79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 07/06/2021 10:45 AM |
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Another D-QS masterpiece. The whole stage. Perhaps as boring as a Sky train. The whole day for Cavendish, then he delivers. And once again, that late, hard pull from the closest rider D-QS has to a GC man. (In the rainbow stripes, no less.)
Last year today's winner was ferrying WBs. Now he has the WC as domestique. Quite a team. |
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huckleberry
Posts:824
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| 07/06/2021 11:55 AM |
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DQS - the best "team" out there.
Ineos, the furthest from a "team" in the peloton. |
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mondonico
Posts:158
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| 07/06/2021 07:33 PM |
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| Can is a whole other person now. His teams just kills themselves for hime and he repays them with his wins and shows how much they all love each other. Have never seen this before in cycling. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/06/2021 08:13 PM |
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Quite the story.
If he makes Paris in green he could not possibly ask for a better retirement point. He’ll be too pricey for Patrick after this. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 07/06/2021 08:44 PM |
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| If Cav ties or passes Eddy in stage wins, it would be really cool for Eddy to congratulate him in person, and in public - a photo op for the ages. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/07/2021 08:49 AM |
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Ineos, the furthest from a "team" in the peloton
No, that honor goes to Movistar! 
If Cav can make all the time cuts (still a big if), he’ll certainly break the record this year. And he better hope he does because I don’t know if he can do it with another team next year, and as noted, it may be tough for Lefevre to afford him next year. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 07/07/2021 12:12 PM |
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Cav and teammates pull it off. Seven minutes to spare. Not even close! (I'd like to know what software they have to manage the gap. More specifically, the math.)
Pogacar and Ineos? Is Ineos trying to adapt Pogacar? Does UAE have Ineos on retainer? Ineos spent the whole day managing the race for Pogacar. He could hardly have asked for better. And when he really needed help high on Ventoux, he had Carapaz for assistance. 6000' above sea level and after 8-10,000' of climbing, could you ask for better?
No glory for D-QS today. Alaphillippe didn't have it (any surprise after the quality work he has done for Cav?). He did get the jersey on camera for a while. The team horsepower was back in the gruppetto assisting Cav. Job well done. They live to showcase the jersey some more. |
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mondonico
Posts:158
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| 07/07/2021 10:42 PM |
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| To me another great stage. A rider that came less than foot from beating one of the all time greats in a sprint to winning one of the toughest stages in Tour history. Someone finally showed a tiny crack in the armor of T.P. Again a team showed how much love they have for one another. Not because It's always just about winning. |
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zootracer
Posts:833
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| 07/08/2021 11:43 PM |
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| Sagan pulled out prior to start of stage 12. Knee injury. Too bad... |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 07/09/2021 06:22 AM |
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| That injury was from Ewan taking him out earlier. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 07/09/2021 10:38 AM |
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I read in the CyclingNews race commentary that Tim Declercq of D-QS has never won a race (at 34 yo). Got thinking the man should be given MVP status for just how much he does to create team wins. There's a break up the road with real horsepower. You (as DS) know you have to control the race for that 40 km of open country and that you can easily waste your whole train doing it. But you have Declercq. Put him there and save everybody else! 40 km later, the break hasn't gained one second. Declercq peels off, spent. Sprint teams come to the fore, the break gets reeled in. Last 10 km, the famous D-QS train goes to work and delivers the appointed sprinter to the perfect take-off (with that train at full power because of that guy, Declercq, who will show up 15 minutes later with the gruppetto).
I hope he doesn't have more than bruises and road rash from today's spill. That maybe he can even enjoy not being part of the work! (He gets his little break - and yet another pay bonus as Cav matches the great EM. What a team! Morkov even hanging on to finish second and deny points to the green jersey rivals; all of whom save Philipsen were not even in the top 10.) I see that Merckx doesn't feel threatened! Glad for Cavendish who has come back from so much. Points out that his wins were in sprints, long breaks, in the mountains, in TTs, he has 5 yellow jerseys and he spent 96 days - or 4 1/2 entire Tours - wearing them. Modest Eddy.
Edit: back to the D-QS team. Is there a better team at adjusting to road situations and stepping up as needed? Today, down one diesel. Still, the train runs on schedule, drops off Cav a little early who simply steps up, adjusts, goes long and still pulls it off. On a day when the entire cycling world knew he was a marked man. And on a Tour full of crashes, they have kept their sponsor showcases safe.
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 07/09/2021 11:43 AM |
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I thought DQS had blown it on that lefthand sweeper in the final KM when they got swamped by DSM and Bahrain....Cav was pretty far back at that point (15-20th spot, it looked like).
But DQS got it back together and Cav worked his way back up. Very impressive.
As for the record, yes, technically he has tied it, but I don't really think there is any comparison between the two. Eddy's TdF career was shorter and had a vast variety of stage wins. The sport has changed drastically since his days and a sprinter racking up the same number of stages as him isn't really the same thing.
Not taking anything away form Cav...to equal the record (especially after his last few years) is impressive as hell. But it is just a different yardstick, IMO. |
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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 07/09/2021 09:42 PM |
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| Yes Cav is "merely" rounding out a great career and Merckx is still the Babe Ruth, Gretzky and Pele of cycling, and likely will be for a long time to come, Cav is goat with a small g and Eddy is GOAT in all caps. No one is claiming otherwise. Counterpoint: But still there IS a legit comparison: We are saying Cav and Merckx in the same sentence, and often in a good way for Cav. How many other riders have that honor? I can name a handful, but for most it was a briefer flame, like Thevenet and Guimard. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 07/10/2021 10:20 AM |
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| Bauke! |
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huckleberry
Posts:824
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| 07/10/2021 10:24 AM |
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Great 40K time trial!
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