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

[Devil's Elbow]

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 ?

Please find me posts where people claimed you need to be at your Tour level in the Dauphine already to be at your best in the Tour. Spoilers: there are none.

 

[Colombiano Cadence]

Will WVA sprint today? He must look at Binny’s win and think it is possible

 

[Kaptain Kool]

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.

Of course the commentators are going to promote members of their own broadcasting team and use Kelly's long-standing nickname to emphasize his importance.
Just like the ES commentators tell us over and over that every race is the best that it's ever been.

You should do what I do. Turn the sound down when watching ES. Better yet watch another broadcaster. Even bester yet, skip watching the boring sprint stages when commentators have even more nothing to talk about than usual.

 

[RobertCrawley]

Will WVA sprint today? He must look at Binny’s win and think it is possible

I think he would love to win today and will go for it if he can.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Commentator saying Groenewegen's nose piece glasses are available to the general public for a mere $375...

 

[RobertCrawley]

Commentator saying Groenewegen's nose piece glasses are available to the general public for a mere $375...

Hard pass.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Hard pass.

I could see a rider wearing that if his nose is broken (like they do in other sports), but otherwise also a hard pass.

 

[tobydawq]

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.

I don't mind sprint stages. They are what they are but the finales are much more exciting than some random breakaway stage.

And you can't have action like yesterday 21 days in a row (that said, 10 days between mountain stages is too much).

 

[tobydawq]

Hard pass.

But they make you look like you have a beak!?

It should have been a Red Bull invention. A beak usually goes nicely with wings.

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

I would come back on what I wrote during the Dauphiné about being to early in shape before the Tour. Being in topshape during the Dauphiné is and was always a bad tactic. That often turned out to be the case (but not always) in the past, and it is also what experts will confirm. A lot of "specialists" here denied that.
Well, let's look at some riders. Lazkano (tremendous in the Dauphiné as a non climber), Gee, De Plus, Vlasov, Roglic, Jorgenson etc. They were at their top during the Dauphiné..... but not anymore. I have to admit I don't understand those riders and their trainers. I can understand alrounder Lazkano going all-in before and during the Dauphiné, knowing he has to perform then (the Tour being to hard). But those other riders ?

You don't understand riders and trainers to seize opportunities in the most prestigious 1 week race, where they are allowed to ride for themselves and have a chance at succes which they will not have in a GT, be it due to teamorders or abilities/skills.

Also, per your other post why De Plus didn't follow, perhaps you missed it but he crashed hard earlier this week.

 

[Netserk]

The whole point of elite cycling is riders "killing their legs." That's what makes it great. What I want is for something in every sprint stage that could realistically cause it not to be a bunch sprint. That might be a Poggio-esque climb 3km from the finish as a launchpad for attackers. It might be held in a super windy area with hope for crosswinds and echelons. It might be climbs throughout to give the breakaway a good chance. But they shouldn't have stages where it will be a sprint with the whole peloton except if they totally screw up or crash

Agreed, and given what's on the menu for these 9 middle stages with 6 of them being nailed-on bunch sprints, this one could have done with some added difficulty. Not necessarily a Jura climb near the finish, just Grand Cucheron to begin with like in '12 would have been enough, no additional climbs are needed to at least have a proper breakaway.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that should be the case for all stages, as the overall route has to reflect the overall terrain of France. So some of the stages will be boring flat stages. But here we are in the heart of the Alps, so it's the sprint stage that could most easily be modified so to entice a strong break.

Tour de France 2024, Stage 5: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Saint-Vulbas (modified)

185.0 km, +3015 m. Bike ride in Pontamafrey-Montpascal, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

ridewithgps.com

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Cool railway roundhouse, kinda interesting how they work.

 

[Brullnux]

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

TTs are a great watch, I'm having none of this.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Lovely waterfall... at least the scenery is lush with greenery, and there are some ominous looking clouds in the background. Chance of rain?

 

[rallybanana]

Commentator saying Groenewegen's nose piece glasses are available to the general public for a mere $375...

You can buy 20 Groucho glasses for $20 on Amazon.

 

[Froome]

Agreed, and given what's on the menu for these 9 middle stages with 6 of them being nailed-on bunch sprints, this one could have done with some added difficulty. Not necessarily a Jura climb near the finish, just Grand Cucheron to begin with like in '12 would have been enough, no additional climbs are needed to at least have a proper breakaway.

I wouldn't go so far as to say that should be the case for all stages, as the overall route has to reflect the overall terrain of France. So some of the stages will be boring flat stages. But here we are in the heart of the Alps, so it's the sprint stage that could most easily be modified so to entice a strong break.

Tour de France 2024, Stage 5: Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne > Saint-Vulbas (modified)

185.0 km, +3015 m. Bike ride in Pontamafrey-Montpascal, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes

ridewithgps.com

Today, it should be another real mountain stage in the alps. It doesn't make sense doing just one mountain stage in the first 13 days.

Besides that, the ITT is a joke. I don't understand why they do a ITT of just 25 km. It should be of about 50/55 km. A real flat ITT.

The gravel stage is another joke who will be there to cause crashes and punctures. This is road cycling, not mountain bike or whatever.


This route is also missing a hard finish mountain stage like col de Portet or Ventoux, since La loze, Granon, where in there in the last 2 years.

 

[MartinGT]

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

Kirby and KK just seem to talk over when the DS radio thing comes on. Plus Kirby never concentrates as he's too busy thinking of jokes only he laughs at.

 

[Rob5091]

Raining at the finish. Could get interesting.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

It was close, but Russo missed that b-ball shot with his water bottle - all the riders should try it just to keep things interesting.

 

[Danskebjerge]

Kirby and KK just seem to talk over when the DS radio thing comes on. Plus Kirby never concentrates as he's too busy thinking of jokes only he laughs at.

Btw, what's the name of that English commentator who sometimes is even a race speaker - not Carlton Kirby, not Rob Hatch. He has a rather high-pitched voice.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Good crowds despite it being a weekday.

 

[Barnacle Bill]

Btw, what's the name of that English commentator who sometimes is even a race speaker - not Carlton Kirby, not Rob Hatch. He has a rather high-pitched voice.

I think it's McCrossan (currently doing the international feed with Nico Roche)

x.com

x.com

 

[Netserk]

Today, it should be another real mountain stage in the alps. It doesn't make sense doing just one mountain stage in the first 13 days.

Besides that, the ITT is a joke. I don't understand why they do a ITT of just 25 km. It should be of about 50/55 km. A real flat ITT.

The gravel stage is another joke who will be there to cause crashes and punctures. This is road cycling, not mountain bike or whatever.


This route is also missing a hard finish mountain stage like col de Portet or Ventoux, since La loze, Granon, where in there in the last 2 years.

I think the first week has enough GC stages, and I'm very happy with the front-loaded distribution. Now there's an established GC order and much less chaos in the peloton. Then a change of scenery with an ITT and gravel, great!

I think three proper GC stages in the second week is enough, but the stretch between Galibier and Tourmalet without a high mountain is of course quite long. That is a function of the first week being front-loaded and finishing in Nice, and it's a trade-off that I think is worth it. Maybe stage 11 to Villeneuve-sur-Lot should have been a proper breakaway stage, but we have enough high mountains over the three weeks.

 

[yaco]

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.

You need to watch the 2024 Vuelta, Reckon there are two or possibly three sprint stages.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

It's raining now in places