23-07-2019, 22:54
Yet another fairly stress-free day for the main GC contenders (except for Geraint Thomas's fetish for tarmac with another early crash - I can exclusively reveal that his nickname of 'G' doesn't refer to his first name, but stands for Groundhugger!), but that could all change tomorrow. As predicted, it turned out to be a sprinters' stage with the new kid on the block finishing fastest of all. He's taking a leaf out of Peter Sagan's book by not needing a lead-out team, but latching on to other teams to find a late run. Sagan is still an easy leader of the Points Competition, but his pure sprint form is on the wane.
Hopefully the race will take on a new twist tomorrow with a 200 km long hilly stage, which might lead to a large breakaway with some of the GC contenders' teams having a man (or men) in there to cause a wee bit of havoc among the peleton. Personally, I'd like to see the likes of Greg van Avermaet, Thomas de Gendt and Lilian Calmejane in the initial breakaway to give a bit of beef to it. Movistar are looking strong, with Mikel Landa (7th), Alejandro Valverde (8th) and Nairo Quintana (12th), so I expect them to make a decisive attack on the final Category 3 climb before a long downhill finish into Gap. This type of terrain should also suit Julian Alaphillippe who might feel confident enough to try to stretch his lead before the mountain stages on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Peter Sagan is a sprinter who can climb and might also feel brave enough to mount a challenge. Plenty of things to ponder over and it should lead to one of the most interesting stages on Le Tour - a lot to lose or a lot to gain.
The rest of the racing takes place in the mountains over 3 days, which should suit Thomas and Pinot, but it's far too much to expect them to give their all on successive days, so they will need to make decisions on when to give everything and when to keep something in reserve. Just like the Tour, there's a lot of twists and turns and ups and downs still to come.
Hopefully the race will take on a new twist tomorrow with a 200 km long hilly stage, which might lead to a large breakaway with some of the GC contenders' teams having a man (or men) in there to cause a wee bit of havoc among the peleton. Personally, I'd like to see the likes of Greg van Avermaet, Thomas de Gendt and Lilian Calmejane in the initial breakaway to give a bit of beef to it. Movistar are looking strong, with Mikel Landa (7th), Alejandro Valverde (8th) and Nairo Quintana (12th), so I expect them to make a decisive attack on the final Category 3 climb before a long downhill finish into Gap. This type of terrain should also suit Julian Alaphillippe who might feel confident enough to try to stretch his lead before the mountain stages on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Peter Sagan is a sprinter who can climb and might also feel brave enough to mount a challenge. Plenty of things to ponder over and it should lead to one of the most interesting stages on Le Tour - a lot to lose or a lot to gain.
The rest of the racing takes place in the mountains over 3 days, which should suit Thomas and Pinot, but it's far too much to expect them to give their all on successive days, so they will need to make decisions on when to give everything and when to keep something in reserve. Just like the Tour, there's a lot of twists and turns and ups and downs still to come.
Cabbage is still good for you