We've been fortunate so far this year to not have to worry about rain.   Tuesday broke the mold.  The forecast, while not horrendous, did not leave us confident that rain would not hit the course during the TT.  Luckily the showers abated until later in the evening.  The temperature at TT time was 78 degrees with high humidity. 

Unfortunately,  only two TTers shrugged off the threat of rain and the brisk SW breeze.   Hop somehow keeps ticking off seconds from his PR week after week. He flew through the course donning his "silver surfer" speedsuit in a PR time of 24:01(24.98mph)... ohhh, sooo close.  He said he didn't set up properly on the first turn and unfortunately a car was in the left lane, so brakes had to be applied. That was probably worth a second or two.   Brigitte switched back to the her road bike this week and soldiered though the course on tired legs. Thinking it was going to rain, she did a run workout at lunch time.  Even with that, she was only 22 seconds off of her RoadAero PR on a challenging day.

Tour de France:

So much has transpired.   The race in week 2 had boiled down to a battle for 2nd and 3rd.  Barring a crash, Pogacar's lead is unsurmounable.  On stage 15 (Sunday) Vingegaard, 2nd overall,  crashed out on a very tight right turn around an island.  It was a very tight turn and I think race officials should have made the danger better understood by the riders.    This happened on the heels of being being awakened at 2am for drug testing.  Pogacar was tested at 5am.   The understanding the riders have is that they aren't tested 11pm - 6am.     Apparently, a French judge had to approve the over night testing.  It would have been much more fair if all of the top 10 were all tested overnight.   Picking only the top 2 riders puts them potentially at a disadvantage. 

The big surprise on that stage was that Evenepoel beat out Pogacar for the stage win.  Pogacar seemed to be riding domestique for his teammate Del Toro.  He clearly wants to get Del Toro on the podium.   Evenepoel doesn't usually handle the long steep climbs, but this time he stayed with Pogacar and even pushed the pace when he sensed Del Toro was fading.     Tuesday's TT was in Evenepoel's wheelhouse.    He's considered the most aerodynamic time trialist.  He won the TT and has secured 2nd place with a 2 minute lead over Del Toro. 

Mads Pederson and Jasper Philipsen are battling for the green jersey.   They both showed how strong they are on Wednesday's very lumpy stage.  Mads has been assisted by American rider Quinn Simmons.   Simmons has made his presence known in almost every stage.  If there is a breakaway, there is Simmons.  Pretty impressive.  It's only a matter of time before he wins a stage.

Today is a hilly stage with an intermediate sprint after the Cat 1 climb.  Diabolical !!    Mads was up for it to take all of the points.  I think Philipsen can still take the green jersey with some incredible luck on the Champs in Paris. 

Anyway, I'm watching the replay of today's stage - 12 miles to go as I write this.  Still two climbs left.  The lead group of 6 riders will most likely produce the winner.  This group includes American Mateo Jorgenson.   I'm picking him or Carapaz.   We shall see.

The next two days will be brutal finishes up the epic Alpe D'Huez.   Must see TV !!      I'll find myself screaming at the fans to stay the hell away from the climbers.  My BP probably gets as high as the climbers.  

Enjoy!

Brian

TT Directeur

315-727-1458