such a shame that that crash that delayed Cancellara and Sagan had to completely change the race. i'm pretty sure Etixx attacked after the crash. fuck them forever.
Great finish. That [redacted] went out on his own for a little while a couple hours ago. Glad to see he didn't fall off when he got caught.
spoilering these for those of you who haven't finished watching the race Spoiler Hayman turns 38 in 10 days. he won this race from the breakaway. f'ing insane. Boonen is cooked. He should retire. He's nothing near his old self. If he wants to continue, he could be a great lieutenant for his team (Terpstra, Tony Martin, Stybar), but he cannot be the leader for these races anymore.
two other random things: * Imanol Erviti was in the break at Flanders and finished 7th. He was in the break again today and finished 9th. Holy fuck at whatever that 32 year old spaniard is taking... * Dylan Van Baarle, who finished 6th last week at Flanders, finished 16th today.... in the group with Sagan. He's only 23 years old. Superstar in the making. The next big thing...
the great inrng posted this morning that the management for Lotto-Jumbo has told their sponsors that Sep is leaving the team. Who's it gonna be? Sky? Quick-Step? BMC? Somebody with deep pockets... that's for sure.
Disc brakes are banned again. (at least temporarily) http://www.bikeradar.com/road/news/...emporarily-banned-from-pro-road-racing-46842/
yea, it was disgusting. a lot more work needs to go into studying how to make them safer before they are deployed again. Disc brakes are great, but they're not used in a sport like pro road cycling where you have 200 people riding right next to each other at high speeds. figure out a way to make them safer, then bring em back.
only three more Spring Classics left. Amstel Gold Race is on right now... anybody watching? Fleche Wallonne is on Wednesday Liege Bastogne Liege is next Sunday.
Will not load on cyclinghub and I have had no luck streaming from anywhere else. Can not emphasize this enough, fuck universal sports network for folding.
Ok, I think I found it on Steephill. Are there guys riding bikes in what appears to be damp conditions?
Makes me nervous watching them descend on the wet roads. I am such a pussy when it comes to going downhill.
and the crosswinds in this race are unreal. I've ridden these roads this time of year. its like trying to ride up two hills at once (the wind is one hill, the actual climb is the other).
those sound really neat and could potentially give the casual/recreational cyclist access to rides that are beyond their current physical reach but it absolutely sucks if they are making it into the pro peloton. one of the downsides to the human experience is if there is competition, there is cheating.
Regarding rec cyclists and these things: I already hate electric assist bikes and there aren't that many of them out there yet. It's not like people ride them on the roads, no they ride them on MUPs around kids and dogs. And, because they don't actually know how to ride a bike, particularly at the speeds these things are capable of (is simple to take the governor off as well), they do stupid shit like pass groups of cyclists or elderly joggers on blind curves and pass moms with strollers without warning at 30 mph. As far as the peloton is concerned... UCI needs to pull out all the stops to find and catch mechanical assist cheaters. Would start with a closed door meeting with the major sponsors and say something like "fair warning -- police your teams or we hand out team bans for anyone we catch." The last thing this sport needs is another massive cheating scandal.
I get what you are saying but I kind of meant it in a different way. Say I had enough time in my schedule to get 100-200 miles week in on my bike but due to being married and having 3 kids I could never do what it took to build up to do a week long tour or tackle an extremely difficult subsequent set of climbs. an extra 40 watts (adjustable) could mean the difference in realizing a dream and never getting to. Along the same lines, not everyone that has the means to buy a supercar should be able to because they can't handle it (place themselves and others at risk) but alas, that is how the free market works. Trust me, I get razzled when someone blows by me on a motorized bike on the bike trail as well but I am talking about using it in a different application. When i said recreational, I meant not pro but definitely somone who puts the time in and can handle a bike.
Rumors of motorized doping in cycling go back a few years. They really heated up when Cancellara left everyone sitting still on his 50km solo attack in Roubaix a few years ago and they haven't stopped since. I agree with timo, the UCI and sponsors need to shut this down now. the fact that this is breaking in thee mainstream media will make an already shamed sport even more of a joke. I say a lifetime ban for any motorized doping. That goes for the rider, and all members of the crew (mechanics, managers, etc).
The last of the spring classics is tomorrow...Liege Bastogne Liege. Here's inrng's list of favorites: Alejandro Valverde Julian Alaphilippe, Dan Martin Michał Kwiatkowski, Enrico Gasparotto, Simon Gerrans Rui Costa, Romain Bardet, Joaquim Rodriguez, Diego Ulissi, Roman Kreuziger Warren Barguil, Samuel Sanchez, Jacob Fuglsang, Dominico Pozzovivo, Wout Poels, Tony Gallopin, Michael Albasini, Jan Bakelants, Nibali
live coverage of Liege Bastogne Liege has started. Its cold as shit on the course today. Apparently ~100 riders have abandoned already... i dunno if i believe that thought. peloton still looks big to me.
fucking sucks, orica guy put in the effort to keep them separated from the main group the last 3k and fucking sky didn't put a single turn in until the last 300m. fuck sky so hard
Upcoming races... Tour of Romandie (starts on Tuesday)... this is the first TdF tuneup race. A lot of GC guys who ride Romandie are lining up their form for the tour. Giro (starts on May 6th)... RoyalShocker , I don't think your boy Aru is riding this year, but if you loved the Tour or the Vuelta last year, you'll love the Giro. IMO, its the best of all the GTs. Best stages, best racing, most unpredictable, insane weather...etc.
Looks like Aru will be focusing on the Tour, right? Excited to see if Astana can work together in the tour and try to dethrone sky. But yes, can't wait to watch the Giro for the first time.