Tour de France Tour de France 2023, stage 4: Dax - Nogaro, 181.8k

[Red Rick]

I can't wait till he retires. I am utterly *** sick of hearing about him.

Yeah we need more talk about the Big 6.

 

[Sciatic]

yes, he really should let this one be, yesterday was quite a slow day and he dropped out of the break when things started to heat up, so if he takes it easy today he probably hasn't burned too many matches and can still compete for a stage like tomorrow. As much as he normally would be.

If you mean “compete” for polka dot points tomorrow that makes sense, I don’t believe he’ll be able to compete for the stage with with the Marie Blanque climb where it is.

 

[Jagartrott]

Yeah we need more talk about the Big 6.

In my opinion, you can only be part of the 'Big x' riders if you've won both in the 3 main stage races (overall win and/or multiple stage wins) AND in the classics or Worlds.

 

[Peter von]

If you mean “compete” for polka dot points tomorrow that makes sense, I don’t believe he’ll be able to compete for the stage with with the Marie Blanque climb where it is.

depends on if it's a break and who is in it. there is 70 k flat to form the break and create a gap, sometimes that creates a break with a bunch of rouleurs with a big gap because they are better at getting into the break on the flat and getting a gap.

The point was that his KoM points chasing yesterday hasn't diminished his chances to compete tomorrow even if they were quite low to begin with.

I don't think it's a great stage for Powless, but as a stage hunter he probably has to give it a go because it's the only half chance he has before stage 10. EF needs at least one guy in the break tomorrow and Powless is one of the guys trying to make it. But yes I agree it's not an ideal stage for him.

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

I can't wait till he retires. I am utterly *** sick of hearing about him.

The voice of reason. Agree completely.

 

[dobrien]

I honestly do not see Cavendish winning a stage at this Tour unless strange things happen. When's the last time he beat multiple top tier sprinters?

Love him or hate him Cav has shown throughout his career the ability to make magic happen on the biggest stages, that much is undeniable. I was pretty impressed by his sprint yesterday tbh; 6th in that chaotic finish was very promising. The race is long, he is highly motivated and riding well; I actually see him with a 50/50 chance to pull it off.

And yes, then he retires! ;-)

 

[Sciatic]

depends on if it's a break and who is in it. there is 70 k flat to form the break and create a gap, sometimes that creates a break with a bunch of rouleurs with a big gap because they are better at getting into the break on the flat and getting a gap.

The point was that his KoM points chasing yesterday hasn't diminished his chances to compete tomorrow even if they were quite low to begin with.

I don't think it's a great stage for Powless, but as a stage hunter he probably has to give it a go because it's the only half chance he has before stage 10. EF needs at least one guy in the break tomorrow and Powless is one of the guys trying to make it. But yes I agree it's not an ideal stage for him.

I will certainly be rooting for him to do well tomorrow, but my thought is that if a break with a chance to win gets clear it may have top-level climbers (Tibopino and others) who will do better on the Marie Blanque. There are also guys like Bardet, Pidcock, Ciccone who would like a crack with a late attack, though I don’t know if their teams are strong enough or want to make the effort (in the case of Ineos) to keep the break in check. Looking forward to finding out!

 

[yaco]

This will be a drag finish with the fastest sprinter winning the stage - Trains wii be spread across the circuit, so no-one will be boxed in.

 

[hayneplane]

Skin Quimmons to surprise everybody with a late attack on this gorgeous day.

Well he has won on a motor circuit finish this year in San Juan. Much higher quality and more motivated field this time though.

 

[Berniece]

This will be a drag finish with the fastest sprinter winning the stage - Trains wii be spread across the circuit, so no-one will be boxed in.

Not sure why everyone thinks the trains will be wide spread over the circuit. Isn't it that in most cases we get 2 maybe 3 trains on a course like this? Because there are only a few teams that are willing to setup such a train, and some riders prefer to be in the wheel of Jakobsen/Philipsen instead of behind their own teammate

 

[hayneplane]

The voice of reason. Agree completely.

Yeah even as someone who has mostly enjoyed his career I think it would be a bad thing for the Merckx stage win record to be beaten by a pure sprinter.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

I'm settling entirely for the Luv' Cav emotions all over (good or bad) team vs. any robots

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

But as a motorsportsfan since early 80ies i'm not settling for GT race designers making closed motorsport circuits look like a joke.
Even with quite flat Circuit Paul Armanac near Nagaro, organizers severly missed quite some spicy opportunities, so that one should think FIA F1 governing 'meh' body have been the inspector. No guts since WC 1978, and since Zolder 2003 it's just been down the whirlpool of missed good (or just better) opportunities.

 

[frisenfruitig]

Yeah even as someone who has mostly enjoyed his career I think it would be a bad thing for the Merckx stage win record to be beaten by a pure sprinter.

Why would that be a bad thing? It would cement him as the most prolific sprinter ever, which he arguably already is. But that is about it, only idiots would pretend he was a better TDF rider than Merckx.

 

[DNP-Old]

Photo is from AshleyGruber btw.

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

Why would that be a bad thing? It would cement him as the most prolific sprinter ever, which he arguably already is. But that is about it, only idiots would pretend he was a better TDF rider than Merckx.

Unfortunately the world is full of idiots.

 

[Rob5091]

2,000 Euros is awarded for today's Combativity Award - will some brave soul go for the break? Euskaltel would normally be a certain bet on today's stage.
Hope all make it through in one piece.

 

[MrTea1976]

To those complaining about Cavendish - he is box office. He brings wide interest into cycling.

I'd like Merckx's record broken. Records should be broken. Merckx gets put on a pedestal despite a huge amount of murkiness and it would be good to move past that.

 

[Netserk]

In my opinion, you can only be part of the 'Big x' riders if you've won both in the 3 main stage races (overall win and/or multiple stage wins) AND in the classics or Worlds.

Only if you have won one of the biggest races in the past year and is a favourite to win again. So that makes it a Big 5.

 

[RedheadDane]

Pedersen mentioning a problem with racing on motorsport circuits that I hadn't considered:
Rubber being burned into the asphalt, making the tires stick. Though, Vinjebo didn't seem to think it would be a problem today.

 

[RobertCrawley]

Flat as a pancake today.

I'd say a breakaway of 6-8 who know there's no chance of holding it to the finish. I fully expect Q to be in the break with the Stars and Stripes jersey. He's 30 minutes down so they let him go.

Jasper the Disaster will be hard to beat with MVDP as his pilot fish. But Wout is mad for a victory and shows he might be able to stay with Jasper.

 

[Skijumper Roglic fan]

I honestly do not see Cavendish winning a stage at this Tour unless strange things happen. When's the last time he beat multiple top tier sprinters?

I think, he could achieve this record.

Although he doesn‘t look like a real athlete, he really might be the best road sprinter - ever. And he‘s still so fast. Plus his huge, huge experience. When he has a perfect day, he‘s probably still the best.

I hope for him he‘ll achieve Nr 35…

 

[RobertCrawley]

I think, he could achieve this record.

Although he doesn‘t look like a real athlete, he really might be the best road sprinter - ever. And he‘s still so fast. Plus his huge, huge experience. When he has a perfect day, he‘s probably still the best.

I hope for him he‘ll achieve Nr 35…

I don't think Bol gets him there. He'll have to wheel surf to get it done. That's historically not how he likes to win. But we've seen unlikely sprinters win the past. It all depends on how the chaos of a professional sprint shakes out.

 

[Peter von]

I will certainly be rooting for him to do well tomorrow, but my thought is that if a break with a chance to win gets clear it may have top-level climbers (Tibopino and others) who will do better on the Marie Blanque. There are also guys like Bardet, Pidcock, Ciccone who would like a crack with a late attack, though I don’t know if their teams are strong enough or want to make the effort (in the case of Ineos) to keep the break in check. Looking forward to finding out!

Could be. I think most stage hunting teams would want to put guys up the road early and just hope they win that dice throw. Powless would need to hope that the 70 k flat will prevent the stronger climbers from getting into the break or if they do get into the break it will cost them too much.

 

[RobertCrawley]

Judging by the pictures upthread this stage doesn't look to be very lovely scenic-wise. This suffering us cycling fans have to go through...

We drove that area a month ago on our way to Capbreton and Biarritz (playground for the wealthy, from what I saw). Lots of wineries and a few chateaus in Southern France.