I have 3 points I need to express:

1. Absolute masterclass by Pogi today. Nothing anyone can do but just watch in awe. One can only wonder what that race would have looked like if Jonas and Lipo were still around contending for GC.
2. Looks like Lenny Martinez is public enemy #1 amongst cycling fans today. Everyone is blaming him for not helping enough on the breakaway, causing Carapaz to use up all his energy and ultimately letting Pogi catch them. Personally, I don’t care much about that and think it was entertaining and dramatic either way. Seeing Carapaz look back and Tadej is just methodically pedaling closer and closer made me think of the Terminator films. Either way, hats off to the EF team for another fantastic stage.
3. I definitely have a love/hate relationship with the crowds in this stage. The atmosphere is great and it creates a real sense of drama watching it unfold, but its so dangerous and unnecessary for everyone to be waving flags in the cyclists faces, stepping in the way to get on camera, tripping over themselves to try and slap the riders on the back. These people get swept up in themselves (along with alcohol) and just have no idea how much risk they are putting their favorite riders in. Not to mention that Remco was trying to attack but got caught behind a traffic jam because there was no room for him to move on either side. Then we have Rubio getting a DNF because the UAE car needed to slam on its breaks to avoid running over someone who had stepped into the course in front of it. That was brutal.

And that’s not even including all of the little close calls that occurred (I saw one guy try to cross in front between a rider and a motorcycle with maybe a 5 meter gap between them. Motorcycle had to swerve a bit; lots of hand gestures ensued.

The third and last week stays in the Alps – that we already reached on Sunday, except for the last day which suddenly ‘jumps’ to Paris.

What a move my Richie! Very happy to see EF on the board before the end of the tour.

Meanwhile things are looking a little more difficult for UAE as a virus tears through their team. They ruled the peloton with an iron fist in the first few stages, but its going to be harder and harder with guys dropping out or being sick.

Glad to see that Philipsen in fact CAN maintain a straight line in a sprint

I have something to tell you… something that may shock and discredit you… and that thing is as follows: I’m not wearing a tie at all!

(Gasps)

Feel bad for Lipo. Hope he recovers and gets back soon.

Outside of the top GC guys, Tarling made for an entertaining early portion. He was screaming down the course.

One thing we’ve learned so far is that no one besides Tadej is unbeatable. They all are at risk of a bad day that changes the standings.

I’m having trouble understanding ESPN’s business model at this point. It feels like they go through once per year and get rid of the top 25% of their on air talent.

Either they think that Schefter can provide ALL of the breaking news and Stephen A Smith can do all of the analysis, or they think that people will tune in for other things besides on air talent.

I haven’t watched espn consistently for years, but this isnt a path that’s going to bring me back.

I loved lurking /r/peloton and /r/triathlon, but there doesn’t seem to be those communities in here yet.

This is very disappointing

I’d typically agree, but as incredible as Del Toro can ride, he’s had a couple of “off” days that have shown that he’s not invincible.

Remco might be able to build a bigger lead on some of the other guys in this TT stage, but then we’ll see what happens for Alpe d’Huez.