OT incredible finish at the Tour de France
Don’t want to spoil. The last last kilometer and half was fantastic. Compelling day in what has been a tremendous TdF through the first 7 stages.
Here's a link of the last 3 minutes:.
A question earlier was which athlete gets in the mind of his opponents the most such as Djokovic does? I would say right now it is Tadej Pogačar.
After four hours of a grueling mountain stage today his competitors must think the guy can't be beat. He is also nice guy and has passed every doping test given and seems destined to be the greatest cyclist everc oming from a country that has no cycling history.
Slovenian cyclist Tadej Pogačar is the youngest rider since 1904 to win the Tour de France and the first since Eddy Merckx in 1972 to win the white jersey (young rider) and the polka dot (king of the mountains) jersey alongside the winning the general classification. Pogačar won Europe's great bike race at his first attempt in 2020 ( and also won the 2021 race), the last rider to do so being the great Laurent Fignon in 1983.
There was much speculation that Pogačar would struggle on the cobblestones in stage 5, but no. He wasn’t in the breakaway, but finished at the front of the peloton, increasing his lead over his rivals.
This young guy is unreal and a candidate for sportsperson of the year. Back in the day I had an old Motobécane bike ( before they went bankrupt in 81) and used it in a "race" from the Silverdome to the RenCen and back mainly on Woodward - not sure how the bike held up on those streets. I didn't have a team following me with replacement parts either ; ). Would love to see more street racing in the US, preferably in the Rockies.
My Tour de France consisted of 10 stages... eating and drinking wine through Paris, Reims, Strasbourg, Albertville, Beaune, Aix-en-Provence, Nice, Saint-Emilion, Tours, Versailles.
All stages were equally incredible.
Were you driving a vintage Peugeot from location to location? That would be awesome!
When I met my wife, she was driving a Peugeot. That's still the only Peugeot I've ever seen in person and that was back in 1998. Still, it didn't look at sweet as the one in the pic.
My ride was a bit bigger.
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Not to nitpick - and I'm no expert - but I'm pretty sure that's a Citroen. Same idea applies, though, so carry on.
Never been to France but Ive done Tour de Pubs hitting 10 bars in Manchester, UK, Amsterdam, Brussels, Linz, and Munich.
I had a 10 course meal by Paul Bocuse in Lyon.
I watched the TdF quite a bit during the 90s, and let's just say 'once bitten, twice shy'.
Underrated backcountry 3am drunk dance party song.
Recently watched Stop at Nothing, a documentary about the Lance Armstrong saga. A line that stuck out for me was a commentator's observation during one of Lance's more Herculean mountain-stage climbs that went something along the lines of... "You look at Armstrong's face... there was no suffering."
Whenever I watch the TdF, that's what I look for, the suffering. At the same time, I'll also withhold any praise for a rider until 10 years after his retirement.
Exciting finish.
Not quite as dramatic as Tony Martin being caught at the last minute after a 175 km breakway in the 2013 Vuelta stage 6.
Or my personal favorite, Rabottini surviving a break and getting caught by Rodriquez in the 2012 Giro, only to grab Purito's wheel and win. It was gifted, but earned.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYvbm9GPT3Y
Holy batman music and Italian announcers. Why watch the TDF when you have this?
1:50 going great, but heats up another notch
3:20 just enjoying the announcers - "Incredibile!"
Wow. Just wow. Thanks for posting.
This is the kind of racing I wish we would get more of in the Tour. Without spoiling it, seeing riders going for it rather than playing it safe or being pulled along by domestiques is amazing to watch. Excellent stage today, and an excellent Tour so far.
That's nuts! And I don't think the cameras even do justice to what a 24% incline really is.
On a per mile basis that's an elevation gain of 1,267 ft per mile. That type of incline on a hiking trail would have nearly any average person sucking wind and likely having to stop to catch their breath while walking it, and these guys pedaled up it.
Nickel:
It IS nuts -- and no, the cameras can't show the steepness (much like the greens at Augusta). This is what initially drew me to bike racing, especially in the mountains. This is stuff that I can in no way do, so it's just like wow. Doping aside, these are amazing athletes.
For those of us who are waiting to get home to watch, please don't post spoilers in the title; even something like a generic "incredible finish" can spoil the event for us late viewers. Thank you.
Would you not watch until the end otherwise?
*Not completely OT: Michigan Track alum Michael Woods is competing again this year. He's in more of a veteran support role, but he's a climber so should see him near the front for a few stages. I highly support this MGoRideABike content.
Would have been waaay cooler if some of the riders put trading cards on their bike spokes.
all right, all right, all riiiiiight!
I did triathlon events in a previous life and doing hills on a bike is a beotch! I never did anything like those hills though, OUCH!
Where is Lance Armstrong in the race? Is he in first yet? Or have they not yet gone through the Alps?