After a bruising few days, the 2017 Tour de France is at risk of featuring reduced eight-man teams a year ahead of schedule. Surely a DQ for Sagan is harsh? Whatever your view on that controversy, the early drama once again lays bare the power, stamina and courage - in some cases, recklessness - of the pro peloton.
If you're interested in the numbers behind the monstrous efforts you see on screen, Strava is the perfect tool for analysing the talent required to mix it at the top. No fewer than 81 pro cyclists riding this year's Tour are on the site, and Strava have helpfully provided a list of them all - complete with links to their profiles.
Here are just a few of them: kudos fingers at the ready...
Romain Bardet (AG2R La Mondiale)
Congrats @petosagan, happy about my performance. Incredible job by my team @BMCProTeam, to put me in position. #Ride_BMC #NeverGiveUp pic.twitter.com/F5POjYReMt
— Greg Van Avermaet (@GregVanAvermaet) July 3, 2017
Taylor Phinney (Cannondale Drapac)
Pierre Rolland (Cannondale Drapac)
Alexander Kristoff (Katusha Alpecin)
Scott Thwaites (Dimension Data)
John Degenkolb (Trek Segafredo)
Segments of the Tour
Apart from fuelling your pride/sense of profound inadequacy, the other great thing about Strava is its segments.
A segment, if you're new to Strava, is simply a section of road, track or trail. Strava users can create their own segments, and each one has its own leaderboard showing the fastest times of everyone who's ridden that particular stretch of tarmac.
Most of the critical points of this year's Tour feature their own Strava segment, and two of them will be of particular interest for anyone riding this year's Etape du Tour.
The 2017 Etape sees riders tackle Stage 18, featuring an ascent of the Col de Vars before a summit finish on Col d'Izoard. Here's a little snapshot of what lies in wait:
Strava Club Posts
Meanwhile, away from the rarefied thrills of the Tour, Strava has also introduced a new feature called club posts: "the newest way to share content and information on the social network for athletes."
Strava club admins can now share a variety of posts with club members including announcements, questions, stories, photos, routes and segments, articles, product reviews, and other "engaging athletic content".
If you're on Strava, chances are you've signed up with a few clubs - but, if you're like us, you may not have interacted much with many of them. The new club posts feature looks set to change this, significantly boosting the platform's potential as a social hub.
"We are committed to making Strava the home for people's athletic life, where you are not only tracking activities but also connecting with other athletes: sharing tips, discovering new routes and races, and getting inspired," says Aaron Forth, Chief Product Officer at Strava.
"With more than 160,000 active clubs on Strava, we saw an opportunity to offer even more ways for athletes to engage with each other, keep clubs active and growing, keep athletes motivated, and ultimately provide an even richer Strava experience."
Apart from conventional cycling clubs, Strava say the clubs on its platform range from casual groups of friends to local shops to global brands. With the ability to post photos, stories and events, we're not far off the point where many groups - including traditional cycling clubs - will be able to manage their online presence entirely through Strava.
Maybe the future really is orange...
Keen to check it out? Why not join the Sportive.com Strava club, where we'll be posting news, ride reports and exciting giveaways for members: www.strava.com/clubs/sportive
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