Tour de France 2024!

[Mr. Monkeyarms]

Very cool to see Cavendish break the record! It was a bit sad to see him miss out last year & sadder still if he couldn't get it done this year for whatever reason. I think he may have been a bit more focused in the off season to make sure it happened. Nice work Cav!!

 

[dnc1]

Amazing, Incredible, almost 20 years of winning at the very top level in so many races.
What a palmares, Chapeau!

 

[cyclingday]

Since Peter Sagan has pretty much retired from professional cycling, I’ve gravitated towards Mads Pedersen as being my guy in the mad dash for the finish.
So, as thrilling as it was to see Cav, finally get his 35th stage win, the flip side to that dramatic finish, was the horror of seeing my guy go down hard, right when everything was coming to a rapid boil.
Body surfing the asphalt at 70 km/h can be pretty traumatic.
But, these guys are tough, so it was a relief to hear that Mads will ride on to fight another day.
Well, at least I hope so?

fingers crossed for Mads!

 

[Schwinn Sales West]

I guess you could call me spoiled, but I have really enjoyed the France TV, NBC coverage of past Tour's. Not having a Peacock subscription or a smart TV, leaves me with the next best thing to watch each morning MARTY'S TOUR COVERAGE, COMENTARY, and PHOTOS.

Hopefully, he will not wise up and start billing us for a subscription to Marty's TV TDF Channel.

We appreciate your work in keep old guys informed.

John

 

[cyclingday]

Stage 6 seemed like a pretty easy day in the saddle for the riders, but something tells me, there’s no such thing in the Pro Peloton.
Bumping elbows with another 170+ riders for a little over a hundred miles, I’m sure, can be quite stressful.
But, this was about the flattest stage they’re going to see all race, so I’m sure, a nice controlled ride was just what the guys needed.
Tomorrow’s race against the clock, is going to test everyone’s abilities.
But, like all good things, they must come to an end, and today’s stage was no different, so the last 10 kilometers ramped up to be pretty dodgy.
In the end, it was the embattled rider, Dylan Groenwegen who would win the day by the width of a wheel rim.

Kind of a nice thing to see, as Groenwegen, has comeback full circle from his pariah status in the sport after his tangle with another rider, Fabio Jakobsen in the Tour of Poland a few years ago.
It was an ugly scene, that he seemed genuinely repentant about, and it seems that everyone has moved on from.
So, it was good to see, that things have got back to what makes this sport so beautiful to watch.
Good for the sport, and good for Dylan!
I’ve got a feeling, the stock in aerodynamic glasses is about to go up!

 

[cyclingday]

Lost in the scrum from yesterday’s finish, was this outstanding example of instinctive bike handling.

There was another phenomenal example of this, during the tour of the Basque Country earlier this year, when the first rider to go off the road in that horrific crash, bunny hopped the ditch, that ended up taking out most of the top guys in the pro peloton.
He just rolled to saftey on the other side of the ditch.
They need to teach these guys this stuff in training camp.
It’s a self preservation technique that has to be so ingrained, that it becomes instinctual.

 

[cyclingday]

Stage 7 was the race of truth.
You, your equipment, and the clock.
The fastest man wins!
Today’s stage went just about as expected, with the current world time trial champion, showing us why he is the current world time trial champion.
This guy is phenomenal!
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The top four solidified their positions with excellent performances by all.
Jonas Vingegaard was probably the most disappointed with his ride, but he still put down a great performance, considering his recovery from the catastrophic injuries he sustained in the Spring.
He lost a bit of time, but showed that he is still one of the very best at this discipline.
All in all, I think what was proven today, was that Pogacar, Vingegaard, and Roglic, are going to need to dispatch Evenepoel in the mountains, or they are going to be in trouble on the final time trial stage of this years tour.
If they don’t have a formidable lead going into the last day, I think this guy will be able to do whatever it takes to win.
Shades of Greg Lemond in 1989
Love it!

 

[Heatwave]

Awesome TT for Evenepoel. He just ground it out.

 

[cyclingday]

I’m looking forward to tomorrow’s stage 9 as it will include 14 “Gravel” sections for an interesting twist in the action.
Love it!

 

[cyclingday]