Posted By Dale Dale on 07/02/2021 09:48 AM
Stage 7.... (insert jaw dropping emoji here)
I saw that break with so many names in it go and thought "this is going to be a very long day for a whole bunch of domestiques". A "why did I pick this profession?" kind of day. A quiet dinner table tonight.
Van Aert and Van der Poel are gifts to today's racing. They come to play. So far from 3-week Skybots! I'd love to see JA up there with them but between tomorrow's mountains and the pulls he's done for his teammate, I'll give him a pass.
As I see it, winners today - Nibali and Thomas. (Thomas,"st" - same time - for not doing a whole lot in today's crazy race; pretty close to priceless.) Losers - Roglic obviously and Carapaz; a whole lotta work for nothing. I'm guessing Capapaz can hold his own tomorrow but he really needs to shine when the opportunity is there.
Edit: funny, I was thinking as I made coffee before firing up the computer that the this week tours, the TdF, is the physically hardest regularly scheduled athletic event on the planet and recalled seeing the bare chested Greg Lemond after his win looking emancipated. Then, but the domestiques don't have it so bad. They have their hard moments and hours but also get some not so hard days. (Well there are the Tony Martins and Tim Declercqs of the peloton.)
Get on-line and watch this! A break with the Vans, Nibali, Yates, Asgreen ... The GC front runner not on a team that can Postal/Sky pull the peloton forever. Didn't matter where you were in the peoloton. As soon as you saw that break go, you knew today is not going to be fun. But for us fans? Gold! Real bike racing!
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