Tour de France 2024 SPOILERS

[Adam4868]

I had a thought this morning. Running on the assumption that all the riders are clean, would allowing, say Ciccone or Yates to take whatever drugs they want allow them to decimate the field and win by a huge margin ? How much benefit do drugs give a top class rider ?

Ah come on....what a load of bollox.
We're watching two of the best cyclists we've ever seen battle it out in the Tour,enjoy it for what it is.

 

[Lone Wolf]

Pogacar is superb. Wonder what he has for breakfast ?

 

[BrumJim]

I suspect staying at the the level where you can win multiple mountain stages in one tour is probably harder than staying at the level where you can win multiple sprint stages at one tour.

But nobody else has come close before, so difficult to be sure.

A lot of sprinters have come and gone in the Cavendish era. I don't think it is possible to continue to win sprint stages for many years unless you are a one-in-a-generation personality and physique in the way that Cavendish is.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Rest day ramble ... I won't be at all surprised if Pog gets towards the top of the leaderboard, and passes Hinault. But if and when he gets there, passing the record will still be a big challenge and will require a bit of luck (with injuries etc) along the way.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I cant find the exact number for stage 19 (which was a short explosive mountain stage) but it was also over half the field (Edit its was 83 of 165 riders) and contained all the green jersey competitors so again they were all docked 20 points and reprieved. it wasn't a favour Cav issue, it was a lets not look like dicks and DQ 80 odd riders.

According to the most reliable source (Cyclechat) on this subject: Cav, Rojas and presumably much of the rest of the grupetto were 27 seconds OTL on stage 19.

https://www.cyclechat.net/threads/tour-de-france-stage-19-spoiler.81941/page-5

 

[Jameshow]

Yes.

Massive!

I've seen you cycling colin I can vouch your clean!🤣🤣🤣

 

[sheddy]

Geography question, second week

Does anyone know the name of the deep mine entrance that the chopper flew over ?

Failing that, which stage was it ?

 

[T4tomo]

Geography question, second week

Does anyone know the name of the deep mine entrance that the chopper flew over ?

Failing that, which stage was it ?

I think it was saturday's stage - ITV4 did a little 3 minute article on it as they returned from an ad break IRC.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Geography question, second week

Does anyone know the name of the deep mine entrance that the chopper flew over ?

Failing that, which stage was it ?

Gouffre de Padirac on Stage 12?

https://www.gouffre-de-padirac.com/en/news/tour-de-france-thursday-july-11

 

[MasterDabber]

Do you mean a mine? Otherwise it might be Gouffre de Padirac. If it is, it's well worth a visit and a boat ride through the underground caverns.

​

 

[mjr]

Pogacar is superb. Wonder what he has for breakfast ?

Don't know, but some hints about MvdP's can be found at https://www.alpecincycling.com/en/nutrition/tour-de-france-breakfast-of-champions/

Edit to add: Actually, it says "Double Tour de France champion Tadej Pogacar likes porridge with fruit and honey, a sandwich with peanut butter or prosciutto and some pancakes."

 

[Dogtrousers]

More rest day trivia. On Pog's website you can buy Pog-branded clothes, such as this snazzy hoodie (only 31.99€ including 20% reduction, hurry!) with the snappy slogan "Never quit trying and never give up"

Hang on ... where have I heard something similar to that before?

By Grabthar's Hammer! Do you suppose Pog is a Galaxy Quest fan?

 

[mjr]

Rest day ramble ... I won't be at all surprised if Pog gets towards the top of the leaderboard, and passes Hinault. But if and when he gets there, passing the record will still be a big challenge and will require a bit of luck (with injuries etc) along the way.

Pog is now on 14 stage wins in 5 tours.
Hinault had 28 in 8, so Pog is a bit behind that and Hinault didn't have the best luck with injuries ("small hole in my head" including).
Merckx had 34 in 7. Unlikely unless Jonas now fades, Remco doesn't advance as expected and no-one else emerges to challenge.
Cav has 35 in 14. Pog could beat that if he kept going at his current rate, but how likely is that? Not even Cav has kept going at his early rate.

 

[Dogtrousers]

Pog is now on 14 stage wins in 5 tours.
Hinault had 28 in 8, so Pog is a bit behind that and Hinault didn't have the best luck with injuries ("small hole in my head" including).
Merckx had 34 in 7. Unlikely unless Jonas now fades, Remco doesn't advance as expected and no-one else emerges to challenge.
Cav has 35 in 14. Pog could beat that if he kept going at his current rate, but how likely is that? Not even Cav has kept going at his early rate.

Yes ... it will be difficult for him to get as far as Hinault, but far from impossible. It wouldn't surprise me at all. But beyond that it will get harder and harder.

When they asked Fred Trueman if he thought anyone would break his 300+ test wicket record he said "If they do, they'll be bloody tired".

I think if Pog makes it to the upper reaches of the TdF stage wins table, he'll be bloody tired.

 

[T4tomo]

I think it was saturday's stage - ITV4 did a little 3 minute article on it as they returned from an ad break IRC.

for clarity this was talking about a mineral mine very high up in the Pyrenees.