Tour de šŸ‡«šŸ‡· FEMMES fan page

@Craig.Quarmby Agreed - he stayed on Tadejā€™s wheel on every attack - saving some energy in the process and when Tadej finally cracked he put the hammer down in a big way. Lots of race left. Letā€™s see how things go in the Pyrenees and also how the riders handle the heat.

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Was quite sad to hear that Primoz Roglic had to withdraw from the race due to injuries from the crash just a couple days ago :frowning:
I was rooting for that good man having come so close to actually winning the TdF 2 years ago.

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Sometimes the water domestique is the most important person. Toms Skujins ā€œwearsā€ 10 water bottles for delivery to his team mates.

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Well, Stages 16 and 17 were long on anticipation, but short on actual action.

Looks like Stage 18 is going to be a barn burner or a bust. And that will determine just how interesting Stage 20 will be.

Noted today that the final mountain domestique for both Pogacar and Vingegaard were Americans. Kuss and McNulty. McNulty was on a good day and Kuss seemed to be tired from his efforts yesterday on Stage 16.

Hoping for some excitement on Stage 18, but wonā€™t be surprised if very little changes.

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We fans have nutty expectations (I include myself). Two guys leave everyone else behind riding harder than most pros can dream of let alone the rest of usā€”and we are unhappy that didnā€™t do it in a spirited enough way.

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Can we agree that the top 2 in yesterdayā€™s stage 17 did The Trick pretty well? Haha
I found it a little bit anti-climatic as well watching the highlights just a moment ago. The only takeaway was knowing that Bardet managed to limit his losses from the day before and climb back up to 6th and thatā€™s about it.

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I read a post-race interview somewhere that Kuss felt he was having a good day, but it was McNulty that went nuclear.

Iā€™m very conflicted by this whole TdF: I so hope that JV (Jumbo Visma / Jonas VingegĆ„rd) brings home the yellow. However, I canā€™t shake the fact that Tadej is working so hard to win it and riding so strong, that I feel that he deserves it. And then Geraint Thomas: heā€™s riding a better TdF than the year heā€™s won it (in terms of W/kg), his performance is fantastic. Absolutely magnificent race.

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Well, Sepp Kuss and WVA both tried to upstage McNulty on todayā€™s stage.

Another crazy stage. Fantastic to watch. The Green jersey wearer just isnā€™t supposed to be able to do those kind of things. That was insane watching him join the breakaway and then still be able to lead the top riders nearly up to the top of the final climb.

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So shout out to the Canucks Stage 16! Houle and Woodsy on the podium! My coverage is from Eurosport. Great analysis of the stages and the commentary especially Robbie Mcewan and Sean Kelly is very informative and entertaining!

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A shout-out to the class of Jonas Vingegaard! With 2 JV riders in the break, and Jonas V saying the Hautacam was a climb that suited him, a repeat of Stage 11 was always on the cards. But Jonas waiting for Tadej after he crashed turned it from being just superb tactics and physical ability to outstanding class!!!

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Thatā€™s the most sportsman behavior I have seen in a long time since I started watching highlights of these major races. Remember back then when Tom Dumoulin was leading the Giro dā€™Italia and had a tummy upset, and who was that who attacked?

But those two out at the front, they were just awesome! Thereā€™s still 1 more stage with 2 category 4 climb and 1 ITT left, so itā€™s kind like all to play for.
Letā€™s hope there wonā€™t be some kind of heart break for Jumbo Visma again.

Geraint Thomas, despite his age of 36, heā€™s riding at his best form since he won the Tour.

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Bar illness or injury I think we have our winner. Vingegaard has been so strong throughout and, with the same plan in place as with Stage 11, he had such confidence that he could pull off the plan that he could be that incredible sportsperson and wait for his rival. Not only has Pogacar now conceded the race publicly but with such a gesture to the Cycling gods I think Vingegaard has earned both ethereal protection and pack protection from a peloton that will be tipping their peaks in respect to him.
Second place could change though depending on how Pogacar recovers (mentally - he must feel really beaten, as well as physically after that fall) - Thomas has been so consistent. It would be a shame, with the rivalry itā€™s been, if Pogacar does not hold onto second.

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Adding in the heat, this has been a monster tour, with chapeaux up and down the peloton.

Iā€™m still deeply engaged in the ā€œraceā€ for Lanterne Rouge, where Caleb Ewan is ā€œleadingā€ his two LS teammates by 7min, as theyā€™ve dropped back to help him finish within time all the way through the Pyrenees.

Crazy that CALEB EWAN could end up Lanterne Rouge. But heā€™s been talking about wanting to challenge for one of the last stages, which sets up the remote possibility that Fabio Jakobsen could sneak in to finish last (heā€™s not been feeling well the past week).

Which sets up the possibility of a STAGE WINNER winning the Lanterne Rouge!

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Also hats off to Jumbo Visma as a team, who could literally win everything on offer in the tour if only they had a young enough rider to unseat Pogacar for the white jerseyā€¦or Vingegaard was 18 months younger.

KOM was cursed this year. MCN and Geschke both worked SO hard trying to defend the jersey.

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Pogacar is such a good Time Trialist and is also over 4:30 in front of Thomas that I donā€™t think Pogacar could fall into 3rd place unless he intentionally tanked it or quit. Heā€™s further ahead of Thomas than he is behind Vingegaard. So I canā€™t see that as even being a possibility.

And he also attacked today on Stage 19 - despite being flat - so he definitely isnā€™t acting defeated. And with a lack of strong sprinting teams, maybe this will be the year a breakaway wins the final stage. Maybe Pogacar will try to win in a field sprint again WVA. :rofl:

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Yep, great to see today. If there was going to be a fall in positioning it would have been today that set it up.

Will be interesting to see what WVA does over next 2 stages. Has he done too much to be able to target either one of them? And surely he wouldnā€™t target both. But then again he is WVA!

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That would not be that big of a surprise!

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The way this TdF is being raced, the breakaway is going to be winning in Paris :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

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First thing I did this morning when I woke up was to catch the highlights of stage 19 and was wow-ed by the strong show of Tadej Pogacar. Heā€™s clearly gotten over what happened when he was distanced by Jonas Vingegaard and Wout van Aert.

Not surprised if he upsets the entire Jumbo Visma team again by snatching Yellow back on the time trial. Really canā€™t wait to see the ITT stage this year.

BTW, Pogacar is definitely a Sufferlandrian. Maybe he should given an honourary Knighthood? :sweat_smile:

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