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

[Boehmand]

I couldn't tell whether Vingegaard was on the cusp of cracking big time. Did he just get gapped or was he well over the limit? If there had been another 2k of stout climbing left what would have happened? Would have he needed to back off to the pace of the other GC guys? In that case, he needs to get A LOT better if he's going to drop Pogacar in week three.

He was only 9 seconds off at the KOM, and lost by far most descending - predmoninatly on the easier high speed parts.

He definitely looked beat at the KOM though, but that might be from just giving everything to the KOM line, knowing a long freewheeling descent followed.

 

[tobydawq]

Spectacular stage! So close, and then the heavy legs are felt on the descent.

Yep, one of the best descent finishes I can remember. Fantastic stuff.

Excellent performance by Pog, but the Tour isn't over if Vingegaard can still have his usual third week legs.

 

[Nick2413]

Went about as expected. Meaning a great stage that gave us a taste of everything we wanted. Never thought I’d be pulling for Remco so hard but happy to see him doing well and hoping he’s not blowing his load. Vingegaard still in good enough shape to be a threat. UAE very strong and Ayuso scamming Almeida for 15 seconds by sitting in the back despite looking weaker. Roglic… hoping he’s going for the 3rd week peak.

 

[topt]

Ullrich on German Eurosport saying that Ayuso's behavior might lead to problems down the line, less so for challenging Pogacar but rather that Almeida and Yates will at some point ask - "why do we go full in, and this guy gets rewarded for setting a fake pace at front".

Valid point.

was thinking exactly this, only reason Almeida lost time today vs Ayuso was his fake pace; he must be damn pissed

 

[topt]

This is a tour that needs 2 55km ITTs

We'd have an epic battle between Remco and Pog. Pog having the advantage on the climbs (and descents), Remco in the TT

no we wouldnt

 

[QueenStagiaire]

was thinking exactly this, only reason Almeida lost time today vs Ayuso was his fake pace; he must be damn pissed

Really the only reason was that Almeida is a bad descender but if Ayuso had ridden himself to a standstill, he wouldn‘t have lost out, duh

 

[balac]

was thinking exactly this, only reason Almeida lost time today vs Ayuso was his fake pace; he must be damn pissed

That's not true. Almeida lost time because he's not a good descender compared to Ayuso, Roglic or Crod.

 

[topt]

That's not true. Almeida lost time because he's not a good descender compared to Ayuso, Roglic or Crod.

he was behind on top, so its true

 

[balac]

he was behind on top, so its true

Roglic was behind Ayuso and Almeida at the top of the Galibier. So no, it's not.

 

[topt]

I missed what Ayuso did

fake pace + not wanting set tempo; Almeida was yelling at him

 

[topt]

Roglic was behind Ayuso and Almeida at the top of the Galibier. So no, it's not.

was he behind Ayuso on top or not

 

[tobydawq]

Almeida's getting angry with Ayuso was one of the biggest 'get out of jail' cards for Roglic I've ever seen.

He could have lost two minutes if Almeida had kept pushing.

That's not to say Ayuso wasn't to blame, it was just perfect timing for Roglic for that to happen right at that moment.

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Almeida's getting angry with Ayuso was one of the biggest 'get out of jail' cards for Roglic I've ever seen.

He could have lost two minutes if Almeida had kept pushing.

That's not to say Ayuso wasn't to blame, it was just perfect timing for Roglic for that to happen right at that moment.

Luck merchant

 

[will-10]

Ineos certainly have their leadership questions answered.

Love it when the road decides

 

[Froome]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1808238216891318746

View: https://x.com/Tratnikstan/status/1808238216891318746

 

[scribers]

would your DS be in your ear telling you what corner type is coming up kind of like a rally car ?

They have gps on the bikes. For real

 

[houtdffan]

no we wouldnt

yes, we would

are you not watching the race?

 

[Savant12]

Is Ayuso playing the canny long game? Things that could happen in/by the 3rd week: Pog's Giro fatigue catches up to him; Vingo and Remco to drop off due to crashes and lack of training; Roglic to crash and lose time.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations to Tadej Pogačar for winning the stage in epic fashion.

UAE had everything under control and really did some damage, riding as a team. Now in my opinion they (Pogi) were aiming for a bit more, headwind and some team members not pacing high enough preventing from that to happen. Nonetheless Pogi did what he came for, by launching in the last km and Jonas and the rest shifting some time. Some teams, like Visma and Bora, really falling apart, question here being was it up to a point a tactical decision, as the script on what UAE plans to do wasn't exactly a top secret. Jonas in addition seems confident, that he will be able to respond going deeper in the race. Considering Remco is rather consistent so far and Rogla still alive and kicking. Ineos resolving the leadership questions, but i somehow feel that Rodríguez was the leader from the get go. In my opinion not only leaders but teams as a whole, their form to fluctuate through the race. It should be interesting to see on who profits from such power dynamics the most!

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Almeida's getting angry with Ayuso was one of the biggest 'get out of jail' cards for Roglic I've ever seen.

He could have lost two minutes if Almeida had kept pushing.

That's not to say Ayuso wasn't to blame, it was just perfect timing for Roglic for that to happen right at that moment.

Roglic must have used up all his luck in 5 minutes. Landa riding like an idiot, saving Roglic' bacon when he was about to drop.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Both Ayuso and Landa know, keeping Rogla in the race for overall, that increases their chances for a podium spot.

 

[jmdirt]

WOW: UAE, Tadej
Solid: Remco, Ayuso, Primoz, Jonas, C Rod, Landa, Almieda
Especially enjoyed the last climb and the final descent.
Lots of racing days left...

 

[Oldermanish]

He was only 9 seconds off at the KOM, and lost by far most descending - predmoninatly on the easier high speed parts.

He definitely looked beat at the KOM though, but that might be from just giving everything to the KOM line, knowing a long freewheeling descent followed.

Except it wasn't a freewheeling descent by Tadej or the guys that caught up to Jonas. Tadej laid down power well past the KOM to get up to speed and then could recover. Another km of climbing would have only doubled the gap. Good tactical riding on Tadej's part.

 

[Oldermanish]

Both Ayuso and Landa know, keeping Rogla in the race for overall, that increases their chances for a podium spot.

....and staying with him or dropping him assures it.

 

[Oldermanish]

Congratulations to Tadej Pogačar for winning the stage in epic fashion.

UAE had everything under control and really did some damage, riding as a team. Now in my opinion they (Pogi) were aiming for a bit more, headwind and some team members not pacing high enough preventing from that to happen. Nonetheless Pogi did what he came for, by launching in the last km and Jonas and the rest shifting some time. Some teams, like Visma and Bora, really falling apart, question here being was it up to a point a tactical decision, as the script on what UAE plans to do wasn't exactly a top secret. Jonas in addition seems confident, that he will be able to respond going deeper in the race. Considering Remco is rather consistent so far and Rogla still alive and kicking. Ineos resolving the leadership questions, but i somehow feel that Rodríguez was the leader from the get go. In my opinion not only leaders but teams as a whole, their form to fluctuate through the race. It should be interesting to see on who profits from such power dynamics the most!

It would have been a bonus to fans if Bernal and Mateo had hung on, too. Having Ineos with several threats would have made it better for the other contenders. Stage 4 and every team pretty much know who their show ponies are for the time being.