[ritchiebaby]

Accident or illness are the only threats to Pogacar now and themaclad is right - it's all over now. He'll never run out of time as UAE will defend their leader all the way tomorrow at the head of the peloton. There's no need for him to do very much as he is almost guaranteed a top placing in the Time Trial on Saturday. I feel Vingegaard has the measure of Carapaz and will hold his rival to a minimal gain (if any) as he is a much better time triallist.

It looks a certain massed sprint team scramble tomorrow in Libourne, tailor-made for Cavendish to break Merckx's record and taking the pressure off for Sunday's only excitement in the Champs-De-Elysees dash. The last time we had a sprinter's stage Deceuninck-Quick-Step took control coming home to deliver Cavendish just at the right moment. The only fly in the ointment would be if there is a mass breakaway, but I'm sure the sprint teams will shut it down pretty quickly. You can't always get what you want, but I'm sure Cav will have the satisfaction of being a reborn record-breaker.