Who is not cooked after this stage?
Jumbo Visma
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Who is not cooked after this stage?
Maybe they were trying to drop Movi doms.Bala blaming Astana for riding and not putting Roglic under pressure ??
Of course he is, Roglic couldn't had been more exposed.Bala blaming Astana for riding and not putting Roglic under pressure ??
Another great tactical move from Quintana. Despite not having decent legs for two years, he's still animating GCs, taking queen stages and being a PIA for whoever is trying to control the race.
Tomorrow Astana will be cooked, Movistar will be cooked, UAE will be fresh and JV will be fresh... Not looking good for Bala, NQ and MAL...
Unless they make UAE and JV work hard tomorrow from the first climb with an early ambush, but seems unlikely to me...
You just can't see it, or you don't want to.They did about the minimum work they could get away with in the front group. They still needed to make the other teams ride. That's also why they wouldn't call back their riders.
I'm not saying they'll actively try and destroy Quintana's chances no matter what, maybe my first post in this discussion was a little hyperbolic. I'm saying that they don't care about Quintana. They'll take his finish whatever it is, but they're riding for Valverde. They want Valverde on that podium in the WC jersey at the end of the race. If you're dropping guys with a tailwind they ain't going to be contributing to any chase. Movi took a minute out of the break and suddenly Astana were interested. There are much better ways they could have helped Quintana. They could have disrupted the chase, let gaps appear and forced others to close them and generally just sat on wheels and made themselves annoying to everyone there.
I don't think Valverde or Quintana will be feeling this any more than Pogacar or Roglic, in comparison to the fatigue you would expect them to have after a stage. None of them did much, if any work. I think I saw Quintana roll through a couple of times when the pace was lower, the rest were in the wheels.Movistar worked for like 5 min, but it was still tough on guys like Soler and Valverde in the chase. And little Q, who doesnt have great legs, will be feeling this tomorrow I fear, unfortunately.
Roglic had done nothing all day, he wasn't dropping.You just can't see it, or you don't want to.
They wanted to drop Roglic for good, and with some 40-50 km to the end I actually think Quintana would benefit the most from that, and he would be in red at the end.
Jumbo domestiques were so fresh they couldn't even follow wheels 50 km from the finish.
But what do you think would happen if Soler/Valverde and Lopez with his men started attacking simultaneously, after he was left isolated?Roglic had done nothing all day, he wasn't dropping.
With that tailwind, pretty much nothing. Lopez ain't attacking on a flat stage just to blow a gasket and possibly lose his top 5 , even his top 10, when he has basically a full team of doms around him and I don't think there's any chance Soler and Valverde are dropping Roglic, they'd just put more hurt into their own legs for tomorrow.But what do you think would happen if Soler/Valverde and Lopez with his men started attacking simultaneously, after he was left isolated?
What? How is it easier to attack with a headwind???With that tailwind, pretty much nothing. Lopez ain't attacking on a flat stage just to blow a gasket and possibly lose his top 5 , even his top 10, when he has basically a full team of doms around him and I don't think there's any chance Soler and Valverde are dropping Roglic, they'd just put more hurt into their own legs for tomorrow.
Into a headwind, that's a different ball game.
It's not, it's harder to close gaps and follow wheels. I'd have less problems with Movistar's tactics today if it had been a headwind. They'd have had more chance to shell Rog after they got rid of the JV riders and they could have made him have to chase things in the wind for the last 40-50km. If that had happened I would have agreed they were racing for Quintana.What? How is it easier to attack with a headwind???
The point is the following. If Astana stopped working, even though Quintana is no danger to anyone, He could have been in red by far today unless Roglic and Pogacar worked real hard together. Otherwise Quintana walks to the red Jersey. The worse that would have happened is the same but with a completely worn out Roglic and Pogacar. There is no way in the universe that Roglic and Pogacar alone would have been any challenge to DCQ/MOVI/Sunweb working together at the front.With that tailwind, pretty much nothing. Lopez ain't attacking on a flat stage just to blow a gasket and possibly lose his top 5 , even his top 10, when he has basically a full team of doms around him and I don't think there's any chance Soler and Valverde are dropping Roglic, they'd just put more hurt into their own legs for tomorrow.
Into a headwind, that's a different ball game.