The Bicycle Racing Thread 2014

[The Boy]

Giant-shimano to become giant-alpecin. Another German sponsor, and this one at WT level. Good times.

Let's just hope kittel or degenkolb don't get popped...

 

[hash tag]

Have just seen the crash in the womens world cup road race. Really bad, just horrible and sickening.

 

[Barking_Mad]

Nasty. Broken pelvis the worst injury

 

[The Boy]

Didn't see the women's race but will try watch highlights later.

Men's race is on red button now BTW.

 

[The Boy]

Froome dnf. #consistency

 

[The Boy]

Cadel dropped. It's strange the way his form has duped off so suddenly. Can't remember who made the comparison with boxing, but he's like an old boxer who got beat up badly once and just never had it again.

 

[The Boy]

Kwiatkowski takes it from small bunch who in turn finish a couple of seconds ahead of the main group with most of the sprinters in it.

 

[Fez909]

Calm as you like crossing that line

 

[ferrelhadley]

http://www.strava.com/activities/200661439

 

[The Boy]

Max iglinsky popped for epo. His bro got popped recently too. Good old Astana.

 

[The Boy]

Dan martin takes Lombardia. I can't have been the only person bonding their breath as he went round the final corner, can I?

 

[Nigel Irritable]

Dan martin takes Lombardia. I can't have been the only person bonding their breath as he went round the final corner, can I?

Hopefully that was the end of his year of non fucking stop crashes.

Always good to see Martin win. Always good to see Valverde come second.

Nice race from Wellens.

 

[The Boy]

Always good to see Valverde come second.

Never gets boring, does it?

 

[Nigel Irritable]

Never gets boring, does it?

Nope. You'd think he would eventually run out of amusing ways to not quite win, but apparently not.

I'm not sure what Sanchez and Gilbert were playing at either. Two men at the end and neither went all out to bring back Martin.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

Pretty pleased with how the last two big races turned out - I was afraid we would get Gerrans and Valverde as the winners, instead we got Kwiatkowski and Martin.

 

[The Boy]

Nope. You'd think he would eventually run out of amusing ways to not quite win, but apparently not.

He's almost as bad as Van Avermaet.

 

[The Boy]

Pretty pleased with how the last two big races turned out - I was afraid we would get Gerrans and Valverde as the winners, instead we got Kwiatkowski and Martin.

Agreed. Now all I hope for is Demare to take Paris-Tours and be joined winner of the "Most Wins of the Season" table.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Always good to see Martin win. Always good to see Valverde come second.

.

Yes and Yes.

Heck of a finish from Martin. Also his continued refusal to go for Californian dentistry improvement and his more than passing resemblance to Plug from the bash street kids make him

 

[The Boy]

Andy Schleck holding a presser on Thursday. Odds as follows:

Announcing retirement 1.01
Announcing a tilt at the hour 5000.00

 

[Nigel Irritable]

Boogerd is in trouble over his confession and is facing a ban. The interesting thing is that unlike most other confessors who won't name names, he isn't claiming to have been a lone operator. Instead he is openly saying I did it, I'm not insulting your intelligence by claiming to have acted alone but I'm not telling tales on anyone else. There's a certain warped sort of integrity to that stance. Honour amongst thieves.

 

[The Boy]

Poor show from Tommy voeckler yesterday after Paris-tours. Failed to show for the podium ceremony and race organisers withheld his prize money for finishing second.

Normally a fan of his histrionics, but that's a bit of a piss take.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

The Tour of Beijing has been surprisingly entertaining. High quality puncheurs like Gilbert, Martin, Costa battling it out. Riders with left over form from Lombardy and the Worlds and nowhere else to use it.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

I've been watching and thinking what a god forsaken race - no spectators to speak of and the drain out of the years events makes for an oddly subdued event. To me this race feels like one for the addicts only, a bit like the BAGS greyhound races the bookies stage just so the punter have something to bet on. Does anybody really care who wins it? Would anyone mind if it never happened?

 

[The Boy]

Ach, nothing wrong with BAGS. it's the cartoon races that are there for the addicts.

Tour of Beijing meanwhile, is the equivalent of the FOBTs - fun enough, but at a pretty serious cost to other racing. I'm sure I could force the smog into this analogy if I cared enough.

 

[The Boy]

Just seen that FdJ have signed Morabito as lieutenant for Pinot. Not the biggest of big name signings, but it does feel like French cycling isn't *totally* shit anymore.

 

[The Boy]

only 14km of TT at Tour next year if rumours are true...

edit: + a 28km TTT on stage 9. The latter is forbidden according to uci rules, but the rumours are pretty persistent and there has been s leaked copy of the route that confirms (apparently).

 

[The Boy]

Leaked route confirmed. Less than 14km ITT, a TTT on stage 9 against UCI regs, cobbles in first week and lots of MTFs.

Froome taking about doing giro instead.

 

[ChrisD]

Shouldn't famous cyclists keep clear of interior design choices?
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news...s-bradley-wiggins-customised-motorhome-142311
I wouldn't mind the motor home but not with that decor...

 

[The Boy]

Hour record falls again. The world shrugs.

 

[Nigel Irritable]

Hour record falls again. The world shrugs.

It provides a useful kind of build up to the first real contender setting one under the new rules.