Tour de France Tour de France 2023, stage 6: Tarbes - Cauterets-Cambasque, 144.9k

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On a completely different note, I always found it odd that despite the Tourmalet being such a household name in the Tour, it never actually produced any big moments. I mean what is the most iconic "Tourmalet stage"? Schleck and Contador holding hands in 2010? Surely there must have been a more iconic one in the past right?

This was the kind of stage that makes a climb a mythical one, not just one that is used very often.
 
On a completely different note, I always found it odd that despite the Tourmalet being such a household name in the Tour, it never actually produced any big moments. I mean what is the most iconic "Tourmalet stage"? Schleck and Contador holding hands in 2010? Surely there must have been a more iconic one in the past right?

This was the kind of stage that makes a climb a mythical one, not just one that is used very often.
I think it has not been used much as a mountain top finish
 
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Because they’re worried about WVA’s sprint? We don’t even know what they were talking about. It could have been that the sky is blue.
Again, watch Wout's interview if you can find it. I don't know what they dicsucced, but neither does Wout. It did appear that he might have been the b*tt of thier jokes, but I don't know for sure. It is all based on watching Wout's interview and the race.

What I will say is that Wout gets punched at here for being arrogant and selfish, and nobody questions any of it. But Saint Mathieu and Crown Prince Pogicar get questioned, and it can't possibly be true that they do anything wrong. I don't like either of them. Period. And I hope Jonas wins. If he doesn't, so be it, but I will not be cheering for Pog or Mathieu for any stage or race.
 
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On a completely different note, I always found it odd that despite the Tourmalet being such a household name in the Tour, it never actually produced any big moments. I mean what is the most iconic "Tourmalet stage"? Schleck and Contador holding hands in 2010? Surely there must have been a more iconic one in the past right?

This was the kind of stage that makes a climb a mythical one, not just one that is used very often.

The climb is famous because it's long and often foggy.
 
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Again, watch Wout's interview if you can find it. I don't know what they dicsucced, but neither does Wout. It did appear that he might have been the b*tt of thier jokes, but I don't know for sure. It is all based on watching Wout's interview and the race.

What I will say is that Wout gets punched at here for being arrogant and selfish, and nobody questions any of it. But Saint Mathieu and Crown Prince Pogicar get questioned, and it can't possibly be true that they do anything wrong. I don't like either of them. Period. And I hope Jonas wins. If he doesn't, so be it, but I will not be cheering for Pog or Mathieu for any stage or race.
The truth seems to be that Wout and Pog are not very wholesome as they appear very arrogant and entitled. MvdP, on the other hand, seems to be a bit more down to earth and easier to root for.
 
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On a completely different note, I always found it odd that despite the Tourmalet being such a household name in the Tour, it never actually produced any big moments. I mean what is the most iconic "Tourmalet stage"? Schleck and Contador holding hands in 2010? Surely there must have been a more iconic one in the past right?

This was the kind of stage that makes a climb a mythical one, not just one that is used very often.
Totally. Plus two guys and two teams actively trying to outhink each other. It's a good thing there are some sprint stages and a rest day coming up or they'll be wrecked.
 
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On a completely different note, I always found it odd that despite the Tourmalet being such a household name in the Tour, it never actually produced any big moments. I mean what is the most iconic "Tourmalet stage"? Schleck and Contador holding hands in 2010? Surely there must have been a more iconic one in the past right?

This was the kind of stage that makes a climb a mythical one, not just one that is used very often.
I personally think the all white of shleck and all yellow of Contador doing the same cadence for vast periods was cycling at its best.
 
Again, watch Wout's interview if you can find it. I don't know what they dicsucced, but neither does Wout. It did appear that he might have been the b*tt of thier jokes, but I don't know for sure. It is all based on watching Wout's interview and the race.

What I will say is that Wout gets punched at here for being arrogant and selfish, and nobody questions any of it. But Saint Mathieu and Crown Prince Pogicar get questioned, and it can't possibly be true that they do anything wrong. I don't like either of them. Period. And I hope Jonas wins. If he doesn't, so be it, but I will not be cheering for Pog or Mathieu for any stage or race.
I'm just intrigued why you are so personal and upset about people that you don't know and will never be in your circle and still find it personally important to pass judgements on them.
 
The truth seems to be that Wout and Pog are not very wholesome as they appear very arrogant and entitled. MvdP, on the other hand, seems to be a bit more down to earth and easier to root for.
You have your right to this opinion, and I understand. I don't think Wout is arrogant. He seems like an introvert, who has a hard time communicating sometimes. It is typical of introverts to be considered arrogant. I get called that on a personal level, and know that it isn't arrogance on my part. I just feel like I have a harder time with social interactions than many of the people. They are stressful and sometimes difficult to navigate, so many times I avoid them, or say things to get me out of them. I think I see that in Wout, but I could also be wrong. I don't know him. You don't know him. But I see signs that point to that, so I believe what I believe.
 
I'm not one bit surprised by what happened today and the organizers were thrilled after yesterday's stage: Tadej Pogacar was going to be unleashed today.

He's a Great Champion, and to be one of the Greatest of the Greats, after losing time you come back the next day and remind everyone who The Boss is. Merckx did it, Hinault did it...that's what we are talking about with Tadej Pogacar. Stage win #10, he's young, can he do 28 or 34 like the two?

Jonas wasn't as strong today, Kwiat' stayed in the picture for way too long for me to say otherwise. But there was a shot to take and make the gap significant. Respect to JV, we can't criticize teams for not trying and chastise the ones who try.

It didn't work because the guy on the other side is a very, very special rider. A Great Champion. The best scenario is unfolding for Tadej Pogacar...revenge, erase, delete..'22 who?
 
Imagine saying Contador wasn’t an elite climber because Froome dropped him. I can’t fathom anyone saying the 5th best GC isn’t an elite climber let alone 2nd hahahah

And much like the Froome/Contador dynamic, Froome didn’t beat Bertie by using Luke Rowe lead out his attacks. You aren’t going to do that in a 1 on 1 setting, but to deaden his legs before he drops you with one of his uphill accelerations.

Look at how it played into Tadej’s hands today. He was hanging on after Kuss dropped everyone and Jonas went for it on the Tourmalet. The stupidity of TJV is that they had still had the descent before the last climb. They gave Tadej time to recover. He’s not Nibali on the downhill, but he isn’t easily dropped either.

Kuss is so strong that Pogacar has to dig deep and it kills his reserves. WVA, great rider that he is, wasn’t even putting Kwiatkowski in too much difficulty with that leadout today. That played right into Tadej’s favor. Jonas isn’t just going to ride a slightly subpar Pogacar off his wheel by his sheer awesomeness. You need to double team him with a real threat that he fears like Roglic, or use His Sepptamacy at the right time.
 
They didn't "let" him win.

Mathieu and Pog were talking and being animated toward each other during the entire break, and they rarely, if ever, talked to Wout. Read Wout's comments after the race, when asked about it. He indicated that neither really included him in on their conversation. I think that was probably more driven by Pog (and I think Pog was driven by being dropped by Wout last Tour), but I saw what I saw, and Wout confirmed it after.

Then why were Pog and Mathieu acting like first grade school boys? Thanks for agreeing with me!! Cheers.

And yeah, Bro type, competitive a$$holes are not super endearing to me. They can take their alpha bulls**t and go try to hook up with some babes at the EDM bar, or whatever.
I did not expect to read this when catching up on the stage thread. Odd sidebar. Also, surprised Wout doesn’t strike you as a bro. I like Wout, but surely he is on the broey side of cyclists no?
 
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I did not expect to read this when catching up on the stage thread. Odd sidebar. Also, surprised Wout doesn’t strike you as a bro. I like Wout, but surely he is on the broey side of cyclists no?
Not from what I see. I see an introvert, who doesn't show me "bro" energy. Again, I could be wrong, I just don't see that. I see a sensitive guy who struggles with how to navigate a lot of social and public things.
 
I'm not saying anything is over. I merely watched Jumbo gamble with the lead they had this morning & lost half of it.

The situation is also now eerily similar to the 2020 TdF, when Jumbo held yellow for two weeks & Pog sat 25 seconds or so behind (& collected bonus seconds with stage wins). So Vingegaard needs to drop him again, or else this is going to be uncomfortable for Jumbo.

And last year Pog destroyed himself chasing two wheels. This year, he only has to cover one. Just like in the 2020 TdF.
And based off of how the Tour went so far, it was a daring but also a logical strategy. And I applaud them for it. Many people have said TJV ride defensively. They don't. They took a chance, it kinda backfired, but I like that they tried. It just turns out Pogacar isn't in bad shape, he just had a bad day yesterday.

Random observation: many people came on here yesterday claiming "the Tour is over, Vingo has it", which I thought was a ridiculous take. It was only one stage. Man, some cycling fans are incredibly oppportunistic.

Anyway, the fight we were all hoping for is on!