My condolences ❤

Absolutely horrific. Over the years I have lost some mates and if honest it hurts.

Condolences to his family, friends, and fellow riders. It's a "bummer" that we lose bicyclists in this manner. He was one of them.

Thank you … now that he got cought up , he’s playing safe .. na mannn 💚💚💚💚💚🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷💃💃💃💃💃💃💃at all cost we are keeping the green

Thank you!!! The way he almost ran my guy in to the barrier made me tighten up all over.

😆🎯

The TDF was also fully unsupported when it started. The TDF also didn't have race radios, team cars. Happy for us to go back to what it was if you care that much about continuity. But we have gravel races now. We don't need ROAD (ie tarmac.bitumen) to do it. Cobbles are still roads and there's no dedicated cobble races...so that still stands. Each to their own but I don't need it in the TDF unless we are going to go old school with EVERYTHING else.

@@out_spocken that’s a rather Originalist and extreme view. And I’ve got news for you since you brought up cobbles and roads: these gravel sections are still roads, too. I wasn’t implying that the TDF needs to be exactly as it was at its inception, only that there’s nothing fundamentally out of place about having gravel on a stage or two, since it was part of the TDF for many years. It’s not like they’re riding Unbound-like terrain. It’s smooth, maintained gravel ROADS (gasp! Road-riding can include gravel roads!). There is plenty about the TDF that was never even imagined when it started, and there’s plenty of room for innovations and changes - including roads that aren’t coated with asphalt.

​@@danielakerman8241 originalist and extreme view...how so? And yes...really...dirt roads and gravel roads are roads? Wow..I must have missed that in life 101. Thanks for clarifying the obvious. My argument is that no-one races cobbles other than road cycling. There's an entire different type of race if you want to ride or watch dirt and gravel cycling. Did I find the stage interesting? Hell Yes. But I'd also find cyclists riding in heavy rain going down hill interesting....and they stop races now when that happens. Heck they even move the start of races some distance when the rain is too heavy. You had half the peloton stuck completely stopped because the roads were 'that bad' that 'riders' had to get off their bikes and run up the hill. And that's where the race blew apart. I was watching it thinking...well...whats the point. When for a good minute or two the front of the race was hurling along and then you get to see the bcak and there are guys unclipped before they are even on the gravel section, before the banner, just waiting for people to start moving again. Not because of a crash, rider error....purely because of shitty route planning. It was interesting because of the attacks. I've no doubt they could create a route that was equally as interesting on paved roads that would allow for attacks and the peloton to be broken up instead of riding on more main roads. But no...we have to make it riskier for riders...which again...is everything the UCI has said it is about now. It's not needed. And if it is...why not open it up completely. Why stop at dirt? Why not let riders ride across mudslides, or in hail. Why not make them ride on uncompact dirt...you know...because that wasn't uncommon for the TDF either. The TDF used to do a lot of things. So we should allow that all to happen again too? No doubt it's a matter of choice. I just don't think it needs it. I'd rather see a bloody TTT than a gravel stage. Heck...I reckon they should probably put jumps in the race too. Innovate into some BMX stuff. Or throw in some legit fallen trees and have a 'cross' stage. Innovation isn't always good. It's just a great word to use to justify things based on aspecific metric/metrics while disregarding other ones

@@out_spocken wow. lots of words. Too many. It was a simple comment on KZfaq that you're taking waaayyyy too seriously. I'm not reading all that, but I'll assume you REALLY have a problem with a gravel stage in the tour. I have no problem with it. The variety is great, and so is the uncertainty. You're entitled to disagree.

Favourite part of the stage was when Bini boxed jasper in after crossing the finish and slowing down to get to his sawny

Yessssssss 😅😅😅😅😅😅 me I was dancing 💃 cheering 📣 bini we Eritreans after the last year was he did to bini and uci didn’t regulated him , been waiting head to head and now 💚💚💚💚belongs to us

Me too 💚💚💚💚💃💃💃💃🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷

Thanks

Possibly. IF the Tour (and other Grand Tour) organizers, and stage route planners continue with this trend, and even expand it, maybe some of the teams will try to recruit Lambie (is he still even riding??), who can also TT on tarmac brilliantly, or one of the other gravel stars into their ranks.

If you put Pog on my daughter's bike, pink trikes with unicorn decals would be killing it too. 🤣

Well to be honest the parent company of dare probably makes more than a few of the bikes in this race.

Well the versions of the bikes they are riding, I highly doubt they are readily available to buy to the average consumer. I imagine everything is specially made to be perfect, and aren't just the normal machine made conveyor belt for the average consumer. The bikes will have very little impact on these guys, its all down to ability. As said above put poggi on a unicorn bike with stabilisers and he would probably smash it

Tryna replicate Cav but with little to no success 🤣

Imagine how fast he would be if he just went in a straight line.

Thank you

Just imagine what Bini could do with an even better yet lead out team/train. 😉

Agree. This was evident when MvDP is training with the breakawy on the medium mountains and came out flat for the next stage lead out.

Agreed on the Prologue, and even more TTs, even though that is against the current trend. At one time some TdFs had FOUR Contre la Montres in them, even if one was a pure uphill/hillclimb. I am surprised that the route planners made the last stage a TT for the first time in 35 years. But maybe the rationale was that the last stage is going to be somewhat anti-climatic anyway due to not finishing in a sprint on the Champs, so what does it matter. Might as well have the 'tension' of a nail biting TT (a la '89!) IF the GC is anywhere near close on that last day.

Because it is more unpredictable that normal. Anything can happen and hence-everyone nervous.

Exactly

you mean when they stop rides for rider safety because of the weather or dangers on the road like mudslides water etc? The pros literally have had the cobble section lead in changed because it's too dangerous...so we should disregard them sometimes and listen to them at other times?

The Strada Bianche is a one-day race; however, for the Tour, one puncture or one crash in the main group can change the outcome of the Tour de France. Thus, this is Russian roulette, the chances that the Tour de France is not won by the best but by the luckiest is increasing, which is one element but should not be the decisive one.

Money now in gravel as the best gravel racer in the world makes much more than if he move to tour rider. New bike sales moving to gravel…less costly ones vs ridiculous high end road bikes. Road racing in the US just can’t make it but gravel & mnt bike is more acceptable it seems. Next, geriatric e-bike racing😂

@@CarnivoreDMD Who is the best gravel rider in the world and which team pays him 7 million euros per year?

@@tonyg3091 He didn't compare him to the best road riders' salaries. Keegan Swenson was offered only low-paying contracts and stagiare contracts, which ultimately made it pointless to consider road. The point is, you get more bang for your buck racing gravel.

@@tonyg3091 There’s many YT videos about him. Not saying he would be a TDF winner but isn’t worth the $ moving out of the US domination gravel pro ranks to a maybe Euro road pro.

@@user-qx4bp5rf3n He said money is in gravel now that's why I was curious. Honestly all of them get paid peanuts. Even Pog's salary is laughably low compared to the footballers.

You mean Bini? He has been up there in the mix for quite some time now, let's not act as if he came out of nowhere.

he didn't win a stage. He won the Polka Dot jersey.

The fluff up of the day was all their pronunciations of Strade Bianche! 😅

❤

Bee Yankee [Seep Kuss]🐝

@@savagepro9060 except it’s a ‘kay’ sound, not a ‘key’ sound.

Girmay said it himself-on flat sprints he struggles against bigger guys as he can't push the same watts, so dunno about that new Cavendish thingy.

You right abd Bini is right but having said that he is still beating the big guys so I don’t know 🤷‍♀️💚💚💚💚💃💃💃💃🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷🇪🇷

I agree 💚💚💚💃💃💃💃🇪🇷

A few in the peloton do as well, and not all of them are pure sprinters either.

The LGBGHHHASNJSHcVuGnEtWs would go crazy!

How is he making his debut? Girmay rode last year's tour as well.

@@tonyg3091 got his ass kicked by a certain disaster

@@savagepro9060 Girmay is a fine rider but he will always be struggling on flat sprints against bigger guys, just can't push the same crazy amount of watts, Today's sprint was at 40 something km/h when normally they move at 70+.

Why listen to an American when you can listen to a Pom?

It's his second stage win this Tour already. First repeat stage winner this edition

@@raedpanda so happy for him it's about time ..

@@TREK8481 it's time when it's time. That's all there is to it.

don't jump on youtube till you've watched the race. pretty simple. Once this is done, it'll be a whole lot easier to find the cast needed when the info is in the title instead of 'stage 8 thoughts' 'stage 9 thoughts'. I literally spent a day on youtube today and kept flicking past this till I'd seen the stage myself. It's not that hard bro.

That’s wa I said but Waite till the end of the race cus I don’t trust them 🇪🇷🇪🇷💚💚💃💃💃

Nothing of this will happen.