Generic Pro Road Cycling Thread

stb222 said:
So here we go again, the real start of the season with the Cobbled Classics (semi, yes @seanrunnette).

Been a good preseason with Tour Down Under and even the Middle Eastern races not following the same old script, well maybe the same but the next generation is showing their faces.

Sagan with a handful of wins at TDU but passed on the opening Belgian weekend with bigger targets later this spring. Meanwhile GVA didn’t even top 10 OMP and KBK where Sep tore people a new ahole on the Mur but couldn’t make it stick but still podiums. Can he live up to his expectation this year?

Viviani on fire with the overall at abudabbi (insert real name) and beating the big names and obviously taking advantage of the well oiled quick step train.

That midget Ewan, while squeaking a few wins, still can’t hang with the big boys and only succeeds if the lead out is absolutely perfect.

The British midget cavendish, nabs one win but then crashes out in the nuetral zone this week!? Caravan auto brakes the cause?

Kittel, while close one time this week is all jelly his old train isn’t there but he will likely still be tearing shit up by TDF time.

In any case, Strade Bianca this week, which is always one of the better races of the year.
Click to expand...

So begins my favorite time of the pro cycling year.....
 
stb222 said:
So here we go again, the real start of the season with the Cobbled Classics (semi, yes @seanrunnette).

Been a good preseason with Tour Down Under and even the Middle Eastern races not following the same old script, well maybe the same but the next generation is showing their faces.

Sagan with a handful of wins at TDU but passed on the opening Belgian weekend with bigger targets later this spring. Meanwhile GVA didn’t even top 10 OMP and KBK where Sep tore people a new ahole on the Mur but couldn’t make it stick but still podiums. Can he live up to his expectation this year?

Viviani on fire with the overall at abudabbi (insert real name) and beating the big names and obviously taking advantage of the well oiled quick step train.

That midget Ewan, while squeaking a few wins, still can’t hang with the big boys and only succeeds if the lead out is absolutely perfect.

The British midget cavendish, nabs one win but then crashes out in the nuetral zone this week!? Caravan auto brakes the cause?

Kittel, while close one time this week is all jelly his old train isn’t there but he will likely still be tearing shit up by TDF time.

In any case, Strade Bianca this week, which is always one of the better races of the year.
Click to expand...

Pretty fair assessment....

I was expecting more from GVA because he looked to be in form at the middle eastern races. He was there at OMP, but I think he was the only BMC rider in the select group. Astana played their cards perfectly and none of the others chased because they didn't have the riders to risk chasing. I wonder if BMC is regretting letting Ohs go yet. I think they will regret that move. He's a strong worker, punching above his worth and now he's gonna be working for Sagan and getting some of his own chances.

Viviani and Groenewegen both seem to be strong right now and I think Groenewegen is feeling really confident after the TDF win on the Champs last year.
 
Oss had the go-juice today at KBK; he was looking great until the flat. And then, in the words of our beloved Sporza friends, he "opgave".
 
Turn into Strade Bianca right now, some epic stuff going down.
Bardet and current cross World Champion, Van Aert currently sticking it to the favorites.
0786D9B9-8950-4C3A-8A48-EC6C359D6071.jpeg
 
Delish said:
What we didn’t see on the live feed:
https://instagram.com/p/Bf3mhkgn07v/
Holy cats that climb is so tough. Makes even superhero look human.
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Yea.. I think that last climb hits something like 16 or 18%. That is pretty wicked after a long day of hard racing. In years past, I've seen a few riders lose a lead and be caught on the final climb. Apparently, on Twitter, he said that he cramped in both legs on the final climb. At one point, one of the announcers on the feed I was watching called out the fact that they thought Bardet was still ringing and hydrating and they said they hadn't seen WVA doing the same, as often. I'm wondering if maybe that shows a little bit of his inexperience in a race of the type, at this length. Supper effort though and pretty awesome.
 
CrankAddictRich said:
Yea.. I think that last climb hits something like 16 or 18%. That is pretty wicked after a long day of hard racing. In years past, I've seen a few riders lose a lead and be caught on the final climb. Apparently, on Twitter, he said that he cramped in both legs on the final climb. At one point, one of the announcers on the feed I was watching called out the fact that they thought Bardet was still ringing and hydrating and they said they hadn't seen WVA doing the same, as often. I'm wondering if maybe that shows a little bit of his inexperience in a race of the type, at this length. Supper effort though and pretty awesome.
Click to expand...
I think his exact words were "I was out of sugar". Dude still crushed anyway; he rules. Chuggin' the Wout Kool-Aid HARD over here.
 
Finally caught up..... Been watching the races on the slipstreaming channel on YouTube. I'm almost never in a position to catch things live anyway and the sporza & Eurosport feeds they've had are really good! The picture quality for theses races is night a day better than the live images on the PC I used to watch. This years SB was everything you guys said in your write ups... At 180k, this newish race is not monument worthy, but in the right conditions, it's a soul crusher for sure. Benoot's arms were so raw the announcers couldn't help but comment on them. Quite the performance from TB for sure. Been hearing about WVA for a while now on various podcasts, but having no interest in CX, I hadn't yet seen him show what he can do on a bike. The kid is damn impressive. Looking forward to PN.
 
Pft. TJ. Thanks for living up to my expectation. There's comfort in your consistency.
Now I can enjoy the rest of the race.
 
Anyone watching the track world championships? Chloe Diegart is insane... first, she single handedly pulls back the british tee, riding on the front of the US squad for like 4 laps straight in the 4K team pursuit and then yesterday, she set and then re-set the world record in the 3k individual pursuit, while wining the gold and catching a smashing Annamiek Van Vleuten, the current road TT world champion. She embarrassed her, IMO.
 
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