Roglic's Revenge: Pro Cycling 2021

[delicatemoth]

I like van Garderen, and think that like Talansky he suffered from the American desperation for the next Lemond.

Actually that reminds me - I think that Bernard Hinault, Greg Lemond and Chris Froome are the only multi Tour champions not to have failed a drug test at some point, aren't they?. Post-mid 60s I mean (and we know what Anquetil and Coppi thought about such matters).

[Felicity, I guess so]

Froome did fail one, didn't he..?

[Sits]

No no, just asthma! Nothing to see there.

[caja-dglh]

McMansionHell is (a) going to TdF as correspondent for ProCycling and (b) has a Roglic profile coming out pretty soon - I forget where.

I do love this collision of a website I loved becoming a really fun read cycling writer.

[Sits]

McMansionHell is (a) going to TdF as correspondent for ProCycling and (b) has a Roglic profile coming out pretty soon - I forget where.

I do love this collision of a website I loved becoming a really fun read cycling writer.

Great tip! She also draws cyclists, and very well: https://loutvanaert.tumblr.com

[caja-dglh]

I didn't know the specific tumbler so thanks! Her substack newsletter (deraileur) is great. The first one I actually subscribed to.

[Sits]

Great link caja, thanks a lot. All that and McMansion Hell too - verging on a polymath.

[delicatemoth]

Those are great, I particularly like the Taco van der Hoorn one.

I'd been toying with the idea of writing a WVA/MvdP romance/erotica thing, but of course there are plenty out there already. I would actually go "Squeee!" if they got together in real life.

[Mumpo]

Is that drawing... or just tracing?

[Sits]

Those are great, I particularly like the Taco van der Hoorn one.

I'd been toying with the idea of writing a WVA/MvdP romance/erotica thing, but of course there are plenty out there already. I would actually go "Squeee!" if they got together in real life.

You might enjoy her Derailleur piece on the Strade Bianche - lots of MvdP / WvA interplay. https://derailleur.substack.com/p/strade-bianche

[Sits]

So Le Tour approche. What do you think? Flushed with my success tipping Simon Yates for the Giro, I have a feeling Ineos will spoil the Pog Rog party. The only upside being they haven’t declared who is their leader and have three or four potential GC contenders.

I would like to see Wout van Aert get the yellow jersey for a bit early on and a stage or two.

I expect to be annoyed by Caleb Ewan again, when he abandons after Stage 13, or even 7.

Winner: Richard Carapaz
Green: Peter Sagan
Polka Dot: Tadej Pogačar
White: Tadej Pogačar

So don’t put your money on any of those outcomes.

[longeared]

INEOS have got the strongest team, but it's not immediately obvious how they will convert that into actually winning the race on this occasion. There were a couple of races in the spring when they had a load of numbers up front then when the final selection began they all disappeared. How are they going to beat Pog Rog when it's down to leaders only? The route is fairly benign this year and there don't look many opportunities to try and set a trap. They haven't actually announced who will be their leader and might end up backing the wrong horse as Thomas will gain time on Carapaz in the first week time trial. TGH will be allowed to ride initally but won't be given any protection and will be sacrificed the moment they need to use him. Porte has admitted he's only going as a domestique even though he won the Dauphine.

We haven't seen Roglic since April and Jumbo haven't looked all that hot lately. My feeling is there are a lot of riders blowing out of their arses at the moment what with how late and intense the racing last autumn was. What Pogacar does will tell us how the race will progress the next few years - if he beats the field by three minutes then we can expect a considerable period of Pogacar domination.

There's not a great deal of potential winners in the field beyond Pog Rog and INEOS. Lopez always comes on strong in the final week of Grand Tours but he'll ship too much time in the time trials. Gaudu and G Martin carry home hopes (Pinot is still injured, Bardet absent as he did the Giro) but this will be a new level for both and I think both their teams would snatch their arm off for a stage win or top five. Lutsenko has been steadily improving and rode strongly in the Dauphine but I'm not convinced he can do several days of high mountains in a Grand Tour. Buchmann was named in the Bora team but they're going in behind Kelderman. Yates and Fuglsang are only going for stages. Quintana is a busted flush.

A Slovenian will win, and Carapaz will be best of the rest.

[longeared]

Fucking hell, now this is a surprise. Presumably Bennett's still injured.

https://twitter.com/deceuninck_qst/status/1406960399866597376

[Billy Casper]

That's great news! Even better if he somehow manages to win a stage.

Predictions then.

Yellow - Roglic
Green - Ewen
Polka dots - G Martin
White - Pogacar

No real confidence in any of those picks, especially Mountains, which always seems to be won by a rider I've never even considered (or sometimes heard of) before.
Like always though, I'm really looking forward to it, but disappointed that we won't get Toro's insight.

[Sits]

Fucking hell, now this is a surprise. Presumably Bennett's still injured.

https://twitter.com/deceuninck_qst/status/1406960399866597376

He must be. Only a few days ago Lefevre said Cav wouldn’t be going in case he put Bennett off. Or something.

[Antepli Ejderha]

He must be. Only a few days ago Lefevre said Cav wouldn’t be going in case he put Bennett off. Or something.

Which Cavendish also accepted gracefully. Now he's back but can he win a stage?

I think it's fairy tale stuff but you never know.

[ursus arctos]

With their lead out, anything is possible

Lefevere throws Bennett under the bus

https://twitter.com/cyclingnewsfeed/status/1407250608910897152

[Sits]

He’d be hell to work for.

[longeared]

Chateauroux on stage 6 would be the real fairytale win, that's where he claimed his first TdF stage all the way back in 2008. He'll probably have to get his win in the first week, I'm not convinced he'll make it over the mountains.

There's a whopping ten Brits in the race this year. Cav obviously. Thomas, TGH and Rowe at INEOS. Froome doing his road captaining at Start Up. Simon Yates is stage chasing for Bike Exchange. Arkea picked Connor Swift (who is having a good season) and Dan McLay. There's also two surprise debuts for younger riders, Fred Wright at Bahrain and Mark Donovan at DSM.

There's always someone who gets sick or crashes in the run up to the race and Fabio Aru won that award this time, being removed from Qhubeka's team because of "physical problems" and replaced by Carlos Barbero.

[Me Old Flower]

Watching the TdF Team Presentation from Brittany, I had no idea that the Breton national anthem is basically Hen Wlad Fy Nhadau.

[ad hoc]

Froome doing his road captaining at Start Up Apartheid .

Fixed that for you

[jefe]

[Sits]

Perfecf timing, thanks jefe.

[elguapo4]

What a fucking idiot, luckily it seems most people are back on their bikes again, only one confirmed retirement so far

[longeared]

Just got back in in time to see a massive crash caused by a spectator which took down several including Roglic,van Aert, Alaphilippe, Sagan and Colbrelli. Le Tour, c'est le tour.