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Txzen

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Posts posted by Txzen

  1. Adding to the data points - Global Entry renewal : submitted January...just received approval today. So, 7 months. Thankfully had conditional approval during the review, as it would have lapsed. 

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  2. 1 hour ago, Jerry Callo said:

    I don't think Jonas is way off of form - much better than I anticipated at the beginning.  Not saying he is 100% but he has raced pretty well: beating Pog on a sprint to the line for a stage win and blowing out previous records on important climbs.    If Jonas is riding at 75-80% this year, this will be Pog's last win in the TdF.  We'll see next year.

    All this empty talk of Tadej doing…Jonas was in pieces this Spring, and had limited time to train yet was just a little off the pace of the best rider of this generation. He’s the one who attacked and rode across to the break on the last climb, yet there’s no accusations for what he’s on?

    it’s always a concern or a question in this sport, but I prefer to focus on the positives. 

    Loved the interview with Cav yesterday- that he thought it was more fitting for his last Tour stage to be suffering at the back to ‘stay in this beautiful race’, as that was more symbolic of his time in the Tour than a fairy tale sprint in Paris. Hard not to really like this guy. 

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  3. What a great climb - my kind of quiet road to nowhere. 
     

    Love the way EF have animated the race, even if it wasn’t always successful. Fuck yes Carapaz. Nice team time trial to get him in the break. And yes, like this Remco kid. 

  4. 11 hours ago, Whitewater Horn said:

    Man, that is some truth. The start of Pla d’Adet is demoralizing. And I did it in my 20s when I still lived over there. My son graduates next year and I promised to take him to Europe to ride some famous climbs and scenic routes. The “Circle of Death” area is cycling Heaven and at the top of his wish list. That ought to be a different experiment this time at my age. 

    I have no good recommendations for lodging in the valley on the side we finished today. But on the other side, just near Argeles-Gazost, can’t say enough about Pyrenees cycling lodge. Hautacam just across the valley, Aubisque, Solour, Spandelles nearby. Tourmalet, Luz Ardiden just down the road. Other lesser known rides, like the Cirque de Troumouse, abound. Gorgeous area. 
     

    Spoiler

    IMG_3757.thumb.jpeg.c72f743611791cd42b067a6558aa1387.jpega room with a view…

     

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  5. I had my route backwards - we climbed the Hourquette from Acuns (they descended it). We kept going around and went down the Aspin, which was beautiful, technical, and scary. 
     

    Had no idea what Tadej was doing in the sprint yesterday and am convinced he’s burning too many matches…and then he did what he did today. Hell of a kick. But man, Jonas is incredible given how his Spring and lead up to the Tour went. 
     

    Monster stage tomorrow. Visma may have conserved some helpers today for the route tomorrow. Maybe they try to crack him but I’m not sure that’s going to pan out. 
     

    There are many climbs in this area I’d like to do again (and have had some second chances). Plateau de Beille is not one of them. I recall it not only unrelenting but mostly so heavily forested that you had no payoff for the work (unlike that great final climb today). Only at the end do you emerge from the forest to a plateau with some modest views. Not even a good cafe at the top, some rather ugly modern station (and I understand it recently burned so there’s not even that now).

    I think the only thing that bears Tadej is Tadej. He races all heart, sometimes with reckless abandon. But if he can keep the tank topped off he’s got this one…I think!

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  6. 12 hours ago, G650 said:

    Can't help himself

    Pretty much. 
     

    Headed to some of my favorite areas this weekend. The Tourmalet from the Luz side is glorious - long regular slopes with incredible views. 
     

    The Hourquette is a lovely climb, the road seemingly carved in the side of the mountain with great views all along the way. Because I enjoyed it, one can gather its not that difficult (relatively). 
     

    Then Pla d’Adet. The first few K are double digit agony, but it evens out soon after. Once can see the top of the climb almost from the start, but it seems to take forever to get there as the road turns away from the end so many times you never seem to make progress. 

    Spoiler

    IMG_3736.thumb.jpeg.85073108a21acb790ba2cfb9206273de.jpeg

    view from the first main bend at Pla d’Adet. Far in the distance, the finish is atop the green ‘bump’. 

     

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  7. Tadej isn't as strong as he thinks he is, and Jonas is no where near as weak as expected. Tadej claims his training was optimized for the Pyrenees stages - we shall see. The Pyrenees always get written as these irregular climbs with ever changing gradient compared to the more steady alpine climbs. Outside of Hautacam, I don't think that's true. The Tourmalet is relentless but regular, as is Pla d'Adet and Plasteu de Beille. Unlike today, you're not going to find long stretches of double digit percentage gradients. 

    Is Tadej fading or did he bonk? Jonas is certainly surging. 

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