What a TdF for Denmark though. Starting the tour off there, stage wins for Court/Pedersen/Vindegaard, and the GC victory. Remarkable.
Pro Cycling 2022
- Thread starter Mike Smalling
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I’ve ridden/boozed with lots of the top cyclists from the period between 2002-2015.
I worked on The Tour itself a good few times, and went to other classics too. Spent time around some of the training villages.
It’s a huge time period and it wasn’t my day job. I just took time off to work and ride in the sunshine for a few weeks of the year. Some of the best experiences of my life and there are hundreds of them.
That Boonen story is oversold, but accurate. It’s not like he and I went out for a ride. The day started with 20-30 folks. In the Alps, some stopped for food and drink somewhere. A few of us cracked on and filled up bidons further up the hill. We rode for a couple of hours. Four of us finished the ride together and smashed back beers. I can’t remember the other lads name but he was riding for FDJ at the time.
The Tour and cycling in general is the most welcoming sport on the planet. I love it so much. Up at 7am. Breakfast in Provence, ride up Ventoux, eat some sweets, fly back down the hill racing crazy Belgians, eat, shower. Nap. Then party with the Madeleine girls from the tour caravan until the wee hours. Never lived as well and probably never will again.
Jumbo Visma have been the better team compared to UAE. UAE had 2 cases of COVID-19, on week 1 - then Marc Hirschi who was a late replacement for Trentin has also been recovering from COVID and has been a non-factor. Add Soler bout of sickness and Majka tearing his hammie after the chainsnap and it's just rotten luck. At some point it starts to add up w.r.t. to the GC fight, don't you agree?
Jonas has been a worthy winner. And Wout has been incredible throughout. But to mirror someone else's comments on the thread, Jonas just leaves me cold - dull personality and annoying face/voice/mannerisms. I understand Danes might not share that view
Fair enough, today he showed he deserves a lot more respect
Jumbo Visma have been the better team compared to UAE. UAE had 2 cases of COVID-19, on week 1 - then Marc Hirschi who was a late replacement for Trentin has also been recovering from COVID and has been a non-factor. Add Soler bout of sickness and Majka tearing his hammie after the chainsnap and it's just rotten luck. At some point it starts to add up w.r.t. to the GC fight, don't you agree?
Jonas has been a worthy winner. And Wout has been incredible throughout. But to mirror someone else's comments on the thread, Jonas just leaves me cold - dull personality and annoying face/voice/mannerisms. I understand Danes might not share that view
Of course, Jumbo-Visma have been the better team - I don't think anybody would deny that. They have had the strongest riders throughout, and arguably superior tactics as well. They have had a bit of bad luck as well with Roglic and Kruijswijk crashing out, but not anything really comparable to UAE.
My post was more a reaction to the suggestion that Vingegaard has been boring or riding overly defensive. He has done exactly what was needed to win the GC, and has been aggressive at the right times, which has now resulted in two stage wins and a massive GC gap. He also attacked on La Plance des Belles Filles almost winning the stage.
As for his personality and style as a rider, that's of course just an individual opinion. He has a fairly subdued personality that's for sure, and most people would probably agree that Pogacar has more swagger on the bike. I'm thrilled he is winning though, both because of his nationality, but also because it breaks the winning streak of Pogacar. Much more interesting when multiple riders are in contention.
Can’t be any debate that Vingegaard deserves this - he very much does. Can’t remember this debate about having the strongest team when Armstrong did it with US Postal or Froome, Wiggins and Bernal with Ineos recently. Teams assemble strong climbers alongside their GC contender, that’s only natural.
I think Pogacar underestimated Vingegaard whereas the latter has been focused on this Tour since his second place last year. On one hand I hope Pogacar keeps the same mindset and rides throughout the year; on the other hand I hope he refocuses on the Tour to show everyone else who’s boss in the peloton.
I think Pogacar underestimated Vingegaard whereas the latter has been focused on this Tour since his second place last year. On one hand I hope Pogacar keeps the same mindset and rides throughout the year; on the other hand I hope he refocuses on the Tour to show everyone else who’s boss in the peloton.
Lots of other teams would make him the captain and build a team to ride to his strengths. Don’t think it would do him any harm in classics. I just don’t get why a guy of his immense talent is content with spending half his time being a domestique.
All the jersey winners in the same shot.
Still, he will leave this Tour with at least two stage wins and the green jersey, while playing a massive role in his team winning the yellow jersey as well. Quite possibly, he will win at least one more stage. That's still a very good haul. Also, the Tour is just one race in the calendar, even if it is the biggest. There are plenty of other opportunities for race wins.
Even if the spotlight doesn't shine on him exclusively, he is in a very good situation with TJV.
Sounds awesome!
Jumbo Vista winning the Yellow, Green and King of the Mountains jerseys, with hardly half a team left, is pretty sensational.
Where did you find the time to dope??!
The whole tour Caravan is awash with cocaine, sleeping pills and various uppers. Was never a problems.
I once had a night out with Frank Vandenbroucke (RiP) and his entourage, used to work with one of his mates.
He was in before I got involved really. Tragic story though.
That Lampre kit of his era was perfect.
Fantastic day today for danish cycling. The culmination of some fantastic years with great results.
It’s on everyones lips and the buzz is huge. Probably of the biggest danish sporting achievements ever and certainly since the nineties. He will be remembered for this forever.
People who complain about him focusing more or less solely on the TdF this year.. I mean, come on. He is about to win the biggest race in the world by some margin by the looks of it. Something any rider would kill to be able to. No need to risk his form, when he and his team has found it realistic to challenge for the top spot in the Tour.
Now he’s got the world at his feet, and has proven, not only for himself, but his employer and teammates, that he is capable of great things. From now on he can look at other races and objectives. He’s a late bloomer, so he is still a young rider.
That being said, Pogacar is obviously a phenomenon and will surely have a longer list of wins at the end of their careers.
It’s on everyones lips and the buzz is huge. Probably of the biggest danish sporting achievements ever and certainly since the nineties. He will be remembered for this forever.
People who complain about him focusing more or less solely on the TdF this year.. I mean, come on. He is about to win the biggest race in the world by some margin by the looks of it. Something any rider would kill to be able to. No need to risk his form, when he and his team has found it realistic to challenge for the top spot in the Tour.
Now he’s got the world at his feet, and has proven, not only for himself, but his employer and teammates, that he is capable of great things. From now on he can look at other races and objectives. He’s a late bloomer, so he is still a young rider.
That being said, Pogacar is obviously a phenomenon and will surely have a longer list of wins at the end of their careers.
All the jersey winners in the same shot.
I'm glad the polka dot belongs to the best climber, Jonas. Getschke is not even close to being that
Pretty epic "end" to the Tour yesterday. Credit for Pogacar for fighting but Jumbo and Vingegaard just too strong.
Great homage from Jonas to win on the stage over Aubisque to Hautacam where the two previous greatest Danish moments in cycling happened:
and
Great homage from Jonas to win on the stage over Aubisque to Hautacam where the two previous greatest Danish moments in cycling happened:
and
Pretty epic "end" to the Tour yesterday. Credit for Pogacar for fighting but Jumbo and Vingegaard just too strong.
Great homage from Jonas to win on the stage over Aubisque to Hautacam where the two previous greatest Danish moments in cycling happened:
and
Let's just hope and assume that's where the similarities end!
Pretty epic "end" to the Tour yesterday. Credit for Pogacar for fighting but Jumbo and Vingegaard just too strong.
Great homage from Jonas to win on the stage over Aubisque to Hautacam where the two previous greatest Danish moments in cycling happened:
and
Feel a bit sorry for the guy with the media banging on about him following in the footsteps of those cnuts.
Pretty epic "end" to the Tour yesterday. Credit for Pogacar for fighting but Jumbo and Vingegaard just too strong.
Great homage from Jonas to win on the stage over Aubisque to Hautacam where the two previous greatest Danish moments in cycling happened:
and
Justice for Michael Rasmussen! Should have won that Tour - don’t tell me the other guys weren’t doping.
God how lame is this UAE team? Poga after a bike change is dragging all his teammates back to the peloton.
Let's just hope and assume that's where the similarities end!
This Danish guy is the closest thing to the Kenyan dawg I have seen.
Not breathing is the new marginal gains !
So is Jumbo-Visma the new Festina or U.S. Postal?
New Telekom clearly, first team since them to get Green and Yellow with a Danish champion.
This also makes me happy as it'll mean next year the new Ulle will dethrone Vingegaard from within their team.
So, today is the day it is all settled. It would have to take an extremely bad day for Vingegaard to lose it (bad crash or several mechanicals), but you never know.
Currently, Wout is looking good to win the TT stage. I hope he does, so he or Jumbo-Visma don't come home emptyhanded.
Currently, Wout is looking good to win the TT stage. I hope he does, so he or Jumbo-Visma don't come home emptyhanded.
What an insane Tour for van Aert, Vingegaard and Jumbo in general.
When Vingegaard nearly crashed close to the cliff, my heart was like "Yeah, Imma accelerate this pumping to a 180 bpm." fecking hell.
Great performance from Vingegaard today. Just showed what a great TT rider he is as well. Had he not slowed down to enjoy it towards the end, it would have been really tight, but I think he probably lost the chance of winning with his near miss in that turn.
Wout van Aert might not have won the GC, but he is arguably the rider of this Tour. It is absolutely incredible what he has done. Sprint wins, TT win, wild breakaways, saving Vingegaard on the cobble stage, dropping Pogacar on the last climb, etc. Unreal performance. No wonder the emotions bubbled over after today. And he still has a pretty decent chance tomorrow!
Wout van Aert might not have won the GC, but he is arguably the rider of this Tour. It is absolutely incredible what he has done. Sprint wins, TT win, wild breakaways, saving Vingegaard on the cobble stage, dropping Pogacar on the last climb, etc. Unreal performance. No wonder the emotions bubbled over after today. And he still has a pretty decent chance tomorrow!
I think Jonas was happy to let Wout win the TT stage
Jonas drinking his champagne before it turns to... vinegaar
Wout certainly indicated that Vingegaard gave him the stage. Vingegaard said himself that it was a 19 second gap anyway, and that he probably wouldn't have won if he had gone flat out. Doesn't really matter in the end - they both got what they really wanted.
I'm backing Philipsen for the sprint today. Jakobsen and Ewan have looked very tired, so not sure how much they have left, and Wout gave absolutely everything yesterday. Hoping for Pedersen though.
I think Caleb Ewan based on absolutely nothing...
Missed the final stage but happy for Philipsen, two stages, including the most prestigious one on the entire calendar for a sprinter, is a great haul for him.
What a Tour. It's easily the best one I've seen, full of brilliant attacking riding. Van Aert's individual Tour is probably the greatest I can remember from a non-GC rider. I'm obviously biased but he was the highlight of these three weeks for me, with Pogacar and Vingegaard just behind him. Admirable performance from Geraint Thomas as well.
Biggest disappointment, it has to be said: van der Poel. I have no idea what his team were thinking, letting him ride this program. Injury disrupted his preparation to the season, which is unfortunate and you can't do anything about that. However, knowing that, why on earth would you let him ride the Giro almost immediately after the classics season, AND the Tour shortly after that? It feels like a shocking lack of professionalism. He hadn't even finished a single grand tour before this season. Can you imagine something like that happening at a team like Jumbo Visma?
Other disappointment, though hardly surprising: the entire Lotto-Soudal team. They had a shocker, especially Ewan. And I guess Astana as well, but yeah, whatever, not a team I care about.
What a Tour. It's easily the best one I've seen, full of brilliant attacking riding. Van Aert's individual Tour is probably the greatest I can remember from a non-GC rider. I'm obviously biased but he was the highlight of these three weeks for me, with Pogacar and Vingegaard just behind him. Admirable performance from Geraint Thomas as well.
Biggest disappointment, it has to be said: van der Poel. I have no idea what his team were thinking, letting him ride this program. Injury disrupted his preparation to the season, which is unfortunate and you can't do anything about that. However, knowing that, why on earth would you let him ride the Giro almost immediately after the classics season, AND the Tour shortly after that? It feels like a shocking lack of professionalism. He hadn't even finished a single grand tour before this season. Can you imagine something like that happening at a team like Jumbo Visma?
Other disappointment, though hardly surprising: the entire Lotto-Soudal team. They had a shocker, especially Ewan. And I guess Astana as well, but yeah, whatever, not a team I care about.
How the feck has Frain not been DSQ after this? Read the room ffs, the riders in front of you haven't stopped so you can slalom past them at full speed.
That's pretty outrageous. She also hit the ground pretty hard herself - lucky not to break a collar bone or something.
Even if it's improving, you still see some weird shit in women's cycling on occasion.
You should hear Nicole Frain's reaction afterwards, it's insane in my opinion: (text is in Dutch but the video has her reaction) https://www.eurosport.nl/wielrennen...eel-in-grote-valpartij_vid1721616/video.shtml
She doesn't even seem to realize she did something wrong. Utterly irresponsible and should've been DQ'ed immediately. Cavalli suffered some form of head trauma and it could've been so much worse.
She doesn't even seem to realize she did something wrong. Utterly irresponsible and should've been DQ'ed immediately. Cavalli suffered some form of head trauma and it could've been so much worse.
She's now changed up her story quite a bit on her Twitter / Instagram.
Danish TV would fit well in here, live streaming him landing today as well as tracking the plane live on flight tracker. TV coverage started several hours even before he landed in DK
Big day today
That's incredibly Danish, to be fair. Gotta make the most of it, whenever there is a notable sports achievement.
Edit: Full-on F-16 fighter jet flyby in the airport. Come on
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