EF Education teaches the youngsters a lesson
Rigoberto Uran, at 35 an oldie-but-goodie, outpunched the puncheurs on one of the most brilliant endings to a bicycle race. A strong breakaway was given 7 minutes so there was bound to be two races on the last climb. Both at the front and in the peloton, there were too many attacks to follow over the final 10 km climb, but Lawson Craddock’s three or four attempts to go solo nearly made it, so he should get the Combativity prize, surely? And yes, he does, despite not being Spanish. (Hoorah!)
Craddock, you may recall, was badly hurt in a crash on Stage 1 of the 2018 Tour de France but managed to complete the stage (by some ways in last place). He pledged $100 for each stage he was able to finish towards a fund he then set up to repair a velodrome in Houston, Texas that had been damaged by a hurricane. He battled on through the entire race, with a fractured scapula and stiches in his face, and was the Lanterne Rouge from first to last stage. Others joined his pledge and raised over $250k!
Team of the Day
Good grief, would you believe it – has this ever happened before?! Not a single GreenWightRed mini-league team includes ANY of the first ten riders across the line on Stage 17 (not that we have many riders left to choose from … see below). Best of a bad job with not-so-few points as anyone else was The Pain in Spain with Almeida (13th), Mas (15th) and López (20th). 196 points is the lowest highest daily score – if you see what I mean. “Every little helps,” but not much. Unsurprisingly there are no changes in the league rankings except Bendey’s Vuelta Siesta return to their long snooze in 12th place.
With the abandonment of Roglič before the stage began, there has been a re-reckoning of the team times competition.
Plenty of room on the team bus
There are just 3 riders left in the Lotto Soudal team after the positive Covid test by Filippo Conca, before Stage 17. That’s also true for Intermarché – Wanty – Gobert Matériaux whose team name is now longer than the list of riders. And, of course, Primož had to leave due to the injuries sustained in his heroic final attack yesterday. For Cofidis Bryan Coquard flounced out of the race because he was “a bit tired” (what a good day to bury bad news, perhaps?) and absolutely nothing to do with preparing for the World Championships. On the other hand, Astana, UAE and Euskatel appear to have led a charmed life with no-one stepping off. HOWEVER, in our Velogames teams, it’s all looking a bit ragged now:
