Tour de France Tour de France 2022: Stage 18 (Lourdes – Hautacam, 143.2k)

[sir fly]

Polka-dot standings:

1. Simon Geschke 64
2. Jonas Vingegaard 52
3. Tadej Pogačar 46
4. Giulio Ciccone 41
5. Louis Meintjes 39
6. Neilson Powless 37
7. Pierre Latour 35
8. Thibaut Pinot 31
9. Tom Pidcock 28
10. Anthony Perez Cofidis 26

50 (20+10+20) to collect here.

 

[Samamba]

Polka-dot standings:

1. Simon Geschke 64
2. Jonas Vingegaard 52
3. Tadej Pogacar 46
4. Giulio Ciccone 41
5. Louis Meintjes 39
6. Neilson Powless 37
7. Pierre Latour 35
8. Thibaut Pinot 31
9. Tom Pidcock 28
10. Anthony Perez Cofidis 26

50 (20+10+20) to collect here.

Geschke will just take the first HC and then it's done.

 

[skippo12]

Geschke will just take the first HC and then it's done.

Easier said than done but that has to be the plan.

 

[fbjim]

Seems like the sort of thing they could make a deal with Jumbo on to put in peloton work, though that depends on how the racing goes and if Jumbo wants the jersey as well.

 

[Red Rick]

How many minutes will McNulty take off Rasmussens record on Aubisque?

 

[Mayomaniac]

Jonas to drop Pogacar on the mount doom of Danish cycling. Pogi didn't look great near the end today, I think Vingegaard can drop him.
I hope history will repeat itself 15 years later on the final mountain stage, strictly speaking of what happened on the road of course...

 

[Valv.Piti]

Very interesting final mountain stage. So much can happen, and I take big enjoyment in seeing GC guys absolutely suffer and dumb infinite time like today, so hopefully more of that tomorrow.

 

[Potomac]

How much time does Pogacar need to take back on this stage to give himself a chance in the time trial?

 

[RobertCrawley]

This is it.

I was really disappointed that Pog didn't hit V on the last kilometer (at least) of the Peyragudes. It was perfect for him. He had V isolated and had McNutty in case anything went wrong. Yes, Pog won the stage, and he called it a good victory in the post-race interview, but it certainly wasn't. It was a defeat.

I would not be surprised to see Pogačar attacking at the foot of Hautacam and time trialing it all the way up with V. What does he have to lose?This is it.

 

[RobertCrawley]

How much time does Pogacar need to take back on this stage to give himself a chance in the time trial?

Let's not kid ourselves. V can TT. I think Pog needs to get it down to 30 at least to make it a race.

 

[RobertCrawley]

Very interesting final mountain stage. So much can happen, and I take big enjoyment in seeing GC guys absolutely suffer and dumb infinite time like today, so hopefully more of that tomorrow.

One of the great things about this Tour is mountain top finishes. So many times in the past stages have been anticlimactic because they finish at the bottom of mountains in towns (that pay the Tour quite a bit to finish there)? There have been some complaints about the layout of the Tour this year and the timing of the stages, but overall I think it's been really terrific.

 

[Rollthedice]

How many minutes will McNulty take off Rasmussens record on Aubisque?

Tomorrow it has to be Hirschi.

 

[fbjim]

One of the great things about this Tour is mountain top finishes. So many times in the past stages have been anticlimactic because they finish in towns (that pay the Tour quite a bit to finish there)? There have been some complaints about the layout of the tour and the timing of the stages, but overall I think it's been really terrific.

I believe the descent finishes in 2021 were in part a reaction to the controlled racing in 2020 which led to a lot of stages being decided in uphill sprints in the last 500m or so.

 

[Red Rick]

Jonas to drop Pogacar on the mount doom of Danish cycling. Pogi didn't look great near the end today, I think Vingegaard can drop him.
I hope history will repeat itself 15 years later on the final mountain stage, strictly speaking of what happened on the road of course...

Surely he has to crest Aubisque first as well?

Also Jumbo do their training caps on Tignes

 

[saunaking]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1549778981238472706

He ****ing WHAT?

Well, yeah. I mean McNulty hasn't exactly been spectacular this race and he was on the front forever. how hard could the tempo possibly be (for JV) at the end?

 

[Rollthedice]

 

[Krzysztof_O]

After today I'm way more skeptical regarding Pogacar's possible comeback. Before I still expected different race dynamics in the Pyrenees with Pog super strong and Vinge maybe feeling the effects of his crash. But today Vinge looked as strong as before while Pog wasn't even the strongest in his own team.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Well, yeah. I mean McNulty hasn't exactly been spectacular this race and he was on the front forever. how hard could the tempo possibly be (for JV) at the end?

Mcnulty still put about a minute into Thomas who didn't fully crack and said after the stage he dropped on purpose and rode threshold, and way more into Bardet, Quintana, Gaudu, Mas etc. The penultimate climb was more infernal definitely but that last climb wasn't slow paced at all, especially with the accumulated fatigue in what was an insane stage. Mcnulty was better than Pogacar today imo, absurd as it sounds relative the rest of the race.

 

[Rackham]

After today I'm way more skeptical regarding Pogacar's possible comeback. Before I still expected different race dynamics in the Pyrenees with Pog super strong and Vinge maybe feeling the effects of his crash. But today Vinge looked as strong as before while Pog wasn't even the strongest in his own team.

Watch out for a Pog super peak performance.

What I'm talking about is that one stage where he annihilates everyone. We haven't had that one yet. I know we're two years on yada yada yada but as a point of reference, on the final Wednesday of the 2020 TdF, Roglic put 15 seconds into Pogacar on the Col de la Loze. Then on the Thursday (one day later), Roglic even got a small gap on the Plateau des Glières (he eased off though). At that point, I don't think many thought Pogacar had that final ITT in his legs. Also there's last year where Le Grand-Bornand stage stands out as that one super performance where he earned most of his advantage in GC.

I'm not saying this will happen in 2022 (personally I believe this TdF has been over since stage 11), but if there's one rider with a 'wait & see' even when he's over two minutes down in GC, it's Tadej Pogacar.

Maybe McNulty & Bjerg had their super peak today, whereas Pogacar will have his own tomorrow.

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Watch out for a Pog super peak performance.

Yeah, obviously it still can happen but the circumstances are more difficult this time: Pog hasn't shown he's able to drop everyone (like he did on Peyresourde), the weather won't help him tomorrow (contrary to Le Grand Bornand) while he himself didn't lose just 15 seconds on one stage but 3 minutes. Also some "help" from Vinge is needed (i.e. weaker day).

 

[Rackham]

Yeah, obviously it still can happen but the circumstances are more difficult this time: Pog hasn't shown he's able to drop everyone (like he did on Peyresourde), the weather won't help him tomorrow (contrary to Le Grand Bornand) while he himself didn't lose just 15 seconds on one stage but 3 minutes. Also some "help" from Vinge is needed (i.e. weaker day).

If nothing happens people will conclude Pogacar loses this TdF as a combination of being less dominant, getting tactically screwed on stage 11 & also Vingegaard's meteoric rise as his equal.

But, there's some inexplicable stuff like technically Pog should be way faster than McNulty on a climb. So it's not just a Vingegaard weaker day he needs, i.e. he needs a proper Pogacar good day.

It's tomorrow or never tbh.

 

[sir fly]

If nothing happens people will conclude Pogacar loses this TdF as a combination of being less dominant, getting tactically screwed on stage 11 & also Vingegaard's meteoric rise as his equal.

But, there's some inexplicable stuff like technically Pog should be way faster than McNulty on a climb. So it's not just a Vingegaard weaker day he needs, i.e. he needs a proper Pogacar good day.

It's tomorrow or never tbh.

Today's measures suited him down to the ground.
...and they've played their cards.

 

[Rollthedice]

If nothing happens people will conclude Pogacar loses this TdF as a combination of being less dominant, getting tactically screwed on stage 11 & also Vingegaard's meteoric rise as his equal.

But, there's some inexplicable stuff like technically Pog should be way faster than McNulty on a climb. So it's not just a Vingegaard weaker day he needs, i.e. he needs a proper Pogacar good day.

It's tomorrow or never tbh.

Faster than McNulty ? The man has put 1:40 into the best of the rest while letting go when Pog attacked. It is a huuuge gap to all the other contenders in freaking Tour de France. McNulty, let's remember the name.

 

[RobertCrawley]

Fabio beat the time cut by 16 seconds!

 

[Rackham]

Faster than McNulty ? The man has put 1:40 into the best of the rest while letting go when Pog attacked. It is a huuuge gap to all the other contenders in freaking Tour de France. McNulty, let's remember the name.

My take might be controversial here but I don't think this field is that strong. Thomas is 36 & Ineos aren't at their best.

If peak Bernal & Roglic were getting dropped by McNulty, then sure I'd be saying 'wow', but look at the names behind: Thomas, Bardet, Gaudu, Quintana (what year is this?).

I still think peak Pogacar should be going faster on that final climb.