Great pictures Marco - looks like you picked a better day.
Pogacar is good, really good. But anyone else wondering what the heck is going on with some of these other GC riders?
Ineos went with 4 of them all capable of top 10 and I know GT crashed, but Porte and Geoghegan-Hart have been very poor for Ineos and Kwiakowski usually at least makes the bottom of the last climb. He's hardly been seen.
Super Man Lopez will need a rebrand and Fuglsang, another way off the mark.
I'm astounded Simon Yates has gone there is such poor form. A rider of his calibre should be contesting a podium.
Richard Taylor
"William Tell could take an apple off your head. Taylor could take out a processed pea."
Sid Waddell
The salaries of the highest paid cyclists in the world 2021
Chris Froome (Israel Start-Up Nation) € 5.5 million
Tadej Pogačar (UAE Team Emirates) € 5 million
Peter Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) € 5 million
Geraint Thomas (Ineos Grenadiers) € 3.5 million
Egan Bernal (Ineos Grenadiers) € 2.8 million
Michał Kwiatkowski (Ineos Grenadiers) € 2.5 million
Julian Alaphilippe (Deceuninck-QuickStep) € 2.3 million
Wout van Aert (Jumbo-Visma) € 2.2 million
Alejandro Valverde (Movistar) € 2.2 million
Richard Carapaz (Ineos Grenadiers) € 2.2 million
Vincenzo Nibali (Trek-Segafredo) 2.1m
Mathieu van der Poel (Alpecin-Fenix) € 2 million
Adam Yates (Ineos Grenadiers) € 2 million
Primož Roglič (Jumbo-Visma) € 2 million
Thibaut Pinot (Groupama-FDJ) € 2 million
Jakob Fuglsang (Astana-Premier Tech) € 2 million
Romain Bardet (Team DSM) € 2 million
Elia Viviani (Cofidis) € 1.9 million
Nairo Quintana (Arkéa-Samsic) € 1.9 million
Fernando Gaviria (UAE Team Emirates) € 1.8 million
Source: lequotidiendusport.fr
I presume Froome feels so guilty he gives it all to charity.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
I agree. I think Pogačar is exceptional. Yates is pedestrian. And probably knows it.
As for the Olympics? Well doing well there means you never have to work again other than open supermarkets from time to time (a bit like the Brownlees do) because the general public know your name - but winning Grand Tours mean you are immortal in the minds of cyclists, if not shoppers with trollies in Aldi.
"...as dry as the Atacama desert".
anyone else feel that the Alpecin–Fenix team have done themselves some harm?
They've made many of the lesser races great to watch and certainly made a huge contribution to week one.
But I can't help thinking that they were given the wild card for a 3 week tour and more or less attacked it like a one week tour and then thrown the towel in.
Doesn't sit well with me.
Richard Taylor
"William Tell could take an apple off your head. Taylor could take out a processed pea."
Sid Waddell
That was something else today.
I don't go back with the Tour beyond the mid 80s, but I can't remember a better example of a team leading out their sprinter than what we saw today.
The overheads were excellent.
Every time another team came up to challenge in the last few kms, the lead rider for DQS just peeled off for the next in line and they held the front and Cav had to just hold the lead for the last 150m.
Brilliant for Cav and makes you wonder if he'll tie with Merckx on Thursday.
Pogacar is something else, but did anyone really see Cav being back at the TdF winning stages? I didn't, but I love it.
Richard Taylor
"William Tell could take an apple off your head. Taylor could take out a processed pea."
Sid Waddell