Tour de France Tour de France 2024, Stage 1: Florence (Firenze) - Rimini, 206.0k

[Potomac]

I'm still miffed at Visma no longer being black and yellow

 

[red_flanders]

Are you implying that Jonathan Vaughters is petty, vindictive and selfish?

Okay google, what's a word for when you agree with something, but stronger?

Can we add brain dead, hypocritical, and a total poser?

 

[Gigs_98]

At least it's not gonna be heartbreak for Bardet because I don't think it will be particularly close.

 

[scribers]

Seconds dropping a tad too fast for breakaway's comfort I think.

Yeah this looks doomed

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Don’t get what EF are doing

They're riding in Italy with a Tricolore.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Pogacar just chilling

 

[TrekCyclist]

No way they can make it. Will be caught. Unfortunately

 

[titan31]

Campenaerts too

Ya, just saw him there so came back on the descent.

This likely is down to WVA vs Pedersen. Pidcock,Aranburu, Bettiol/Van der Berg, Van Gils will sprint too

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Can we add brain dead, hypocritical, and a total poser?

Please do. Perhaps you would need to put the latter in all caps and bold for emphasis though.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Two bottles Tadej

Michael Rasmussen on his way to a padded room after seeing that

 

[Salvarani]

Very impressed by VDB today.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Wind from the sea.

Exactly.

 

[Miha81]

I dont agree. Wasnt much to gain.

It is not all about the time gained. They could put a dent in some rival team and gain time tommorow or get valuable feedback where competitors are. But let's agree that we disagree.

 

[Peyroteo94]

They can still make it. They need 15 seconds for the last km

 

[Tim Cahill]

Bardet channelling the spirit of Pinot in this losing effort

 

[Salvarani]

It is not all about the time gained. They could put a dent in some rival team and gain time tommorow or get valuable feedback where competitors are. But let's agree that we disagree.

Pretty much what they have done/did on the hardest climb today.

Cool.

 

[Nick2413]

Who are the best sprinters left? Wout, Pedersen?

 

[Boehmand]

I'd like to see the DSM riders in the chasing group start to disrupt the chase, like Soudal did when Asgreen won last year.

 

[fbjim]

who are the ad wizards who decided to finish this stage with a flat road on a highway to kill any late attackers

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It is not all about the time gained. They could put a dent in some rival team and gain time tommorow or get valuable feedback where competitors are. But let's agree that we disagree.

Salvarani is relatively tactically conservative by nature when it comes to risk/reward like this, though. I mean, they did argue at length with me at the time that the GC teams did the right thing in stage 6 of the 2020 Tour, when they rode at a snail's pace and turned the Col de la Lusette into something less selective than Montevergine di Mercogliano and actually lost time to a Greg van Avermaet that had been in the break all day on a bona fide cat.1/HC tweener climb. I'm always keen to do the "see where competitors' form is and see if you can eliminate some pretenders", Salvarani is more keen to preserve the team's own helpers for days where the reward is higher.

I also felt that Col de la Lusette was a day where the reward was there if anybody actually tried.

 

[Unchained]

I am really pulling for Bardet, hope he can make it

 

[Poursuivant]

Bardet channelling the spirit of Pinot in this losing effort

Needs more tongue to evoke the ghost of Voeckler

 

[yaf]

With such a hard day if pog has sanremo legs he could steal the stage

 

[Samamba]

Guys on front of the peloton are also starting to die.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

Break can be saved by several technical turns at the end. But will be close.