Road Cycling
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The fact everything has gone quite on here probably shows how disappointing the Giro was in the end for Kiwi fans.
Bummed for George, he seems like a good dude on the podcast he does and wanted to see him do well but sadly that is likely his chance gone to be a big dog in any form.
Hopefully he can make the Olympics pay off and all will be forgiven!
Bernal was a beast throughout though and with Martinez pull his arse out of the fire a couple if times it was an impressive team result. (Ganna dominating the front was impressive at times too)
I ride 100km plus most weeks so not a total mug on a bike but when I see what any the alleged "worst" of these guys can do I am just amazed by them. To repeat those efforts over and over again daily for 3 weeks is nuts!
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@davesofthunder It was actually a pretty exciting tour with plenty of twists and turns - but, the results weren't what I was hoping for from George - or Paddy.
Very disappointing that his GC hopes were pretty much gone on the first couple of wet days - though interestingly, Almeida was even worse affected on the first wet day, but bounced back better. Simon Yates also reckoned he was affected by the cold.
On the plus side, George was pretty prominent in breaks - but, perhaps too prominent and might have been better picking just one stage for an all out crack.
Ineos by far the best team - including Bernal almost certainly the strongest rider in the race. Only one stage where he was in trouble (and a couple of others where the pressure was on) but Martinez was there to haul his ass out of the fire.
Caruso probably had the race George was dreaming of - showed way more than ever before. Like Forrest Gump, that's all I've got to say about that.
Ganna is an amazing rider. He had a puncture in the final time trial, stopped to change his bike and still won - though he wouldn't have if Cavagna hadn't crashed.
I watched a very small bit of the finale of the Dauphine last night.
Richie Porte won the GC, but the most impressive thing was seeing Thomas crash coming down the second to last hill - but, pick himself up and chase down a 30 second gap back to the lead bunch to help Porte secure the win.
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Paris–Roubaix On Sunday night NZT! We get it live on Sky too although I have been disappointed with the cycling package they have bought this year. The commentary isn’t at the quality of some of the other ones.
Anyway there is rain forecast so slippery cobbles! Awesome. -
UCI Worlds just completed.
Finn Fisher-Black came 13th in the U23 time trial which is pretty promising. Tom Scully did decently in the Elite TT - though didn't threaten Ganna.
A guy called Corbin Strong finished in the winning group min the U23 road race - 18th overall.
Don't think any of our Elite men finished the road race. I think it was a pretty flat course and George and Paddy opted out. Jack Bauer was probably our leader.
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@crucial my favourite race of the year by far! I’ve missed it. I’ve done the Sportive version and it’s fucking brutal and painful; there’s nothing like it.
Mostly a bit of a lottery on who will win as luck plays such a massive part, but I’m going to say one of the Deceuninck Quick Step guys.
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@scribe said in Road Cycling:
@crucial my favourite race of the year by far! I’ve missed it. I’ve done the Sportive version and it’s fucking brutal and painful; there’s nothing like it.
Mostly a bit of a lottery on who will win as luck plays such a massive part, but I’m going to say one of the Deceuninck Quick Step guys.
There's some luck involved, as with most sport, but the winners are almost always great riders. It's too hard a race to fluke.
Looking back over the last 20 years only Matthew Hayman strikes me as winning any sort of lottery.
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@chester-draws the last wet edition was 2002; it’s likely to be wet this weekend and from photos I’ve seen, there is lots of mud on the route (though they are endeavouring to clear it). More scope for fuck ups and if something does go wrong, it’s difficult to recover in this race.
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@scribe it's what I think of as a "negative" race. You can be as powerful as you like, but the badly timed puncture or be blocked at the time of the decisive break and you don't win.
But the winner is normally one of the best riders.
I fancy Alaphilippe's chances. He tends to always ride near the front, so is less likely to be impeded.
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@chester-draws he’s not riding as far as I know. DQS will certainly try to force things though; they have probably 4 guys, any of who could be at the pointy end of things. My pick of them would be Asgreen.
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I just assumed Alaphilippe would ride it. Wonder why he isn't.
I'm going for Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel, if he's fit, then.
DSQ are strong as a team, but it's too hard to control the cobbles as a team.
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@chester-draws said in Road Cycling:
I just assumed Alaphilippe would ride it. Wonder why he isn't.
I'm going for Wout van Aert or Mathieu van der Poel, if he's fit, then.
DSQ are strong as a team, but it's too hard to control the cobbles as a team.
By half way through it is often individuals. Sod all chance to control a peloton when you are riding down a 1m wide path of rocks.
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Well to prove me wrong there was some very good team riding in the women event overnight. An unplanned 85km solo ride by Lizzie Deignan after trying to put some pace on then realising she was clear and her team adjusted. Cos tried a solo catchup toward the end but it wasn't enough.
Some carnage on the cobbles though. One rider with a broken pubic bone and I'm sure plenty of others badly bruised and bashed. Bikes taking a life of their own and jumping out from under riders.
And that was just in the conditions already in place. More rain forecast before the mens start. -
What a fucking epic edition. Did the usual watching it end to end drinking Belgian beers with the guys I did the sportive version a few years back.
I think it’s the first time that debutants have filled the podium. Well done to Colbrelli for a smart race but you’ve gotta love the way that Van der Poel rides even though sometimes it might not be conducive to his chances of winning.
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@scribe said in Road Cycling:
What a fucking epic edition. Did the usual watching it end to end drinking Belgian beers with the guys I did the sportive version a few years back.
I think it’s the first time that debutants have filled the podium. Well done to Colbrelli for a smart race but you’ve gotta love the way that Van der Poel rides even though sometimes it might not be conducive to his chances of winning.
Even if you don’t follow cycling that is one of the hardest sporting endeavours out there.
Brutal, vicious challenge.
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@scribe said in Road Cycling:
What a fucking epic edition. Did the usual watching it end to end drinking Belgian beers with the guys I did the sportive version a few years back.
I think it’s the first time that debutants have filled the podium. Well done to Colbrelli for a smart race but you’ve gotta love the way that Van der Poel rides even though sometimes it might not be conducive to his chances of winning.
Well, I guess the first year the podium were all debutants, but yeah. Colbrelli and van der Poel aren't exactly noobs though -- the loss of the 2020 race means that some people are debutants that shouldn't really be.
It's a thing that always amazes me about cycling that a sprinter almost always wins a sprint, no matter how tired. Van der Poel needed to shed the others 10 km out.
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@chris-b said in Road Cycling:
@crucial I think I read Stefan Kung crashed 4 times.
Even Sagan with all his skills wasn't immune. Cant do much when someone washes out in front of you an a corner though.
How was van Aert in the Arenberg though? Single file on grade 5 pave and the guy right in front goes down yet somehow he stayed up!I've said before but if anyone gets the chance, get a car and a map, plot your route and its an awesome day out. We did it on the fly after a weekend doing the battlefields and got caught out at the start from the closed roads but once we worked out how they do it managed to see 4 sections.
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10 riders to watch at Il Lombardia 2021
Alaphilippe, Roglic, Evenepoel, Pogacar among our favourites for Saturday's race
I think this is George's last ride for TJV.
Second in this race last year to Fuglsang, but the field looks a bit too rich for George this year.
Not sure TJV will be sentimental enough to let him have a crack. I think he'll probably be riding to support Roglic.
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George talking a bit about what's in store for him this year - but, with not many details.
Sounds quite promising - but, I can't see him being a team leader in any of the Grand Tours.
