Tour de France Tour de France 2024, Stage 2: Cesenatico > Bologne (Bologna), 199.2 km

[Medvind]

Patience is most likely a winning virtue but not something that Pog has in abundance. It will be fun to watch if he can control himself. Vingo looked like he wouldn't roll over without putting up a serious fight. There is some prestige going on here... Who's the greatest GT-rider of the 20's?!


Team-wise do we think Visma really is as strong in high mountains as UAE? Can WVA, TB and MJ really assist Vingo when he needs? I would hope so but on paper UAE riders looks better suited.

You are on to something here, I wrote about it in another thread. If Pog has 45s to Vinge ahead of the 3rd week, how is Vinge suppose to gain time on Pog? Jumbo LAB is not as strong as last year, so I doubt they can push the pace as high the did last year to tire Pog out. Remeber the La Loze stage where they set a brutal pace right from the go. Can they do that this year also? And is Vinge prepared enough for it (considering he only trained 6 weeks before the tour)?

 

[Escarabajo]

I will rank the surprises in the following order (IMHO):

1- Jonas response to Pogacar's attack: I still expect him to falter in the long run game. But by no means was expecting this strong performance in Pogi's terrain.
2- Roglic's performance: This is his terrain, he has to be the big loser. Hopefully he will get better but it is not looking good.
3- Carapaz performance: Injuries, lack of racing and not recent top performances led me to believe that His fitness was lower. just like Jonas, I expect him to falter in the long run game. But having him in the fight is refreshing.
4- Remco's performance: These type of climbs really suit his abilities, but by no means I didn't have him this good. A lot of noise in the media about his loss of weight and confirmed by several reporters. It is very nice to have him this competitive, however quick big losses of weight sometimes come at a power cost. however, having here fighting for yellow this early is very nice.

My main concerns still remain:
1- How do Pogi handle the double
2- Jonas 3 week performance
3- Remco's high mountains performance
4- Carapaz 3 week performance.
5- UAE Team performance

I think the UAE made a mistake with the team they selected. Reminds me of those soccer teams in the 90's that were full of stars but all wanted to shine on their own. Horrible. Hopefully someone puts order in the team. Adam really good for Pogi. Ayuso and Almeida, I don't know. Soler needs to get better also.