Tour Down Under 2025 - Men's (Jan. 21-26)

[tobydawq]

Romo... Maybe it wasn't as stupid as it seemed. He couldn't have beaten Narváez in the sprint. But a solo from the bottom was probably a bit much.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Give Romo the ogre jersey for his effort.

 

[E_F_]

Give Romo the ogre jersey for his effort.

Well Narvaez may well be placing his finger and his thumb in the shape of an L on his forehead. But no doubt, Romo is an all-star.

 

[Squire]

Don't see how team tactics allow for a Vine victory (and he hasn't looked great either). Think the sprinty types, like Narvaez, should be the favourites with the headwind. Narvaez wins the race if he wins the stage, even if Romo is not gapped. I expect FFB and Onley to be good as well.

Solid enough prediction for the top 3 if I'm allowed to toot my own horn, though it was probably the lowest-odds podium one could pick. I guess team tactics didn't come into play regarding Vine, he just didn't have it at all.

 

[Kazistuta]

The new Wunderkind in as 19th. I think that's actually quite decent at this point.

 

[Potomac]

Well that was an exciting stage.

 

[RedheadDane]

Hey, probably a good thing Movistar didn't get multiple WT wins before the end of January.
Not sure the space-time continium could have handled that...

 

[tobydawq]

The new Wunderkind in as 19th. I think that's actually quite decent at this point.

He also seemed to waste a lot of energy at the bottom of the climb where it looked like he thought he could close the gap to the front group by himself.

 

[E_F_]

The new Wunderkind in as 19th. I think that's actually quite decent at this point.

He finished together with Marriage, so I think they had a bit of a battle for the white jersey.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

King Albert still terrified of the camera while sporting the white, but blue jersey winner Welsford is certainly not. Nor young Browning in the seafoam green. (Naturally I'm speaking of the podium ceremony.)

 

[stefank]

Stage 5 finale:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qpN5lthMC5k

 

[Jungle Cycle]

i've enjoyed this more than i thoght i would...
first Jayco combo from far..
Ineos made it fun..
Romo-Bananito going for the all in..
and Narvaez with a relative controled(!?) win..
did Pog has ever had a better gregario in Narvaez to make the Poggio as hard as possible for the others favorits??

 

[Rob5091]

Training ride by Navarez by the look of it. He'll be a good addition to UAE.

 

[yaco]

Nice move by Jayco.

Jayco needed a third climber type to put greater pressure on the peloton for this move to succeed. I doubt their team selection for the race. I'll also add if the organisers are keen for an Aussie victory they need to include a short ITT.

 

[will-10]

Happy to bash Ineos with the rest of them but credit where it's due in that final. Cracking stage

 

[KZD]

Brave ride by Romo but as I expected Narvaez is just too strong on finishes like this. Strong finish from FFB too.

 

[Berniece]

Only just watched the last climb, they really wanted to give it to Narvaez for free… No clue why Roma attacked solo so early, in his position he could’ve just followed and countered. Also nice of Plapp to help Narvaez get the victory instead of sitting in the wheel.

 

[Cookster15]

Good opportunity for a team to take a win off UAE. Narvaez perfectly timed sprint spoiled that possibility. Romo must have figured he couldn’t out sprint Narvaez or Plapp so took the gamble and attacked at the bottom. Still a strong ride by him. Plapp maybe suffered by being caught out in the 2nd group when the peloton split. Used up energy to bridge across. That’s racing.

 

[Peyroteo94]

They were stupid (not Romo) in letting Narvaez confortable before the sprint. Hats off for Romo, I will never mock an agressive rider who does everything to win.

 

[Tim Cahill]

FFB looked the fastest at the end, too late for him though. Narvaez similar level as last year but race circumstances have been favourable and he’s clearly been watching old Roglic tapes from the archives.

 

[Berniece]

Hats off for Romo, I will never mock a agressive rider who does everything to win.

You can ride aggressively and ride smart, you don’t need to attack from the bottom. You can also let Narvaez try to drop you and then attack him when he’s tired

 

[tobydawq]

You can ride aggressively and ride smart, you don’t need to attack from the bottom. You can also let Narvaez try to drop you and then attack him when he’s tired

Narváez had no reason to try to drop him.

 

[Berniece]

Narváez had no reason to try to drop him.

Was winning the stage enough if Roman was 2nd?

 

[tobydawq]

Was winning the stage enough if Roman was 2nd?

Yes, Romo had terrible placings on the first two stages.

 

[Netserk]

Romo... Maybe it wasn't as stupid as it seemed. He couldn't have beaten Narváez in the sprint. But a solo from the bottom was probably a bit much.

With the splits before the climb, I think he'd have pulled it off if Plapp wasn't Plapp.

It annoyed me greatly just how well they served it for Narvaez, even opening a gap for him in the sprint well in advance of the turn (Romo did well to move up beside him so that he had to wait for Plapp to open a gap along the barriers).