Cycling

Simon78

Simon78

Well-known member
Gutted its a rest day, nothing to do at work now. Steephill.tv is great if you want to stream it live at work by the way.

Just need the weather to pick up so I can get out on my new bike a bit more. I'm checking the London weather every day and its always raining 7-9 when I want to go out. :(

Sagan >>>>>>

 
padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
jenks said:
I really think you are barking up the wrong tree here
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fair enough you clearly follow pro cycling much more closely than I do. the prism through which I experience bicycles is urban/bike messenger/etc, the total other end of the spectrum, so I only dabble. like I said if it's all clean then fantastic. I just reserve the right not to be at all surprised should serious doping allegations arise in the future. which again ain't a personal commentary on wiggins or froome in the least.

that sagan wheelie is one of the most excellent things I seen in a while.
 
padraig (u.s.)

padraig (u.s.)

a monkey that will go ape
also here's a general question - how many guys are taking it easy in anticipation of the olympics? I know andy got hurt (and frank's tour basically ended with that crash in stage 6 or 7 or whichever) but aside from sky and cadel evans whose really getting after it this year? or has it just been a string of appalling crashes/sky riding brutality thinning out the field?
 
jenks

jenks

thread death
With regard to the Olympics - there's only about 4/5 guys who could seriously win the TT - Martin, Cancellara, Wiggins so being on the Tour is good preparation for that - Martin has a broken wrist and reckons he'll be ready for London.

As for the road race - it's a one day race, like the Spring Classics and as such is not a huge problem for the pros to get ready for. I think there are five days rest between the end of the tour and London, again it's a course for a few. The germans, americans and brits will want a bunch sprint and so will look to cover break aways whilst the Belgians will want to break it and get Gilbert away. They have to go up Box Hill nine times and whilst this is not a massive hill, the ninth time will hurt. Also there are only five in a team and no race radios. Finally, some teams will run two leaders to assuage the egos of the team members, GB and a few others have made it very clear they are riding for one man only.

In the end, winning the Olympics is nice but it's not the Tour.
 
connect_icut

connect_icut

Well-known member
Can't believe I'm actually sad that Cadel is falling down the field but he's like a completely different bloke: modest and self-deprecating off the road but attacking like a bastard on it. Sadly, though, not winning.

Boy does he ever sweat a lot.

Re doping: My take is that sadly they're all at it, in all sports, not just cycling and have been for a very long time. When you start to look who gets "caught" in cycling, when and under what circumstances, it all starts to become a little disturbing - without wishing to sound like a conspiracy nut, obviously.
 
connect_icut

connect_icut

Well-known member
I was really looking forward to today - all those classic climbs - but it was a bit boring, wasn't it? Looks like Wiggins is on his was to a solid, uninspiring victory. Too much emphasis on time trials this year?
 
matt b

matt b

Indexing all opinion
It's been a pretty boring tour TBH, especially after last year's edition, apart from Sagan and David Millar's stage win on the anniversary of Tom Simpson's death and his honesty in post race interviews. Oh, and Voeckler.

No-one being able to de-rail Sky and their grinding dominance; Froome being kept on a leash; F Schleck; Vinokourov; a returning and unrepentant doper winning today's stage (particularly galling as Wig Wig could have stopped it from happening).


Awesome that there will be a GB winner and it has been hilarious seeing/listening to the media going from more or less ignoring the Tour, to loving it without having a clue and getting loads of stuff wrong (worst offender, that idiot Gary man from R4's Today programme).
 
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Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
Haven't managed to watch much of this year's tour but i am a bit sick of seeing all the criticism of Wiggins being boring. its hardly his fault there's no one really capable of attacking him. Still not really sure if that says more about how weak the competition is this year, or whether the guy is just superhumanly strong. I'm leaning towards the latter.

Fingers crossed for Cavendish on the Champs Elysees anyway, something to look forward to for those craving excitement at least.
 
jenks

jenks

thread death
I dunno where all this 'boring' stuff comes from. Typical we should have our first TdF winner and he's already being criticised. As Benny b says, it's not his fault that none of the other teams could put together a consistent attack on his lead. Nibali just never had enough men around him to do any damage - same for Cadel, he was always left isolated.
Finally, all of this manufactured nonsense about Froome - cycling is all about working for the leader. Froome would have known before the Tour that he would be working for Wiggins.
I think we are just used to our sportsmen being noble failures - Murray/Henman - so to see a perfectly executed plan by a bunch of professionals doesn't feel normal, I'm loving the Wiggo post stage interviews.
 
craner

craner

Beast of Burden
I agree with Jenks. It's not been boring at all. Doping adds to the intrigue and drama. Team Sky have been thrilling, and the internal torment of Froome and Cavendish has added extra layers and piquancy to the thing*. Tacks on the road drama.

*Although, as Jenks notes, this has obviously been exaggerated and stirred by the press and the media. Nothing wrong with that, either.

Wiggins is brilliant. Team Sky seem to have a lot of character, some discipline and loyalty, which has paid off beautifully and hasn't always been the case according to their group biography. The only bad thing about Wiggins is that he seems to be a Mod.
 
matt b

matt b

Indexing all opinion
Any perceived dullness is not a slight on Wiggins though, is it? They are two different issues.
Sky's dominance has to be admired (and wiggins' win is a great thing), but grinding at tempo for hours is not necessarily exciting viewing. Having said that I have watched a lot and enjoyed it, but the GC contest was over early on

Maybe it's a reflection of a relatively clean peloton that Sky's scientific approach works so well because everyone is too shattered to do a solo bid for glory (or that the competition are not good enough).

Next years could be amazing with Froome (Wiggins as super domestique) Pinot, V Garderen battling it out
 
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Benny Bunter

Benny Bunter

Well-known member
connect_icut said:
I was really looking forward to today - all those classic climbs - but it was a bit boring, wasn't it? Looks like Wiggins is on his was to a solid, uninspiring victory. Too much emphasis on time trials this year?
Click to expand...

Thats nothing compared to when Miguel Indurain was winning.
 
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