Seems that Gigante will stay at AG Insurance. Liv alula never a chance which steams back to Gigante’s first pro contract. Don’t want to say too much because Sarah will chase me around the internet.
Think Jayco have a chance in stage 17 and 21 with 18 a possibility. Finally, think Bling should ride the Vuelta. Its a suitable route but more importantly he’s had little racing in the last 2 years.
Carapaz wins stage 18 from Schmid and Jorgensen. Schmid is in rare form who is a cut above the other Jayco riders, yet, next year at Q 36.5 he would be like Howson today riding at the front of the main peleton.
Schmid has nearly 37% of Jayco’s UCI points this year.
I believe there will be an announcement about Jayco’s future in the next 2 days. There will be changes. Q 36.5 have too much money. Now they are strongly linked with Roglic. Finally, jayco will prioritise Foldager for wins in 2027. he just does not have the same range as Schmid.
I watched the SBS behind the scenes commentary of Schmid’s win for jayco in Stage 13 of the TDF. They could have not shown less enthusiasm, yet, if that was an Aussie they would have jumped through the roof. SBS only support Jayco if an Aussie wins. Finally, what an advertisement Alpe D’Huez is for road cycling. The passion is next level.
Need to replace the camera motorbikes with a snow plow.
Ratings of Jayco’s riders at the TDF.
Schmid - I was worried about his form since the Ardennes but he has been quality.
Matthews - I am happy with his performance as he is coming from a long way back. Please send him to the Vuelta.
Plapp - very disappointing. he was in two breaks which is enough for a team chasing the breaks. He’s struggled in his two entries at the TDF, so we give it a miss in 2027.
Englehardt - Slow start but was good in the second half.
O’brien - came in under an injury cloud which forced him to miss altitude camps and lead up races. Then crashed in stage two. Should not have started.
Durbridge - has not been at the level since 2022 which is exacerbated by him not having the power to be involved in break formation.
Ackermann - I give him kudos for being in every sprint final with little or no team support. Simply, he is not fast enough.
O’Connor - Has never found shape in his two years at jayco. I will give him credit for being an excellent team member when he can’t win.
Finally, my wish for the last stage is to see DelToro for the first time support his team leader Pogacar.
Been following the tour with the mini highlights and I must say Mads Pedersen has been great to watch. The bloke’s a sprinter but he was taking on some mountain climbs to give himself the best opportunity for the sprint sections.
It was a disgrace that Pedersen did not win the Super Combativity award. He did thing that should not be possible in the TDF. I am still in awe of him in 2020 when in the World’s jersey, he babysat Porte to win the TDU and finish 3rd in the TDF.
Gotta say the content produced by John Trevorrow for the Detour Poddy. He’s gets access to a wide range of people which he combines with his relaxed interviewing style. Actually, John produces excellent written text which needs minimal editing.
Stanley Streey Social also produced good content, especially, their daily podcast. Max Gawn is a total CYCLING NUFFIE.
Wout beats Plowright in a photo finish in the Tour of Denmark.
Plowright announced the winner on the line, but a review of the photo gave it to Wout.
Needless to say, Capt Plow isn’t happy.
At the post race interview Plowright stated that he was so rapt with beating VWA that he will post a picture on his wall at home.
Got some correspondence from Sarah Gigante. Apparently the reason she signed her first pro contract with Tibco is because she had no other offers. It is strange that with the scouting system in place that a generational Aussie talent like Sarah could fall through the cracks.
Crazy.
Although some would argue her fragility perhaps warranted some caution.
She was the outstanding talent male or female from Australia in the last ten years. How this could be missed by teams is worrying, especially, seeing she emailed 20 teams. Do you remember she twice beat brown in the National ITT, when brown was near the top of her game.
I will raise another issue felicity Wilson-Haffenden. Turned pro after winning the World’s ITT. It was a crazy decision because she was not ready. Lidl signed four 18 year olds in 2024, Felicity, Holmgren twins and Moors. Moors came good in her third year, while isabella has been good since year 2. Unfortunately felicity and Ava are struggling at the level. My observations are that it takes 3 years for under 18’s to get to WT level, so they be riding for development teams when they are 19-20. The upshot of it all is that felicity will not be renewed by Lidl.
Crazy scenes at the TDF femmes with Vollering grabbing the yellow jersey from Niewiadoma after dubious tactics by Gery. kasia accused FDJ of dirty tactics and then confronted gery. The one thing about the women’s peleton is they don’t hold back in the public sphere.
That was a pretty ugly move from Gery.
Bleddyn riding as a stagiare for Green Edge. Posted earlier in the year that he is WT level. he’s definitely better than McKenzie and Holmes.
Terrible news.
“Based on nearby residents’ testimony and remarks from a portuguese journalist, Tarling was apparently alone, several minutes behind the main group, and without a police motorbike escort. During that time, the driver of the vehicle somehow entered the course and was driving in his own lane. The accident ended up occurring near a curve with limited visibility. These three factors contributed to the accident.”
