Tour de France Tour de France 2021, Stage 18: Pau – Luz Ardiden, 129.7 km

[pinkobalinko]

so pogacar got 80 points in two mountain top finishes, Poels got 88 total

smells like a bad points distribution more than anything

Agree. But then again - Pogačar is the best climber of this tour, isn't he?

 

[TourOfSardinia]

GC

 

[will-10]

The double-points thing isn't great but Woods summed it up perfectly: the four guys who've taken points off each other is what brought Pogacar back into the mix.

Still, I'm glad Pog has won it as hopefully, we'll see a points system change.

 

[BlueRoads]

No gifts.

I would have hated any gifts here, would have looked patronizing and also laying a duvet over Teddy's real strength.

 

[saunaking]

When does the Vuelta starts?

just hope its not over by stage 3

 

[JosefK]

After Pog puts another 1'30" into the next GC guy in the TT (probably Jonas), he'll have a gap over 7 minutes to 2nd.

 

[movingtarget]

When does the Vuelta starts?

14 August.

 

[Netserk]

Tbh I doubt this would have played out much differently, these 3 guys knew they were the best, the GC is settled with Urán out of the picture more or less so it would always be a waiting game

There are more than 3 riders in the race. Maybe we would have had a proper breakaway with Soulor in the beginning, and different plausible scenarios for how Tourmalet and Luz-Ardiden would have been raced. Even the crappy 2011 stage had far more racing than this.

 

[fbjim]

GC

G-Mart to launch another 6 minute GC bomb tomorrow in the breakaway and get on the podium.

 

[Escarabajo]

Wiggo thinks Teddy Pagacha will win again.

I'll tell you, Wiggo was right!

 

[luckyboy]

When does the Vuelta starts?

Won't take much to be better than this Tour. A good first week but ehhh...

 

[roundabout]

On the other hand people got mad when a rando breakway guy would win the KOM and not a top star.

I do think the massive discrepancy in a HC MTF is silly, though.

Yes, I think winning 2HC finishes should not be an equivalent of winning 8 1st cat passes.

Additionally, a rider winning all passes on stages 14-18 would get 117 points, while winning 2 MTFs give 80.

Seems not quite balanced.

 

[movingtarget]

All it takes is DQS to sabotage the breakaway for the green jersey and time limit for Pogacar to win KoM jersey.

It's not like there was anything any rider could to today to let the breakaway win, there was 0 shot at that.

Maybe you can argue the KoM hunters weren't good enough, or that O'Connor should've gone for the KoM, but whatever.

Think O'Connor will be happy with 5th or 6th. The KOM also highlighted the demise of Quintana. He's a shadow of what he was four years ago.

 

[Poursuivant]

the vuelta will be fun

Who is going, Pog, Rog, Bernal?? Anyone else of note?

 

[TourOfSardinia]

Hardly worth watching the ITT.

 

[fbjim]

Tbh I doubt this would have played out much differently, these 3 guys knew they were the best, the GC is settled with Urán out of the picture more or less so it would always be a waiting game

The biggest problem wasn't the gap to Pogacar, it was that P2 and P3 were within seconds of each other. In that situation they were always going to sit on and hope for a decisive kick at the end.

 

[saunaking]

Who is going, Pog, Rog, Bernal?? Anyone else of note?

Landissimo

 

[Valv.Piti]

There are more than 3 riders in the race. Maybe we would have had a proper breakaway with Soulor in the beginning, and different plausible scenarios for how Tourmalet and Luz-Ardiden would have been raced. Even the crappy 2011 stage had far more racing than this.

Right, im strictly speaking of the climb to Luz Ardiden. Of course it would have been a better stage to watch from the start if it was longer and there were more climbs etc., but I didnt watch the start today. My point just was that after yesterday, I kinda expected Luz Ardiden to go down like this - Vingegaard defensive, Carapaz trying some miracle shot at the end (didnt have enough) and Pogacar trying to win the stage. No need to go from afar today after yday.

 

[movingtarget]

comparing 2021 Porte and 2016 Porte?????

Not really but he was a killer for Froome in the mountains for a few years there.

 

[lenric]

Who is going, Pog, Rog, Bernal?? Anyone else of note?

the second coming of christ and merckx

 

[Mayomaniac]

There are more than 3 riders in the race. Maybe we would have had a proper breakaway with Soulor in the beginning, and different plausible scenarios for how Tourmalet and Luz-Ardiden would have been raced. Even the crappy 2011 stage had far more racing than this.

This, that has bothered me the most with the mountain stages with a flat start: the pack fodder breakaways (climbing wise) with no chance at all.

 

[Red Rick]

Who is going, Pog, Rog, Bernal?? Anyone else of note?

Is there anyone else of note?

Padun, Landa maybe.

 

[Big Doopie]

Hopefully next Tour will have more elite climbers.

no. More TT kms to always ensure that the best man wins like this year.

 

[broppo]

Agree. But then again - Pogačar is the best climber of this tour, isn't he?

yeah people always say that but then why dont you just scrap the entire point system all together. And make a jury decide the winner. Then the jury can vote for Cavendish as the best sprinter. Pogacar the best climber. Obviously that would suck so the argument of who is the best sprinter or climber is not relevant. The jerseys should be handed out to the people who are really going for the jerseys, not some gc guy who accidentally takes it......All the category 3 and 2 climbpoints are almost totally irrelevant now. Very broken system....

 

[gunara]

Castroviejo hasn't stopped getting better, some would never thought he would be more than decent tt-ist and flat/lower slope dom years ago, now he's up there among the best 15 or 20 GT riders while slaving hard and ahead of everyone else in Ineos train hierarchy.