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chrisjpainter
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It's not looking like a tour for British riders or even the British team thus far. Pogacar seems to have already got it in the bag, barring a crash/illness.

But Cav. He's in sensational form and his team look nigh on unbeatable right now! His leadout is a phenomenon. 33 down...one to go to level with the great Eddie Merckx

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4 minutes ago, chrisjpainter said:

It's not looking like a tour for British riders or even the British team thus far. Pogacar seems to have already got it in the bag, barring a crash/illness.

But Cav. He's in sensational form and his team look nigh on unbeatable right now! His leadout is a phenomenon. 33 down...one to go to level with the great Eddie Merckx

Great minds think alike 😅😅😅

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1 minute ago, Mice! said:

Great minds think alike 😅😅😅

Ah yeah! I looked to see if there was a thread, but missed yours! some clever fellow might merge them. 

I hope he matches/breaks Merckx's record this year. The fairytale would be on the Champs Elise, but I wouldn't mind it happening sooner!

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I think you posted as I was typing,  he could equal the record tomorrow for me before the mountains punish him, but doing it in Paris would be something else,  but you know that whatever happens he is delighted,  the way the team is working for him though anything is possible. 

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A full page piece written by him in the Daily Telegraph this morning outlining his feelings and he gives great thanks to his team mates who have pulled himthroug some tough times.  They set him up perfectly for his 3rd win.

That is the second time I have typed this. The first just vanished. Is that something to do with the forum or my computer?

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Another great result for Cav yesterday, I bet he never thought he's be here are pretty much being left without a ride last season. 

Looks a tough day on paper today with two ascents of Mont Ventoux, hopefully Ineos will try and put Pogacar on back foot and isolate him early doors, although it seems like he uses their train for his own good and that's unlikely to happen. Carapaz looks like the only GC rider prepared to have a go at the moment and hopefully he will. 

The one benefit of working from home is the coverage will be on from the go. 

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How does a rider go from finishing 2nd in a sprint finish then win solo on Mount Ventoux the day after??

Some ride by Wout Van Vert, while Cav is still peddling hoping to make the time cut off.

It shows how good and how different the modern riders are.

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1 hour ago, chrisjpainter said:

He's only gone and done it!! Eddie's got company at the top of the tree now. Fairy tale at the Champs Elise to take the record outright?

It made me look at what Eddie did, wow he has some records.

Just a couple of hills in the way before Paris,  he's certainly going to have motivation this time.

54 minutes ago, Walker570 said:

Brilliant. I was going to pull up the race after checking in here.  They are pure atheletes and really do not the get respect they deserve, better some guy kicking a bag of wind about.

Your not wrong, the effort day after day is amazing. 

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The finish looked routine yesterday but Cav must have been feeling the pressure with everyone talking about the record. 

Just hope he can survive the mountains now and take the record in Paris,  but whether he does or doesn't he's still won 4 stages, that for most riders would still be a dream tour.

Knighthood? Why not, he's a magnificent character,  wins 13 years apart and simply loves riding and what he does.

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34 minutes ago, JDog said:

Morkov very nearly got that finish all wrong. Imagine how he would have felt if he had beaten Cavendish.

My daughter asked the other day, can the other man not win?,  the lead outs have been so strong Morkov looks like he could take the win, but I'm sure he'd have been gutted.

Mark must be feeling so relaxed this morning,  if he even slept?

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49 minutes ago, Mice! said:

My daughter asked the other day, can the other man not win?,  the lead outs have been so strong Morkov looks like he could take the win, but I'm sure he'd have been gutted.

Mark must be feeling so relaxed this morning,  if he even slept?

I hope so, because the Pyrenees stages are BRUTAL. 7 Cat 1 climbs, 3 Hors Catégorie climbs and 850km to ride...

Picture1.jpg

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Right. One vile stage to go for Cav, then it's easy street for two days before the smash and grab shoot out on the Champs Elise. 

s1.JPG.4d1e7a9e0c6b52a31370dad33d6d0a8c.JPG

He could have a tilt at breaking Merckx's record on Friday (below), but battling his way up 2 HC's might leave him a bit spent, so he might just try and just do enough to retain the Green Jersey, cruise through the individual time trial on Saturday, then hit the Champs Elise fresh and with everything he's got.

s2.JPG.80d084a6861fc0d06520dcf00926e95b.JPG

Or, knowing Cav, he could just go for both!

Edited by chrisjpainter
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I only caught the last 15km of yesterday's stage, but what I saw looked good.

Haven't seen the highlights this week, but bits I've caught Cav has looked good when he finishes despite the climbs, some years he has looked completely done in, got to be a good sign.

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POGACAR, age 22 and wow, how do you compete with someone who performs like that.

Stage win, Yellow Jersey and Polka dot Jersey.

Commentators are saying the Polka dot Jersey is because of the scoring system but he's got it.

Being interviewed he was being almost baited about the time trial, he practically laughed, Chris Boardman said he could stop for a brew and still win.

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12 minutes ago, Mice! said:

POGACAR, age 22 and wow, how do you compete with someone who performs like that.

Stage win, Yellow Jersey and Polka dot Jersey.

Commentators are saying the Polka dot Jersey is because of the scoring system but he's got it.

Being interviewed he was being almost baited about the time trial, he practically laughed, Chris Boardman said he could stop for a brew and still win.

Yeah he's immense, right? It's good that people aren't really questioning him about doping. Perhaps that will be Team Sky's legacy; they took one for the team and won clean, now we can move on.

But the real headline is Cav was well inside the time cut off! So, two stages to beat Merckx!

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3 hours ago, chrisjpainter said:

Yeah he's immense, right? It's good that people aren't really questioning him about doping. Perhaps that will be Team Sky's legacy; they took one for the team and won clean, now we can move on.

But the real headline is Cav was well inside the time cut off! So, two stages to beat Merckx!

It has been questioned as always,  one of the highlights programs was talking to someone who is working with Pogacar,  I think its through a university,  he was saying how it's not just that he's so good and is, but his rivals aren't performing as well as you would expect.

They were looking at Gene's and all sorts.

And Cav was smiling still at the finish,  its game on.

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Long enough, I really was on the edge of my seat, so close yet so far.

I'm just glad Cav didn't kick off, it looked like he was crowded out, but probably just out of position which rarely happens to him.

Still 4 stage wins, the green Jersey what's not to like about that, and now we wait to see if he's back next year to take another stage, personally I think its fantastic leveling the record,  how long is it going to take another rider to do that?

I was disappointed that there were still no fans on the final laps, I've been getting videos coming through of Cavs wins in Paris and the noise as they go around is amazing,  Dutch corner always sticks in my head.

I thought this was because of Covid last year but they said during commentary that it was a security cordon,  and yet some fans had still got through.

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