TdF 2023

[PHILINFRANCE]

15 minutes ago, TomF said:

Always wondered what the caravan was about on the live tracking website, thanks for feeding my curiosity 

The caravan is quite a jolly event, especially if you can catch it at the start of a stage, as I managed a couple of years ago.

It is almost like a Carnaval Parade, with sponsors' vans and floats throwing out all sorts of goodies, ranging, as @Harry said above, from shirts, caps and bags to sweets and crisps.

Unfortunately, one needs to arrive early to get a good spot, wait in the sun (hopefully) for a good hour for the caravan to arrive and trundle through, and then wait another hour or so for the riders to arrive.

Of course, at the start of a stage, the riders are all bunched and pass through in a matter of seconds, perhaps one minute at best, and then everyone goes home.

[Harry]

1 hour ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

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. 

 

28 minutes ago, TomF said:

Always wondered what the caravan was about on the live tracking website, thanks for feeding my curiosity 

To satisfy you further, here’s some pics of the caravan from the last tour I went to. 
As Phil said, there are about 50+ vehicles of varying designs that drive an hour ahead of the face and throw out all sorts of goodies. 
I’ve still got my Caisse D’Epargne shirt, my Skoda beanie hat has seen batter days, but the polka dot bear key ring is still attached to my garage key! The Haribo’s have been long since eaten tho…

 

[Lanterne Rouge]

This weather is turning foull, hopefully it won`t cause any crashes. I wonder if they would stop the race if the forecast thunderstorms arrive?

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

An utterly crazy day today with a fine win by Ion Izaguirre (Cofidis) but in the end only Thibaut Pinot encroached on the GC top 10 it's, as you were for the lead riders. 

[Harry]

1 hour ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

An utterly crazy day today with a fine win by Ion Izaguirre (Cofidis) but in the end only Thibaut Pinot encroached on the GC top 10 it's, as you were for the lead riders. 

Crazy day indeed. 
I actually love it that they now show the whole stage. In the past we wouldn’t get to watch the first hour or so. 
I find it fascinating watching the breakaways attempting to development, and on a crazy day like today, it was mental that they were trying for about 80km before one finally got away. It was pretty much full gas for that first 80km whilst the 15-20 same faces kept trying and trying to get the break going. 
Wonderful viewing. The stamina and effort is really something else. 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

11 hours ago, Harry said:

Crazy day indeed. 
I actually love it that they now show the whole stage. In the past we wouldn’t get to watch the first hour or so. 
I find it fascinating watching the breakaways attempting to development, and on a crazy day like today, it was mental that they were trying for about 80km before one finally got away. It was pretty much full gas for that first 80km whilst the 15-20 same faces kept trying and trying to get the break going. 
Wonderful viewing. The stamina and effort is really something else. 

I love it too that you can watch the whole race now on Eurosport/GCN. In the past I was an ITV4 man (particularly in the says of the late Paul Shirwen) and I still enjoy their commentary team but they still don't cover the whole race and it's spoilt by far too many ad breaks. Eurosport coverage has come on leaps and bounds. Not only do they have an excellent commentary team but you get recipes, a past star on the motorbike following the Tour and superb pre race and after race shows presented by the wonderful and always interestingly attired Orla Chennaoui, the best legs in sports presenting. 

[Harry]

2 hours ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

I love it too that you can watch the whole race now on Eurosport/GCN. In the past I was an ITV4 man (particularly in the says of the late Paul Shirwen) and I still enjoy their commentary team but they still don't cover the whole race and it's spoilt by far too many ad breaks. Eurosport coverage has come on leaps and bounds. Not only do they have an excellent commentary team but you get recipes, a past star on the motorbike following the Tour and superb pre race and after race shows presented by the wonderful and always interestingly attired Orla Chennaoui, the best legs in sports presenting. 

Agreed. The Eurosport coverage, for me, is far far better than itv. 
Whilst he seems a decent bloke, I really don’t like Ned Boulting’s commentary. 
Eurosport have a great mix with Robbie, Dan & Adam, and was also good when they had Vaughters on comms for a few days (they also had him in the studio for the Giro). 
I do watch the evening highlights show on itv, just to get a different perspective, but again the quality of their guests is poor in comparison - I’m baffled by Peter Kennaugh and it annoys me that his shirts are always 2 sizes too big for him

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

9 minutes ago, Harry said:

Agreed. The Eurosport coverage, for me, is far far better than itv. 
Whilst he seems a decent bloke, I really don’t like Ned Boulting’s commentary. 
Eurosport have a great mix with Robbie, Dan & Adam, and was also good when they had Vaughters on comms for a few days (they also had him in the studio for the Giro). 
I do watch the evening highlights show on itv, just to get a different perspective, but again the quality of their guests is poor in comparison - I’m baffled by Peter Kennaugh and it annoys me that his shirts are always 2 sizes too big for him

Perhaps Peter Kennaugh is their fashion competition for Orla who is wearing a red cocktail dress and bovver boots from her wardrobe today. 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

I've next actually been to see Le Tour and wonder how long on average after the riders have gone by do they wait before opening up the roads so that people can drive off home or to their next days parking spot. Obviously some stages see a large grepetto formed that could be 20 minutes or more behind the leaders. Is there a clean up crew following as well. 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

Fantastic ride by Kwato today. A wonderful win to add to his already magnificent palmares. 

Good rides to from Tom Pidcock and Carlos Rodriguez who maintain their GC positions of 8th and 4th respectively. 

[Lanterne Rouge]

Amazing that Pog took 8 seconds out of Vindegaard basically in the last 200m!

[Rob k]

4 hours ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

Amazing that Pog took 8 seconds out of Vindegaard basically in the last 200m!

That was very impressive by Pog 

[Harry]

11 minutes ago, Rob k said:

That was very impressive by Pog 

He’s chipping away. Set up nicely for the weekend mountains!  

[tin]

Either Jumbo-Visma are shot, looking at how Benoot, Van Aert and Kelderman blew up today, or they have an ace up their sleeve. I suspect it’s the former as UAE didn’t go full gas up the Grand Colombiere today. 

I don’t buy Vingegaard’s relaxed persona on TV either when you can the stress on his face when he crossed the line. He can’t be happy with losing chunks of time like that, especially to Pog.

That said, it’s great to see Kwiato time his breakaway to perfection and Ineos really needed that win as they’ve flattered to deceive so far with their triumvirate of leaders.

Edited July 14, 2023 by tin

[Rob k]

2 minutes ago, tin said:

Either Jumbo-Visma are shot, looking at how Benoot, Van Aert and Kelderman blew up today, or they have an ace up their sleeve. I suspect it’s the former as UAE didn’t go full gas up the Grand Colombiere today. 

I don’t buy Vingegaard’s relaxed persona on TV either when you can the stress on his face when he crossed the line. He can’t be happy with losing chunks of time like that, especially to Pog.

That said, it’s great to see Kwiato time his breakaway to perfection and Ineos really needed that win as they’ve flattered to deceive so far with their triumvirate of leaders.

I’m still struggling understanding the decision to take Bernal to the tour 

[tin]

Just now, Rob k said:

I’m still struggling understanding the decision to take Bernal to the tour 

It’s a bizarre one, ain’t it? I heard Bernal say he wasn’t meant to be in the Tour, he was meant to be on holiday! Mind you, even if he was to get back to his best, I don’t think it’d be enough to lay a glove on Pog or Vingegaard. 

Ineos need to make their minds up on what they’re doing with Pidcock longer term as well IMO. Is he on a GC path or super domestique (if so, working for who?) They should be doing better with the budget they have.

[Rob k]

1 hour ago, tin said:

It’s a bizarre one, ain’t it? I heard Bernal say he wasn’t meant to be in the Tour, he was meant to be on holiday! Mind you, even if he was to get back to his best, I don’t think it’d be enough to lay a glove on Pog or Vingegaard. 

Ineos need to make their minds up on what they’re doing with Pidcock longer term as well IMO. Is he on a GC path or super domestique (if so, working for who?) They should be doing better with the budget they have.

You’re right, those 2 are so far ahead it’s scary, nobody else will get near either unless they crash. it seems to me that currently the best GC rider Ineos have is sat at home watching. 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

8 hours ago, tin said:

Either Jumbo-Visma are shot, looking at how Benoot, Van Aert and Kelderman blew up today, or they have an ace up their sleeve. I suspect it’s the former as UAE didn’t go full gas up the Grand Colombiere today. 

I don’t buy Vingegaard’s relaxed persona on TV either when you can the stress on his face when he crossed the line. He can’t be happy with losing chunks of time like that, especially to Pog.

That said, it’s great to see Kwiato time his breakaway to perfection and Ineos really needed that win as they’ve flattered to deceive so far with their triumvirate of leaders.

I'm not so sure that Benoot, Van Aert and Keldermann blew up today. This was never going to be a stage for Vingegaard and Jumbo Visma. Benoot was sacrificed in the breakaway to get UAE to ride ahead of the alps stages which are much better suited for Vingegaard. Van Aert and Keldermann eased back on their efforts today in preparation for the alps where Kuss is likely to come to the fore late on an blow away the UAE domestiques. 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

9 hours ago, Rob k said:

I’m still struggling understanding the decision to take Bernal to the tour 

I'd have probably put Bernal in Giro and brought G to Le Tour, or held Egan back for the Vuelta. Either way however Ineos needed to test how far along he was in his recovery and if he wasn't going to face Vingegaard and Pogacar he was going to have to square off with Primoz Roglic or Remco Evanapoel, the closest riders to Vingegaard and Pogacar right now. 

I don't think this has been so bad a tour for Ineos as has been painted. While it's certain Jumbo Visma and UAE have not only learned from Sky/Ineos how to win Le Tour and better them, Ineos will have learnt more about Pidcock and hopefully how to best use him going forward, and know they have a rising star in Carlos Rodriguez. 

[tin]

2 hours ago, RoystonFoote'snephew said:

I'm not so sure that Benoot, Van Aert and Keldermann blew up today. This was never going to be a stage for Vingegaard and Jumbo Visma. Benoot was sacrificed in the breakaway to get UAE to ride ahead of the alps stages which are much better suited for Vingegaard. Van Aert and Keldermann eased back on their efforts today in preparation for the alps where Kuss is likely to come to the fore late on a blow away the UAE domestiques. 

Benoot had a hard day in the break on Thursday, and he definitely didn’t have the legs for the GC group yesterday. I don’t think Van Aert is anywhere near peak form this year, plus there’s a rumour about him leaving for the birth of his second child. Kelderman looked spent to me yesterday. Kuss is a heck of a domestique, but he can’t do it alone - and there’s no Roglic this year to launch that sort of attack on Pog like they did on the slopes of the Galibier. 

UAE didn’t exactly blaze a trail up the Grand Colombier either, but they still rode several decent riders - Bernal, Pinot, Bardet to name a few - off their wheels. Grosschartner put in a heck of a shift. I suspect they came out of yesterday in great condition. 

Either way, it’s all set up for a cracking few days in the Alps. I can’t wait to see Cormet de Roselend either, having done that twice in recent years. Stunning climb. 

[Markthehorn]

Shame for James Shaw .

Had to abandoned after an early crash .

Was doing very well .

[OneTeamInBristol]

That motorcycle rider better look out for Pogacar later on 

[Lanterne Rouge]

Another Ineos win. Surprised Rodriguez held on though.

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

19 hours ago, Rob k said:

I’m still struggling understanding the decision to take Bernal to the tour 

I'd have probably put Bernal in Giro and brought G to Le Tour, or held Egan back for the Vuelta. Either way however Ineos needed to test how far along he was in his recovery and if he wasn't going to face Vingegaard and Pogacar he was going to have to square off with Primoz Roglic or Remco Evanapoel, the closest riders to Vingegaard and Pogacar right now. 

I don't think this has been so bad a tour for Ineos as has been painted. While it's certain Jumbo Visma and UAE have not only learned from Sky/Ineos how to win Le Tour and better them, Ineos will have learnt more about Pidcock and hopefully how to best use him going forward, and know they have a rising star in Carlos Rodriguez. 

[Rob k]

10 minutes ago, Lanterne Rouge said:

Another Ineos win. Surprised Rodriguez held on though.

Rumours are he’s off to Moviestar then next year, I don’t think Pog will be too disappointed with today seeing today and tomorrow was supposed to suit Vingegaard. 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

Fantastic ride from Rodriguez. This kid is a real star. For a young man in his first Tour he rides with intelligence and when gapped on the last climb he didn't panic riding his rythym and then took advantage of the top two focusing on each other. Ineos have to keep him and not let him go off to Movistar. 

Edited July 15, 2023 by RoystonFoote'snephew
Added content

[tin]

11 minutes ago, Rob k said:

Rumours are he’s off to Moviestar then next year, I don’t think Pog will be too disappointed with today seeing today and tomorrow was supposed to suit Vingegaard. 

I think Pog will be fuming after making a big attack for the eight-second time bonus at the top of the Joux Plane only to be blocked by two motorbikes. 

[Rob k]

Just now, tin said:

I think Pog will be fuming after making a big attack for the eight-second time bonus at the top of the Joux Plane only to be blocked by two motorbikes. 

Yes - your right,  I’ve just seen the replay.

 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

20 hours ago, tin said:

I think Pog will be fuming after making a big attack for the eight-second time bonus at the top of the Joux Plane only to be blocked by two motorbikes. 

It's not entirely the bikers fault though. The encroachment by the spectators means the motorcycles can't accelerate away from the riders. 

[RoystonFoote'snephew]

Another day and another large crash at the back of the peloton caused by a spectator standing too far into the road to take a photo. Not yet known who's fully affected but Nathan Van Hooydonck and Sepp Kuss of Jumbo Visma and Egan Bernal of Ineos certainly hit the deck. Don't know if any are particularly badly injured but it's a potential blow to those teams. Ineos are already down to 6 riders as Dani Martinez failed a concussion protocol test last night, following yesterday's crash, and didn't start today.