Nothing personal against Bernal. I just hate watching the Sky/Ineos (and now JV) train tactic. It’s incredibly effective but doesn’t quite have the same excitement as say Movistar attacking their own leaders
I edited your title to capture the broader topics and include the year for clarity, and then I merged the other thread to have it all in one place.
Higuita will win. Why? I really like his jersey
I’ve heard grand tour racing described as ‘watching a python swallow a pig’, it’s a case of slowly strangling the opposition and incredibly boring to watch.
Last year Alaphillipe lit things up and it was wonderful but of course the Ineos python succeeded in the end. Yay Ineos! Corporate monster suppresses upstart. Must buy their oil/tat/bonds whatever they peddle.
I’m loving the one day racing this year. GCN pass has been awesome. Tonight I enjoyed the French Nats. Last night it was the Italians. Desperate, do or die bike racing. Ace!
Dont forget that the odds offered change based on the volume of bets placed - not just factors relevant to his probability of winning.
That said, Im rooting for Dumoulin!
It sure is more open and unsure than previous years. I’m really excited for the race and hope that all the crashes and small injuries do not ruin what could be a thrilling race. The Ineos trains not running full steam, TJV stepping up their train game and a very strong top ten field could make for awesome racing. Imagine we could get a gloves off fight like the final stage of the Dauphiné!
Yellow: Most likely to win is prob Roglic atm with Bernal close second. With current odds I like Nairoman and Uran too. Before his abandon at the Dauphiné I would have picked Buchmann as my black swan, but he’s been managing expectations following his crash. Don’t think Pinot, Landa and G. Martin are quite there for the overall, but I’m sure they can deliver some massive performances to go for a big stage win.
White: Pogacar
Green: Nairoman! Jokes aside, no idea. Don’t think TJV can afford to have WVA risk that much in bunch sprints and the fight for intermediates, but it is hard to see past him when he’s allowed to race. Sagan is still bookies favorite but I don’t see it. Looking at the odds I’d prob put some on Trentin and Mezgec.
Polka dot: Depends so much on how the GC plays out. I say Formolo, Kämna, Pogacar
It is also shorter this year and less TTs so I’m hoping for a slightly more aggressive race.
Think twice. If he’s in yellow he’s not in his national champs kit anymore!
One day in yellow is enough if its the last day
Helpful link for US/Canada based people
Interesting theory I heard today on The Cycling Podcast (which, if you aren’t listening to, why aren’t you? )
They were speculating that the race may start very aggressive since no one knows if the race will ever reach Paris and the guy left wearing the jersey at some stage could end up being declared the winner. We saw similar style racing in Paris-Nice this Spring (aka “The Before Times”).
Good point. The Côte d’Azur has been declared a COVID high risk area already so as much as we wish for a complete race it is not entirely impossible that the virus shuts things down prematurely. With a pretty climby week one we could see fireworks from the start.
I just listened to it this aftenoon while getting muddy. I think a lot of folk have similar thoughts.
It’ll be like a cat 5 race only with mahooosive engines.
J-V dumping all the weight they can off their Bianchis…they are all in to win it, looking for every possible gram.
The need to employ Dangerholm (if you have no idea what I mean check his instagram where he’s building the lightest DH bike, starting by taking a knife to a carbon frame and scraping off all the paint/laquer).
He’d get the discs bikes down to a silly weight, and look bling while doing it.
I feel a bit dumb for not finding this info, but at what time does it start?
For those of us in the US watching with the NBC Sports Gold Cycling Pass subscription, anyone have insight on which will broadcast have the best commentary?
My guess it it’s all the same.
Zero question here…watch the ad- free coverage. Commentators are Robbie McEwen and another Aussie (Matt something?). Light years better than crazy Uncle Phil and his bumbling sidekick, Bobke.
I’d pay the subscription just to avoid those two…race coverage for any races the rest of the year is just bonus.
Actually, the commentary teams between the stream with and without adds are different. The commercial commentary team is Phil Liggett and Bob Roll, along with analysis from former professional cyclists Jens Voigt and Christian Van Velde. But, at least last year, the number of commercials is super annoying. The add-free stream has a different commentary team, but I cannot find the names by Googling.