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TdF 2023


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Wonderful tributes from the peleton for Cav with great words from Pedersen, Pogacar and Vingegaard and true respect and a welcome back anytime from Prudhomme. Perhaps the best though was from the great Ralf Aldag who while expressing his sadness reminded us that his achievements could not be diminished. As he said if he'd won a 35th stage would he be regarded as the greatest bike rider of all time, probably not. Does his 34 stage wins make him the best sprinter of all time, yes. 

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12 minutes ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

Wonderful tributes from the peleton for Cav with great words from Pedersen, Pogacar and Vingegaard and true respect and a welcome back anytime from Prudhomme. Perhaps the best though was from the great Ralf Aldag who while expressing his sadness reminded us that his achievements could not be diminished. As he said if he'd won a 35th stage would he be regarded as the greatest bike rider of all time, probably not. Does his 34 stage wins make him the best sprinter of all time, yes. 

And several of Mercxx's wins were prologues and TTs. Only Cav has won 34 full length TdF race stages.

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56 minutes ago, Frenchay Red said:

And several of Mercxx's wins were prologues and TTs. Only Cav has won 34 full length TdF race stages.

While that's true Mercxx remains the best of all time. He competed in pretty much everything and didn't just beat his opponents but often mullered them including winning mountain top finishes. A true GC rider. 

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59 minutes ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

While that's true Mercxx remains the best of all time. He competed in pretty much everything and didn't just beat his opponents but often mullered them including winning mountain top finishes. A true GC rider. 

True, but unlike Cav, tested positive for banned substances on more than one occasion.

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Agree with all that’s been said. Absolutely gutted. 
Hey, since he found himself in such good form, what are the chances he thinks - yeah, let’s try one more TDF in 24! No doubt a team will give him a 1 year contract - if only for the publicity they’d get!! 

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8 hours ago, Harry said:

Agree with all that’s been said. Absolutely gutted. 
Hey, since he found himself in such good form, what are the chances he thinks - yeah, let’s try one more TDF in 24! No doubt a team will give him a 1 year contract - if only for the publicity they’d get!! 

I said the same to someone else yesterday. Knowing the sort of character Cav is, I suspect this will eat away at him for a bloody long time if he does bow out like that. 

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3 hours ago, tin said:

I said the same to someone else yesterday. Knowing the sort of character Cav is, I suspect this will eat away at him for a bloody long time if he does bow out like that. 

Interesting development. Vinokourov has said he’d be open to offering Cav another 1 year contract……. 

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1 hour ago, Harry said:

Interesting development. Vinokourov has said he’d be open to offering Cav another 1 year contract……. 

Just read that on BBC Sport. Doesn’t surprise me, given Vinokourov‘s his DS. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t accept it, to be fair, but time will tell. If he does, he’ll be the new Valverde in terms of being the grandad of the peloton!

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48 minutes ago, tin said:

Just read that on BBC Sport. Doesn’t surprise me, given Vinokourov‘s his DS. I’d be surprised if he doesn’t accept it, to be fair, but time will tell. If he does, he’ll be the new Valverde in terms of being the grandad of the peloton!

It'll be a family decision if he does. He puts great store in family life. 

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8 minutes ago, Markthehorn said:

Seems to have been a much more intense and difficult first week than usual .

I think it`s because they started in the Basque Country which meant the Pyrenees came earlier than usual. I thought when I saw the stage guide though that there seemed to be a lot more climbing this year and more summit finishes.

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Great 2 races in one today. Fantastic race for the stage and another for the GC where Pogacar puts down another marker. Ineos showed up well today with Rodriguez and Pidcock and another good showing from the Yates twins. After a brutal first week the riders have earned their rest day tomorrow. 

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1 hour ago, Rob k said:

Had to feel a bit for Jorgenson there, gave it absolutely everything but had nothing left at all 

Yeah that was a tough watch. 
Maybe he committed too much to get away, but on the flip side he must’ve thought he needed to get as much time ahead of Woods as he could, with Woods being the only pure climber in that group. But when you blow up, you blow up. And there ain’t nothing you can do! 

What a superb stage though. Again. It’s not failed to deliver on any stage yet, this tour. Loving it. 

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3 hours ago, Rob k said:

Had to feel a bit for Jorgenson there, gave it absolutely everything but had nothing left at all 

Absolutely, but Woods was just too good today and he’s had a rough few years. 

This has been a great first week of the Tour. Cav’s crash aside, I’ve loved every minute of it. 

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42 minutes ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

The TDF Yellow Jersey may be the greatest prize in cycling but watching it I can't help feeling that they sell more KOM Polka dot merchandise than GC Yellow. More of a, fashion statement perhaps? 

I'd never buy either, but if you offered me one for free, I'd take the Polka

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20 hours ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

The TDF Yellow Jersey may be the greatest prize in cycling but watching it I can't help feeling that they sell more KOM Polka dot merchandise than GC Yellow. More of a, fashion statement perhaps? 

Most would not be purchased, but freebies.
The reason you see so many of these on the roadside is because they throw them out of the caravan (the sponsors procession which drives an hour ahead of the race). 
The couple of times I’ve been over I managed to land a Caisse D’Epargne shirt as they were throwing loads of these out of the vans. 2nd time I only landed a few packets of Haribo!! 
Usually, on a mountain stage, the sponsors will chuck loads of polka dot jerseys out. They’re only cheap material but a nice memento. 
It’s funny because if you look closely at the spectators you’ll often see a 5 year old kid wearing a full size adult polka dot jersey. Basically because they managed to catch it off the caravan. 

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23 minutes ago, Harry said:

Most would not be purchased, but freebies.
The reason you see so many of these on the roadside is because they throw them out of the caravan (the sponsors procession which drives an hour ahead of the race). 
The couple of times I’ve been over I managed to land a Caisse D’Epargne shirt as they were throwing loads of these out of the vans. 2nd time I only landed a few packets of Haribo!! 
Usually, on a mountain stage, the sponsors will chuck loads of polka dot jerseys out. They’re only cheap material but a nice memento. 
It’s funny because if you look closely at the spectators you’ll often see a 5 year old kid wearing a full size adult polka dot jersey. Basically because they managed to catch it off the caravan. 

Thanks for that. Instead of the 5 year old kid can I look out for the female 20 year old wearing the full adult shirt. 

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