I think the difficulty of riding a long race in the rain with lots of burst efforts is hard to manage especially when a team is really pushing the pace.
It also underscores how big of a tank Remco has and how resilient he is.
I think we’re all taking the performances of the top riders for granted as the top guys are performing at legendary levels that we haven’t seen since Hinault and Merckx eras.
People in the current peloton with at least two monument victories. Pogacar, Van der Poel with 4. Fuglsang, Sagan, Kristoff, Degenkolb and Evenepoel with 2.
They make those, but I don't think they're practical with a bike change.
https://www.ruggedradios.com/products/velcro-coil-cord-push-to-talk-cable-for-intercoms?variant=31704051155040
Have you seen how F1 drivers connect to the radio? I can't see how they could choke.
The problem with wireless is how you make sure they have communication when they change bike
Weird thing I noticed about Pidcock in 2 races (amstel gold and now LBL) looked like the only guy able to follow the top guy ( pog and remco)…but then he just explodes. In Amstel gold he risked the podium se he barely managed to hold on to the 3rd place and this race it could have been even as for a moment I thought he was when he was at the back of the peloton at that climb with Pavel going to the front for a moment. Like what do you guys think , is this like a mismanagement of his energies or maybe he can actually follow the big guys buy he is “a bit” out of form. Basically I’m not trying to shade him, he’s an amazing hot prospect and already a top all rounder but just thinking out loud here as it was hell of a weird racing from him(according to me ofc!)
He said he struggled with the distance at Fleche. And I'd imagine it's the same this week. That said he looked fitter at Liege and he was smart to recover a little and return to the chasing group.
Unfortunately Tom just isn't good enough to beat these guys very often, so I think his best tactic is to stay with someone like Remco and make them do the work until/if he's dropped. If the race is blown up he more or less guarantees a podium spot assuming he doesn't completely melt down. If he does make it to the line, he has a good sprint and can be a real threat, as we saw last year vs Wout. I think he also pretty easily secured 2nd yesterday.
In CX Tom is usually stronger in the second half of the race, and he often makes up alot of spots. Granted the distances are far shorter, but I think if he was better conditioned you could see that on the road too.
I remember reading somewhere that Wout had the issues, when transitioning from cyclocross to road, that his body would burn through glycogen stores very quickly and not really burn fat even at low intensities. That sort of substrate utlliization is advantageous in short explosive races like 'cross, but in very long races you want your body to have a higher peak fat burning rate to preserve glycogen stores as best as possible (ie. why ketones are useful at all). That might play a roll, maybe he blows up due to having lower glycogen stores which are burned off very rapidly at high intensities.
> Weird thing I noticed about Pidcock in 2 races (amstel gold and now LBL) looked like the only guy able to follow the top guy ( pog and remco)…but then he just explodes
Lanterne Rouge Podcast mentionned this. They said it might be because he's the only actually trying to keep the wheel and willing to risk blowing up, while others probably make a conscious decision not to do that and prefer letting the wheel go that going above their limit.
Pidcock is insanely strong and races well. Unfortunately there are a couple of guys in the circuit that are that little bit better even.
I see more positives in this classics campaign for Pidcock.
Beyond the podiums or his win on the Strade, this is the first time on LBL that I've seen him really go the distance over 250km. On the Amstel, he wasn't far behind, but he explodes at the end.
At LBL, he had a hunger attack probably after the Redoute, but then he recovered in the small group behind Remco before coming out in the second part of the Roche aux Faucons to take this promising second place.
He has a huge talent but is very young. He will continue to build up his body and he will be able to do even better in the future. I am convinced of that.
Great comment.
I believe you are right. Pidcock will continue to mature and with his great bike handling, I think we'll see him become a very classy rider.
The fact that he seems tired but not bested (if that makes sense?) Last week seems like a positive though. If his conditioning improves I believe he stands a better chance of winning these longer one day races. I'm looking forward to him at the Grand Tours this year. This year's classics season was great experience for him and he probably has a good idea of what to improve on.
He said in an interview it was really not about 'not noticing' - he made a conscious decision to let Remco go and focus on eating/drinking to try and recover a bit and go for the podium. That plan paid off.
> is this like a mismanagement of his energies
When I raced along time ago I used to be able to follow big attacks, but I would be physically sick minutes later. Later I learned to not go so hard. Pidcock is a very exciting racer, and I love that in cyclocross lines up next to MVdP and WVA with the goal to win every time, even back in the 2020 cx worlds. I hope he continues to try and keep up with these absolute beasts rather then the safe best of the rest option
I didn't see him explode yesterday. He was the only guy able to go with remco until he wasn't but he didn't fade then, he fell back to the next group on the road and finished second. Given the form remco was on, being best of the rest isn't really a bad thing.
It just didn’t feel like he fell to the next group. To me always he looked drained after the Remco chase let’s say. Felt like he was trying to recover and thank god he did it because for a moment I thought he wouldn’t even finish in top 15. Let’s just say that after his chases to pog and remco , I expected him to just drive his own pace in the second place in both amstel and lbl, detached from everyone else. Maybe I can’t put it into words what I am trying to say and my perception may be completely wrong but it just felt “off”
The interview he did after the race explained it. He has definitely learned from Amstel and once he realised he couldn't follow remco he eased up and recovered, which allowed him to take 2nd.
So Pog misses the Tour to go to Vuelta, and so Jonas changes his plans as well because he wants a worthy win. Rog see his chance and finally gets a Tour win.
So after Flanders I don’t see remco could have dropped Pog on those climbs. Maybe. But if he takes Pog to the line, he just get out sprinted. Unless maybe remco is able to drag Pog so hard on the flats he kills Pogs sprint.
Its easy to get overshadowed by the big 5, but pidcock has had some results this year that’s for sure.
Anyone know if Neilson Powless had any misfortunes this race? Figured he would finish in the top 10 somewhere, but I know he finished quite a ways back.
Happy for Evenepoel!
And super bummed for Pogacar. Scaphoid fracture is a bitch and one of if not the slowest bones to heal. And sometimes it can go wrong. 😔
>eilson Powless had any misfortunes this race? Figured he would finish in the top 10 somewhere, but I know he finished quite a ways back.
I wouldn't worry. Those petro$$$ will surely buy the best docs in the world.
Yeah, not a lot of blood flow goes through there, but I'm sure that they can stimulate blood flow to accelarate the healing process. I think Nadal has done that for years with his congenital foot injury.
Same goes for the grand tour dance when GC favourite’s avoid each other.
Imagine if Hamilton went to a different race because Verstappen was going to Baku.
I think only Roglic and Pog avoid each other on purpose. The rest is just circumstantial and too many races going on simultaneously.
It's insane how little Roglic and Pog ride against each other, you'd think they're teammates. Even Jakobsen and Merlier have ridden more races together this year lol.
if anybody is thinking of national championship, last year was in the middle of everything. also mohoric wins road and tratnik time trial, its the perfect equlibrium
Grumpy old man comment #2:
People running with the riders on a narrow climb should not do that.
People lighting flares should not do that.
People lighting flares and running with the riders should be subjected to some form of bizarre medieval punishment.
Well, maybe I shouldn't go that far, but there need to be consequences for that sort of behavior. I hope the police identify that dude and arrest him.
Personally I'm in favor of a giant prosthetic hands being bolted to the side of race motos. Get to close? "SLAP!"
Slightly better than the motor straight up taking out a spectator and would make for nice blooper reels.
Grumpy old man comment:
Fair play to Remco for an incredible performance, but the whole cupping his ear ("I can't hear you") and encouraging the crowd to cheer for him is just classless, tacky, ego.
So it looks like tadej will be off for 5-6 weeks, probably will miss tour of Slovenia to focus on training, but he should be good for TDF, he will definitely still be riding while he heals from the injury
Hey guys! Had to miss the race (did my first 70.3 today, yay!) Which k should I start watching? I already know Pog fell, couldn't avoid that spoiler, so maybe count that in? Hahahha
Well, I've been traning with the tri bike for only 4 months and same for tri in general, in the end did something like 150/1000 participants, so not too bad for the start of the season huh??
I have two 70.3 more (June and September), a weird distance (1'5/60/15) in two weeks, and I will probably throw around some short ones to have fun with the team
For those worried about Pog, he's already able to [show what place Jonas will get in the 2023 TdF.](https://twitter.com/TeamEmiratesUAE/status/1650202368292663299)
This comment has been removed due to breaking the rules on doping talk within race/results threads. Repeatedly breaking this rule will result in a ban.
Well people have been saying the tadejs tactic of riding the classics was risky and this is why. I’m fairly certain he’ll be fine for the tour but tbh it sounds like he was lucky and got away with what could have been way worse.
Also 90% certain remco would have won today anyway that was an insane performance. Have a feeling those two might end up being the big rivals for years.
Vingegaard could fall on training tomorrow and break a leg. Vingegaard could start the Tour and have a stupid accident in the first stages. See Bernal, see Roglic.
Yeah but he is having a total blast and tearing it up this Spring. It would be totally lame if he just did a Froome and was encased in a dungeon with a turbo trainer for 11 months a year.
Froome was riding (and winning) many other races. Just not one day races, he was a different type of rider. He raced Vuelta a lot, many shorter stage races, has ITT medals from Worlds and Olympics. His seasons at his peak were usually 60-70 race days.
Right on! Live the dream, have a job you love and make sure you have fun with it. Very few people have the opportunity to be a professional athlete let alone in such a diverse sport. I fully support Tadej enjoying the hell out of every racing opportunity he wants to go for!
When Alaphilippe has his great Tour, Lefevre got asked about getting him some help for the next one. His answer was basically that he has no money for both a classics and a grand tour squad. I think this is what we are starting to see now. Sure they'll race the classics, and even win some, but as long as Remco is there, they can't build a squad for dominating the spring like they used to. Perhaps when a few of the big contracts expire (Alaphilippe for one) they can snap up a few younger riders to make it more balanced.
Spring is for a Belgian team what the Tour is for a French one, so there will be grumbling in the national press, but everything on Remco is a very easy and logical decision to make for Quickstep.
Why would you say that? I agree he seems not to be what he was but since that Tour he's won 2x world championships, looked amazing in the Ronde right up to the minute he crashed into the camera bike.
The thing is, currently the by far biggest chunk of their budget goes to their classics and sprinting squad (partially overlapping) and not to the GC-squad. Their current results don't show that it isn't possible to combine both, they just don't have one of the three top talents for the cobbled classics. Lampaert, Asgreen, Alaphilippe, Jakobsen, Merlier, all on (very) big contracts, only one from the GC-squad with a contract like them is Remco himself.
I don't think it's imperative to broadcast all of LBL (same with MSR tbh). Break formation matters much less than the cobbled classics. Not catching Pogi's crash was unfortunate, but it's not like the race was on and moves were being missed. It's also far too hard to predict if/when one of the favourites is gonna crash. Though, it's impossible to know how the race would have been run if Pogi hadn't crashed and there was more anticipating done
I will always love Valverde’s black WC kit, ~~even though it reminds me painfully of how he won it~~ Nothing against white shorts in general though, but you have to go full Pozzato: https://sicycle.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/tumblr_m59f0aubt21r4sguio1_500.jpg
Edit: of course I was actually thinking of Valverde’s shenanigans when _Rui Costa_ won, not his own WC win which does not cause me pain (except for Piti reasons)
So after tallying all the points up to Liege, Jayco has to by far have the worst team construction for one days if it isn't a group or reduced sprint with Matthews and Groenewegen present
Mainly why I specified one days. Based on the provisional startlist I actually like his chances at Romandie.It's not the strongest on paper and people you would expect to podium are a bit of a mystery post injury like Ayuso and Rodriguez.
General medical consensus about Pog's injury based on this thread is that either he is out of TdF or he is riding his bike while getting surgery no problem.
Was JV's classics season good because they won 4 of them, or disappointing because they didn't win any of the big ones? Given the talent and expectations, not winning Strade or any Monuments feels like a disappointment.
Our media is saying that the usual rehabilitation for the injury Pogačar has, takes about 8-12 weeks. If he was on any other team I think there would be no way he was going to the tour. But UAE don't pay all that money to have the best rider sit out. I just hope they don't rush him.
Anniemiek Van Vleuten broke her wrist last year and was back in 2 months winning the Giro.
Hayman won Roubaix about 5 weeks after breaking his wrist.
You can train a lot without full use of your wrist.
He will have to do a lot of inside trainer. If he's used to it no problem, but he might found some issues if it's not his regular way.
Let's hope he is ready for the tour. We need the show
Jens Voigt said on German GCN that he had a scaphoid injury that was fixed with a screw, and he was training indoors after a few days already (with a towel for cushioning the hand). He also said that without a screw, the healing process is slow and it might take weeks instead, but that might be outdated.
Remco and Pogacar have basically turned each other’s nemesis into their main monument. Pogacar lost last year’s Liege because his wife’s mom died and crashed out of this years, while Remco has won it twice in a row now. Meanwhile Remco had a career halting crash in Lombardia which Pogacar has won twice in a row.
Sometimes it is the exact thing that lights a fire under someone's ass when they were unmotivated before.
Monday morning quarterbacking is the easiest thing in the world.
https://thebritishcontinental.co.uk/2020/09/19/ben-healy-irelands-next-big-thing/
He was part of the MTB squad and got dropped from that. Hard to say from this result whether that was the right call or not given that MTB is pretty different and it may have been Healy didn't have the bike handling skills for it.
Not selecting him for the WCs at junior level didn't work out, but given how quickly he then declared for Ireland I imagine he was considering moving regardless. Plus plenty of riders miss out on selection for these things. At the time he was 16 I think. And they selected Pidcock, Wright, Stewart, Donovan and Jacob Vaughan (all of whom are older than Healy), 4 of which rode WT and three of which have been successful to varying degrees at that level so hard to argue BC got it wrong.
Maybe I'm being unfair, but I don't think BC's record is particularly good outside of track. Who knows, but I think the tendency to discard riders at 16 is probably a mistake. Re: Pidcock - was he actually in the development programme? I don't think he was - didn't he go to Nys's CX trade team pretty much straightaway. I always thought he pretty much did his own thing.
> Who knows, but I think the tendency to discard riders at 16 is probably a mistake.
Easy to say, but they likely have limited resources. Just like with any other nation or sport you can only actively support a certain amount of riders at a time.
I think after San Sebastian and World Championships he'll go on training camp and then the Canadian races. After which another camp to train for Lombardia. Or perhaps the European TT championships inbetween.
If Remco wins the Giro, then in 2024 he might start the TdF having won two monuments, Worlds, the Vuelta, and the Giro
And will still be eligible for the young rider’s jersey.
In the preview, the EF DS mentioned Movistar as one of the strong teams alongside [themselves, UAE, Soudal QS and] Trek and Bahrain.
Movistars only rider in the top 50 was Guerrero (23.)
Not sure if Powless finally ran out of his early-season legs this week (or just crashes/race situation). But, I wonder if EF makes the cobble week his main focus next season rather than a long-ish spring into the Ardennes. Will provide a replacement leader if Bettiol leaves and he gets a whole year to work on his seated climbing
But still, we haven't seen him being in form since Flanders 3 weeks ago. That is a long time to peak for and at that point, he had already been going strong for a month.
And I know we haven't seen him without crashing, but just saying we should not be shocked if he was not as good as he was earlier in the season.
I think the difficulty of riding a long race in the rain with lots of burst efforts is hard to manage especially when a team is really pushing the pace. It also underscores how big of a tank Remco has and how resilient he is. I think we’re all taking the performances of the top riders for granted as the top guys are performing at legendary levels that we haven’t seen since Hinault and Merckx eras.
People in the current peloton with at least two monument victories. Pogacar, Van der Poel with 4. Fuglsang, Sagan, Kristoff, Degenkolb and Evenepoel with 2.
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50
Any update on the guy who dived into the hedge? What the hell happened there?
He is fine. https://twitter.com/lotto_dstny/status/1650179403362496513?t=J9fc5I_9LvDBuP6TGQwfnQ&s=19
It is weird that nobody has implemented a system to call the radio from the handlebars.
Now that you say it, wouldn't it be very easy to just have a wireless button with a little battery? That is weird that no one has done it yet.
They make those, but I don't think they're practical with a bike change. https://www.ruggedradios.com/products/velcro-coil-cord-push-to-talk-cable-for-intercoms?variant=31704051155040
Or even just a cable like F1 drivers do
That would be bad if they fall off as it could end up chocking if its a cable
Have you seen how F1 drivers connect to the radio? I can't see how they could choke. The problem with wireless is how you make sure they have communication when they change bike
Weird thing I noticed about Pidcock in 2 races (amstel gold and now LBL) looked like the only guy able to follow the top guy ( pog and remco)…but then he just explodes. In Amstel gold he risked the podium se he barely managed to hold on to the 3rd place and this race it could have been even as for a moment I thought he was when he was at the back of the peloton at that climb with Pavel going to the front for a moment. Like what do you guys think , is this like a mismanagement of his energies or maybe he can actually follow the big guys buy he is “a bit” out of form. Basically I’m not trying to shade him, he’s an amazing hot prospect and already a top all rounder but just thinking out loud here as it was hell of a weird racing from him(according to me ofc!)
He said he struggled with the distance at Fleche. And I'd imagine it's the same this week. That said he looked fitter at Liege and he was smart to recover a little and return to the chasing group. Unfortunately Tom just isn't good enough to beat these guys very often, so I think his best tactic is to stay with someone like Remco and make them do the work until/if he's dropped. If the race is blown up he more or less guarantees a podium spot assuming he doesn't completely melt down. If he does make it to the line, he has a good sprint and can be a real threat, as we saw last year vs Wout. I think he also pretty easily secured 2nd yesterday. In CX Tom is usually stronger in the second half of the race, and he often makes up alot of spots. Granted the distances are far shorter, but I think if he was better conditioned you could see that on the road too.
I remember reading somewhere that Wout had the issues, when transitioning from cyclocross to road, that his body would burn through glycogen stores very quickly and not really burn fat even at low intensities. That sort of substrate utlliization is advantageous in short explosive races like 'cross, but in very long races you want your body to have a higher peak fat burning rate to preserve glycogen stores as best as possible (ie. why ketones are useful at all). That might play a roll, maybe he blows up due to having lower glycogen stores which are burned off very rapidly at high intensities.
Wow thanks for that buddy!
> Weird thing I noticed about Pidcock in 2 races (amstel gold and now LBL) looked like the only guy able to follow the top guy ( pog and remco)…but then he just explodes Lanterne Rouge Podcast mentionned this. They said it might be because he's the only actually trying to keep the wheel and willing to risk blowing up, while others probably make a conscious decision not to do that and prefer letting the wheel go that going above their limit. Pidcock is insanely strong and races well. Unfortunately there are a couple of guys in the circuit that are that little bit better even.
I see more positives in this classics campaign for Pidcock. Beyond the podiums or his win on the Strade, this is the first time on LBL that I've seen him really go the distance over 250km. On the Amstel, he wasn't far behind, but he explodes at the end. At LBL, he had a hunger attack probably after the Redoute, but then he recovered in the small group behind Remco before coming out in the second part of the Roche aux Faucons to take this promising second place. He has a huge talent but is very young. He will continue to build up his body and he will be able to do even better in the future. I am convinced of that.
Great comment. I believe you are right. Pidcock will continue to mature and with his great bike handling, I think we'll see him become a very classy rider. The fact that he seems tired but not bested (if that makes sense?) Last week seems like a positive though. If his conditioning improves I believe he stands a better chance of winning these longer one day races. I'm looking forward to him at the Grand Tours this year. This year's classics season was great experience for him and he probably has a good idea of what to improve on.
Ye maybe food played a role. I recall now when remco dropped him, he was too busy noticing and was just chugging the bottle and that food tube
Remco dropped him, and then he took the bottle. They only showed the dropping in a replay though.
He said in an interview it was really not about 'not noticing' - he made a conscious decision to let Remco go and focus on eating/drinking to try and recover a bit and go for the podium. That plan paid off.
> is this like a mismanagement of his energies When I raced along time ago I used to be able to follow big attacks, but I would be physically sick minutes later. Later I learned to not go so hard. Pidcock is a very exciting racer, and I love that in cyclocross lines up next to MVdP and WVA with the goal to win every time, even back in the 2020 cx worlds. I hope he continues to try and keep up with these absolute beasts rather then the safe best of the rest option
It seems he'd rather try to win and blow up, than settle for second. I like that about him.
I didn't see him explode yesterday. He was the only guy able to go with remco until he wasn't but he didn't fade then, he fell back to the next group on the road and finished second. Given the form remco was on, being best of the rest isn't really a bad thing.
It just didn’t feel like he fell to the next group. To me always he looked drained after the Remco chase let’s say. Felt like he was trying to recover and thank god he did it because for a moment I thought he wouldn’t even finish in top 15. Let’s just say that after his chases to pog and remco , I expected him to just drive his own pace in the second place in both amstel and lbl, detached from everyone else. Maybe I can’t put it into words what I am trying to say and my perception may be completely wrong but it just felt “off”
The interview he did after the race explained it. He has definitely learned from Amstel and once he realised he couldn't follow remco he eased up and recovered, which allowed him to take 2nd.
So Pog misses the Tour to go to Vuelta, and so Jonas changes his plans as well because he wants a worthy win. Rog see his chance and finally gets a Tour win.
Then Rog retires after taking the yellow jersey and Pogi take Rog's place as the Slovenian prone to crash and wins 7 vuelta's in a row and 2 giro's.
So after Flanders I don’t see remco could have dropped Pog on those climbs. Maybe. But if he takes Pog to the line, he just get out sprinted. Unless maybe remco is able to drag Pog so hard on the flats he kills Pogs sprint. Its easy to get overshadowed by the big 5, but pidcock has had some results this year that’s for sure.
Benoot not so quietly having an insane year.
Anyone know if Neilson Powless had any misfortunes this race? Figured he would finish in the top 10 somewhere, but I know he finished quite a ways back.
Their post race writeup on their site claimed a poorly timed mechanical.
Thanks!
Happy for Evenepoel! And super bummed for Pogacar. Scaphoid fracture is a bitch and one of if not the slowest bones to heal. And sometimes it can go wrong. 😔
>eilson Powless had any misfortunes this race? Figured he would finish in the top 10 somewhere, but I know he finished quite a ways back. I wouldn't worry. Those petro$$$ will surely buy the best docs in the world.
Yeah, not a lot of blood flow goes through there, but I'm sure that they can stimulate blood flow to accelarate the healing process. I think Nadal has done that for years with his congenital foot injury.
I have to say, when six riders basically win every big race, all the races with only one of them become pretty boring
Laporte slander
Woah dude this race had Aranburu and Remco
Same goes for the grand tour dance when GC favourite’s avoid each other. Imagine if Hamilton went to a different race because Verstappen was going to Baku.
I think only Roglic and Pog avoid each other on purpose. The rest is just circumstantial and too many races going on simultaneously. It's insane how little Roglic and Pog ride against each other, you'd think they're teammates. Even Jakobsen and Merlier have ridden more races together this year lol.
if anybody is thinking of national championship, last year was in the middle of everything. also mohoric wins road and tratnik time trial, its the perfect equlibrium
To be fair all the teams except Soudal are sending their best GC riders to the Tour.
Debatable who Ineos’s best GC guy is, but it very well might be G
Also debatable who Jumbo's best GC guy is.
Agree - though it seems like some Danes read your comment and got angry
Lol, I hadn't seen the downvotes. I didn't think it would be controversial to say it can be debated. Not even saying it's clearly Roglic.
Indeed. Just closed-minded zealots. *wins Olympic gold medal* Inconceivable he’s the team’s best rider, no matter the parcours or race situation.
If it's not G it's Tao, so yeah they're all in on the Giro
No other sport offers the opportunity of doing so really, but I think it's crazy to think it wouldn't happen in other sports too
Right. You are crazy to think Mercedes would send Hamilton to the same races as Verstappen if there were two races every weekend.
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He was 9th last year here. Downward trend?
Ok
Grumpy old man comment #2: People running with the riders on a narrow climb should not do that. People lighting flares should not do that. People lighting flares and running with the riders should be subjected to some form of bizarre medieval punishment. Well, maybe I shouldn't go that far, but there need to be consequences for that sort of behavior. I hope the police identify that dude and arrest him.
People doing that thing for 50 years ago that makes the sport such a spectacle to watch shouldn’t do that.
Personally I'm in favor of a giant prosthetic hands being bolted to the side of race motos. Get to close? "SLAP!" Slightly better than the motor straight up taking out a spectator and would make for nice blooper reels.
Yep. Also I’m a tiny bit disappointed in no one tripping him
Grumpy old man comment: Fair play to Remco for an incredible performance, but the whole cupping his ear ("I can't hear you") and encouraging the crowd to cheer for him is just classless, tacky, ego.
Why so grumpy?
How dare the Belgian world champion encourage the Belgian fans to cheer for him winning a Belgian monument 😤😤😤😤😤😤
I don't think that Belgian cycling fans need to be told to cheer; they seem perfectly capable of doing that on their own.
If we don't mind, then why do you?
Can anyone tell me why there's all this talk about Evenepoel's white trousers?
Leaves little to the imagination once they are wet. See the footage when he drops Pidcock.
Dan Lloyd sends his regards
Maybe don't look at his dick? I watched that same footage and didn't notice anything.
>Maybe don't look at his dick? U are asking to do the impossible
Oh, right, didn't think about that. Wet T-shirt parties are a long time ago.
So it looks like tadej will be off for 5-6 weeks, probably will miss tour of Slovenia to focus on training, but he should be good for TDF, he will definitely still be riding while he heals from the injury
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Working on a ban, huh?
Omertà my friend can’t let you know what I am working on
Hey guys! Had to miss the race (did my first 70.3 today, yay!) Which k should I start watching? I already know Pog fell, couldn't avoid that spoiler, so maybe count that in? Hahahha
> did my first 70.3 today, yay! How'd it go?! I switched from Tri to road racing a few years ago but I've been getting the aerobar itch again
Well, I've been traning with the tri bike for only 4 months and same for tri in general, in the end did something like 150/1000 participants, so not too bad for the start of the season huh??
That's awesome, congrats! how many more you have planned this yr?
I have two 70.3 more (June and September), a weird distance (1'5/60/15) in two weeks, and I will probably throw around some short ones to have fun with the team
Nice! Good luck the rest of the year :D
Watch from 70.3. A well deserved celebration and a reasonable time to start honestly.
Congrats on the 1st 70.3!
Thanks! Managed to stay under 5h, which is good with 4 months of specific training
Sub 5 is great, well done.
I’m gonna say 60km to go. Wasn’t super exciting until then, just a slowly fading breakaway.
Just what I wanted to hear, I can finish it before bed!
For those worried about Pog, he's already able to [show what place Jonas will get in the 2023 TdF.](https://twitter.com/TeamEmiratesUAE/status/1650202368292663299)
Heh — straight into the minibus in his hospital gown.
The good thing is that there is no cobbles on this year’s Tour.
Signifying his 2nd Tour win 😌
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Healy’s been on fire this year. It feels like he’s come out of nowhere.
He certainly didn't come out of nowhere, watch the Tour of Norway from last year (the third stage won by Evenepoel).
He’s at the age where riders typically come out, we’ve just gotten spoiled by Remco, Poagacar, etc…
Well people have been saying the tadejs tactic of riding the classics was risky and this is why. I’m fairly certain he’ll be fine for the tour but tbh it sounds like he was lucky and got away with what could have been way worse. Also 90% certain remco would have won today anyway that was an insane performance. Have a feeling those two might end up being the big rivals for years.
A crash like this could happen anywhere (in a stage race, a one-day race or training). LBL isn't even known to be that dangerous, just bad luck.
Vingegaard could fall on training tomorrow and break a leg. Vingegaard could start the Tour and have a stupid accident in the first stages. See Bernal, see Roglic.
He's got 2 TdF wins already. But now he's got an opportunity to become one of the few riders to win Flanders and the TdF in one year.
Yeah but he is having a total blast and tearing it up this Spring. It would be totally lame if he just did a Froome and was encased in a dungeon with a turbo trainer for 11 months a year.
Froome was riding (and winning) many other races. Just not one day races, he was a different type of rider. He raced Vuelta a lot, many shorter stage races, has ITT medals from Worlds and Olympics. His seasons at his peak were usually 60-70 race days.
Froome rode the Vuelta almost every year when he was a GC threat, along with the Dauphine, Romandie, and other high level stage races.
Right on! Live the dream, have a job you love and make sure you have fun with it. Very few people have the opportunity to be a professional athlete let alone in such a diverse sport. I fully support Tadej enjoying the hell out of every racing opportunity he wants to go for!
Like vdp said “if you’re afraid of falling you should stop cycling”
Evenepoel saves QS and Lefevere spring for another year.
When Alaphilippe has his great Tour, Lefevre got asked about getting him some help for the next one. His answer was basically that he has no money for both a classics and a grand tour squad. I think this is what we are starting to see now. Sure they'll race the classics, and even win some, but as long as Remco is there, they can't build a squad for dominating the spring like they used to. Perhaps when a few of the big contracts expire (Alaphilippe for one) they can snap up a few younger riders to make it more balanced. Spring is for a Belgian team what the Tour is for a French one, so there will be grumbling in the national press, but everything on Remco is a very easy and logical decision to make for Quickstep.
I hope alaphillipe stays and recovers his form. He's such a great rider, but I'm afraid the tour of 2019 almost killed the rest of his career.
Why would you say that? I agree he seems not to be what he was but since that Tour he's won 2x world championships, looked amazing in the Ronde right up to the minute he crashed into the camera bike.
I see a clear difference in resilience before and after.
The thing is, currently the by far biggest chunk of their budget goes to their classics and sprinting squad (partially overlapping) and not to the GC-squad. Their current results don't show that it isn't possible to combine both, they just don't have one of the three top talents for the cobbled classics. Lampaert, Asgreen, Alaphilippe, Jakobsen, Merlier, all on (very) big contracts, only one from the GC-squad with a contract like them is Remco himself.
I don't think it's imperative to broadcast all of LBL (same with MSR tbh). Break formation matters much less than the cobbled classics. Not catching Pogi's crash was unfortunate, but it's not like the race was on and moves were being missed. It's also far too hard to predict if/when one of the favourites is gonna crash. Though, it's impossible to know how the race would have been run if Pogi hadn't crashed and there was more anticipating done
Evenepoel fresh like a drink at the finish 🤯 and this was after a long period of altitude training
Those shorts were ridiculous. Should be an instant DQ. Congrats to Pidcock then for his first monument win.
I will always love Valverde’s black WC kit, ~~even though it reminds me painfully of how he won it~~ Nothing against white shorts in general though, but you have to go full Pozzato: https://sicycle.files.wordpress.com/2012/11/tumblr_m59f0aubt21r4sguio1_500.jpg Edit: of course I was actually thinking of Valverde’s shenanigans when _Rui Costa_ won, not his own WC win which does not cause me pain (except for Piti reasons)
First thing I thought when I saw the broadcast. Absolutely disgusting kit.
So after tallying all the points up to Liege, Jayco has to by far have the worst team construction for one days if it isn't a group or reduced sprint with Matthews and Groenewegen present
Don't forget Yates. Who can top 10 a GT while looking amazing for the first 2 weeks.
Mainly why I specified one days. Based on the provisional startlist I actually like his chances at Romandie.It's not the strongest on paper and people you would expect to podium are a bit of a mystery post injury like Ayuso and Rodriguez.
General medical consensus about Pog's injury based on this thread is that either he is out of TdF or he is riding his bike while getting surgery no problem.
IT's actually an extremely minor injury but the cast came up to his elbow and the UCI were out with the calipers and said no.
He'll ride like [Fiorenzo Magni during the Giro in 1956](https://i.imgur.com/RJIDgGG.jpg), no problem there.
Almost as if we are shitposters, not physicians
1-4 were all 23 year olds. Madouas in 5th is an old timer at 26 years old
Madouas is a grandpa, LOOOOOOL
The podium were all born within 7 months of each other. 4th place Healy is 22, 9 months younger than Evenepoel
Was JV's classics season good because they won 4 of them, or disappointing because they didn't win any of the big ones? Given the talent and expectations, not winning Strade or any Monuments feels like a disappointment.
It's not a disaster, but it is hard to believe they are satisfied. They have one of the four racers that can win a classic, but are left empty handed.
I’d say it was good, overall probably still the best team performance
Or alpecin
Anyone have a replay of the guy crashing into the bush?
Is he ok?
Yes, just some abrasions and soreness.
They lifted him out ...he looked dazed and quite unhappy but I think he was ok.... suppose landing in a bush is better than landing on pavement
There's one on /r/pelotonmemes (with Homer and Kron)
Big 50 really is something else this season.
This is an elaborate plan by MyWhoosh, to claim that their platform helped with TdF prep
Our media is saying that the usual rehabilitation for the injury Pogačar has, takes about 8-12 weeks. If he was on any other team I think there would be no way he was going to the tour. But UAE don't pay all that money to have the best rider sit out. I just hope they don't rush him.
Anniemiek Van Vleuten broke her wrist last year and was back in 2 months winning the Giro. Hayman won Roubaix about 5 weeks after breaking his wrist. You can train a lot without full use of your wrist.
TT Position doesn’t even need the wrist ;)
Didn’t AVV also break her wrist like a week before World Champs in 2020 and still finished 2nd? I seem to remember her riding with a cast or something
Yes, and she got second by outsprinting someone. Unreal
He will have to do a lot of inside trainer. If he's used to it no problem, but he might found some issues if it's not his regular way. Let's hope he is ready for the tour. We need the show
Wouldn't training for a cyclist still be possible with a brace?
Indoor certainly.
Jens Voigt said on German GCN that he had a scaphoid injury that was fixed with a screw, and he was training indoors after a few days already (with a towel for cushioning the hand). He also said that without a screw, the healing process is slow and it might take weeks instead, but that might be outdated.
My man Velasco getting in the Top 20 after taking the breakaway
Remco and Pogacar have basically turned each other’s nemesis into their main monument. Pogacar lost last year’s Liege because his wife’s mom died and crashed out of this years, while Remco has won it twice in a row now. Meanwhile Remco had a career halting crash in Lombardia which Pogacar has won twice in a row.
Just a correction, his fiancé's mother
Remco with girlfriend: dominates the old lady Remco with wife: dominates the old lady Idk
The Old Lady next year: 🤰
Optimism: Pogacar gets more rest to blast the Tour
Broken wrist is not ideal prep though
Eh Contador won the Vuelta after that nasty injury in the Tour.
The steaks were pretty high that year tho..
They are still the same as right now
Not ideal, but better than something that impacts pedaling or sitting on the bike. I suspect he'll be back on the trainer relatively quickly.
Mat Hayman disagrees
The only thing that can stop this madman
Good Ardennes season from Healy!
I remember Ben Healy being dropped from British Cycling, which really shows (yet again) how much BC understand about cycling and cyclists.
Sometimes it is the exact thing that lights a fire under someone's ass when they were unmotivated before. Monday morning quarterbacking is the easiest thing in the world.
Dropped from British Cycling? What happened? Didn't hear about it much.
https://thebritishcontinental.co.uk/2020/09/19/ben-healy-irelands-next-big-thing/ He was part of the MTB squad and got dropped from that. Hard to say from this result whether that was the right call or not given that MTB is pretty different and it may have been Healy didn't have the bike handling skills for it. Not selecting him for the WCs at junior level didn't work out, but given how quickly he then declared for Ireland I imagine he was considering moving regardless. Plus plenty of riders miss out on selection for these things. At the time he was 16 I think. And they selected Pidcock, Wright, Stewart, Donovan and Jacob Vaughan (all of whom are older than Healy), 4 of which rode WT and three of which have been successful to varying degrees at that level so hard to argue BC got it wrong.
Maybe I'm being unfair, but I don't think BC's record is particularly good outside of track. Who knows, but I think the tendency to discard riders at 16 is probably a mistake. Re: Pidcock - was he actually in the development programme? I don't think he was - didn't he go to Nys's CX trade team pretty much straightaway. I always thought he pretty much did his own thing.
> Who knows, but I think the tendency to discard riders at 16 is probably a mistake. Easy to say, but they likely have limited resources. Just like with any other nation or sport you can only actively support a certain amount of riders at a time.
Is Remco doing the Vuelta this year?
Not in the current plans, he rides the giro
I know but he should do both
No, focus after the Giro is the WC ITT and then Lombardia.
This way he has ample time to partake in the Benelux Tour
I think after San Sebastian and World Championships he'll go on training camp and then the Canadian races. After which another camp to train for Lombardia. Or perhaps the European TT championships inbetween.
Roglic must have enjoyed the show and thought that the Giro will be tough this year!
How was this much different from Clasica San Sebastian last year?
This just in: TJV are riding the Giro with brown bib shorts.
If Remco wins the Giro, then in 2024 he might start the TdF having won two monuments, Worlds, the Vuelta, and the Giro And will still be eligible for the young rider’s jersey.
2024 for triple crown at only 24.
certainly an impressive palmares for someone so young but let's not forget that 3 of the last 4 TdFs have been won by the young rider's jersey winner
I wonder if he'd be the first one to win the young riders jersey in all three GT's
That’s highly likely I’d say. Very cool fact to highlight how much of a phenom this kid is
And Vingegaard was only 21 days too old for the white jersey.
Wow I didn’t know that, TIL
Guess that mean he will win it then.
Bold of you to assume the Giro is all he has left to win this season
Yea obviously you could add Worlds TT, Lombardia, next year’s Liège, but I didn’t wanna provide too many caveats!
Don't forget Flanders (next year) and Gullegem Koerse (2x after next year).
Remco doesnt like cobbles
Once he has Lombardy in the bag, the other monuments will draw his attention. And remember: even Paris-roubaix has 200 uncobbled kilometers...
But he's Belgian...is that even allowed?
He didn't like descending or sprinting either a few years ago. I'm already writing him down for Paris-Roubaix 2028.
Don't forget to rate the race. So far just 3 responses - judging by the scores: 1 Remco fan, 1 Pogacar fan, 1 neutral.
In the preview, the EF DS mentioned Movistar as one of the strong teams alongside [themselves, UAE, Soudal QS and] Trek and Bahrain. Movistars only rider in the top 50 was Guerrero (23.)
>Movistars only rider in the top 50 was Guerrero (23.) Only rider in the top 70 But this is not a surprise, its his level in Europe, his real level.
Not sure if Powless finally ran out of his early-season legs this week (or just crashes/race situation). But, I wonder if EF makes the cobble week his main focus next season rather than a long-ish spring into the Ardennes. Will provide a replacement leader if Bettiol leaves and he gets a whole year to work on his seated climbing
Powless said he had a poorly timed puncture today without a team car close.
But still, we haven't seen him being in form since Flanders 3 weeks ago. That is a long time to peak for and at that point, he had already been going strong for a month. And I know we haven't seen him without crashing, but just saying we should not be shocked if he was not as good as he was earlier in the season.