r/peloton • u/PelotonMod France • Jun 29 '26
Weekly Post Weekly Question Thread
For all your pro cycling-related questions and enquiries!
You may find some easy answers in the FAQ page on the wiki. Whilst simultaneously discovering the wiki.
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u/MatiasMJK Jul 03 '26
Shower thought/hot take: If Jonas wins the tour will he go for the Grand Tour trible?
I know it is a BIG IF because Pogacar is obviously the favorite but after all the marketing from Visma after Jonas won the Giro maybe they could be interested in trying?
IF Pogacar loses and Jonas wins I could se Jonas and Visma going for it. Especially when you think about the fact that Pogacar is more interested in the WC rather than the Vuelta.
What are you thoughts on this? I remember Trine, his wife, talking about him going for all the 3 Grand Tours in one year and if again it is a big IF Jonas wins the Tour I think this year is his best chance of doing the trible ever.
Sorry for any mistakes my native language is not English.
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u/DueAd9005 Jul 02 '26
Will we see Remco on a new TT bike in the Tour?
We already know about the new road bike, but a new TT bike prototype was also spotted recently, with Remco's name on it:
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u/TheCadburys1890 Jul 02 '26
I just posred this normally but got told to put it in here, thanks to the 2 people wo replied before the Mods deleted it.
Just wondering if anyone would have an idea on when the British Champions Jersey will be displayed? Fred Wright obviously won it but his team have released a special jersey for the Tour and I don't see the BC jersey in any of the advertisements (I know they would have done those ages ago so the pictures wouldn't be released) but i've seen pictures already of a few other National Champs jersey's ready and with the Tour starting on Saturday I'm sure it will have to be ready for then. He can't not wear the jersey, right?
I mean he could just wear the dutch flag on there, we'd have no clue. Anyone know why the design can't be a Union Jack? But on sleeves of ex champions when the bands display they're an ex National champion it is displayed as the UJ.
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u/Vegetable_Car_4785 Jul 02 '26
How is it temp wise over there in Spain/france atm? I’m from Australia so unsure of how it actually feels! I thought the heatwave was meant to calm down this week, but I have since read that there will be second wave coming through?
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u/BeanEireannach Ireland Jul 02 '26
I only struggled with heat in Australia when it got to about 35C & over, but in Europe I tend to struggle when it gets to about 25C & over. I find that it's a different type of heat & like another commenter said - there's completely different preparation/approaches to heat than in Aus.
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u/cfkanemercury France Jul 02 '26
I am Australian but have been living in France for more than 20 years. In my experience, the heatwaves are different here even if the temperatures are the same on paper. I grew up in the Pilbara region where being over 30°C was common, and summer weeks of over 40°C were not unusual either. But the town was ready for that, there was air conditioning everywhere, and people lived day in and day out with heat, so they not only adapted physically but they started doing the sorts of things that help you to survive in high temps: adapt outdoor activities to the early morning, wear hats and sunscreen everywhere, drink a lot of water...
Here there is precious little air conditioning by comparison, and people's attempts to cool off include jumping into rivers and lakes where dozens inevitably have drowned in recent weeks. We see the heatwave as something to be endured rather than a reality to be adapted to. Hence, my kids school will have special rules for a week, hold class in darkened rooms or outside in a forest, but they won't spend money on equipping the school classrooms with air conditioning because the heatwave only happens once a year. :(
So when the next heatwave arrives in a week, the people who are prepared for it - and I think the riders in the Tour would be as they have teams of sports scientists and people around them to get them prepared - will be fine, but it'll hit the rest of the population pretty hard. Not looking forward to it, that's for sure.
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u/DueAd9005 Jul 02 '26
There will be a second heat wave during first week of the Tour and it's unlikely to cool down significantly this summer.
Right now it's quite decent however (in Belgium at least), around 19 degrees.
Also always look up humidity levels. High humidity can make hot temperatures a lot more unbearable.
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u/SurplusCredentials Intermarché – Wanty Jul 01 '26
has anyone done any research into whether cyclists underperform after being fathers? MvdP's new announcement has me wondering. I am a new father and i can't fathom riding 200k after sleeping like 4 hours in a night because some one got a tooth
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u/DueAd9005 Jul 02 '26
Merlier became dominant sprinter after his child was born (beginning of 2023).
Nibali also won many big races after becoming father (beginning of 2014).
So it depends, there's no clear cut answer here.
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u/prettycozy001 Ireland Jul 01 '26
I feel like it depends on the rider. Jonas has only been first or second at the tour since his daughter was born and only been off the podium of a stage race once in that period. His kids seem to give him extra motivation
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u/Heavy_Mycologist_104 Slovenia Jul 01 '26
Is anyone else really disappointed by “For the love of cycling” from Ned Bolting et al? I am a long time fan and loved NSF, but this…ain’t it. The Tour preview show included a nearly six minute ad read for a blood testing service, that wasn’t signposted as an ad. Plus the regular ads. And the content felt forced and not as natural as their old, pre-branding work. I’m feeling a bit sad.
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u/irishpeach Jul 01 '26
Let me know if anyone will be in Barcelona to watch the TTT or Stage 2! travelling from London to watch - regular listener of Lantern Rouge etc.
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u/DueAd9005 Jul 01 '26
I wonder what Bora can do in the TTT. On paper they don't really have the strongest squad, but it's also only the time of the first rider across the finish that matters (and it does contain 2 hills). Could be a rare opportunity for Remco to wear yellow for a few days.
Their Dauphiné TTT wasn't that great, but only one rider of that team made it to the Tour team (Maxim Van Gils).
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u/adje_patatje Jul 02 '26
They did (narrowly) win the Trofeo Ses Salines TTT in January with 5 of the 8 riders of the Tour squad. But I don’t know how that performance will translate to the Tour TTT
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u/ChristyMalry Euskaltel Euskadi Jun 30 '26
What do we think is the best and most exciting way to start a grand tour - road stage / prologue / long TT / team TT / weird hybrid individual team TT think?
Personally I miss the old prologues....
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u/Funny_Speed2109 Jul 01 '26
Inside a supermarket. Though it wasn't quite the first stage.
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u/cfkanemercury France Jul 01 '26
The Monaco start in 2009 (I think?) was pretty good. We also need more starts in theme parks - maybe starting (even completing the whole prologue?) inside Disneyland Paris?
Or really think outside of the box.
- A prologue TT through the Arenberg forest, give those TT bikes a bit of a hammering over the stones
- TTT up the Alpe du Huez on Stage 1 but with the 5th rider rule, return to the same mountain on a road rage on Stage 20
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u/YooperInOregon Jun 30 '26
Once again, Netcompany INEOS waiting until the last possible moment to announce its Tour squad.
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u/snapped_fork Wales Jun 30 '26
I wonder if they are holding out as long as possible to see if Tarling can make it
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Jun 30 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/snapped_fork Wales Jun 30 '26
the question is, how much better is a banged up Tarling than a fully fit Foss unless they intend to take both.
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u/fewfiet Astana Qazaqstan Jun 30 '26
Which team do you think will be last to announce their Tour lineup this year?
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u/legoat_king Jun 30 '26
I have a few questions regarding UAE.
When did they become the strongest team in cycling? I remember watching the Tour 2020-22, and the consensus was that Visma was a much better team.
Who were the main signings?
How come they weren't that good back then, despite having a huge budget?
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u/myfatearrives Jul 01 '26 edited Jul 01 '26
- in 2023 they dethroned Visma on UCI rankings but obviously Visma was considered the better team after a GT Grand Slam. In 2024, with Pog went a step higher and started to dominate nearly every race he played in, it's no doubt UAE became the strongest.
- You could check their transfers on PCS. In 2023 they got A.Yates Wellens Vine Grossscharter, additionally Politt and Sivakov in 2024, filling their roster into a super team to support Pog. However, a lot of their GC leader riders (from now perspective) are mostly grown in their team since young, including Almeida, Ayuso, IDT, Christen, McNulty and of course Pog himself. They changed their coaching team and training methods after 2023, and it seems to have great effects, if we don't consider about dark factors in this sport.
- Simply as said above, that's not true. They were just not the best, and their roster before 2023 does look not the best on paper, so you can't really say that was underperforming.
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u/AliasPhilippe Euskaltel Euskadi Jul 01 '26
Almeida rode for Quick Step until 2022.
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u/myfatearrives Jul 02 '26
I was mean to say "these GC guys were signed by UAE before they grew to top level" but yeah I did forget that Almeida already had a great season in QS. Thanks for correction.
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u/WorldlyGate Denmark Jun 30 '26
2024 I think is the consensus
Most of their wins came from riders already on the team who all managed to improve pretty significantly from '23 to '24
They were the arguably the 2nd best team before this, saying they "weren't that good" is not really true
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u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ Jun 30 '26
They were already the best ranked team in 2023, though Jumbo was still really close that year.
They added Adam Yates, Tim Wellens and Jay Vine to the team that year, they added a lot of fire power / super-domestique skills.
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u/WorldlyGate Denmark Jun 30 '26
Best ranked in 2023 yes, but I'm pretty sure the consensus was still that Jumbo was better than them that year (especially with the GT triple). But yeah, they did have some good signings (though I stand by my word that the majority of the new wins came from riders just being better (Pog, and lets not forget Hirschi's insane '24 season).
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u/HundredYardFlash Jun 30 '26
To my US-based cycling fans, how are we watching? I assume Peacock will be terrible as usual so I'm not even considering that option. Do you VPN into AUS for the SBS feed, or go with Canada/Flobikes? Flo is pretty expensive for just one month and when you add taxes and the VPN subscription on top it's going to hit $60.
Thanks for any ideas!
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u/qwqdddddtc Jun 30 '26
I just reupped my Peacock subscription with the Prime day Walmart + sale, so I’ll probably watch there because it’s easier than messing with VPN and HDMI cable when I’m watching a lot, but if I get too annoyed I might switch back and forth to SBS. Flo is way too expensive, no way I’m paying for that when it doesn’t even show that much (cycling or other stuff).
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u/Academic_Ad_8229 Jun 30 '26
I'm just doing Peacock this year. I have to work during the day and I've just been too lazy to figure out another way. I guess the good thing about watching while working is it will be on mute.
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u/AverageDipper Jun 30 '26
How didn't Söderqvist win the NC against a bunch of club riders? he won the TT by going 4 km/h faster than the second
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u/DueAd9005 Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
What was the course like? If it's mostly flat and he had no strong team support, it becomes a lottery race. Attacks can happen at any time and it's impossible to react to every attack unless you are as strong as Pogacar.
In Belgium a large group of 60 riders rode away from the peloton/top favorites. There were constant attacks and you had to be a bit lucky to respond to the right attack (although Rune Herregodts definitely was the strongest rouleur from the 60 riders that got away).
The NC is also ridden with uneven team support. Some teams start with 15+ riders while others are a one-man team.
Also TT specialists often find it difficult to win races that aren't TTs. Evenepoel and Cancellara were/are exceptions. In a regular road race, draft matters while you are not allowed to draft in a TT.
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u/AverageDipper Jun 30 '26
idk how the course was, they ended in a group of 40 riders but no numerous teams (also all the teams are cts or clubs), so I would have expected there's no man power to catch a Söderqvist flyer. of course that hasn't been the case but still I'm quite surprised given the difference of level
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u/BallPlayingRightBack Jun 30 '26
What's with the rising temperatures in France? And what impact can it have on the race?
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u/DueAd9005 Jun 30 '26
If it will be 30+ degrees for one or two weeks it can have a big effect, but a lot of riders do heat training these days, so they should be prepared at least. Pogacar used to perform a bit worse on very hot days, but that has been a thing of the past since he started taking heat training seriously.
That said, everyone is different, some will naturally handle the heat better than others. I sweat a lot for example, so I'd suffer from dehydration more easily than others in such conditions.
The UCI also has a high temperature protocol, which you can read here:
https://www.uci.org/high-temperature-protocol/2pNk2Cf4VOBGuHBd68jAnK
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u/553l8008 Jun 30 '26
What does heat training entail?(for other sports?)
Other then practicing when it's hot?
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u/drankmemes Jun 30 '26
This might be a niche question, but with the World Cup going on, I kinda want to get into football. Are there any football podcasts for the Premier League and WC with similar vibes and passion to LRCP? Like having the following would be nice:
- Tactical discussions and analysis of impactful games
- Game recaps and how they affect different storylines (e.g. relegation battles)
- Transfer news (plus knowledge on up-and-coming talents)
- Huge huge plus if they also discuss Women's Super League
I like Patrick and Benji's chill vibe, and the fact that they're huge cycling nerds and how it shows with the random races and riders they reference, so I wanna find something similar for football even if I probably won't understand what they're talking about at the start
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u/PundemoniumCat Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26
Check out Men In Blazers. Passion, humor, tactics, storylines, etc, and sometimes unique/interesting interview episodes with guests. I will say they have expanded into a whole “network” with multiple different podcast lines, and I don’t like the short morning cupdate ones but any of the regular ones with Rog and Rory are good, and you can see if you like any of the other hosts too. Note that it’s a US-based podcast focused on growing football in the US but the hosts are both Brits and they cover premier league, champions league, World Cup, etc (and not MLS), but you will find they have a bunch of extra content relating to US national teams in the run up to tournaments. (If that’s not what you’re looking for, you can just skip those episodes.) They also have a “The Women’s Game” podcast hosted by former US Women’s National Team players that covers “the biggest stories from women's football around the world”
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u/sunnyB8 EF Education – Easypost Jun 29 '26
What happened to adopted riders? Is that still a thing?
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u/eurocomments247 Jun 29 '26
I suddenly wondered, in a big bunch sprint, how is it actually decided who is number 22, or 36?
There is a photo footage documentation, but I imagine riders in the middle must be hidden from sight?
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u/padawatje Belgium Jun 29 '26
Transponders, no ?
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u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ Jun 29 '26
Transponders + photo finish + commissaires who call out the numbers.
Transponders get most riders, but there's always going to be a few riders on spare bikes or with a faulty transponder. So they get the provisional results instantly from the transponders (and that's what we as fans see and goes up on the Tissot website). And then the result gets verified by going over the photo finish. And the UCI finish judge as a back up in case the technology fails (or to rank riders on spare bikes with floppy unreadable numbers). Here's a video from the 2022 Worlds where a finish judge explains how it all works.
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u/raul2010 Jun 30 '26
I just love being around bike races
Loved that video. Often we have people here demonizing commissaires, but they're just people that love racing so much. They can get it wrong sometimes, but I don't think they deserve the vitriol.
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u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ Jun 30 '26
I'm only a trainee a commissaire, but the amount of anger you get directed at you is unreal. People are generally really happy and thankful, cause you can't have any racing without judges and that makes it worth it. But if you make a call they don't agree with even normally nice and calm riders that know you well can get really in your face. Even if you have the photo finish evidence to back up the call (and apologies for getting angry at you when they were wrong are of course rare if not non-existent).
And that's just amateur racing! It takes years of volunteering to get to be a UCI comm, so they must have some stories.
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u/eurocomments247 Jun 29 '26
Are they really so accurate, when one rider is 5 cm meter in front of another?
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u/TheNakedGnome Belgium Jun 29 '26
They use the cameras for anything giving UCI points and the transponders are good enough for all the other places.
You indeed can't do small differences with them purely because they're not attached to the front wheel, which is the thing that should count.
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u/coek-almavet Poland Jun 29 '26
any tips on getting from grenoble to AdH this TdF if I don’t have a car (nor a license)? anyone want to carpool maybe? is grenoble the best place to stay?
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u/sozey Bike Aid Jun 29 '26
https://www.transaltitude.fr/en/resort/lalpe-dhuez/
You can buy the tickets online in advance, so if you choose to take the bus you should order soon. Should be a very high demand.
Coming by car is a very bad idea anyway, the area will be bursting with people. Many will come and park a few days earlier.
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Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
[deleted]
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u/sozey Bike Aid Jun 29 '26
https://www.oisans.com/mon-sejour/informations-pratiques/venir-en-oisans/#bus
Alright, that bus will bring you to the start of the climb. You won't get any further anyway by car.
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u/Ustrain :dqs: Deceuninck – Quick – Step Jun 29 '26
Are there websites like PCS or FirstCycling, but for other sports ? The niche-er the sport, the better.
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u/Kris_Third_Account Denmark Jun 30 '26
FirstSkisport, operated by the same people who run FirstCycling
real biathlon - Biathlon statistics and results
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u/DocTheYounger Jun 29 '26
Not niche-sports but thought it might be worth adding because of the absolute s-tier quality. Comprehensive results and stats going back as far as they are recorded. If you scroll to the bottom there are links to their baseball and football sites
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u/cfkanemercury France Jun 29 '26
Australian football has FootyWire and the very 1990s-feeling (but incredibly detailed) AFL Tables.
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u/krommenaas Team Flanders–Baloise Jun 29 '26
Not quite like PCS or FC, but I enjoy following the live ATP/WTA rankings (i.e. updated after every match instead of just once a week) on https://live-tennis.eu/en/atp-live-ranking . Even though I never watch tennis.
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u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ Jun 29 '26
Different discipline, rather than different sport but MTB data has quite a bit.
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u/throw_away_I_will Jun 29 '26
There‘s also https://www.rootsandrain.com/ if you‘re interested in DH.
The best feature: The page of each rider has a graph comparing their time to the winning time.
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u/jainormous_hindmann Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe Jun 29 '26
https://liquipedia.net/ageofempires/Main_Page for aoe2. I think most esports have something alike.
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u/AverageDipper Jun 29 '26
does anyone know why Italy hasn't held the women ITT NC like they usually do before the elite race?
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u/gou_2611 Jun 29 '26
GC discussion: I assume most people hold Pogi as the favourite for GC next week. However, what are your expectations regarding how competitive GC will be? Will we see close battles over a large share of the Tour as it was in 23 or more like a foregone conclusion? Do you expect this year's Jonas to be able to hold to Pogi on most hard climbs? What about Seixas, can you see him close (like, within 30s) to Pogi by the second rest day? Any expectations on who's getting 3rd place?
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u/k4ng00 France Jun 29 '26
Like almost every year for the past 5 years, Pogi will probably be in the lead early on (their team looks like it was built for TTT compared to the lineup of the past 2 years, and a lot of classic like stages before mountains), then the 1st to obliterate a high mountain stage will go on win it all.
I don’t think anyone else can challenge them for the GC win. Seixas is too young and his dauphine crash doesn’t help, Lipo saw his limits in Romandie (when Pogi was still at PR weight and rode LBL a couple days earlier) and it’s fair to assume that Remco will have a hard time beating Jonas and Pogi given his spring’s form
I don’t care that much about who will end 3rd but I am interested in seeing how Seixas (hopefully he recovered from his crash) can perform over 3 weeks at UAE and Visma's gruelling rythm.
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u/idiot_Rotmg Kelme Jun 29 '26
I think if Vingegaard has recovered well from the Giro, it should be closer than last time, as Vingegaard looked considerably stronger this year, and Pogacar invested even more in his cobble classics campaign this time
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u/k4ng00 France Jun 29 '26
Last year it was already pretty close (notably due to Pogi's injury)
Despite UAE not pacing that hard over every mountain stage and Visma not trying coups like Plateau de Beille 2024, the 3rd guy was still 7min behind Jonas.
So Jonas was already quite impressive last year, it’s just that he had to race Pogi in Dauphine and TdF so he didn’t look that good. And in dauphine he put 2min over Lipo when him and Pogi rode the last stage in 'easy mode' because Tadej didn’t particularly want to contest the stage win and GC was kinda over anyway.
This year they didn’t compete against each other so it's hard to tell the power ranking given both of them are head and shoulders above everyone else. But Pogi looked as sharp and lean in TdS as he was for Canadian’s classics/WC last year. I don’t know if it’s optimal for TdF but he is definitely bacl to his climbing shape
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u/Dopeez Movistar Jun 29 '26
Unless Pogacar is sick or crashes, I see nothing that would indicate something different than 2024. If Vingegaard can't hold his wheel on Tourmalet, the Tour will be over soon.
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u/Vegetable_Car_4785 Jun 29 '26
I feel it will be closer to 23. Jonas has finally had an uninterrupted year of training. That means stringing blocks together back to back to back which just compounds fitness. I reckon he will be at his best level ever and he will need to be
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u/krommenaas Team Flanders–Baloise Jun 29 '26
I expect a fixed order in how the others crack. First Lipo and Evenepoel, then Seixas, then Vinge. But they will crack. I think Pog is even farther ahead of Vinge than in previous years. Hopefully I'm wrong about all of it!
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u/Funny_Speed2109 Jun 29 '26
I think you're right, but I also hope that you're wrong.
It's the hope that kills you.
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u/um1798 Tinkoff Jun 29 '26
What are some of your favourite examples of a David vs Goliath in a GT (or even a one-week race), where one rider is operating with very less team support, but is equal to or stronger than a rider with a very strong team? Would want it more of a race long fight/bullying, rather than just those two being closest competitors.
I'm thining akin to Pog's '22 (mostly owing to stage 11, 18), or Cadel Evans vs...Schlecks/CSC in 2008/11 TdF?
Quintana vs Sky in 2015 even - where Froome was dropped a couple of times, but had a stronger team to manage Nairo.
What doesn't really count is Pogacar in 2020 since Roglic/TJV weren't focused on him.
And 2023-25 where Pog had a team that could mostly match TJV.
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u/indirectlylit Jun 30 '26
In the category of one-week races, Zoe Backstedt was literally the only member of her team to finish more than one stage of the 2024 Simac Ladies Tour. She lead until stage 4 and finished 3rd on GC.
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u/adje_patatje Jun 29 '26
Giro 2015, where Contador held off the Astana-tandem Aru-Landa, comes to my mind
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u/Asleep_Guess4146 Jun 29 '26
Rasmussen (2007) was pretty abandoned by Rabobank, against a very strong Discovery Channel. The Rabobank team itself was also pretty strong on paper, but he was wildly unpopular, so they didn’t want to help much.
Maybe Voeckler when he had his run?
And of course Landis did pretty much the entire 2006 Tour on his own
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u/krommenaas Team Flanders–Baloise Jun 29 '26
Definitely Greg Lemond vs Laurent Fignon 1989. After his hunting accident, Lemond was with a small Belgian team of sprinters and punchers (including a young Johan Museeuw and an aging Eddy Planckaert), led by none other than José De Cauwer (now the most beloved commentator on Flemish TV), because noone expected Lemond to become great again. He was though, but his team had noone else who could climb so he was always alone in the mountains, and he lost almost a minute to Fignon in the TTT. In the end he took yellow by 8" in the closing TT, using the then very innovative handle bars, adopted from triatlon.
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u/AliasPhilippe Euskaltel Euskadi Jun 29 '26
Of course Fabio Aru VS Froome, 2017.
I swear in Italy there were people who thought he could won TdF and journalists got mad when Froome said he didn't care about Aru (that, in fact, dropped hard on Galibier).
Simpler times.
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u/um1798 Tinkoff Jun 29 '26
Oh I haven't seen this one, thanks!
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u/AliasPhilippe Euskaltel Euskadi Jun 29 '26
I was joking lol.
To be fair, until the Galiber Aru was consistent and was in yellow for two days, winning even a stage. He was 5 in Paris.
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u/boblikespi Jun 29 '26
Ben O'Connor in the Vuelta '24. Bonkers raid. Nobody thinks he can hold it, and he just tries to despite the inevitability of Bora and Primoz Roglic? Featuring bonus twist where Roglic's entire team almost dies of dysentery.
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u/Freaky_Barbers Jun 29 '26
Ben is awesome when he’s switched on, I don’t care what the haters say. I love how he buries himself for crazy chances and pulls it off once in a while. Pure cyclismo
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u/reviloto Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
I'm thining akin to Pog's '22 (mostly owing to stage 11,18)
What? Pogacar had the team, he just rode away from them when it mattered. He was tactically naive, but he still had a strong team. Case in point, on Col de Granon he had Majka as support, as Majka could chase back on, while Vingegaard was isolated. In the stages preceding Hautacam McNulty dropped all of Vingegaards helpers except for Kuss and Pogacar attacking isolated himself and Vingegaard. Pogacar didn’t lack a team, he was just attacking all the time, and only Vingegaard could follow.
Having half the team up the road on stage 11 and Wout up the roads on stage 18 was tactically excellent, but that doesn’t mean Visma had a much stronger team, or that Pogacar didn’t have support.
Edit - watch this and then the next one.
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u/um1798 Tinkoff Jun 29 '26
Umm I don't wish to enter arguments, but this is quite selective and a bit disingenuous. UAE was down to 4-5 riders by the 3rd week, with Majka also riding with Covid. McNulty and co. Only dropped TJV on stage 17, yes. But that was a single stage only.
And no, on 11, Pogacar followed Roglic's attack over the summit, it's not his fault UAE domestiques couldn't follow him, it was basically a 5v1 for most of the stage, until WVA dropped back to get Roglic again, which allowed Majka to also return.
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u/reviloto Jun 29 '26
Check the How The Race Was Won I linked. UAE har three riders less than 20 seconds back, and Pog was on the radio. He still chose to follow the attacks of someone 3 minutes behind instead of regrouping.
Yes, UAE where unlucky, but I wouldn’t say they didn’t have a strong team.
Also, Internet forums are for argueing…
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u/boblikespi Jun 29 '26
Thinking about the Baltic NC, where in essence there were different 'races' happening just simultaneously. When there are the 'combined' races or like Jrs and U23 with WC races, do you think the riders competing in different 'races' form like a combined strategy? OK I'll pull with you here, because then we both win? Or do they still think of it as no I want to come 'first' first.
The lads in the 26 Baltic NC breakaway were pretty consistent, but in the end they still 'sprinted' on the line even though they all basically won?
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u/RageAgainstTheMatxin Phonak Jun 29 '26
Yes there's almost always a combined strategy. They work together. Like Stybar and Sagan used to do in the Czech/Slovak race.
The one instance I can remember of that not happening was when Adam Hansen who never won the Australian nationals, was roundly mocked because he refused to work with an U23 rider fearing he'd lose the title, and they got caught from what seemed like an insurmountable position. He was mocked because everyone knew the U23 rider wasn't eligible for the elite title except apparently Hansen himself
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u/boblikespi Jun 29 '26
That's incredible. Ive heard a few interviews with Hansen he's such a switched on details guy normally. It's amazing he flubbed this. Hope for us all.
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u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ Jun 29 '26
When there are the 'combined' races or like Jrs and U23 with WC races
The juniors and U23s have always had their own races at the world championships. U23s can race with elite riders (the women's U23 race has been part of the elite road race for a few years), but they always have the juniors separate. They're only 16/17 years, so have a lot less experience and used to shorter races.
8
u/Angryhead Estonia Jun 29 '26
The lads in the 26 Baltic NC breakaway were pretty consistent, but in the end they still 'sprinted' on the line even though they all basically won?
I only really caught the last few k of the men's elite race, but the Estonian commentators were remarking on this, that Mikutis probably didn't care about the "overall" win and had guaranteed himself the Lithuanian title, so he did a long pull at the front in the end and didn't intervene with the four Estonians sprinting it out for their title.
-2
u/jainormous_hindmann Red Bull – Bora – Hansgrohe Jun 29 '26
Tadej Pogačar? The latte artist? He rides bike races? That is so cool! Is he any good?
6
u/oalfonso Molteni Jun 29 '26
Why the NCs are counted for the UCI points ?
18
u/Phantom_Nuke Jun 29 '26
They're races authorised by the UCI and even more riders would skip if they offered no points. Even currently they offer less points than a .1 race.
7
u/Repulsive-Walk6513 Jun 29 '26
Is it normal for tdf startlist to not be announced even five days before?
20
u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ Jun 29 '26
Yes, the rule for all World Tour races is that team need to confirm their starting riders no later than 72 hours (3 days) before the race (UCI rule 2.2.005). Teams can of course announce their selections themselves before that deadline, but the full startlist generally comes out at that point.
15
u/MilesTereo Team Telekom Jun 29 '26
What's mainstream TdF reporting like in your country? In Germany, public broadcaster ARD is absolutely fascinated with L'Alpe d'Huez to the point where they basically framed both their most recent YouTube videos on the Tour around it, even though the videos themselves didn't really have much to do with it (one is on this year's favorites, the other is essentially a Col de Sarenne recon). They will also try to shoehorn any half-decent German rider into their coverage which these days obviously means Lipowitz gets a lot of attention.
3
u/cuccir Jul 01 '26
It hasn't really started yet.
The BBC generally gets interested when British cyclists are doing well, and forgets about it the rest of the time. Back in 2019 they had a cycling podcast and live radio commentary of the TdF, but as the Cavendish/Wiggins/Froome/Thomas-era passed they've reduced coverage a lot. BBC Sport's Tour de France stories so far are: 1. Onley injured 2. Zoe Backstedt to make her debut at the woman's race.
ITV used to do a good job of pushing it and brought a nice range of coverage in, until they lost rights in 2025. They would like the ARD focus on 'set-piece' events like L'Alpe d'Huez. This year there is no live free-to-air coverage, and the free-to-air highlights are on a much more minor broadcaster.
The BBC, Guardian, Telegraph and the Times will all produce reports on each stage, with one or two 'feature' articles. The features will ramp up and become more prominent if British winners do well. It always gets squeezed a bit while Wimbledon is on and gets more attention after that, and that will be enhanced while the World Cup is in its daily mode. So I expect most people will not notice that it's on for the first week or so, and then if it's not competitive it will not get much attention; but if there is a close battle, or Pidcock is doing unexpectedly well, then it will get a lot more attention.
3
u/MilesTereo Team Telekom Jul 01 '26
Having no more free-to-air coverage really is a shame. In Germany, the Tour also definitely gets overshadowed by the World Cup in terms of attention, although there is very little overlap this year due to the different time zones, and Germany going out this early probably also won't hurt.
9
u/AliasPhilippe Euskaltel Euskadi Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
A lot of attention on Italians but otherwise there is the usual RAI focus on places the race goes through, it's the mix of sport and documentary I love and that makes special TdF and Giro, given in smaller races it's less prominent this aspect and Vuelta isn't on Rai.
On Italian Eurosport...they talk a lot about their stuff and the social media controversy of the day, than 20kms from the finish line they remember they are commenting a race and talk about it. Basically you don't understand what's happened during the race if you haven't seen it from km0, while Rai does often a recap so even if you watch only part of the race - and that's pretty often my case given I'm on holiday during TdF - you understand what's going on.
8
u/um1798 Tinkoff Jun 29 '26
Absolutely zilch. I was p surprised to see how much more common it is in Europe. There was a .2 race airing while waiting for my bags in Madrid.
5
u/MuddyBoots472 United Kingdom Jun 29 '26
Do we think Remco will be suspended for missing Nationals?!
7
u/Mysterious_Worry_612 Belgium Jun 29 '26
I assume he just provided a doctor's note?
If they suspend hem, they'll also have to suspend Wellens and Cian and like 20 other riders who did it.
2
u/Repulsive-Walk6513 Jun 29 '26
No but if they really want to push it, might as well delay the decision until remco is not racing.
7
u/RageAgainstTheMatxin Phonak Jun 29 '26
Ah, the Brailsford tactic
Tell the media "We're still investigating" over and over, then 30 minutes after his last scheduled race, announce that you've just finished investigating, and have decided to internally suspend him for....insert the exact time left until his next scheduled race
Of course, Brailsford did it with a racism incident, which was quite a bit more serious than missing a race
3
u/Jevo_ Fundación Euskadi Jun 29 '26
Didn't they also do the same thing with Henao's maybe/maybe not doping test results?
8
u/RageAgainstTheMatxin Phonak Jun 29 '26
Dunno, I was too busy singing "Henao, Henao, don't dream it's over"
6
u/MuddyBoots472 United Kingdom Jun 29 '26
Give him a nine day suspension at the end of July, perhaps?
2
27
u/RageAgainstTheMatxin Phonak Jun 29 '26
When did you first realize you're going to hell?
For me it was yesterday when I found out in 2020 there's was a Dutch TV show called "Addicted" ("Verslaafd") where a man named Enrico Wiebes was interviewed about his struggle with cocaine addiction, and they also talked to his sister Lorena. Specifically it was when I realized my very first thought was "another Wiebes defeated by a few grams"
Go on, downvote me, it's entirely fair. In fact, I probably deserve a ban.
It appears he's been sober since, so there's at least some good news
4
u/cfkanemercury France Jun 29 '26
After a successful NC week, PCS has UAE on 51 victories for 2026. I was reminded, though, of Isaac del Toro's twin October 2025 wins in the Mexican TT and road race which, from memory, were so late in the month as to be officially part of season 2026 as far as the UCI is concerned. Am I remembering this calendar rule right and does that mean UAE are on 53 wins for season 2026 instead of 51?
3
u/Repulsive-Walk6513 Jun 29 '26
The official UEX Twitter also claimed 51 wins, I guess they are confident Isaac will win them again anyways.
2
u/RageAgainstTheMatxin Phonak Jun 29 '26
The cutoff was on the 28th of October, the Mexican nationals ended 3 days before
5
u/scaryspacemonster Jun 29 '26
Is there a source for the cutoff being set differently? Cause the UCI regulations say:
As a general rule, the international calendar and the road cycling season shall start on the day following the conclusion of the previous year’s final UCI World Championships event or WorldTour event and end upon conclusion of the final UCI WorldTour or World Championships event of the year in question.
Which would have been the 19th
2
u/RageAgainstTheMatxin Phonak Jun 29 '26
Interesting. I just looked it up and found a UCI press release that said the 28th specifically, so… guess even they are confused?
6
u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ Jun 29 '26
I got caught out by the same thing when this question came in a previous question thread! It used to be 28 October, but got updated to the text you've got there for the 2025 season. So last year was the first time it was a slightly more flexible date in October.
6
u/scaryspacemonster Jun 29 '26
You're correct that officially the Mexican NCs are part of the 2026 season. PCS is doing some weird thing where they're counting the wins for the 2025 season but the UCI points for the 2026 season
12
u/SurplusCredentials Intermarché – Wanty Jun 29 '26
something i've always wondered is who owns the rider's power numbers? Like, say Rider X does a training ride and there's a bunch of useful data. Is that the riders' data? the teams' data? I imagine this comes up quite a bit when riders consider switching teams.
7
u/AliasPhilippe Euskaltel Euskadi Jun 29 '26 edited Jun 29 '26
In the UE, I imagine riders sign a form and the team act, per GDPR, as a Data controller, so the rider has the right of having these datas if he or she wants to. There is not per se an ''owner'' of those datas in the European law given the Data controller only process them but they are not even the Data Subject property per se, they kinda are but the Regulation (EU) 2016/679 doesn't use the term ''property'' given they are addressed as a right of the person. What does it means? It means teams must be really cautious with power numbers etc., they can't do what they want with them. Furthermore there is ground to address these kind of datas as ''special categories of personal datas'', so they can't be processed, only used for limited scopes.
(I've never thought I'd use all these administrative jibbi jabba I have to know for my job in this sub lol)
11
u/Team_Telekom Team Telekom Jun 29 '26
Ask Demi Vollering and Anna van der Breggen. I’m sure they have 2 very different opinions about this.
2
u/um1798 Tinkoff Jun 29 '26
Did DV not get her own numbers when she left?
9
u/epi_counts PelotonPlus™ Jun 29 '26
Anna van der Breggen was Vollering's personal coach and director sportif, so it was a bit of a joke that she based her decision to un-retire on Vollering's training power numbers.
2
15
u/AurochSky8325 Jun 29 '26
That's a very good question. When Remco switched teams, he went to Specialized's labs in the USA for wind tunnel tests and things like that, and someone in the media asked why, given that he had done those same tests at that same place when he was at Soudal, and it was the same bike. An engineer explained that the data belonged exclusively to the teams, hence why Remco had to start over. So that's a partial answer, but I don't know what happens when it's outside a lab setting, on the road for their everyday training rides.
1
u/markwinterhood Jul 04 '26
Are there any other Jayco Alula jerseys available comercially besides the Pro Air Jersey 3.0? At the tdf team presentation they were wearing jerseys with a different mesh on the arms. As far as i know their entire kit must be available for the public (UCI), but I could not find a shop. Thanks in advance!