Tour de France

[Wilbro]

I wondered if Pogocar is over his "relapse" and was making a point today.

[Blaze]

I thought it looked as if Vingegaard held back at the last minute ...
Wilbro, I think you're being hard on Pogacar ! Everyone can have an off day, lose drive and concentration, so why not Pogacar ? I don't think there was anything staged - he wanted the yellow jersey but wasn't quite up to it. One to watch over the next few months ....

[exile]

Then on ITV listening to that idiot Miller wittering on about Pogacarr being on the ropes. He was anything but.

Interesting that "that idiot Millar" as a former professional rider may just have seen what we did not.

Yes his performance then was exceptional but not quite as good as JV, but then it all started to fail a bit (I will refrain from saying fall apart because even on an off day he is really good.)

[Wilbro]

Then on ITV listening to that idiot Miller wittering on about Pogacarr being on the ropes. He was anything but.

Interesting that "that idiot Millar" as a former professional rider may just have seen what we did not.

Yes his performance then was exceptional but not quite as good as JV, but then it all started to fail a bit (I will refrain from saying fall apart because even on an off day he is really good.)

On the day in question Pogocar was strong and never looked "on the ropes". Millar's favourite word is panic and he always tries to build up drama where non exists.
This year we've watched on French TV so haven't had to listen to his stuttering rambles.

[Blaze]

This year we've watched on French TV

We've only got French TV so don't have the choice !
The French commentators aren't bad overall except for Marion's mumblings (she seemed to get worse as the race went on) and the constant references to the French riders, but that's only natural. Some of the cultural stuff is interesting too. The best bit for me was when the riders were in Guernica. There was an excellent brief description of the Spanish civil war and the reference to Guernica. It's good to get some of these places in a historical context.

There was overuse of the word "sprinters" this year but the word "puncher" seems to have been dropped. I even hear Wout van Aert's forename pronounced correctly at one point, but Wout Poels is still pronounced "Woot Poulss". They've been good about JV's name, probably following instructions. I don't think I heard the term "danseuse" once ....

[tagh]

A bit about Vingegaard:

https://www.lefigaro.fr/sports/cyclisme ... d-20230723

[tagh]

And the race director’s thoughts:

https://www.francetvinfo.fr/tour-de-fra ... 66840.html

[Blaze]

A comment made by Thibaut Pinot during an interview the other day was that the younger cyclists today are very serious and don't have any fun during races. They seem to isolate themselves and don't get together at the departure village like they used to.

Sur l’évolution de son métier depuis 15 ans
«C’est même deux métiers différents. Tout ce qui est mis en place maintenant, avec la nutrition notamment. Forcément que ça roule plus vite maintenant. Oui, c’était largement mieux avant. C’était plus marrant. On rigolait beaucoup plus. Même sur le Tour de France. On passait beaucoup plus de temps au village départ. Il y avait toujours la moitié du peloton. Maintenant, il n’y a même plus un coureur qui va au village départ. C’est devenu trop sérieux et je pense que les coureurs aussi se prennent trop au sérieux. Quand on voit certains reportages où les coureurs vivent comme des moines, j’ai l’impression qu’ils s’obligent à vivre comme ça alors que je ne suis pas sûr.»

But isn't that something we see everywhere these days, or is it just a perception ? Work seems to have become more serious, more competitive with people afraid of losing their jobs. Again, perhaps it's a generation thing, but I've heard many people say that life in the services (armed forces) is not the fun it used to be ....

[Blaze]

Thanks for the France TV info article @tagh, some interesting points.

Despite the French having some very good riders, there isn't anyone with that edge to win at the moment.

[rabbit]

Why are there so few non- white riders in cycling?