I watched it live and wondered about the lengthy slipstreaming, but thought that the advantage gained still wouldn’t enable him to feature in the fnish.
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For the last two sprints in the Giro the team had so much confidence in Ewan that they had both Ewan and Walscheid sprinting independently.
A bunch of European geologists have done geological tours of some of the big European cycling races. Last year they did stage by stage of the TDF and aim to do the same again this year.
So if the stages get a bit boring , you can always switch to their blogs on this site.
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Jayco are being cautious with any crashes to riders, some would say too cautious. Latest episode is Harper who crashed in stage three of the Dauphine. He cut his hand around the knuckles which should not preclude him from handling his bike. Jayco have experienced bad luck when riding for GC in 2024. Dunbar crashed out in Valenciana, UAE and the Giro. Harper crashed out in the Tour of the Alps and Dauphine. In some cases the riders could have battled on for example Harper in the Dauphine and Dunbar in Valenciana. Even in the Giro, Dunbar’s knee injury was not that bad and he could have battled on. I suspect Jayco erred by sending Bling to Suisse, instead of the Dauphine as he would have gone close in stage two and three. Anyway, apparently Bling is flying.
That’s good, because the rest of the team, apart from the Italian contingent is not!
Big crash in stage five of Dauphine involving 50 riders has caused a neutralisation. The Stannard Biological Passport issue has been resolved with him receiving a backdated four year suspension covering the period 2018 to 2022. This decision suggests the UCI case was weak and would not stand up to scrutiny if pursued in another jurisidiction.
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He also copped a fine of 70% of his average annual salary in 2018-2019. I can’t recall anyone previously fined.
Fines and loss of prizemoney often come with an anti-doping suspension.
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Jayco’s Paternoster almost causes a big upset, just failing by millimetres to pip Kopecky on stage 1 of ToB.
Paternoster has been excellent this year, I hope Jayco resign her for next year and beyond.
Paternoster has already renewed for 2025. One thing Jayco must do is separate Paternoster and Baker. They are about even on speed but Baker can not deal with any type of inclines. Paternoster did her best today to chase Kopecky on the final climb but got dropped with 500 metres to go and finished 4th on the stage.
I put the kiss of death on Bling as he crashed out out of the Aargau race. have no idea about injuries, so lets see if he can ride Suisse in two days. Will say if he had not crashed he would have smoked that finish. Realisticaly, Foldager should have won the race in the reduced group sprint. He was a million miles back with 1km to go had to bridge a gap of around 30m with 500 metres to go, then had to swerve from left to right to fo his sprint and was beaten less than 2 bike lengths. Scotson is riding out of his skin to be 9th on GC at the Dauphine. Finally, lets hope Groenewegen can get through Slovenia next week and win a stage in a good sprint field. He may not be as good as he was, but he never seems to get injured or ill.
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A minor surprise. Jayco was happy to have both riders as I previously posted but apparently Yates had some concerns around support - By support, I mean having enough soigneurs at the side of the road in GT’s etc and Yates may have wanted a change. Yates is undoubtedly the better rider, however, O’Connor is more versatile in one day races and in a variety of terrains.
RRG gets the win for Jaycon on the final stage of ToB.
Majerus celebrates too early and Ruby pinches the win!
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TDF starts 29 June, the day before the French Parliamentary elections.
ADD
A run off election, second stage is 7 July
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Actually, Roseman-Gannon’s won was a combination of different factors. First off, this would never eventuated if Paternoster punctured with 3.5kms to go, which knocked her off the GC podium and somehow she did a mightt end to the race to finish 10 seconds off the podium. If Paternoster was in the final then SD Worx would not have stage managed the finish because Majerus would have no chance agianst Paternoster. And then it was a joke that Kopecky railed the technical final and was 30 metres clear with 200 metres to go, and stopped pedalling to allow Majerus to catch up, and then Majerus posted up too soon.
Jayco can’t take a trick with their GC leaders in stage races. Berhe is brought down in a crash and loses over 8 minutes, so GC is gone. That is seven times the GC leader or Co-Leader has crashed out of stage race this year. It’s no wonder Jayco are struggling for points. Bling finished a good second to Coquard in stage one of Suisse and is form for the TDF. It’s also pleasing to see Schmid hit some form. Apparently, Plapp will go to the Tour of Slovakia at the end of the month. It’s a short stage race with a 28km ITT. Plapp should win this race if he is in decent form.
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@yaco55 is there anything in pro cyclists using Maurten Gels in training similar to elite runners like Kip choge
Maurten’s bicarbonate alters your lactate levels and allows you to run faster/longer with higher lactate…
The Next Big Performance-Booster Is Already in Your Kitchen (outsideonline.com)
I guess similar to caffeine - legal.
They advertise the gels for cycling
@yaco55 is Simon Yates riding the TdF?
He doesn’t appear to be doing any of the lead-up races, which could hardly be beneficial.
Same preparation as last year. Have a nearly three months gap before the TDF. I am unsure if he is going as well. The team will be something like this Yates, Harper, Groenewegen, Mezgec, Matthews, Schmid. Ideally you want another climber and an engine rider. The climber ideally would be Dunbar, however i doubt he is in shape, so they may consider Scotson. Engine rider will either be Durbridge or Craddock. Neither, is travelling that well. Durbo is good for the sprints, while Craddock is better for the uphill. One thing I don’t want the team to do is ride in front. Let other teams control the break. Slovenia starts tomorrow. Sprint field is about the same level as last year and it will be good if Groenewegen gets a win. GC field is stronger than last year which will make it harder for Zana.
Doping - There is legal and illegal doping. The majority of elite sportspeople are involved in legal doping. They will take any substance/s which will help their performance, as long as it complies with the WADA Code. Of course lots of illegal doping takes place, though in cycling its nowhere near the same level as 15 years ago. As I wrote this Tapendatol which is related to Tramodol seems to be the flavor of the month. Every month there is a new product.
Finally, the Cycling team should have been announced two weeks ago. I suspect there are appeals, probably on the track/BMX side.
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