twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
Good to see GT winners ride the classics instead of boring crap like the Dauphine.
Pro Cycling 2021
- Thread starter beesonthewhatnow
- Start date
Good to see GT winners ride the classics instead of boring crap like the Dauphine.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Why the rolleyes?Anyone seen the result yet of the opening time trial in Romandie?
twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
And Ganna was only tenth. He was unbeatable last season.
The Tour of Rwanda looks more interesting. They will only be showing highlights on GCN but good that it's being covered.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Ganna is focused on an upcoming hour record attempt apparently.
DJWrongspeed
radio eros
hash tag
Books, not bombs
Geraint Thomas in his biography mentions about feeling guilty if he has a little too much Christmas dinner and how he has to watch his weight.
A recent quote from Froome regarding his struggle to return
“I’m carrying two to three extra kilos of weight around with me," he explained
A recent quote from Froome regarding his struggle to return
“I’m carrying two to three extra kilos of weight around with me," he explained
twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
Doesn't Thomas have a bit of reputation as a pisshead in the off season?
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Oooops.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
Pidcock has just won his first mountain bike race of the season by over three minutes 
twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
Pidcock has just won his first mountain bike race of the season by over three minutes
How big is MTB these days? I know it's in the Olympics but it never seems to get televised or written about much in the cycling media, unlike cross. I suppose the same goes with BMX.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
I have a feeling XC will be the next thing to get the spotlight on it.
twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
Possibly.
See end of today's stage of tour of romandie
Dramatic. Heartbreaking. Breathtaking.
I've fallen off uphill in the rain during a club race in the past (plus another time in training) and just put it down to inept bike handing.
beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
Seems very similar to some cross tracks just with different gear -
If Pidders wins a gold then it'll be huge here but then again any gold medal hypes a sport in this country.
I really like the look of gravel racing - that's getting big in the US but then they have miles and miles of that. type of terrain to play with.
twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
So have I, but that was because I was going so slowly and couldn't unclip in time
Oh yeah I did that too but the worst time was not gauging the camber. Cue a slo-mo slide
Oh and the time there was cow shit on the road.
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beesonthewhatnow
going deaf for a living
It does, but I think the road bike look of cross puts off some people. It's a lot easier to relate to a bike that looks pretty much like the "mountain" bike you got from Halfords, even if the reality is somewhat different.
twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
I watched a few short YouTube vids explaining it all. Also the difference between MTB and gravel bikes; the latter are much more aero because of the narrower bars and therefore faster. I could just never get on with MTB handlebars or the seating position so have just pretty much ignored the discipline.
Anyway with GCN+ I have more than enough stuff to watch!
By the way are you able to access theTour of Rwanda highlights? I'm just getting the red holding page.
Cid
Proper break this time
I think XC looks like CX because what you're seeing is XCO (O = Olympic). It's multiple laps over a 4-6km course, longer than CX, but not by a lot. It's like that because it's easy to film, easy to monitor and easy to fit in around a hosting city or something. But you're really cramming the main elements of XC in - a tough climb, some fast sections, some technical descents. It's very different from CX in terms of actual technical challenge, and I think has evolved somewhat to match the capabilities of modern suspension, but the structure of it is similar.
The problem with that, and I suppose the problem with CX, is that you basically strip it of tactical elements. I mean you get bunch starts, but really it's individual vs the course... There are interesting elements like line choice changing over multiple laps etc, but you don't get the kind of dramas that play out over a long road race. Also you have to ask how much it's actually XC. XC is about getting out on longer rides, going to different places, exploring a bit. XCM (Marathon) captures that much better, but since the courses are much longer (60-160km, maximum of three laps iirc), it's much harder to organise. You could say gravel is the CX version of that, but I think gravel is probably closer to XC. CX is a weirdly hyper-specified discipline (because it's very old, and has odd roots).
Those longer XCM/gravel races also bring the tactical element back in. Especially for gravel... You'll get long, fast sections where aerodynamics have more of a role. If you check out any YouTubers who talk about gravel racing, it's heavily tactical. In a different way from road racing, since it's not team based... But that in itself lends an element of the riders having to work shit out for themselves; when to push a group, whether the right riders are in that breakaway to make it worth going for, whether to try and break before the last segment of the course (if, e.g, there's a long technical section at the end). Would love to see more of that... but it's a substantial technical challenge even filming road races, gravel and XCM must be a nightmare. Drones and improving rider cam technology might make it more viable.
The problem with that, and I suppose the problem with CX, is that you basically strip it of tactical elements. I mean you get bunch starts, but really it's individual vs the course... There are interesting elements like line choice changing over multiple laps etc, but you don't get the kind of dramas that play out over a long road race. Also you have to ask how much it's actually XC. XC is about getting out on longer rides, going to different places, exploring a bit. XCM (Marathon) captures that much better, but since the courses are much longer (60-160km, maximum of three laps iirc), it's much harder to organise. You could say gravel is the CX version of that, but I think gravel is probably closer to XC. CX is a weirdly hyper-specified discipline (because it's very old, and has odd roots).
Those longer XCM/gravel races also bring the tactical element back in. Especially for gravel... You'll get long, fast sections where aerodynamics have more of a role. If you check out any YouTubers who talk about gravel racing, it's heavily tactical. In a different way from road racing, since it's not team based... But that in itself lends an element of the riders having to work shit out for themselves; when to push a group, whether the right riders are in that breakaway to make it worth going for, whether to try and break before the last segment of the course (if, e.g, there's a long technical section at the end). Would love to see more of that... but it's a substantial technical challenge even filming road races, gravel and XCM must be a nightmare. Drones and improving rider cam technology might make it more viable.
twistedAM
Left Of The Dial
Belgian 21 year old superstar. Won every race he entered last year until a huge crash at Lombardia. Hasn't raced this season at all so it's weird that his first outing is a three week grand tour. He was actually the runaway favourite for the Giro last year and possibly the best ITT-er around (he beat Ganna and Dennis last year).
I would love him too do well. Winning seems a stretch but he's that good and Quickstep have a great team with Almeida, Knox, Masnada and more as back up.
DJWrongspeed
radio eros
As last year's Giro proved anything can happen in a Grand Tour. Just remembered you can watch it on S4C
Carthy has a chance and J Almeida too. I think Bernal may well pull out with back trouble or limp through.
Carthy has a chance and J Almeida too. I think Bernal may well pull out with back trouble or limp through.
rubbershoes
not the only raver in the village
I'll take that bet
