Tour de France ISN'T Won with "Big Balls" Alone 

I heard that Vingegaard replied in his post-race interview that he didn't attack because he didn't want to violate the first rule of the Butterfly Effect.

Biig balls are not aero.

Mind games. That's all it is. It's a pretty weird thing to say about the guy who won the last two iterations of this race and has come back from a crash that was life changing. Vingegaard could always say back that Evenepoel doesn't know what it takes to win the tour, and he'd be right. But he's too classy. He'll let his riding do the talking.

I completely agree with this analysis. Jonas was the worst injured in Basque Country. He is NOT on his own bike, at that point. I dont see how this can be seen any other way. Cheers Chris.

knowing when to attack and hold back is what makes you a TDF winner....calm minds and not rush headlong

Jonas gave a great interview today on the rest day. He was very gracious about Remco’s remarks and reiterated exactly what Chris says - the VLB plan was “Don’t lose time on Tadej” and he stuck to it

When I saw that go down yesterday… first with the bike change then when the 3 caught the leaders so effortlessly with Jonas refusing to pull I started cheering. I knew that Jonas and Visma were executing the number one rule of the butterfly effect, do not leave your race leader! And do not leave your team until it is time to deliver the kill shot. Then when Remco started pulling Pog and Jones I started screaming “What a knucklehead!

Well, it's kinda smart (and vicious) from Remco & Tadej to put pressure on Vingegaard to push him to make a mistake by pulling with them. Jonas just did not take the bait and fall for their trap.

Sitting on my chesterfield, it’s a pleasure to be treated by the best race analyst ever… from the butterfly effect 🦋👊🏽

Still can’t believe NBC chooses anyone else to break down the tour. No disrespect to others who have shared the studio, but Horner speaks the truth!

A++ Jonas is the only one that had the balls to resist taking part in a stupid break away like that. It takes a lot to ignore those two. He showed that he has an incredibly strong will and can race smart when it matters. Im tired of seeing all of these fools, Remco included, acting as if Jonas was wheel-sucking during a monument. He wasn’t sitting on their wheel because he wanted to conserve energy and attack them later. He was sitting on their wheel because that attack was a stupid way to lose the TDF before the mountains. I’ve lost a lot of respect for Remco after that interview - saying that stuff because the 2x defending TDF champ (who is still recovering from injury and who was riding his teammates bike) won’t help Remco reach the breakaway is just shameful.

Tadej also said Jonas had been "scared." I said both of them are speaking from projection. I demand of them, "If your legs were so good, why didn't the two of you keep going, work together, and drop Vingegaard? They didn't because they were scared to discover Jonas can keep up with them. They didn't have the balls. They know damn well that Visma's strategy for the last two years was to let Pogacar go up the road the first week and to let UAE control as much as they wanted to until the second half of the 21 days. And they are afraid Jonas is getting better. All three of them know that they're all just trying to put pressure on the other guys and take pressure off themselves. I think you were saying this before the race started. All four of them have been doing media spin for at least two weeks now.

Remco’s trying to get inside Jonas’ head but he’s now living rent free in many others. Very entertaining.

Maybe Netflix will rename Tour de France Unchained (season 3) to Tour de France The Man With the Biggest Balls.

I love knuckleheads, and Remco is my new favorite knucklehead along with Pog. Jonas is smart and wise, but lacks knuckleheadism 😂

Even though I am not a huge fan of Vingegaard, I thought it was pretty impressive how he - on a borrowed bike - and Team VLAB were able to neutralise all of Pog's attacks and not lose time. They are able to race smartly within their limitations and their tactical foresight and positioning, especially to protect Jonas, is far superior to UAE's. The latter need to up their game and their big hitters - Yates, Ayuso and Almeida - have to contribute more even on these non mountain stages, rather than remaining at the rear of the peloton. At least stay close to Pog, so that they are in a position to immediately help him if he needs any assistance.

Remco suggesting Jonas doesn’t have the balls to race. Tadej saying he thinks Jonas is afraid of him. Both of those guys are tying to play mind games because they know if Jonas rides into form approaching 100%, they’re racing each other for 2nd and 3rd on the podium unless they can tempt him to ride their race instead of his own plan. It’s shaping up to be an incredible Tour just for battle between Tadej and Remco. If Jonas improves as the race goes on, it could be an amazing three way race.

I'm rooting for JONAS, just like I used to root for you CHRIS. High mountains should be interesting. Go JONAS!!!!

Let's see Remco's big balls in the high mountains

Loved the tactics of JV. It's cool to see him win the TDF, because he has to do everything exactly right to have a chance, while other riders just like to throw their "big balls" around and see what sticks

Vingegaard is definetly best in tactics

not the first time Remco has had a problem with a rider not following HIS plan. Jonas has more TDF wins than Remco has starts.

i do 100% agree with your analysis, but i still hope pogacar and remco keep om riding like they do, because it gives us very entertaining stages. And as a fan of cycling, that's all i wanna see :)

These words will come back to haunt Remco when he unquestionably will get dropped on some mountain stage. Fluffing his feathers after one week… You notice that he is a rookie at TdF. Pogacar knows that if he gets Vingegaard to go with him, then Jonas has made a mistake that he will take 100% advantage of. He doesn’t even care about Remco

Haaaaa! The funniest part of it all is that Vingogo won't even hear Remco from the top step in two weeks when it matters.

Vlasov unfortunately is out with a broken ankle, another problem for Roglic... but until now he raced smart (and didn't crash...) so he may be will get his chances. Pogacar and Evenepoel will both have a bad day if they continue to waste energy like they did until now - both of them had this before and not learned the lesson. And I doubt both teams in that scenario - Evenepoels team is not strong enough and if Pogacar has a weak day Ayuso will not work for him with all he have but will look for his own chances. And out of a sudden we may have the situation that Vingegaard and Roglic are fighting for the win... everything is possible in this years tour

Good take. Pogacar may be the best cyclist in the world, but until further notice, JV is the best TDF rider. He has this event figured out and is attacking it with intelligence.

On the the third week, Remco will learn what big man Test Tickles are!

Full respect to Jonas. Never thought he would have survived the first week after the massive crash Chris, do you think there is more in Premos or is he passed his best?

To be a true competitor you must know your strengths and your weaknesses. The tour isn't a sprint. It's a game of chess.

For Remco it makes sense to mix things up and bait others to do something stupid because he hasn't the team to win strategically.

I understand remco and pog but Jonas is not designed for such a race course. He's just trying to survive the stage..So what he did is absolutely good👌👍

Remco was riding quite conservatively when he won the Vuelta. He now uses one-day race tactics in the Tour because the overall victory isn't probable, because Vingegaard is not at his strongest yet, and because meanwhile he has learned that a grand tour can be over before you know it. So why not put on a show? It may not be the absolute smartest move, but from his point of view, it's understandable. At the ITT, when he was in the hotseat, he was shouting "where's the screen" to see if Pogacar could still beat him, just like back in Argentina. He's a talented sportsman, but also still a football player who's in the game and talks big. I kind of appreciate that instead of wanting all riders to follow the same tactics of attrition warfare like in the 1990s and early 2000s. There are also some playful dynamics in the peloton by the way that may or may not lead to alliances or emotional tactics in the weeks to come. Vingegaard is much like Froome a nice guy but perhaps a bit solitary. In a different team than Visma, it may be harder to create a team spirit that way. A counter example was Geraint Thomas in the Giro of 2023, where sheer team spirit almost brought him the victory. Now to be fair, Remco also doesn't hesitate to complain about his team and team mates, so whether they are still motivated, I couldn't tell.

The winner of Knuckleheads King is Remco, dude complaining about another team strategy that happens to be two time Tour Championship. What a clown

Thanks Chris - you always give a very good perspective of the races, and analyze the race as a former racer: there is always something to learn from you!

Great commentary as always Chris. Especially liked your insight on the strengths and weaknesses of the top teams going forward into the high mountains. Saw you race at Downers Grove outside Chicago in the nineties.

When Jonas switched bikes with Tratnik & stayed on it for the rest of the stage, he didn’t lose any time plus he took a lot of pressure off his teammates by not forcing them to waste a lot of energy getting him back to the peloton in the middle of a super stressful race - I’ll bet they appreciated that.

Chris, the reason why remco wants jonas and pogi to work together is to drop roglic. Remco target for the tdf is podium spot this year. Because he know that he won't win against pogi and jonas. So he want to lock in the podium spot if they can gain like a minute or 2 by dropping roglic. It help to consolidate his podium position. So its not a knuckleheads move for him and also why he is not happy that jonas don't want to pull.

As a chesterfieldian I’ve been loving all the shit talking this year. Even Jonas kinda joined in when he said “my time will come”

Absolutely agree Chris. I would want to add something. This may sound cocky! But Jonas knows that Roglic is not his rival. He knows that he can bury Remco during the 3rd week. Jonas knows very well that it’s between him and Tadej, if his form and health holds up well.

I like the way the kids are taunting JV and he's just keeping his powder dry. When his attack comes it'll be game over.

“Knuckleheads make exciting racing!” - Chris Horner Six! Six knuckleheads! Hahahahahaha!! 🧛🏻👊👊👊👊👊👊🦋

Vingegaard was thinking we can make gap to Rogljč now at 75 km, but thinking "after 25km those two will go again full gas and screw me, I will be all alone in the middle of the stage" and could be worse that 20km to the end, Pogačar will run again and make 1 or 2 min diff to all to us.

Just want to say how lucky we are to have your insights dished out for the tour. It’s hard to believe you’re not directing one of the teams! I still pull for Pog to win but really like the respect all those top guys show to each other. What a monumental Tour!

So basically Jonas wants to race 2 stages of the tour ? Imagine everyone should have that mindset ? We have been complaining of boring tours for years and criticism of those boring teams ... Basically Jonas is that guy in the world tour now ...

Jonas did not pull with Tadej and Remco because he knew he would have been dropped and destroyed period. Nothing to do with mechanicals/punctures etc He kept being dropped and dragged back up by his team mates

BwaaaaaHAHAhahaha 😂 Had to offer this: I clicked on your video, and as usually happens, it diverts to an ad. Today's ad featured those "exact" plastic barriers we recently saw (red & white plastic "Lego" stands), that created a right-side road carnage event just Friday or Saturday (!!!). The footage I saw before skipping into your Intro, showed a smiling construction worker inserting a rod into two of their units to lace them together. Heh heh heh heh heh heh 😂

Wrong again when you say UAE didn't race tactically correct in stage 4. For the millionth time - there was HEADWIND on the Galibier so it was the right decision to bring Pogi to the last steep section 1km to the top, where he could drop Jonas. If they had "drilled it" according to you and Pogi had to attack 5km before the top on the 5-6% gradient, he just wouldn't be able to drop Jonas, because it's not steep enough and headwind would make it even harder. Jonas would again be wheelsucking Pogi to the finish, while Pogi wastes energy. Regarding stage 2, they didn't need all of the team to be up there on the last 2km San Luca climb. They just needed Yates to do the 20% section, since Pogi attacked right after that on the flatter part. I don't see Jonas getting better in the 3rd week due to his shorter preparation and injury. He also doesn't have the team to put pressure on Pogi this year and the situation is reversed - this year Pogi has a 1 minute lead so he can ride defensively and it's on Jonas to attack and gain time. It's not gonna happen in the mountains (weak team) and he won't gain 2 minutes in Pogi's backyard TT in Nice.

Probably Lefever feeding Remco some lines for the camera. All for one, and one for all, hehe.

Remco also said that he understands why Jonas didn’t ride.

There was a guy rode into Paris with the yellow jersey seven times with only one ball. If Remco's balls are so big, he and Pogi can go with the breakaway group with or without JV.

Outstanding commentary, Chris! Love your example that “ every cell in the body is telling you to throw down”. Jonas has a clear plan of his best strategy to win the Tour and he is sticking to it! You go Jonas!

Vingo was smart not to go with Remco and the Pog. He isn't a classics rider like the other two and he didn't have his own bike. Plus he knows he can take time back from at least Remco on the big mountain stage days. Just a few reasons why I think he made the right decision.

I suspect that Vingegaard does have good game plan and is sticking to it until it is no longer a viable plan to win. Like last year, he and his team will mount a massive sustained attack on one (or more) of the mountain stages. That is when he will either win or lose the 2024 Tour. Until then, he appears to be OK with being in striking distance on any stage.

Thanks for another spot on viewpoint, Chris. They really should be watching this;)

Thanks for the extra coverage and spot on analysis

MAVERICK (Tadej and Remco) exceptional talent, ability to pull off moves others can’t follow VS ICEMAN (Jonas) impressive talent, stone-cold discipline and commitment to his strategy

If Jonas pulls Remco up the long climb and the latter fails to follow, it confirms that his BIG balls are so heavy that he has exploded.

better title on your videos I've ever seen, could not agree more Thanks chris and garrett for the fine work

Timing, tactics,and patience are Jonas's strengths. When I look at the three (Pogacar, Evenepoel, and Vingegaard), Jonas is conserving energy far better than the other two. That is smart racing. And right now Jonas is racing the smartest of those three. Rarely is the Tour won in the first week and we only know it in retrospect like Nibali winning over the cobbles in 2014.

Once In A Tour de France And you may find yourself riding in the Tour de France. And you may find yourself itching to go like Lance. And you may find yourself in a beautiful team with a beautiful bike. And you may ask yourself, well, how did I get here? Watching the miles go by, sucking the wheels when I can. Letting the stages fly, staying within our team plan. Holding my b@lls below, letting them pull me through, Once in a Tour de France, I'll show you they're bigger than yours. And you may ask yourself, how do I ride this? And you may ask yourself, should I attack here? And you may tell yourself, this ain't my beautiful bike! And you may tell yourself, this ain't my winning stage! Watching the miles go by, sucking the wheels when I can. Letting the stages fly, staying within our team plan. Holding my b@lls below, letting them pull me through, Once in a Tour de France, I'll show you they're bigger than yours.

ONE OF THE BEST VIDEOS ON INTELLIGENT CYCLE RACING EVER dissected mile by mile mentally its Vingegaard whose tactics will win him a third tour big balls weigh to much if your a climber.

Great summary of where we are right now with the four main contenders! Just what I wanted you to talk about!

It's easy to see that it's Remco's first tour 🤣

2022 stage 11 will not be repeated. That will not happen this season. UAE is gonna be strong in the mountains this year. If anything, this is gonna be their plan to beat both Primoz and Jonas. Remco is gonna become yesterdays news quick.

Agree that JV's strategy was correct. Remco's comment about balls was hardly gracious, but he was understandably frustrated. To be fair, he followed that comment by repeatedly saying that he understood why JV took the strategy that he did. So he understood it and he said so. I knew a man who used to get into fights in bars. When asked why he did that, he said "More balls than brains, I guess." We are seeing the craniotesticular ratio play out in this Tour.

Once more a great analysis. Thank you!

Yep. Cheers

Pogi fan here: I hope Pogača wins but JV is very intelligent rider. Remco is just inexperienced and has a week team

I saw the original interview in Dutch and as a Dutch speaker I could understand what he said and I must say what he actually said was completely different than what the press made of it. The “big balls “ comment referred to himself and how sometimes you need to make a big move if you want to win. It wasn’t a dig at Vingegaard. He literally said that he understood Visma had a different game plan and understood Vingegaard followed it. It’s always a pity such a great stage is overshadowed by a faux controversy stirred by the press taking words out of context.

Spot on again, Chris. Love your show.

It's like playing chess you've got to be five moves ahead of your opponent

Big balls are tough in Lycra on a bike seat….. just saying

Great analysis Levi!!

Love this analysis - thank you.

Like a lot of young cycling superstars in the pro ranks Remco will mature and become less brash in the years ahead

Racing with your balls and not your head. 👊🦋❤️

Those Belgians. Chris is spot on. This is a three week stage race not a one day classic or the Worlds where I must admit having the stones are an asset.

Thanks for the tactics lesson Chris. I'm an admitted knucklehead but I think I'm starting to see the light thanks to your patient tutelage. Oh and, Jonas Will punish Remco at some point. It's a classic case of FAFO.

Remco's been listening to ACDC 😂👍🏻🚵🏽‍♀️💯🇸🇮🇨🇵

They had a plan to hurt Jonas. Intelligent riding is what wins the big ones

Great Analysis! Much appreciates...

Excellent analysis Chris!

Remco had no problem leaving his teammates because they weren’t there anyway.

Pog and Rem are now going to tag team Jonas.

You nailed it, Chris, as usual. I expect it to come down to Jonas and Tadej in the end, but neither can do it alone. Using your team wisely and biding your time are often as important as nailing it.

Remco forgot that he's racing in a multi-week stage race and that your job isn't to take risks like it's a one-day classic.

The more I see interviews with Jonas, the more I like him.

Hot Body Tadej needs to sit on the wheel of Jonas. The strategy and tactics of Jonas is to let Tadej pull until he gasses out. Tadej needs to turn it around and sit on the wheel of Jonas. If you're gonna do it to me... well I can do it to you. Don't pull champions up hills.. GEEZ!!!

Well said! That’s why I like watching you Chris you’re a tactician minded. The Tour de France is a team race you can’t win on your own no matter how strong you are. Simple example a one man break away being chase by the peloton it would be a Miracle if he wins… I like Jonas I wish he doesn’t lose any of his team mates get better up in the mountains to help him win.

Chris, do you agree that letting Pogačar alone or Evenepoel alone leak on Sunday would have beeen an excellent tactic for Vingegaard? Assuming of course that he has had a strong team. The runaway would have destroyed himself and they would have still been able to drive him to his destination. With a very strong team, it might have made sense to let Pogačar and Evenepoel escape together. Again, they would have destroyed themselves in the headwind, and Vinegegaard would have saved his strength with his domestics.

This is why Tadej is the best rider right now by far! And so fun to watch. Makes the sport fun to watch. 1 vs 1 , we all know Pogi is the better rider no contest.

Remco usually shoots all his bullets early

Something else to consider: It benefits Jonas that the four topriders are in close proximity of eachother. That way in the high mountains other teams are more likely to work as well. If Evenpoel goes up the road he can always say: I already won twice in a row, Im not the favorite, I dont have the best team, you do the work. It also makes Pogacar more likely to ride offensively and thats when he makes mistakes

Jonas: "You do you.." Remco: "Marcia, Marcia, Marcia!" Pog: "Squirrel!"

Chris Horner: "Tour de France ISN'T Won with "Big Balls" Alone" Texas Lone Ranger: "Well I won with only ONE ball. How's dat for you?"

Why would Vingegaard, at this stage, help two adversaries drop another adversary who might be his mate at some point in the coming weeks? You cannot foresee everything that could happen in the weeks to come.

Agree 100% Chris! Also, I think it's been reported that Vlasov is out of the tour after that nasty crash on Stage 9 ...

Nice one, Chris!

Agree with the analysis, Chris but wouldn’t it be better for Jonas to pull and distance the other UAE riders in the top 10. That way, UAE may not be able to use their “multi-leader” strategy on the mountain stages. Right now, if Ayuso/Almeida ride away with a situation like at the Galibier, Jonas will be forced to chase and Pogacar could beat down. Similar to what happened to Pogi on Granon. It may work in Jonas’ interest to put a gap into Ayuso/Almeida to ensure UAE can’t use the multi-leader strategy.