Tour de France Tour de France 2024, Stage 5: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Saint-Vulbas, 177.4 km

[Ilmaestro99]

before stage 14 starts. 3 out of 7 stages that could be interesting.

Wow. What an exciting week of stages ahead

 

[DarkBlue]

I really don't get the Sean Kelly love in on Eurosport.

He calls the stage wrong far more often than he gets it right, he's completely out of touch with modern racing [clinic: deleted]- so i really don't get why the other commentators put him on such a pedestal.

 

[scribers]

Carlton Kirby went for a might night swim and go attacked by a dog who prob thought Kirby was a seal and wanted to eat the farmed salmon in the lake ???????????????????????????????????

Free crack for everyone at the neutral zone today

 

[AnotherArmChair]

Kirby now saying Jonas Vinge wont make it past the second rest day

 

[tobydawq]

We have a break. All the forum's dreams have come true.

 

[Potomac]

I really don't get the Sean Kelly love in on Eurosport.

He calls the stage wrong far more often than he gets it right, he's completely out of touch with modern racing [[deleted content]] - so i really don't get why the other commentators put him on such a pedestal.

He has way more detractors than supporters. What do you mean by love.

 

[Mayomaniac]

So all but the ITT, potentially the sterrato stage, stage 11 (and maybe stage 8) will be cure for insomnia until we get stage 14...

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

You'll kill their legs. If they have to climb in order to sprint, no way they can contest multiple stages in a GT. Take into consideration the suffering they endure in the mountain stages.

Making sprinters have to "earn it" is fine for one-day races; it doesn't work for GTs.

Then they have no place in GT's. They are a liability when it comes to safety, they are the biggest one trick ponies in the field, and there is no need to cater more than 2 stages in a GT towards their limited skillset.
I have no issues with sprinters like Kooij, De Lie, Pedersen, Van Aert... Because they can survive a hard race or one with a hilly profile. But sprinters who can't manage a 180km stage with mediocre climbing have no place in a GT.

 

[shadowrider]

Roglic didn't look in top form in Dauphiné either, his performance yesterday was in line with the level he showed there.
Jorgenson and Vlasov are both far superior in one-week races compared to GTs.
De Plus had a rare chance to ride with a bit of freedom and is a pure domestique here.
Gee is hugely inexperienced, still figuring out how to time his peak, and probably also much better equipped for one-week GCs than GT ones.

No, you shouldn't be in peak form at Dauphiné if you want to peak for the Tour and nobody has claimed such, but usually the top of the GC at Dauphiné contains plenty of riders who then kick on at the Tour. This year is an exception and it has a lot to do with many of the big names not riding/finishing it to begin with, and many one-week specialists being there instead.

Nobody has claimed such ? Oh yes, several persons on this forum did.
Roglic not in top form in the Dauphiné ? Oh yes, and he won. But at almost 35 he is not at his best anymore.
Jorgenson and Vlasov far superior in one-week races ? Haha. We are only at stage 4 !
De Plus is a domestique here. But he didn't really work those first stages. So, why didn't he stay in the first group, helping Rodriguez, Bernal ?
Gee. Inexperienced ? What about his teamleaders and trainer ?

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Jensie saying Tim Declercq is not often talked about… I think he‘s among the most commonly mentioned names in all of cycling broadcasting

 

[AnotherArmChair]

The bitchiness and orders from the team cars is better than the stage

 

[RobertCrawley]

Kirby now saying Jonas Vinge wont make it past the second rest day

What's his reasoning?

 

[AmRacer]

Same outcome. People keep talking about stage length when in reality it has very little to do with that.

Yes, but if you cut 1-2 hour off the stage. It would make difference for us, and the bored riders.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Carlton Kirby said : he went for a night lake swim and got attacked by a dog who prob thought he was a seal and wanted to eat the farmed salmon in the lake ???????????????????????????????????

It's too early in the morning (in my area) for this. NBC guys are going on about Cav again though...

 

[Valv.Piti]

Then they have no place in GT's. They are a liability when it comes to safety, they are three biggest one trick ponies in the field, and there is no need to cater more than 2 stages in a GT towards their limited skillset.
I have no issues with sprinters like Kooij, De Lie, Pedersen, Van Aert... Because they can survive a hard race or one with a hilly profile. But sprinters who can't manage a 180km stage with mediocre climbing have no place in a GT.

No, there have to be between 6-9 pure sprint stages every GT because the pure sprinters are entitled to that!

Seriously, what do these guys add? Nothing, absolutely nothing apart from an exciting last 10 minutes which way too often results in crashes and way too dangerous riding. These are the kind of stages we are served to cater to them, because well, it has to be like that! In reality it really doesn't have to be that way, and I have no clue why a smart man like Prudhomme doesnt realize that because its what makes his otherwise great product worse. So in short, I agree.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

The bitchiness and orders from the team cars is better than the stage

Yep. Astana insinuating Gaviria was taking a ride on a team car yesterday.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Yep. Astana insinuating Gaviria was taking a ride on a team car yesterday.

They should probably stop that given Cav is dropped every time the road tilts upward

 

[AnotherArmChair]

What's his reasoning?

McEwen said Vinge doesnt have a good base for a 3 week Tour ...then Kirby said he wouldnt be around after the second rest day

 

[RobertCrawley]

McEwen said Vinge doesnt have a good base for a 3 week Tour ...then Kirby said he wouldnt be around after the second rest day

An odd thing to say by Kirby. McEwen is not wrong. Jonas himself expressed concern over his training. The "riding into shape" idea doesn't always work, but Jonas looks pretty good right now, given everything that happened. He was only 5 seconds behind Tadej at the top of the Galibier. No one else can say that.

 

[DarkBlue]

He has way more detractors than supporters. What do you mean by love.

Listen to the commentators - they gush over him and call the "The King" like he's some sort of oracle.

He called pretty much every stage of the Giro wrong - like not the stage winner, but just how the stage would pan out.

 

[AnotherArmChair]

Wasn't the Shark with Astana when DQF at the Vuelta for holding on to a car in the most audacious acceleration ever

People in glass houses

 

[Kaptain Kool]

Wow. What an exciting week of stages ahead

And one of those "interesting" stages is a time trial lol

 

[AnotherArmChair]

Prefer Sean Kelly and Carlton Kirby a million times to listening to Adam Blythe and Rob Hatch who with their lads love in and lack of knowledge are dreadful


Kelly is called the King from his cycling days as one of the best cyclists ever

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Nice river... on hot summer days I always enjoyed riding next to a river because it cooled the air a bit.

 

[RobertCrawley]

mindblowing and I will never get why the french decides to go with 8 stages like today its like they dont want exciting races. You dont need to add much to add alot of excitment to a transition stage.

As Don Ohlmeyer once said, the answer to all your questions is money.