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Fattest BQ on record--- *allegedly
2016 (and last) Rev3 Cedar Point champ- don't google the time though
But when it's my time
to throw the next stone
I call you beautiful
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-or-
"Rednecks aren't only in North America"
On to the finish: Holy hell Groenewegen. Where'd that kick come from?
Valverde has more points towards the Green Jersey than Cavendish.
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Judging by my lack of points for Gaviria, he didn’t get to keep third
Fattest BQ on record--- *allegedly
2016 (and last) Rev3 Cedar Point champ- don't google the time though
King Of All Gifs and King of All Bike Photos
Fattest BQ on record--- *allegedly
2016 (and last) Rev3 Cedar Point champ- don't google the time though
Bad day for guys named Martin, with Tony and Dan both losing a lot of hit points in that crash. Tony's tour is over, and Dan lost a minute-odd today on the GC. It's probably a good thing he has a stage win already, because tomorrow is going to that old cliché for him: "An exercise in survival." I would be amazed if he doesn't lose massive minutes.
Stage 9 Preview
So phase 1 of the Tour wraps up tomorrow with a climactic finale on the cobbles of Northern France. Expect GC hopes to be dashed as the teams heavy on one-day racers aim to shred everyone to pieces before having the favour returned to them on Tuesday in the mountains.
Not all GC riders are hopeless on this terrain. Nibali did wonders for his Tour here a few years back, and has shown some good results in one-day races (mostly the Italian ones...). GT was a rock-solid one-day racer with several top tens on his c.v. before focusing on stage racing. Valverde is probably the best one-week racer in history, and will probably hold his own here. Dumoulin will be looking to make up some time here, and he's solid enough that he should survive the cobbles. Froome, well...
Less proven northern-terrain guys like Uran, Landa, Quintana etc will suffer tomorrow. Porte is a question mark, because while I don't think he has the chops for this terrain, his team sure as hell does. If he sits on GVA's wheel all day, he'll be fine.
The favourites for the day come from the Classics specialists. Sagan won here earlier in the year and with Oss on his team to power him along, he should be the favourite. But Gilbert still has a shot at yellow with a win, so expect to Wolfpack to be doing everything they can to launch him.
My sleeper picks for the day are Terpstra (QSF), Colbrelli (Bahrain), Moscon (Sky) if he is given some leash, and Benoot, who showed a lot of promise earlier this year when he won the Strade Bianche.
Really happy for the rest day swap.
Sincerely,
Everyone with Porte
Fattest BQ on record--- *allegedly
2016 (and last) Rev3 Cedar Point champ- don't google the time though
Motorgate from Tom Skujins?
Fattest BQ on record--- *allegedly
2016 (and last) Rev3 Cedar Point champ- don't google the time though
Dan Martin to lose time - wrong. Picked up bonus seconds, even.
GC guys - mostly held up. But I lost Porte and Quintana made it through.
My dark horses: Moscon looked good early on, lost 14 minutes by the end? Terpstra taken out by one of @Robert Rankin 's Cofidis riders. Colbrelli wiped out by TGV. (You would expect TGV to bounce off Colbrelli like a gnat.)
Props to Bardet today, and the Pro Conti teams (Barguil? Really?), and of course Degenkolb.
Sagan played the "I-have-a-jersey-and-already-won-in-Roubaix-once-this-year" card perfectly. Meaning he did nothing to catch the leaders at the end. I get it. No one wants to help him, and he gets pissed, but given that he was relieved of Maja-Sherpa duties today, you expected a touch more.
75k of Danish ass
Who doesn't like it when the Yellow Jersey attacks on pavé?
Oliver Naesen tries to vault Rafal Majka
Froome tries out for Team France. Didn't draw a yellow card, so if forced to chase back on.
VIRTUAL GC AMONG THE CONTENDERS
1. Geraint Thomas (Team Sky), 35:08:00
2. Alejandro Valverde (Movistar), at 0:48
3. Rafal Majka (Bora-Hansgrohe), at 0:49
4. Jakob Fuglsang (Astana), at 0:50
5. Chris Froome (Team Sky), at 0:59
6. Adam Yates (Mitchelton-Scott), at same time
7. Mikel Landa (Movistar), at same time
8. Vincenzo Nibali (Bahrain-Merida), at 1:05
9. Primoz Roglic (LottoNL-Jumbo), at 1:14
10. Tom Dumoulin (Sunweb), at 1:20
11. Romain Bardet (Ag2r La Mondiale), at 1:49
12. Ilnur Zakarin (Katusha-Alpecin), at 1:59
13. Nairo Quintana (Movistar), at 2:07
14. Rigoberto Uran (EF Education First-Drapac), at 2:10
15. Dan Martin (UAE-Team Emirates), at 2:39
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Pretty disappointed in Twitter. Read about Skujins then finally saw the video. Apparently spinning your back wheel into the proper gear after a wreck is the same as a motor now?
Fattest BQ on record--- *allegedly
2016 (and last) Rev3 Cedar Point champ- don't google the time though
King Of All Gifs and King of All Bike Photos
How did Bardet get back on 3 times? So odd that most GC guys really struggled to get back to the group but the one French GC hopeful managed to do it 3 times. Must be that powerhouse TTT team he has.
As for Bora, why did they go with a two leader approach? Why not all in for Sagan? I realize Majka is sitting well in the GC standings currently, but it won't hold up. If nothing else, he will bleed time in the TT. He fades in 1 week races, no way he remains up top unless there are serious issues for the real contenders. Sagan is a rockstar - even if Majka podiums in the overall it will draw much less attention than a Sagan wheelie in the groupetto.
As for Sagan missing the move yesterday, he was too far back when it went and each rider in the front group had a teammate in the chase marking Sagan's attempts to bridge. I don't think it was lack of effort on his part, but by the time he worked to the front of the chase the damage was done and the gap was set. Perhaps a moment of inattentiveness, but they were attacking pretty consistently so you can't mark every move (unless you are PG).
i'm just gonna leave this one here... what in the world?!
unofficial non-general counsel for TRS Racing and other TRS-related entities
Valverde displays with a red X. I tried clicking on "Complete Team" but that doesn't seem to do anything. Is there something I need to do to get this change accepted or will the red X automatically disappear with the stage start?
also, if someone's gonna have a motor, is it Skujins?
unofficial non-general counsel for TRS Racing and other TRS-related entities
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