re: 111: TDF Poggie Genetics Harder than You. Fin.

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Phil needs to retire, it’s so sad and annoying he’s messing these sprints up.

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Phil has been "off" for over 20 years. Paul Sherwen spent a lot of time correcting him and Bob simply doesn't have the bandwidth (or the balls) to keep him on track. Still love Phil though.

Just caught up today, have been a day behind since the second stage. Remco out in a helluva effort on a course that was made for Tadej. I am a Pog fan but it would be nice to see a Belgian on the top step.

Happy for Cav. He and the Cannibal got to their numbers in very different ways. Cav as the greatest sprinter and Eddy and the greatest all rounder. There will never be another rider that is in serious contention for points, mountain and GC at the start of every GT the way Merckx was. Grand Tours, stage races, ITTs, Monuments, classics, track, and hour records there was simply nothing Eddy couldn't do on a bike. Hate to say Cav inching toward retirement there is just no other sprinter that gets me exited in the field.

Girmay gets another one. Those guys seemed like they were moving slower than usual. The finish wasn’t even close.

Biniam Girmay with another stage win!

I was just in Botswana and it seems the whole continent is pulling for this guy. Let’s go Africa!!

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Incredible timing.

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Kinda ironic but his ability to just grind the guys in front of them down till he's the only guy left is very Cavendish. So much fun to watch

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Anyone here have any idea how tomorrow might go? I have know idea what gravel might be in France? It’s not Strade in Italy or cobbles in northern France. The European forums think it could be carnage with the expected winds and the gravel. There is a rest day tomorrow so somebody will probably try something.

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I saw a short interview with Tadej and he said it would be difficult but not technical. Seems like the last hour or so could have some drama. If Pogacar does what he did at Strade, GC could be over tomorrow.

bicycling.com
In 2022, Stage 4 the Tour de France Femmes raced over the white gravel roads of the Champagne region of northeastern France. Now the men get their turn on Stage 9 of the 2024 Tour de France, with 32km of white gravel roads on tap during a 199km stage that starts and finishes in Troyes....
The organizers have given each sector a rating—from 1- to 3-stars—and luckily (for the riders) the race passes over most of the hardest 3-star sectors early in the stage....
The final hour of the stage should be the most intense, as a final cluster of six gravel sectors begins just as the riders exit the Orient Forest after passing through it on their way back to Troyes. These sectors are all crammed into the final 33km and there’s not much asphalt in between them. There will be little time for riders to recover as they pass from one sector to the next, making the racing here some of the most exciting of the entire Tour.

The final two sectors are the longest in this final set of sectors. Both given 2-star ratings, Sectors 2 and 1 are 2.2km and 3km long respectively, with the final sector coming just 6.5km from the finish lines in Troyes. That makes them the perfect place for attacks from riders hoping to win the stage–or create gaps among the Tour’s GC contenders.

Luckily, the weather on Sunday is forecast to be much nicer than it was during Stage 8, with temperatures in the high-60s and partly cloudy skies. Rain would have made Stage 9 even more dangerous than it already is, and luckily the roads will be dry....

The Netherlands’ Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Deceuninck)—arguably the best Classics rider in the sport—won Strade Bianche in 2021 with a crushing attack on the final climb. The Dutchman was conspicuously absent at the end of Saturday’s Stage 8, a stage on which he could’ve provided a valuable lead-out to Belgium’s Jasper Philipsen—or perhaps win the race himself. Our guess is that the Dutchman was saving himself for Stage 9, where he’s the favorite to take a Tour de France stage win while wearing the rainbow jersey as the sport’s reigning world champion....

And last but not least there’s Pogacar himself, who won Strade Bianche in 2022 and then again this year. His victory a few months ago was perhaps one of the most dominant of his career: attacking a little more than 50km from the finish line in Siena, the Slovenian simply rode away from the rest of the field after some impressive work from his team laid the foundation for his leg-breaking acceleration. If Pogacar delivers a similar performance on the white gravel roads of Stage 9, the 2024 Tour de France could be over before the first Rest Day.

My pick is MVDP winning the stage with Pogacar in second. MVDP is 58 minutes back on Pogacar, so I can see Pogacar putting time into the GC guys and letting MVDP have the stage. If he adds big time on the GC guys, I don't know that he can be reeled in and this year's TDF might be over.

Remco got killed in a similar stage in Tuscany in the Giro a couple years ago and is not known as a good bike handler. Will be interested to see if he can hang in.

MVDP should win

Tragedy at the Tour of Austria yesterday.

Andre Drege dies after crash on descent of the Grossglockner. There are not many witnesses so it is unclear what really happened.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andre-drege-dies-age-25-following-crash-at-tour-of-austria/

Jonas, Remco, Pog break from everyone and catch the break then all sit up and let the break go again.

That’s just badass

No Jonas is still on Tranik’s bike.

Would really like a Pidcock win today. He’s been fun to watch and took him pre-stage +3700. Pog was +2500 so had to take him too

Matteo is a badass.