They just don’t make ‘em like they used to. C’mon... someone had to say it.
On today’s ride I got really mad at some clouds.

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They just don’t make ‘em like they used to. C’mon... someone had to say it.
There’s clearly value in Ala taking the yellow jersey back as he’s not expected to survive the Pyrenees. Pinot on the other hand will likely pay for his efforts today. It’s a long race.TonyM wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2019 10:26 pmThey knew that both will have an advantage to work together. But key was IMHO that they respect each other.AJS914 wrote:De Gendt did a great job. I loved the way Alaphilippe and Pinot immediately worked together with zero hesitation all the way to the line.
Actually I was surprised that nobody else went with the attack of Alaphilippe. I mean like Bernal, Thomas, etc...as Pinot seems to be have some GC ambitions.
Still quite nice to see some riders attacking!!Wookski wrote:There’s clearly value in Ala taking the yellow jersey back as he’s not expected to survive the Pyrenees. Pinot on the other hand will likely pay for his efforts today. It’s a long race.TonyM wrote: ↑Sat Jul 13, 2019 10:26 pmThey knew that both will have an advantage to work together. But key was IMHO that they respect each other.AJS914 wrote:De Gendt did a great job. I loved the way Alaphilippe and Pinot immediately worked together with zero hesitation all the way to the line.
Actually I was surprised that nobody else went with the attack of Alaphilippe. I mean like Bernal, Thomas, etc...as Pinot seems to be have some GC ambitions.
Yes, it’s wonderful!
Couldn't agree more. It was a reversal of roles as the Giro is usually more interesting. The first week of the Giro was like the Tour of old (a week full of bunch sprints followed by a TT). Deadly boring. The Parcours for the Tour this year has had just about everything and has made for a great race so far. It reminds me of the first week in 1969 when Merckx slaughtered everyone.
kkibbler wrote: WW remembers.
Why stage 12? I think he'll get over those mountains ok. I don't expect the GC guys to attack that hard as they are not mountain top finishes.... usually GC guys aren't as agressive on climbs that finish with descents because that puts a lot of pressure on them to descend fast to stay away and many of them aren't willing to risk it, with maybe the exception of Nibali... the Yates brothers go downhill pretty quickly, but I've also seen them go down when pushing hard. I think if Alaphillipe gets over the top of that final mountain on stage 12, he'll push the pace on the final descent to put the GC guys under pressure. He can also TT pretty well. I think he'll keep the yellow until after the TT.bikewithnoname wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 10:20 amI doubt Alaphilippe will be in yellow after stage 12, but he's certainly added some early interest to the GC. FDJ's TTT was pretty solid so maybe Pinot's improved his technique, that said Thomas looks the pick of the GC guys to take time in the ITT
I'm not sure that stage 12 will break Alaphilippe either. I've ridden these roads more often than I can count, the Col de Peyresourde is not too hard or steep as far as pyrénéan climbs go and they climb the Hourquette from it's harder side but it's still not a beast of a climb and the gradient is very even, once over the top of that small 1km uphill on the way down, it's a long way to go to the finish on very fast straightforward valley roads that don't need that much technical skills, not really a good place to get away even if your a better descender than most like Alaphilippe or Nibali. So I'm not sure the GC guys will try something that day with the following day's TT and the Tourmalet mountain top finish the day after that... unless a contender is clearly struggling that day and the others want to bury him. So I agree Alaphilippe could very well stay in yellow until the TT.CrankAddictsRich wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 9:00 pmWhy stage 12? I think he'll get over those mountains ok. I don't expect the GC guys to attack that hard as they are not mountain top finishes.... usually GC guys aren't as agressive on climbs that finish with descents because that puts a lot of pressure on them to descend fast to stay away and many of them aren't willing to risk it, with maybe the exception of Nibali... the Yates brothers go downhill pretty quickly, but I've also seen them go down when pushing hard. I think if Alaphillipe gets over the top of that final mountain on stage 12, he'll push the pace on the final descent to put the GC guys under pressure. He can also TT pretty well. I think he'll keep the yellow until after the TT.bikewithnoname wrote: ↑Sun Jul 14, 2019 10:20 amI doubt Alaphilippe will be in yellow after stage 12, but he's certainly added some early interest to the GC. FDJ's TTT was pretty solid so maybe Pinot's improved his technique, that said Thomas looks the pick of the GC guys to take time in the ITT
kkibbler wrote: WW remembers.
Woodsy and Porte would have dumped that for sure....