Tour de France 2020 | Stage 5 (Gap - Privas, 183 km)

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He can only blame his team (he won't). Isn't Lotto-Soudal build around him??

it was the same on stage 3 when he was alone from >1k to go. He was just lucky that it turned out to be an advantage to come from behind that day, due to the headwind.

I wouldn't say "blame" them though. As mentioned, Gilbert and Degenkolb are out, and also his lead-out man (de Buyst) is injured

 

[shalgo]

... you really think he will never have another opportunity?

I just meant this year. And who knows, he may change things tomorrow.

 

[Big Doopie]

Alaphilippe going balls out to get the jersey back would be pretty epic. Realistically though he should probably just focus on trying to get the stage win as that alone will be difficult enough.

Then go for yellow on the Peyresourde descent

not mutually exclusive (i.e. win stage on Peyresourde descent and recover the yellow jersey)... ;-)

 

[Cance > TheRest]

didn't say we hadn't...

doesn't make what he is doing any less phenomenal.

tho i think your comparison to Van Avermaet is weak now and will prove ludicrous in time.

In my mind it actually makes his performances slightly less spectacular when it's been done before (and in recent times even). It is impossible to rate rider performances without considering the context, of which the uniqueness of the performance is an important aspect. I think most people will agree with this way of thinking since we are creatures with a relative mindset.

 

[RedheadDane]

Well... it is confusing with those Bennetts!

https://twitter.com/x/status/1301132966287085568

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

good but not great TT ability.

and it was De Vlaeminck's brother who was the better cross guy.

just saying.

That leaves us with Merckx or ... van Aert.

 

[Big Doopie]

In my mind it actually makes his performances slightly less spectacular when it's been done before (and in recent times even). It is impossible to rate rider performances without considering the context, of which the uniqueness of the performance is an important aspect. I think most people will agree with this way of thinking since we are creatures with a relative mindset.

fair enough.

i just don't think the way Van Avermaet has won is in any way comparable to what Van Aert has already shown he can do, and can dominate doing. Van Avermaet is comparable to a Mollema in terms "dominance" in their domains. In fact, I would not describe either of those riders -- good though they may be -- as in anyway dominant. Van Aert can dominate and on more than one domain. I really feel they are in completely different categories.

 

[Big Doopie]

That leaves us with Merckx or ... van Aert.

LOL!

not merckx...

of course Van Aert could be his own type (gasp, i know!)

or perhaps Maertens...

a sprinter, time-trialer who could win one day races and climb (8th in his inaugural TDF in 1976).

 

[Broccolidwarf]

That leaves us with Merckx or ... van Aert.

Well, he's probably too big and too heavy to ride GCs like Merckx did, but these days, who the fnck knows?

 

[Bonimenier]

fair enough.

i just don't think the way Van Avermaet has won is in any way comparable to what Van Aert has already shown he can do, and can dominate doing. Van Avermaet is comparable to a Mollema in terms "dominance" in their domains. In fact, I would not describe either of those riders -- good though they may be -- as in anyway dominant. Van Aert can dominate and on more than one domain. I really feel they are in completely different categories.

GVA was quite dominant in the classics in 2017 to be fair. He won the Omloop, E3, GW and PR and finished second in SB and RvV.

 

[postmanhat]

I've only just realised Elia Viviani is in this race.

What on earth has happened to him this year?

 

[Bonimenier]

I've only just realised Elia Viviani is in this race.

What on earth has happened to him this year?

He went from DQS to Cofidis

 

[Big Doopie]

He went from DQS to Cofidis

he went from specialized to whatever.

 

[happytramp]

With a better TT and cross abilites

Well cross maybe... Kelly was a TT world champion.

 

[BeagleOfToledo]

That explains a lot!

TdF Organisers Issue Extraordinary Apology for Stage 5 Fizzer

Tour de France organisers Amaury Sport Organisation (ASO) have issued a remarkable apology at the conclusion of Stage 5, after it emerged that race commissaires forgot to bring in the flag to signa…

gruppettogazette.com

gruppettogazette.com

/

 

[Breezy1985]

No breakaway, Sagan loses green and the yellow jersey is lost on a flat stage.
What a weird day

 

[BlueRoads]

This stage was way more interesting in hindsight than during the process.

 

[Andy262]

Well, a bizarre outcome.

Massive cockup on the part of DQS. And completely needless. Flat stage, sprint finish. He was never not going to stay with the Peloton.

 

[Keram]

Sagan always in the top 15 riders every point, every time I see him. Might be an old man now but his positioning is still excellent

It seems positioning and bike handling is only things which left him. His sprinting climbing, endurance is subpar right now.

 

[BlueRoads]

At first I joked about it, but now I'm thinking it might really have been on purpose. Alaphilippe really relaxed about it. Either he's a very cool guy or this was a bit shady.
Anyway a bit funny, first Cosnefroy: "This was not the way I wanted to get that jersey", now Yates "this was not the way I wanted to get that jersey".

 

[topcat]

If sky\ineos were pulling stunts like these jumbo muppets this forum and the clinic would be exploding

The clinic would be exploding if the posts that belong there were actually in there

 

[Gigs_98]

You are putting words in my mouth. I never said that the current version of GVA is Better than WVA. I just said that we have previously seen examples of riders who can do the same things or who have the same versatility. Maybe GVA is not the best example here, since his skillset has always been more skewed towards endurance than sprinting.

I didn't talk about the current version of GVA though. I think WVA is better than peak GVA in all the categories I mentioned as well.

 

[Jungle Cycle]

"So let's put it that way. Today you could have ridden with no problems until 60 before the finish. In jeans and a t-shirt. I had an average heart rate of 113."
google translator..

https://twitter.com/x/status/1301206202777468929

View: https://twitter.com/simongeschke/status/1301206202777468929

 

[Fergoose]

It's a stage race dude.

If we want heated action, there are plenty of 1 day races to go around.

I find it absolutely understandable, that the teams ride it this way, it's only day 5 in a 3 week race.

I have been watching GTs for decades and never seen it as bad as today (the stage 2 days ago was also dreadfully passive). There was no point of protest and no super hard preceding day to justify this behaviour, even if logically I fully sympathise with the smaller teams in not participating in such a futile exercise. We arent even anywhere near a rest day with riders on their last legs (as you say, it is only day 5). The best GTs will feel like they contain numerous one day races to sustain interest on days when there is no GC fight. That is completely fundamental to their viability as a mass spectacle.

I suspect it is an attempt by lower budget teams to send a message to Quickstep and LottoJumbo to at least give a breakaway a few minutes lead to create the slightest hint of a contest. I suspect we will see breakaway leads opened to 3-4 mins in the coming days. I also suspect ASO will think twice in future about sprint point placement. Perhaps being so close to the start it demotivated any breakaway hopefuls even further?

If you were satisfied watching this then that is of course fine. But to try and defend it as normal is to re-write history. I am sure most fans, sponsors, TV networks and ASO will not have been satisfied and that there will be discussions behind closed doors to avoid a repeat. Either that or we shorten stages to 15km!

 

[Blanco]

I've only just realised Elia Viviani is in this race.

What on earth has happened to him this year?

Probably a subject for other sub-forum