Tour de France Tour de France 2024, Stage 4: Pinerolo > Valloire, 139.6 km

[Ilmaestro99]

If it's a headwind then remco will win easily. He is the most aero.

It doesn't let me turn off the italic

 

[Berniece]

I have no clue why they ride a bike. Someone will crash.

Yeah that's really the same, what a ridiculous counter argument. With such a statement you can wonder why they even put in any safeguards. Just remove everything, because that's just part of the game.

 

[Roku]

Yeah that's really the same, what a ridiculous counter argument. With such a statement you can wonder why they even put in any safeguards. Just remove everything, because that's just part of the game.

Ridiculous counter argument for a ridiculous statement. Descents entail peril just as sprints, positioning in the bunch at 60 km/h with 80 riders inches away from each other, riding cobbles... If you want to avoid any danger just cancel the race altogether or limit the race to uphill ITT.

 

[Medvind]

Headwind just makes it Pogacar win basically a default result IMO. Just wait for the final 200m, kick for the bonis on top, descend, take the stage at the finish.

Ideally Pogacar should even want to sprint with a larger group just so that Vingegaard doesn't take the 2nd place bonis.

You rule out that Pidders could do something in the downhill? Or you think he will be dropped before the top?

 

[SafeBet]

Help me understand this because I've read conflicting reports.

Despite not being the highest point of the race, Galibier will award the souvenir Henri Desgrange, but at the same time it will not award double KOM points (Bonette will)?

 

[topcat]

Headwind early in the climb. Not a headwind in the last steep part. It might be harder to reduce the group. I think UAE will set up Vingo for an attack.

 

[Berniece]

Ridiculous counter argument for a ridiculous statement. Descents entail peril just as sprints, positioning in the bunch at 60 km/h with 80 riders inches away from each other, riding cobbles... If you want to avoid any danger just cancel the race altogether or limit the race to uphill ITT.

No, because there is just no need for a downhill finish, and those risks are much higher since you are riding at a higher pace. They could've stopped at the top of the Galibier. What more does this give you for this stage besides danger?

 

[ManicJack]

No, because there is just no need for a downhill finish,

Yes there is. They are called $$ from the town at the bottom of the hill.

 

[Netserk]

Help me understand this because I've read conflicting reports.

Despite not being the highest point of the race, Galibier will award the souvenir Henri Desgrange, but at the same time it will not award double KOM points (Bonette will)?

Correct.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

No, because there is just no need for a downhill finish, and those risks are much higher since you are riding at a higher pace. They could've stopped at the top of the Galibier. What more does this give you for this stage besides danger?

They could also finish the sprint stages in a random field. Way less road furniture, a lot safer, yet finish towns don‘t host the finishes on bypass roads. I wonder why.

 

[Berniece]

Yes there is. They are called $$ from the town at the bottom of the hill.

They could also finish the sprint stages in a random field. Way less road furniture, a lot safer, yet finish towns don‘t host the finishes on bypass roads. I wonder why.

Fine, it's not the first time ASO chooses money over rider safety. I still find it extremely unsafe of them, and hope no one will get hurt tomorrow. Or we get another Mader on our hands, and we'll never learn. I just wonder how many times such a thing needs to happen before we decide that it might not be worth it.

 

[ManicJack]

With stage 4 being a coefficient 5 and the stage being so short, what are the chances Cavendish is OTL? Will probably be 16-17%.

 

[Netserk]

Fine, it's not the first time ASO chooses money over rider safety.

Riders choose money over safety every time they pin a number on their back.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Descent finishes reward skill and courage, sport on!

And yeah Pidcock will get dropped, it's by how much is the question.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

I just wonder how many times such a thing needs to happen before we decide that it might not be worth it.

Dying on the final descent of the race?
A: It‘s historically been as likely as dying on any other descent.
B: If third time‘s the charm, then we probably still have about half a century of downhill finishes coming up.


C: Marginalising certain skills because using them is taking risks is something I don‘t agree with. If we think pushing maximum watts uphill is most important because it‘s the least dangerous, then we can move it all to Zwift, because sprints and cobbles are also unnecessarily dangerous.

 

[Netserk]

With stage 4 being a coefficient 5 and the stage being so short, what are the chances Cavendish is OTL? Will probably be 16-17%.

~40 minutes should be doable. He didn't even lose that in stage 1, despite being dropped so early.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Cat 2 for 40k at 3.7% seems unnecessarily cruel but I'm no expert on GPM categories, I wonder if Pollit and Wellens will do the entire thing, dependent on how complex the break formation is I'd imagine.

 

[ManicJack]

~40 minutes should be doable. He didn't even lose that in stage 1, despite being dropped so early.

I hope he makes it, but there is a WAY higher percentage of time spent going uphill tomorrow. He could get dropped at Kilometer 20 if the front is going hard.

 

[Berniece]

And if it happens, it's just a skill issue

Tell that to Mader's parent. Your son just didn't have the proper skills 🤷

 

[Krzysztof_O]

Cat 2 for 40k at 3.7% seems unnecessarily cruel but I'm no expert on GPM categories, I wonder if Pollit and Wellens will do the entire thing, dependent on how complex the break formation is I'd imagine.

Cav should do well winning the intermediate sprint and the whole mamooth climb as well (if he forgets to brake after the sprint).

 

[Netserk]

Cat 2 for 40k at 3.7% seems unnecessarily cruel but I'm no expert on GPM categories, I wonder if Pollit and Wellens will do the entire thing, dependent on how complex the break formation is I'd imagine.

It's the first time that side has been used in the Tour, but usually it'd be a cat 1.

 

[tobydawq]

Fine, it's not the first time ASO chooses money over rider safety. I still find it extremely unsafe of them, and hope no one will get hurt tomorrow. Or we get another Mader on our hands, and we'll never learn. I just wonder how many times such a thing needs to happen before we decide that it might not be worth it.

So a stage can never finish with a descent ever again?

 

[ManicJack]

So a stage can never finish with a descent ever again?

About as likely as never having this discussion again

 

[Froome]

Tomorrow Vingegaard will attack 1 km(at 9% in a altitude of 2500 m) from the top of Galibier and get a gap of 20/30 s to Pogacar on the top of the climb, just like in Marie blanque.

This is a spoiler of what will happen tomorrow, and sorry for you, sorry if you don't believe in miracles.

 

[Miha81]

Descent finishes reward skill and courage, sport on!

And yeah Pidcock will get dropped, it's by how much is the question.

If he will be able to get on top with best of the rest he will probably have chance to catch up. I expect Pogi and Vinge get to the top together and they probably won't cooperate so part of the field will have a chance to regroup.