Always bet the break

General thought: A lot of people care a lot aboutrace safety, and I think it's helpful to use a framework similar to this - many different issues are lumped into "race safety" that are probably solved different ways. No single problem or solution. (Just a few examples)

So, in the end, Visma sent Campenaerts into the break because that exact tactic has won them a number of grand tours And Red Bull rode hard so that Visma couldn’t use that tactic effectively. Makes sense, smart from both!

Top Gun Rocket lead out.

"Bahrain want to be up there in the UCI standings, but say they don't want to follow the Astana path of farming points in far-flung races" Astana win races everywhere, including big euro races, with a *truly* diverse range of riders. Tired narrative, they should be lauded.

@juanin_ch Correct - this was during the stage when announcers were saying he might do one or both.

@BreakAlways He wasnt. And I do not think he waited at all.

Eulalio was never ‘gifting’ that stage, and also never should have waited. It’s a bike race!

Eulalio surely the first GT Leader to have all 5 vowels in his surname? (@irishpeloton ?)

@Finchh92 I’d be surprised. Usually in that situation the reason they split the spoils is because the guy going for GC is pushing hard all the way to get time, and the other guy can rest. Wasn’t seeing that here.

@BreakAlways I think he was until the first crash

Great work from Christen. And he is on my “Remco All-Stars” of guys where you should appreciate what they can do instead of lamenting what they can’t/don’t do.

“Let’s go to Jens Voigt, who has the worst view in the race and is a few minutes behind the action” Counterpoint: we could just choose not to do that and take a motorbike out of the bunch.

A few riders have interesting thoughts on the places they race through, but I think 90% of their time is spent looking at some combination of these things (or similar)

A lot of these sprinters (top 5) have been around for quite a few years but none of them is older than 25. Madis Mihkels has had about 3 phases of a career already and is only 22.

@LoosDieter It’s no disrespect to any of them - part of what makes cycling great is the different types of riders. In general I wish we celebrated guys more for what they are, vs pushing to fit unnaturally. I like these guys, and I like a quiet consistent 8th in GC. Beauty in variety.

@BreakAlways I have even greater expectations of Ciccone tbh :p But I totally get what you mean.

Jay Vine's best GT finish was 30th. His best finish in a 7+ day WT race is 14th. I'm just going to have to see it before I take it at all seriously. Excellent climber. Excellent TT rider. Never a competitive GC threat in a race with much complexity.

@CyclingWerewolf Doesn’t strike me as a GC rider, but I’m no expert. I think he vibrates at a different frequency. Great peaks but some inconsistency. (Feel similarly about, eg, Valentin Pareit-Pentre.) Not a bad thing, just different type of rider/mentality based only on observation.

@BreakAlways Do you think Christen could do something like Del Toro last year? Obviously not beat Jonas but finish higher than anyone expects? Or maybe not bc it’s his first GT where as it was DT 2nd.

@LoosDieter Vingegaard was 24. Vine is 30. (And Itzulia ‘21 was a tricky race) Not saying it’s impossible, just that I will not be predicting it. Similar to Ciccone, another rider with great strengths and who I like, but cannot treat seriously for GC in a big and complex race.

@BreakAlways before the 2021 tour, vingegaard's best gt result was 46th and his best finish in a 7+ day wt race was 51th. I agree that the chance that something happens to vine that will destroy his gc is big, but his ceiling is very high. I don't dare to say something crazy isn't possible:)

@Tratnikstan We crossed over and spent a couple of weeks in Slovenia too (and even went to the Tour of Slovenia). Always a treat.

@BreakAlways Wrong side of Gorica unf

We've had great luck watching grand tours, identifying start/finish towns that look and sound nice, and visiting them. Many are in that sweet spot of size where it's great to visit (accommodations, restaurants, piazzas, markets etc.), but not overwhelmed by tourism.

Always weird for a race to have enough bonus seconds on Stage 1 of the race that the first overall leaders jersey may go to somebody who didn't win the first stage. Think the Giro has that this year. Vaguely remember another race having a rule about this (?)

@Tratnikstan We were up in Gorizia (having seen campenaerts win there), so close by. And enjoyed Trieste and beyond (there was a great Cycling Podcast about that whole region). Then Puglia/Basilicata as well as Asturias/Cantabria where Vuelta often goes. Good towns 20K-50K people.

@BreakAlways Asolo, Cittadella