Tour de France Tour de France 2025, Stage 16: Montpellier to Mont Ventoux, 171.5 km

[veganrob]

Nope: https://www.bikeradar.com/features/pro-bike/retro-pro-bike-marco-pantanis-1998-bianchi-mega-pro-xl

My friend had the the Replica. Made of boron steel. Super light and stiff. Teams had to put washers in the seat tubes to get above weight limit.

 

[jmdirt]

Congrats VPP!

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

People didn't invest millions every year for two decades to come up with something that is barely any better than what Fred Flintstone was riding on.

No, they invest millions to convince people to part with their perfectly fine bike and pay a premium in exchange for "increased horizontal stiffness and vertical compliance". I'm exaggerating, but other than disc brakes, I see very little in terms of improvement. So much of cycling is marketing hype. You see gimmicks come and go like summer rain showers in this industry. I bet if you put Pog on a 2008 Time Worldstar, he'd smash just as much.

 

[yaco]

It's hard to let 10 guys go if thirty are trying. The trouble was that simply too many tried to get away and at some point UAE were po'ed and let nobody go on principle.

One Politt tries to intimidate the peleton then it was gloves off and then it was out of control.. It was a poor performance by Politt and UAE in break formation.

 

[saunaking]

is pog scared?
if he would have worked just a bit they would have caught the leaders and he could have won
is he so afraid that he is just following and sprinting for 2 seconds at the finish to get thru another stage with another couple of seconds?
its a pretty fred move to sit on wheel for 20 mins and sprint the guy at the end.
i dont get why with such a huge lead he wouldnt try to win the stage by putting in a bit of work

 

[scribers]

I love it he pipped Vingo at the line and now holds the climbing record

 

[scribers]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1947679665419653590

View: https://x.com/cyclingontnt/status/1947679665419653590?s=46&t=X4NqNG7J5ZQ-MxPOi53ECQ

 

[proffate]

Have you ever raced a bike?

Yes.

I've also been using Strava and power meters for 15 years so I know whether I'm getting faster or not uphill for the same inputs. Even though I've purchased lots of bikes and bike gear in the last 15 years, sadly my uphill speed never much changes. Do you think I might be able to get a refund?

 

[proffate]

I love it he pipped Vingo at the line and now holds the climbing record

Ving should have started from the back of the yellow jersey group. Rookie mistake really.

 

[Rob5091]

Well Visma tried everything and came up empty. Even doing a record speed ascent did n't gain anything. It reminds me of Visma's attempt up the Tourmalet in 2023 which also backfired. Of course that was earlier in the Tour so Visma had time to keep up the pressure.
I suppose all Visma can do is "rinse and repeat". Their only good news is the weakness of team UAE.

 

[Bolder]

I actually thought that was pretty lame. Respect for your adversaries means respecting the game. Vingegaard and Visma repeatedly attacked and Jonas rode in the wind for the last 10 k or whatever. Ofc Pog can outsprint Jonas on a 100 meter long kicker, but acknowledging the effort would have been the classy move.

 

[dennisdy]

Visma's tactics in this year's tour have been questioned by some and ridiculed by others. But I have maintained that there is nothing they could have done to defeat Pogacar.

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations to Valentin Paret-Peintre for winning on Mont Ventoux.

Mas with a strong performance, unfortunately caught, Healy again animating the race, like Alaphilippe used too, all finishing high. Was nice to see RBH pacing the pleoton and Mick waiting ahead, on where both phenomenal Rogla and Lipo further solidify or improved their GC positions, maybe even more was at play but lets not complain. Visma with Jonas tactically perfect in terms of positioning riders ahead, Pogi shrugging that off like lasts year's snow. Rider collapsing at the end shows on how brutal this sport is, always to the max.

 

[dobrien]

is pog scared?
if he would have worked just a bit they would have caught the leaders and he could have won
is he so afraid that he is just following and sprinting for 2 seconds at the finish to get thru another stage with another couple of seconds?
its a pretty fred move to sit on wheel for 20 mins and sprint the guy at the end.
i dont get why with such a huge lead he wouldnt try to win the stage by putting in a bit of work

Totally agree. He barely saw the front the entire climb but now he's the Ventoux record holder?

Pretty lame frankly.

 

[D. Pecher]

Totally agree. He barely saw the front the entire climb but now he's the Ventoux record holder?

Pretty lame frankly.

That's why he is the record holder in the first place. Had he worked upfront he would have had to expend much more energy. And frankly, that's how a stage race works. Pogacar is the leader by four minutes. He doesn't have to do more than what's necessary.

Imagine he would have attacked early in the climb and then bonked and lost time to Vingegaard. Everybody would be calling him an idiot. Had he attacked early and bitten another two minutes out of Vingo, people would have accused him of being arrogant, a canibal, whatever.

 

[Penninepeddler]

No, they invest millions to convince people to part with their perfectly fine bike and pay a premium in exchange for "increased horizontal stiffness and vertical compliance". I'm exaggerating, but other than disc brakes, I see very little in terms of improvement. So much of cycling is marketing hype. You see gimmicks come and go like summer rain showers in this industry. I bet if you put Pog on a 2008 Time Worldstar, he'd smash just as much.

GCN have done some interesting videos...

the modern bikes climb faster. But not by that much.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lawourSeonE&ab_channel=GlobalCyclingNetwork


2 seconds over 4km with a ~4% gradient. Probably more like ~5 seconds when account for difference in watts.

 

[Mac9]

Smashing 2013 Chris Froome by over 4 minutes is impressive! The 2013 Pinarello Dogma 65.1 was light and fast.

Loved that stage yesterday, so exciting... Mont Ventoux is an incredible sporting arena.

 

[RedheadDane]

Apparently being a sponsor also runs the risk of losing customers.
Onley has declared he'll never drink Red Bull again.

 

[dobrien]

That's why he is the record holder in the first place. Had he worked upfront he would have had to expend much more energy. And frankly, that's how a stage race works. Pogacar is the leader by four minutes. He doesn't have to do more than what's necessary.

Imagine he would have attacked early in the climb and then bonked and lost time to Vingegaard. Everybody would be calling him an idiot. Had he attacked early and bitten another two minutes out of Vingo, people would have accused him of being arrogant, a canibal, whatever.

That's really not what I meant by my post, but whatever.

 

[elguapo]

stage 1: gap 2 mins to vinge
stage 2: gap 1 min to vinge
stage 3: wheelsucking, no gap.

Most likely if closest pursuers also have pneumonia :}