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Brussels sprouts a new winner? Tour de France 2019

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    Yup - they showed as much as they could live (French telly didn't broadcast the first 20k) and they normally give it the first quarter of the highlights show.

    Been looking at Alaphilippe's previous record in the Tour mountains. He's certainly got climbing ability - last year he won two mountain stages (in valley towns) and several other days got in the break, hoovered up the early KoM points and then sat up. He'd fallen out of GC contention by losing 12 minutes on the cobbles to Roubaix. Injured in 2017 so didn't take part. In 2016 he got in a couple of mountain moves that stuck and finished high up - on the last day to Morzine he finished 4th behind Ion Izagirre, Pantano (um) and Nibs. So there's some track record there. Question is as to how much remains in reserve, he's not been conserving energy this first couple of weeks.

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      Originally posted by ursus arctos View Post

      Alaphillipe did have a good Tourmalet last year, but he was riding for the KOM and effectively took a couple of days off as he didn't care about his overall time. He very much is not doing that this year.
      Yes, I was going to say he had a very different aim and in a different context, didn't want to be seen as as doing him down.

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        I know it's just Tour of California, but he's also won big mountain stages here, on Mount Baldy and Gibraltar Road. He's not a slouch in the hills. We've just never seen him try and win long stage races yet, so we don't know if he's a one-week-wonder kind of rider, or the kind who can maintain it over three weeks.

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          Originally posted by longeared View Post
          Yup - they showed as much as they could live (French telly didn't broadcast the first 20k) and they normally give it the first quarter of the highlights show.
          Not good, then. The whole shebang is stalling, isn't it? From the Champs Elysee in the first two years, to hidden in the middle of the race in year three, but with a second day thrown in as a fig leaf. That second day was in line with ASO's initial commitment to gradually increase the number of days involved, something that they seem to be hoping everyone will quietly forget. However the second day utilised some bizarre pursuit system with a limited field that meant the UCI didn't recognise it as a proper race, just giving their results from the first day. Which was handy for cutting back to one mid-race mid-week day for the last few years, wasn't it readers? If that wasn't deliberate, it has proved very convenient...

          And now, because it shares a day with a time trial, which means only non-concurrent footage of the leading men, broadcasters are unable or unwilling to fit it into their highlights package. Not that people were particularly talking about it on here, mind. How does three posts in total compare with our chatter during the 2018 running?

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            The story from ASO today was that they are planning a multi-stage version that will not be concurrentl with the Tour.

            We shall see

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              Eurosport with what amounted to an unpaid advert for Macron.

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                Preferable to the Nord VPN adverts on ITV featuring fringe members of the Liverpool squad and painfully shoe-horned football references.

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                  But this was during the coverage and instead of showing the race

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                    Originally posted by Janik View Post
                    Not good, then. The whole shebang is stalling, isn't it? From the Champs Elysee in the first two years, to hidden in the middle of the race in year three, but with a second day thrown in as a fig leaf. That second day was in line with ASO's initial commitment to gradually increase the number of days involved, something that they seem to be hoping everyone will quietly forget. However the second day utilised some bizarre pursuit system with a limited field that meant the UCI didn't recognise it as a proper race, just giving their results from the first day. Which was handy for cutting back to one mid-race mid-week day for the last few years, wasn't it readers? If that wasn't deliberate, it has proved very convenient...

                    And now, because it shares a day with a time trial, which means only non-concurrent footage of the leading men, broadcasters are unable or unwilling to fit it into their highlights package. Not that people were particularly talking about it on here, mind. How does three posts in total compare with our chatter during the 2018 running?
                    It is probably a decline but it's clear that La Course is not being promoted as a serious race. If Wimbledon consisted of a two week men's tournament and only a final for the women it'd be a similar story for that too.

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                      The two most serious stage races on the women's circuit are the Giro Rosa and the Women's Tour (of Britain). Neither has live coverage. It's very hard to think of something interesting to post when basically all you can do is quote PCS results sheets.

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                        The Giro Rosa has live on line coverage and the organizers of the new Nordic Tour are committed to at least that.

                        Purportedly a major obstacle to doing that with the Tour of Britain is your relatively poor 4G infrastructure, but the ASO obviously doesn't have that excuse (not to mention their policy of benign neglect with regard to other women's races).

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                          Movistar cleverly destroy Quintana. Oh, wait

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                            Alaphilippe looks surprisingly comfortable as more fancied riders are losing touch

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                              Indeed

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                                What happened to the devil spectator?

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                                  Brilliant ride by Alaphillipe.

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                                    Well done Alaphilippe and Pinot. Never mind, Geraint - we'll always have 2019.

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                                      Originally posted by Sporting View Post
                                      What happened to the devil spectator?
                                      Didi only makes paid appearances now

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                                        Originally posted by elguapo4 View Post
                                        Brilliant ride by Alaphillipe.
                                        Can he win it?

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                                          I can't see why not, there's still a week to go and team fracking are going to attack him at every opportunity,but he set down a big marker today.

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                                            Didi the devil is being pimped out at l’Etape du Tour in Albertville this weekend by Prudhomme.

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                                              Oh, Romain.

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                                                There'll be not a murmur from the French press and fans that a French rider who's ridden like Steve Austin on a time trial one day can then leave all the other main GC contenders for dead on the tour's highest climb the day after. Not a single one. I'm not casting any aspersions (as I said above I'd love the spectacle of a French winner at last) but they threw piss over Froome for this kind of effort.
                                                Last edited by Rogin the Armchair fan; 20-07-2019, 17:55.

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                                                  It needs saying tbf. Especially as, according to George Bennett, there were people booing Thomas from the side of the road today.

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                                                    I'm sorry you don't believe in miracles, Rogin.

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