Incredible from Van Aert. If prior to the Tour someone had told me to pick the three stages which combined would make the most prestigious set of stage wins, I probably would have picked precisely the three stages he won.
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The junction before was changed recently, and made narrower; apparently to allow better bike access. I guess the move was to prevent too much of a scrum to get to that last corner.What was the reasoning behind moving the finish?
It's okay. We need (subjectively) villains to root against as well as heroes to root for in our fandom. Yin as well as Yang.I cannot express how glad I am that Cavendish didn't win. Low, I know.
1 in his 1st Tour, 2 in 2nd, 3 in 3rd,... Quick maths show us that he'll have the record in 2026.
Id probably go for Portet, hardest MTF which will be a classic Tour MTF in the coming years, but yeah insaneIncredible from Van Aert. If prior to the Tour someone had told me to pick the three stages which combined would make the most prestigious set of stage wins, I probably would have picked precisely the three stages he won.
I forgot 2019 actually. Does the TTT count then in that year too?
Even though he was the strongest there, I wouldn't count it to his personal victories.I forgot 2019 actually. Does the TTT count then in that year too?
It looked like his legs said no, not todayCav had the chance to get out before Philipsen drifted over but didn't take it.
Where's Mezgec? Another Slovenian must win for sure, no?
Bernard Hinault in 1979 (stage 23 was a bunch sprint, he won FOUR time trials - two of which were mountain time trials - plus the Pau stage he won from a group of 13, despite a flat run-in, was categorised as a mountain stage)I'd imagine their initials are EM...
I am curious who is the last rider to win a mountain, sprint, and time trial stage in a GT?
Tbh I have no idea why. For the Dutch I can imagine it has a little to do with Merckx being a Dutch speaking rider, but other that....For all the talk about Merckx, a lot of people seem to forget the other most dominant rider in cycling history and just how good Bernard Hinault was.
Took 3 weeks for the teams to work out how to derail Quick Step's leadout, essentially.
I'm pretty conflicted. I like the fact that the record is held by somebody who won all the styles of race rather than just one style of stage so the fact Cavendish was unable to usurp Merckx's record but only match it is in many ways preferable, but simultaneously, one of the things about sprint wins is that they're often eminently forgettable, individually; other than the specific cases like Milan-San Remo and the Worlds, most sprint wins, especially in stage races, tend to be only memorable as part of a statistic. Cavendish holding the record for most stage wins but without really any wins that would go down in the legend of the sport. But if he broke that record at the unofficial Sprinters' Worlds in Paris? That would be different. We haven't had a truly 'special' Champs Elysées moment since 2005, and if Cav had broken the record on the Champs, it would have been such an iconic moment, creating the finality that would be both a huge Champs Elysées moment and would give us a special, memorable win that would go down in Tour lore in a way no other sprint win possibly could, and would have also been the best possible way for him to bow out of the sport if he so wished, twelve years after his first win on the Champs.