Sep is out of Roubaix. Broken finger and lots of skin loss after his crash in Flanders. Bummer... hopefully Cannondale go all in to support Van Baarle now.
Posting b/c I enjoyed his blog; Steve Tilford has died in a car accident in Co. http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/steve-tilford-dies-in-car-accident/
its kinda weird that he has GVA as his #1 favorite. I mean, he certainly has a shot but I'd put Sagan / Degenkolb / Kristoff / Terpstra as my top 4. I hope Boonen puts on a show but I'm rooting for Sagan, Degenkolb, Naesen, Dylan van Baarle and the young frenchie for Cofidis Florian Senechal.
Two big losses for upcoming races... Fabio Aru out of the Giro, and Alaphilippe out of the Ardennes Classics (Amstel Gold, Fleche Wallonne, Liege-Bastogne-Liege). Huge loss for Quick Step.
Sounds like Cavendish is going to have to shut it down a bit, came down with EBV. Karma is a fickle bitch.
i saw a mention of that... he had to miss the big sprinters classic in the middle of last week. the original diagnosis was overtraining, but i saw something about mono yesterday. who knows. i just hope he's back for the Tour to spice the sprints up a bit.
2/3 for Valverde. Also, fuck that sucks about Scarponi. Got hit by a truck on probably the most familiar training route he had. That something like that can happen to a bike handler as good as Scarponi, on a route he knows that well, makes me not want to ride outside sometimes.
so sad about Scarponi. He had a shady past, but was one of the most beloved riders in the peloton. Did you guys ever see any of the videos of him riding with Franjke, the parrot? http://road.cc/content/news/174402-video-mac-awww-michele-scarponi-goes-riding-parrot-his-shoulder well... his owner took this photo of him at the spot where Scarponi was killed
also, fuck Valverde. dude is 37 years old and has won almost everything he's entered this year. skeptical hippo
I guess it is cycling season but fuck, enough already http://www.bicycling.com/racing/us-...ial&utm_term=881280635&utm_campaign=Bicycling
In unrelated but related news, the Giro is pulling this. The Giro d'Italia has added a new prize category for the 100th edition of the race, the Pirelli Premio Miglior Discesista – a contest for the fastest descender over 10 different segments, including that from the highest peak of the race, the Passo dello Stelvio. But the director of the ANAPRC riders organisation, which has successfully lobbied over the past two seasons for improvements in rider safety, called the competition "irresponsible". http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/gir...-with-segments-including-passo-dello-stelvio/ Not sure if I am in favor of the added risk for €500.
I was wondering if I was just being a pussy when I thought that. Glad to see I'm not alone in my thinking.
descents are dangerous enough, now they're encouraging folks to race harder down hills in the Giro which is notoriously wet/slick this time of year. you're going to see riders from small shitty teams trying to go all out to get this. those riders are dangerous enough on flat stages, now they're being encouraged to take risks going downhill in iffy conditions. somebody is gonna get hurt. on top of all of that, apparently the prize money for this is greater than the overall prize for the winner of the women's Giro. wft?
Everything you covered in the first 2 paragraphs were my exact thoughts. Did not know the info in the last paragraph. Those braggadocio Italians need to step into the 21st century with there thinking. That adds a whole other level to the bad optics of this thing. Hoping for an exciting race with no brain matter on the tarmac.
Giro starts tomorrow. Here are the favorites: Tier 1: Quintana, Kruijswijk (Lotto-Jumbo), Nibali Tier 2: Bauke Mollema, Thibaut Pinot, Tom Dumoulin, Mikel Landa (Sky), Tejay van Garderen, Geraint Thomas (Sky), Adam Yates (Orica), Zakarin (Katusha). This should be Quintana's race to lose. Nibali has been looking a little rough lately while Quintana has been humming along. Kruijswijk always shows up to the Giro in top form. In fact, he's pretty much invisible at most of the other races throughout the year. The Giro has always been his target throughout his career and he's always done really well. What I want to see: I wouldn't mind a Quintana win, but personally I'm rooting for Pinot, Dumoulin, and for Tejay to do well. I'm glad Tejay isn't going to the Tour this year. The Giro takes a bit of pressure off of him, which has been his downfall over the past few years. I want to see Cannondale have some luck. I'd love a stage win by Joe Dombrowski (from Virginia) on one of the huge mountain stages, and I'd love to see a top 10 performance out of Davide Formolo, the 24 year old italian on the team. Other than those two, Pierre Rolland is riding this race chasing stage wins. He's a helluva rider when he focuses on stage wins and not the overall. Fuck Team Sky. I swear, if Geraint Thomas ends up on the podium, I will lose my shit. They guy is a track rider who has suddenly transformed into a stage racer late in his career. Fuck off Sky. in the race: Tejay (BMC) Joey Rosskopf (BMC) Alex Howes (Cannondale) Joe Dombrowski (Cannondale) Chad Haga (Sunweb) - Dumoulin's team. Peter Stetina (Trek) That's more than Americans I can remember than in years past. Almost all of them are on domestique duty, but Tejay is likely aiming for a top 10 (or higher) and Dombrowski's goal is to win one of the monster mountain stages in the Giro. In fact, Dombrowski's career goal is to win the Giro, not the Tour. Stetina could be let off the leash and aim for breakaways or a stage win on a mountain stage if something happens to Mollema. Same thing with Howes if Cannondale's top guys bounce out.
that was so amazing. I love it when spinters are too pussy and just sit around staring at each other. i can't even imagine how many watts Pöstlberger put out there.
anyone watching the tour of california? just watched the most horrifying crash aftermath I've ever seen, the medicaid should be ashamed