Cycling Thread

[Veggie Legs]

If Stannard is ever gonna land a big one it will be in filthy conditions. Also sets the over/under on sudden cuts to a shot of a beleaguered looking Geraint Thomas emerging from a ditch at 18.5.

I thought he was going to do it today, but not quite. I was quite surprised how much Hayman and Boonen slowed down in the velodrome to let the other three catch up, it would have been perfect if Stannard had overtaken them at that point.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

That was way up the list of my fave races ever.

 

[TimeyWimey]

This is a seriously good watch.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Dude.

https://twitter.com/CyclingHubTV/status/720615618983145473

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

2 weeks til the Giro and his Nibs is nowhere near Landa.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Definitely the most suspicious bit of footage of the year so far.

(13mins 15s in)

The rest, fluff, it seems.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Sky finally breaking their monument hoodoo with Wout Poels in LBL would not have been my prediction. Quite the season he is having.

And with the caveat that the weather had a fair bit to do with the shape of today's race, the Ardennes races were pretty dull this year, weren't they. Fleche and Amstel went exactly to formula, and next to nothing of note happened outside of ~20km to go in LBL either. I fear the addition of that extra climb at the end is just gonna result in people waiting until the very end there too. Harrumph.

Post classics fantasy update:

 

[TimeyWimey]

Well Shane Sutton sounds a bit of a cock.

There seemed to be a lot of infighting during the World Championships on the track. Somehow all this doesn't come as much of a surprise. Big decline since Brailsford left.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

I think Peter Kennaugh might bit of a simpleton/arsehole. Decent body of evidence accumulated now.

 

[Super_horns]

Why do people in general write things on Twitter then delete them expecting no-one to notice!

 

[TimeyWimey]

Daily Mail reckon they have something on a British rider doping. FFS. Following their clues tho, does point to someone who disappeared from the Romandie startlist.

So yeah, Simon Yates you naughty boy.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Fockin eejit.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Also, it's the Schleck rule innit. As in, it's really really hard to believe one of them has had their fingers in the cookie jar and the other hasn't.

(if that's what it turns out to be, obv)

 

[Super_horns]

Team blaming themselves it seems - are they just covering for the rider because he is one of their best prospects?

Not going to help his Team Sky chances for the future.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Asthma inhaler and whatnot kinda makes sense in that a Bury boy riding for the Aussies isn't the obvious template for major doping bust but still, taking the excuse with a pinch of salt.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Major cycle races on British soil get bigger crowds out by the side of the road than pretty much anything that isn't the TdF or RVV. It's a bit mad innit.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Big up Hugh Carthy.

 

[TimeyWimey]

As much as I hope Mikel can drag me back into the top 100 of the fantasy league, can anyone see past Nibali for this Giro malarky?

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

One would assume that a chap of his experience and achievements would know how to time his peak for a grand tour, but he was a million miles away from Landa at Trentino, which gives me some cause for concern.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

VIVA IL GIRO!!

 

[TimeyWimey]

Haha, Giant Alpecin still gonna push the "only here for TT's"?

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Bit of a mare for Dumoulin here.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Poor Tom. May as well have cyclo-crossed it.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Zakarin with the most disastrous TT since old Rasmussen back in the day.

 

[Veggie Legs]

Do other people find the time trials incredibly boring to watch or is it just me?

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

TV ratings suggest that you are far from alone. They are seldom the most thrilling of stages, especially the early/mid race ones which don't have a bunch of immediately apparent GC jeopardy attached to them.

TdF has done a decent job of sticking Chartres Cathedral or Mont Saint Michel in the background recently, so you've got sumamt interesting to look at, at least, and treacherous weather today added a bit, I guess.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Landa DNF. Oof.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Oh Mikel, bloody hell. You may as well go and join Sky's Sunday club run/Team Wiggins in California for all the ahem effort put in.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Terpstra doing good in Giro.



(heh...)

 

[TimeyWimey]

Not too bad from Alaphilippe. Little sprint up a mountain.