Tour de France

[Loggiebone]

[wildbears]

Some anti-Pogacar sentiment developing. Just booing from spectators and criticism in the press so far.

[Loggiebone]

Why is he disliked?

[wildbears]

He is not the first non-French rider to be disliked for denying French riders a stage win.

It's just like when Jeff Gordon won at Bristol.

[955i]

Pogacar is the real deal, isn't he? If all the top contenders had not crashed, it might be more interesting, but I think the result would be about the same. We are seeing the young guys come to the fore. Traditionally, teams made you "pay your dues" as a domestique, but the racing has changed in the last decade. Absent a biking disaster, Pogacar is set to be a deserving back-to-back champion.

[wildbears]

There are mixed feelings about Paris.

Cavendish got boxed in and didn't have a lead out man at the end, Markov.

Otherwise it would have been 35 stage wins.

At least he held onto the green jersey.

Maybe Cavendish will be back next year to seal the deal.

[955i]

Being tied with Merckx at 34 wins ensures his place in the conversation for years to come. Not a bad outcome. I find it interesting that the commentators haven't said more about why these 34 victories are so very different. Merckx got his victories on the way to FIVE Yellow Jerseys. Thus, some of his wins were crucial mountain stages as well as sprints. At other times, having the Jersey, he didn't need, or even desire, to get a victory that might have been available. Undoubtedly, had he wanted during his run, he could have won additional stages.

Cav on the other hand, is purely a sprinter. I don't know if he ever won on a lumpy stage when he wasn't expected to, but his victories were almost exclusively "sprinters' stages." That's not a knock on Cav, though, as these stages are still hard, and some years there were at least a half-dozen legitimate rivals at the finish of these sprint stages. Lately, Cav has benefited hugely by the best and best-directed leadout team in the peleton. Again, that wasn't always so. Early on, Cav had to fight his way up to the finish line surfing on the wheels of competitors as his own teammates weren't up to the task. He won those stages on grit, savy, bike handling, and pure speed.

All in all, both Cav and Merckx' achievements are remarkable. I just find it interesting that the commentators didn't discuss the very real differences. They could have done this in a positive way that was fair to both these greats, and have educated the viewers about some nuances of the Tour.

[wildbears]

Good background info. Thanks.

[wildbears]

The multiple crashes may have played a significant role in the results this year.

Both GC and Sprint contenders were taken out. And early on.

[955i]

Undoubtedly, true. This was a race marred early by crashes. It was the perfect storm of narrow roads, stupid people, bad luck, AND the changes within the peleton over the past few years. The racing is different than a decade ago. Teams see the advantages of being near (or AT) the front and their director sportifs constantly urge them to get up there. Teams used to have a "pecking order" more or less during the first half of each of the early stages. No longer! It's full gas for the first 25 miles almost every stage. Some days, the jockeying for position goes on longer than that. Then, it all starts again as the finish nears.

For instance, in Lance's reign, once the break went away, US Postal/Discovery took over. They set the tempo and shared duties with one or two "allied" teams till the real racing began late in the stage.