoying the final coronation of the new king of the Grande Boucle on the Champs-Élysées, he gives us a confidence that makes us understand the character and determination of Slovenian talent. "I gave him a brand new white frame for the time trial, he said to me in the morning: " If I go as I think, I will entertain her and then I will make her work harder, because she will have to change the color " . to answer him: “I am already happy like this”, but I did not know that true joy would come shortly after ».

It was nice to see Colnago take on Bianchi for the win unlike the stupid Specialized show that today will be

 

[Breezy1985]

Ha Flamme Rouge this morning showing off Pogs jersey for today

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

WVA will have anger in his belly, Sagan will have anger in his belly, Kristoff will be looking to take advantage of weariness in the faster guy’s legs, Bol will have the yellow jersey in a full team train to make up for his lack of top tier speed. This wont be a straight Ewan v Bennett fight.

 

[mrgmyers]

The false flat that starts just after the Adidas store on the Champs is a great place to launch a winning attack.

I personally hate the Champs stage. Why softpedal for 100 km? You might as well just hold a 2 km drag race from Concorde to the Arc.

I do have some sympathy with your view, but I think it is worth remembering the Tour de France was and remains to a certain extent a showcase for French tourism, as such the final day is more about showing riders to the public (Albeit a bit tricky this year) and showing off Paris than the riders.
Such events are designed to have far broader appeal than just purists indeed the people who pay for it, the sponsors demand it.
I was involved/employed for over 30 years in a certain kind of motorsport that has a reasonably narrow following but huge appeal once people see it! Part of the show is a type of vehicle I personally do not enjoy watching (Nor do many of the teams and drivers) but they are one the paying public LOVE. Should the sport change the attractions it offers to suit purists like me? Of course not, such items attract new blood and increase the visibility and popularity of the sport, I see the Paris stage as almost being one of those vehicles! Bravo Tadej and UAE, Primoz Roglic, Richie Porte, Sam Bennett, comiserations to the rest.

 

[TomLPC]

The logical cap to the strangest tour in ages is a Sagan win.

Or a Sagan/Bennett crash with trentin taking green

 

[hayneplane]

lol come on man. competing for the win on the champs isn’t being selfish, it’s their job. just like when bora mucked around with the gc battle and messed with stage hunters trying to get green back, it’s their job. nobody steps aside and says oh some other competition is going on, better put our ambitions aside at the biggest event for our sponsors

I never claimed it was realistic and of course it is always legitimate for any rider or team to ride in the manner that gives them the best chance of victory.

It’s just wishful thinking but hypothetically if It was a10-20 gap in GC and WVA managed to rip the front of the peloton apart with Roglic in his wheel and UAE too weak to piece it back together it would be depressing if DQS and Lotto were then the ones responsible for saving the yellow jersey by closing down the move to create a sprint chance.

 

[mrgmyers]

Ha Flamme Rouge this morning showing off Pogs jersey for today

Can UAE do that? What the URL of Flame Rouge?

 

[Salvarani]

Cmon Cees Bol

 

[Brullnux]

Mas with an incredible 5th place I've only just realised.

Friendship with Uran over. Mas is my new best friend

 

[120mmStem]

The logical cap to the strangest tour in ages is a Sagan win.

Or a Sagan/Bennett crash with trentin taking green

Other than a Bennett DNF, Is there any mathematical way for Sagan to take green?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Mas with an incredible 5th place I've only just realised.

Friendship with Uran over. Mas is my new best friend

And people were ridiculed for saying some of the contenders could have tested his legs on stage 6 when his form wasn't there and he'd crashed earlier in the stage, in order to try to reduce the number of riders in the GC battle.

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Other than a Bennett DNF, Is there any mathematical way for Sagan to take green?

Yes, there are 70 points on offer, so if Sagan wins the stage and takes intermediate points and Bennett gets next to nothing, Sagan wins. If Bennett gets relegated in the sprint, Sagan could even do it while placing second on the stage

 

[Pantani_lives]

So who can we expect in an attack in the local laps for publicity purposes only? Pinot, Hirschi, Rolland, Alaphilippe?

 

[richwallone]

TJV all wearing yellow
now makes them look like
an unwilling entourage
for the UAE yellow jersey.

It was better before the UCI got involved with its stupid rules to keep the team jerseys the same for the whole year... ASO used to forbid teams to wear yellow outfits for the Tour as not to be confuse spectators who is in yellow... Wonder RCS will do in Giro with the EF Education team???

 

[RedheadDane]

It was better before the UCI got involved with its stupid rules to keep the team jerseys the same for the whole year...

Huh? When did that happen? Coz, I dunno if you noticed that Sunweb changed their jersey for the season restart. And Lotto-Soudal has spent several years riding a select race as "Lotto-FixAll", special kit for the TdF isn't exactly unheard of either.

 

[richwallone]

Huh? When did that happen? Coz, I dunno if you noticed that Sunweb changed their jersey for the season restart. And Lotto-Soudal has spent several years riding a select race as "Lotto-FixAll", special kit for the TdF isn't exactly unheard of either.

Read it somewhere, it has to be a couple years ago. Don't know the specific UCI rule but could dig it out...

Maybe this year is an exception, or when you change sponsors, you get a waiver from the UCI, but all team kit changes have to be approved by them and just color changes are pretty much guaranteed to be denied... They are saying it is for the benefit of fans as not to confuse them over the season by teams changing kits for the grand tours but I cynically think it might more have to do with power struggles between the UCI and the GT organizers, esp. ASO...

 

[RedheadDane]

Read it somewhere, it has to be a couple years ago. Don't know the specific UCI rule but could dig it out...

Maybe this year is an exception, or when you change sponsors, you get a waiver from the UCI, but all team kit changes have to be approved by them and just color changes are pretty much guaranteed to be denied... They are saying it is for the benefit of fans as not to confuse them over the season by teams changing kits for the grand tours but I cynically think it might more have to do with power struggles between the UCI and the GT organizers, esp. ASO...

The way I understand it, it has to be either for one race and then back to normal kit, or for the remainder of the season.

 

[Lequack]

Straight from Colnago in Italy

 

[Lequack]

The man himself

 

[shalgo]

That seems difficult. If anyone pulls a Vino today, I'm guessing Søren Kragh Andersen.

Soren doesn’t seem like the type to wheelsuck another rider for the entire last kilometre before coming around him to take the win at the finish.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Hirschi has won the Super Combativity. He was my second candidate. It could have been a nice consolation price for Carapaz.