🎥 @LeTour STAGE 9 🎥 It’s a cagey battle on the Puy de Dôme ⚔️ Yatesy fights through the pain to take back time 👊 but now it’s time to enjoy the rest day 😴 #TDF2023
"The rest day has come at a good time" claims Simon Yates after brutal Puy de Dôme climb
CyclingMonday, 10 July 2023 at 19:00
A solid opening 9 stages has seen Team Jayco AlUla's Simon Yates ride to a 6th placed position in the general classification at the first rest day, just two minutes off a place on the podium.
A former Vuelta a Espana winner, Yates knows all about the rigours of a three-week Grand Tour. These races are very rarely won before the first rest day but they can certainly be lost. 4:44 down on overall leader Jonas Vingegaard, the Maillot Jaune is probably a lost cause for Yates. Just 2:04 behind third-placed Jai Hindley however the battle for the final spot on the podium is very much alive.
"I still had a lot of pain throughout the stage," Yates said after finishing best of the rest in terms of the general classification riders, behind Vingegaard and Tadej Pogacar on the stage 9 summit finish atop Puy de Dome, referencing his stage 8 crash. "It wasn't so bad when I was standing out of the saddle, which is how I like riding most of the time and on a steep climb like this it's not so bad. That was quite lucky, but like I said a lot of discomfort throughout the day. The rest day has come at a good time, so I'll try and recover as best as possible and then we'll go from there."
"I think you've seen the difference in level between those two guys and the guys behind. I think it's quite close between the rest of us," Yates continues, admitting that third is now his main goal for the race. "I unfortunately crashed and lost almost a minute so that's not great for myself. But in terms of climbing and how we've been riding, I think it's quite close. I got some time on Jai today and a little bit of Rodríguez as well. We'll see how that plays out over the coming weeks but who knows?"
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- A bit much to suggest that Pogacar is better than MvdP on most terrains. The only terrain Pogacar is clearly better is long climbs, on any other terrain they are pretty even except flat cobbles and short and steep climbs (max a few 100 mtrs) where MvdP is clearly better than Pogacar.Velovibes21-12-2024
- The likelihood of RE improving enough at this point to outclass TP or JV is less than zero.verve82521-12-2024
- That’s the most stupid thing I’ve read for a long time, did you not go to school and learn even the most basic physics? Aero depends on one thing only, drag, drag depends speed and the relationship is squared and apart from maybe at zero or the speed of sound or due to side winds that relationship is valid at all speeds, it dies not “suddenly” start at a magic number. Very simply, the faster you go the more the effect becomes important. If you think 25km/h is needed to have noticeable effects you’re delusional, athletic WR are cancelled as soon as winds top 2m/s that’s 7.2km/h, why because the assistance is already too important at that speed and the times prove it. You don’t even consider wind which can significantly increase the effective speed for aerodynamics and you underestimate speed of climbs, 6% is ridden more at 30 than 25km/h, a speed at which early generation high rims were considered to have more advantages than disadvantages. And finally, as in normal races you can’t just switch bikes according to terrain, it’s pretty pointless to discuss climbs as a separate situation, the aero will have justified itself plenty during the rest of the ride.Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- If you look at how much TP progressed in that 1 1/2 years you can no longer say that’s nothing. If Remco improves as much he’s a challenger!Mistermaumau21-12-2024
- Froome wishing to ride the Vuelta...he won't even be selected for the team!frieders320-12-2024
- Keep telling yourself that Remco but you not only have Tadeg to beat but Jonas!frieders320-12-2024
- Seems farfetched - I agree. Mas has beaten him once. Giro d'Emillia I think - 2022mobk20-12-2024
- Barring injuries, by the time Pogacar's dominance fads there will be lots of new young talent. Pogacar is about 1 1/2 years older than Remco. That's nothing.Sweep20-12-2024
- I actually don’t find that too impressive. In my later forties I did similar figures for a 3.5% gradient as a total nobody with no wind assistance. Am sure there’s margin for improvement there, especially looking at all the names on that list.Mistermaumau20-12-2024
- Jonas', was 6 years agospock12320-12-2024