I like it!
Good stage yesterday…
…also, if TVL/UAE is boring.
And INEOS was. And USPS/Disco was, where does that leave us?
The EPO-era? 
And, you know who you all sound like, right?
“Cycling was better in my day…”
(HINT: he swims near Sheffield)
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Is this guy ( potentially ) the best cyclist ever?
Who honestly thinks this should be in the peds thread ? ( I don’t )
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Contador, schlek era … oh yer …
Indurain … .
erm I guess we are back to the Badger, Lemond and Fignon … oh shit
Merckx
Tom Simpson.
I give up, bring me Coppi Bartali 
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No, cycling was really bad in my day - but I’m hoping for better
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Cav didn’t need to win 35 stages because he’d already won 34. He’d be more popular if he let others win
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Watching the recap of the Lemond / Fignon tour, it was amazing how many TT stages they had. Not just the famous last one but 3 or 4 others. That must have been boring.
When they chose a TT for the last day this year they must have been hoping for a fit Vingagard v. Pog, but it’s a big risk and hasn’t worked. At least with a sprint stage you guarantee 30sec of excitement.
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They always used to have a prologue TT on day 1 and then 2 longer TTs and maybe a team TT in the first week too. That’s one of the reasons why Indurain won 5 Tours.
The final day TT sounds like a good idea and there’s been some last day lead changes in the Giro when they’ve had a TT at the end, but the gaps at the top are far too big for there to be any changes unless someone has a serious mishap
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quite like finishing grand tours with a TT - it gives each rider a moment in the spotlight, and the commentators a chance to sum up the rider’s tour
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There’s not enough TTs in Grand Tours now.
Opening day = short prologue TT. Time for everyone to shine!
Mid week Team TT = Chaotic. They all look terrible and not drilled at all
2 x solo TTs, preferably, one sporting and one flat.
So four in total
I like the final day TT. Keeps people racing.
Maybe the prior day should be a sprint stage, so those lot try to finish 
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Totally agree! Get more TT’s and TTT’s in there.
How about a Grey jersey for the quickest over 35 yr old?
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It feels like it’s been quite a while since the last TTT. I used to find them interesting.
I mean, I could probably look it up, but this is the internet so a place to make sweeping statements without any research.
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There was one in the Vuelta last year, in the dark and rain in Barcelona, was a bit of a disaster!
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And that’s a bit of what I remember liking about them… could really shake things up. Wasn’t there a big thing with crosswinds and a bridge ages ago in the tour? I don’t know, I’ve had some gin, don’t take anything I say as being accurate.
Though racing in the dark does seem sub optimal. Good title for a book though…
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The Vuelta often starts with a TTT.
If you’re going to have a TTT you have to have it in the first few days before teams start to lose riders.
Didn’t the Tour take out all the TTs because no Frenchman has won a TT since the 80s?
Bardet and Pinot were never going to win a race with 100km of TTs 
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And supporting a final stage TT is loads more fun than the Champs procession. Had a great adventurous day. Saw loads. Had the caravane fun. Got to 3 different spots to watch. Ended with pizza and beer on the Cours Saleya after following Jonathan Vaughters on his way to the team event.
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I wouldn’t bet on the top riders being clean even these days. I just think the sport can’t help being an arms race in every respect.
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The whole CO thing seems dodgy to me. It might not be against the rules, but it is using a convoluted, artificial process to gain a physical advantage.
I also wonder whether it is being used as a smoke screen to explain away gains that have been achieved using illegal means 
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Is this the peds thread now ?
No one convinced enough to point the finger properly ?
Me neither.
A fully fit Vingegaard would have given us a battle like Indurain vs Rominger or Armstrong vs Ulrich 
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Although the CO thing is not - yet - banned, Escape Collective raised concerns about the idea of random cyclists DIY messing about with cyclinders of CO.
This is certainly not a far fetched worry when cyclists have seemed happy to inject/transfuse themselves with all sorts of shit over the years.
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