Too late to edit, sorry. That was in 1989, and the gap was 8 seconds. Confused the year with LeMond’s first Tour win.
Interesting situation for the polka-dot jersey. Powless is tied with Vigegaard , and Vin gets the tie breaker. However, since Vin would probably rather wear the yellow jersey, Powless will still wear the polka-dot. (could make a yellow jersey with polka-dots)
Sepp Kuss 5th in the stage and moves up to 6th overall.
It was not just the motorcycles, the fans made the road even narrower – I’m not sure what can be done (can’t rope off the entire course – maybe just the narrowest sections?)
Brian
If rider is in the lead for more than one jersey they wear the higher ranked one (Yellow > Green > Polka Dot > White) and whoever is in second wears the jersey in the stage. So Powless would be wearing the KOM no matter what.
James Shaw crash abandonment was unfortunate, but he has had a fantastic tour. One of those riders who just didn’t get the luck when he took the step up to WT level, only lasted a year with lotto soudal a few years back - bad match, form not quite there. Dropped down to domestic level through covid but kept at it and got back on with EF.
Mixing it at the sharp end of mountain breakaways in the Tour will give him huge confidence - he’s still mid 20s so can do things at this level.
I knew that there were rules for which jersey to wear, I was trying to be funny (should have added a smiley) – who would wear a different jersey if they qualified for yellow? Apparently there have been a few cases when the winner got yellow due to a crash and was reluctant, and one case where the jersey was not wool
Brian
And another mass crash, caused by an idiot spectator. Not clear yet if anybody got injured badly enough to be out of the race. This time, it was too late into the stage to neutralize the race.
For every move UAE and Tadej make, Vingegard responds with what he needs to do.
I think van Hooydonck got the worst of it, and he finished the stage. Rest day tomorrow, and he can take Tuesday “off” as well because it’s the ITT. Just avoid the time cut.
Not nearly as bad as the ‘Omi-Opi’ incident a few years ago.
The “Omi-Opi” crash was the worst, but someone stretching out their arm so far to take a selfie that they hit a rider isn’t much better. And you’ve seen similar almost collisions each day on the Tour, even at the finish line at sprint stages.
What’s the best time in the Tour for the riders and the worst for the fans?
A rest day. I’ll be having withdrawal symptoms tomorrow.
Disappointing but not surprising that Powless lost the Polka-dot. He is tied with Ciccone but since Ciccone wins the tiebreaker (and does NOT qualify for another jersey) Powless will not be wearing it.
Sepp Kuss stays at 6th, and Lawson Craddock (a name I’m unfamiliar with) is 4th for thw stage.
ITT does have one climb.
Brian
The mountains classification will likely be won by the winner of Stage 17, which will almost certainly be either Vingegaard or Pogacar. At least, if there’s GC action on Stage 20 and the final climb or two there gets taken by GC riders as well. To stay ahead, either Ciccone or Powless will have to absolutely clean up on available points in the early climbs in Stage 17 and Stage 20. If GC is completely in the bag following Stage 17 the chances are a little better, though even if Jumbo and UAE don’t contest Stage 20 you could see the likes of Ineos, Bora, and Jayco riding hard for a third podium spot and mopping up the breakaway anyways.
I guess Vingegaard still has something in the tank.
He sure took no prisoners today.
Wasn’t expecting gaps that big. And honestly thought Pogi was likely to put a few seconds into Vingegaard.
Tomorrow is a huge day, so it’s not over, but Col de la Loz on paper favours Jonas. It’s a very long climb ending at high altitude, where historically Pogacar has been dropped by Vingegaard (see last year on Col du Granon and the Hautacam).
There’s also potential for GC action on Stage 20, but it’s not the sort of stage you’d expect big gaps on, more like 10-20s plus time bonuses.
And Adam Yates moved into 3rd overall, there could be two UAE riders on the podium in Paris.
Bernie Eisel and Jens Voigt, former cyclists and experts for Eurosport, speculated that to have any chance to make good for almost 2 minutes, Pog would have to attack at the foot of the Col de la Loz. But long steady climbs are not his strength, and his usual attack about 1km before the peak and gaining 20 or 30 seconds wouldn’t be enough. I think Pog’s only chance is a bad legs day for Vingegaard and the whole Jumbo Visma team, and I don’t see that coming.
ETA: my prediction: Pog and Jonas will arrive together at the last peak for the final descent, and Pog will win the stage but with Jonas directly at his heels.
For Pogacar to get back into the race he needs something like the legendary Formigal raid on Stage 15 of the 2016 Vuelta, where there were early splits with Contador and Quintana in a lead group, Froome caught behind, and the rest of Team Sky further back still. Froome ended up losing 2.5 minutes. Still one of the best GC stages this century.
This is extremely unlikely. The only stage at all suited is tomorrow. Pogacar would somehow have to drop Vingegaard on one of the opening climbs, be in a group of others who will ride with him, and have Wout van Aert et al way behind the race.
Or, I suppose, a monster solo break like Froomie at the 2018 Giro, though Dumoulin would have won that race if he’d chased Froome solo instead of repeatedly waiting with Pinot for Reichenbach’s horrible descending.
Yeah, basically they need Jonas to just collapse. I do not recommend wagering on such an outcome.
My prediction for tomorrow: UAE ride all out for Pogacar, and succeed in isolating Jonas by midway up the climb. Even Kuss drops, between his efforts today (14th! Did not see that coming, climbing in the TT or no) and the crash Sunday. Ends up with Yates, Pog, and Jonas. Pog attacks, drops Jonas, Yates can’t keep up. Jonas slowly comes back to Pog and then with a couple km to go Pog decisively cracks and Jonas takes another minute.
I just don’t trust Pogacar over 2000m elevation on a long climb. He’ll try, though, because it’s not in him to accept 2nd, so he’ll blow up.
I’m watching on a slight delay, so I don’t know the finish yet, but it’s not looking good for Pogacar. Vingegaard is just a engine, cruising up with his team. Maybe Yates becomes the GC lead for UAE?
Holy shit! The yellow jersey had to stop to get around the stopped red car in insane crowds. Little damage done, but sheesh!