2024 Tour de France

[Jack Straw]

The 2024 starts tomorrow (actually today in Europe). Some interesting story lines, the Tour starts in Italy and because of the Olympics in Paris will end in Nice. Vingegaard is coming back from a broken collarbone, have to wonder if his fitness will be there. And Pogacar is trying to become the first since Pantani to win the Giro and the Tour in the same year. Should be interesting, the Tour always is.

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[#37]

Since his passing, there hasn't been a Tour that I haven't missed Paul Sherwen's informative and genuine interest in the numerous landmarks scattered along the route. I am sure this year will be no exception.

I doubt very much that Vingegaard will be the one to challenge Pogachar this year. Should Vingegaard find form, he will still be without the services of Sepp Kuss. Rogolic? Remko? We will have to see. But it is the Tour and unexpected things tend to happen very quickly.

But to be honest, I don't get hung up on the GC. I have also learned, years ago, not to get attached to cyclists, because the guy you cheer for today might be the villain who gets kicked off the Tour for doping tomorrow. (I am looking at you Alexander Vinokourov.)

Hopefully this will be a better year for the breakaway than last year. Otherwise I fear a boring procession for Pogachar. But, hey, at least the scenery will be beautiful...

 

[Jack Straw]

Only stage 1 and I'm already sick of hearing about Mark Cavendish.

 

[hockey20000]

love the tour been a fun 1st stage so far

 

[Jack Straw]

Wow. What a great first stage. Fantastic win for Bardet and incredible debute stage for Frank van den Broek.

 

[#37]

Carnage, but a deserved finish.

 

[Chris5225]

Fun stage but no real GC storyline yet.

 

[Maverick41]

Wow. What a great first stage. Fantastic win for Bardet and incredible debute stage for Frank van den Broek.

I'm not used to be invested in the race from stage 1, but this time I was glued to the screen, rooting for Bardet and van den Broek.
I could not have been happier with the outcome of the stage. Hopefully this will be only one of many exciting stages.

I doubt that the race overall will be too exciting, because I expect Pogacar to win this one easy.

 

[Chris5225]

Pogacar is the favourite but if he wins it won't be with ease. When is the last time the Giro winner also won the Tour? Vingegaard has the disadvantage of being out of "race shape" but he's definitely fresher than Pogacar and that could be a massive advantage in the second half on some of the ridiculous mountain stages. Not having Kuss is a blow, but Visma still has one of the strongest supporting groups on the tour and will give JV every opportunity to stay in contention.

 

[Chris5225]

Super tight at the top of the GC. Pogacar on top officially but Evenepoel, JV, and Carapaz have the same time and there's lots of big names within ~20 seconds.

 

[#37]

Pogachar and Vingegaard are the narrative, but Remko and Carapas caught them before the end.

I was kind of hoping Bardot would hold onto it for a few more days.

 

[PensFan101]

Two great race days to start the Tour but boy... even granted that Pogacar has all of those race days from the Giro on him, I'm surprised Vingegaard isn't glowing a nuclear green at this point. Great entertainment but the suspension of disbelief is required here.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Two great race days to start the Tour but boy... even granted that Pogacar has all of those race days from the Giro on him, I'm surprised Vingegaard isn't growing a nuclear green at this point. Great entertainment but the suspension of disbelief is required here.

It's been less than 13 weeks since Vingegaard had a fractured collarbone, broken ribs, pulmonary contusion (bruised lung) and pneumothorax (punctured lung).

The mountains will reveal a lot but I agree that if Vingegaard hangs tough with Pogacar and company throughout the Tour, it's hard not to think Visma has some special "vitamin" program that's more dialed in than any other competitor.

 

[#37]

Not my favorite type of stage, if this was a movie I would call it filler... Ride an uneventful 190km to get in a crash.

Good on Girmay though, made history, first black African to win a stage.

Carapaz in yellow. It was speculated that Pogachar would let it go to not have to deal with the responsibilities for a day or so.. (press, drug testing, etc).

 

[Chris5225]

Pretty tame stage. Sprints just aren't the same without Jasper Disaster making headlines. Van der Poel sorely missed by his teammate at the end.

 

[Lazlo Hollyfeld]

Pretty tame stage. Sprints just aren't the same without Jasper Disaster making headlines. Van der Poel sorely missed by his teammate at the end.

I’m still not clear if VdP had a mechanical or actually hit the deck? He was holding his collar bone as he crossed the line.

One day in the mountains tomorrow is unusual and should be interesting.

 

[#37]

Predictable. If I didn't know better, I would argue they were showing a stage from last year. Still early days. To double quote a great man, It's like deja vu all over again. It ain't over until it's over.

 

[Chris5225]

Vingegaard looked vulnerable for the first time, but the gap is still small between them. We'll see how he does in the time trials.

I’m still not clear if VdP had a mechanical or actually hit the deck? He was holding his collar bone as he crossed the line.

One day in the mountains tomorrow is unusual and should be interesting.

Apparently it was two flat tires.

 

[Chris5225]

Cavendish definitely in the mix today. 64km to go, breakaway pair is just over 2 minutes ahead but the peloton is catching up.

 

[Chris5225]

Peloton within 30 seconds of the lead two. Rain is coming down and doesn't look like it will let up with only 42km to go. Gotta think that rain favours a vet like Cav.

 

[Chris5225]

Cavendish! 35! Unreal finish.

 

[#37]

History was made, but when I see Cavendish embracing his Team Director, who was kicked off the tour for blood doping in 2007 and banned for 2 years from cycling, I can only shrug and say 'meh'. Not the best look. It is what it is.

 

[Chris5225]

History was made, but when I see Cavendish embracing his Team Director, who was kicked off the tour for blood doping in 2007 and banned for 2 years from cycling, I can only shrug and say 'meh'. Not the best look. It is what it is.

Exactly, it is what it is. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone associated with professional cycling for a significant period of time that isn't connected in some way to cheating.

 

[#37]

Exactly, it is what it is. You'd be hard pressed to find anyone associated with professional cycling for a significant period of time that isn't connected in some way to cheating.

Well, I reconciled with it a long time ago. The key, for me, is to just enjoy the Tour for what it is, despite the riders.