Cycling thread
- Thread starter Bruce Wayne
- Start date
Weight isn't such a big deal on flat classics though is it?
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
Yes but he isn't planning to be a rider for the flat classics. He wants to do GT's and TT's. According to Lefevre if he had had the weight he had on the WC last year he would have had top 4 in the UAE. He only rode the two flat semi-classics to learn. His next coming race is somewhere at the end of April, another small tour in preparation for the Tour of Romandie.
Black Belt Jones
Player Valuation: £25m
Has Remco got what it takes to go full alien insect?
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
We'll see I suppose- even though he doesn't need to go that far. I do think it doesn't yet matter for a 19 year old; a bit too soon for all that.
I don't like Froome but I suppose you have to hand it to him. He's capable of doing that to himself year in year out. Thomas completely let himself go after one win, too heavy atm, I'm not convinced he'll be having a good year.
Tom Boonen is in vive le velo atm. Quite fun to see; you have all these active riders like Van Marcke explaining their gruesome training schedule and then you have Tom Boonen saying that he never did double training blocks etc...
Black Belt Jones
Player Valuation: £25m
Must admit I don't see GT as a multiple TdF winner. Not based on anything tangible, he was clearly the strongest last year, just think that was the one time where everything went right. Plus Froome is still in the chair at Ineos.
Black Belt Jones
Player Valuation: £25m
Speaking of 6 grand bikes - everyone knows the cycle to work scheme, get you a bike tax free through a salary sacrifice scheme, limit one grand. Well now there appears to be a new green commute schcme which is claiming no limit - set up to meet the demand for ebikes (which are more expensive).
greencommuteinitiative.uk
This is pretty large if it gets some legs - don't know how widespread it is with employers at the moment. All my bikes are basically one grand, ebay the wheels for 100 quid, then another 500 quid to get a decent tubeless wheelset and tyres. I'd be rethinking that if I could get a 5 grand bike for half price, with payments spread over one year.
GCI - the only Cycle to Work Scheme that is a social enterprise
Cycle to Work with Green Commute Initiative. Get a bike and accessories. Employers and employees save money. As a social enterprise we don't charge fees.
greencommuteinitiative.uk
This is pretty large if it gets some legs - don't know how widespread it is with employers at the moment. All my bikes are basically one grand, ebay the wheels for 100 quid, then another 500 quid to get a decent tubeless wheelset and tyres. I'd be rethinking that if I could get a 5 grand bike for half price, with payments spread over one year.
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
I always wonder if those kind of schemes result in more people using a bike. Aren't they more for people who already enjoy cycling? A bit like over here you get paid (if you work for an employer obviously), 0.40 €/km if you cycle to work.
Black Belt Jones
Player Valuation: £25m
I think they're probably a net positive, just anecdotally based on non-cycling people I know who have gotten a bike through the scheme, but you're right in that you would need to look deeper beneath the superficial usage numbers to see if it was really changing lifestyles. Obv people like me who have been cycling all their lives will use it for n+1 which is not really taking cars off the road. I'd be trousering 8 euro a day cycle allowance working in Belgium, which sounds a bit generous tbh.
Cycling on the roads here can be a bit hairy if you're not used to it and that's really the problem - we don't have very cycle friendly infrastructure. I occasionally get colleagues at work musing that they really ought to cycle in when they see me in my gear, and I'll say something blandly encouraging, knowing it'll never happen and that's likely a good thing. Out of shape bloke tackling rush hour traffic in Manchester on a bike going 8 mph - chance of showing up to work in a box.
I think the pedal-assisted ebikes could be huge for transport, which is what this scheme appears to be aimed at - they have absolutely smashed the market here, hugely successful. You can ride to work with minimal effort, in your work clothes, and go fast enough to keep up with urban traffic. But others say it will make little difference, that ultimately it's the weather that deters part time cyclists, and you can't change that. Plus getting your hairstyle flattened with a bike helmet.
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
No that's about correct. My father does 20 K a day; he gets quite generous terms though as he works for a former state owned company and he still has the old statute (he's in his fifties;1961). Adds ups at the end of the year.
My sister, who's a teacher gets 0.23€/km (as do most; it's regulated legally- it's completely tax deductible for companies too) - if she were to take her bike she doesn't. Employers are legally obligated to pay you for your home to work commute. Think this is probably cheaper than paying for your public transportation costs.
Still the most popular fringe benefit in Belgium is the company car, including refuelling card (if they want to tackle pollution they'll have to change that). One of the reasons we have the most traffic jams in Europe. A lot of people I know, and work for an employer, have one (especially the engineers). Also you have people with very weird logic. Like my step-father. If he takes the train he's reaches his workplace in +- 14 minutes. For some weird reason he uses his car; and spends 1.5 hours getting to work and has less sleep. Never understood that.
Cycling infrastructure is good, except in Brussels really (main reason is that the Brussels government is relatively useless). E.g in Gent it's easy; no cars in the lion part of the city. They are only allowed in the outskirts. Between cities you have the cycling 'highways'. Nobody hates cyclists though; I'm pretty certain that a considerable part of the British public hates cyclists. Most people I see on e-bikes are either old (like my grandfather), or use them as an alternative for small motorbikes that can drive up to 25 km/h (and require a licence plate etc). The faster bikes also need licence plates etc though- essentially motorbikes.
Saying this it's the E3 today; one of my favourites.
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
Another Quickstep victory. Brilliantly played and finished by Stybar. Van Avermaet strongest guy in the race. Had he not closed the gap on Jungels (he would have won again), what he did on the Tiegemberg was immense everybody out of the wheel (as on the Patersberg). Him and van Aert were the only two that actually chased; Stybar could sit in the wheel (logical since his team mate was in front) for 60 K; but Betiol et al. are ridiculous. I thought at first that Sagan was riding like a coward, turns out he was just really bad - I can understand that. Grim for Van Avermaet though, his team was really weak- I expected more from his team mates. As was van Aert's, what the hell was that.
Nice to see Stybar get a win. He's Czech obviously, so that's a plus, but he always seems to miss out on really big ones, so it would be good if he could convert his there or there abouts into some big prizes.
Armel
Player Valuation: £15m
Don't particularly care about who wins tbf. I do need Sagan to step it up a bit; he always gives his all and would have helped in the chase, and also he's really going to ruin my team.
Sky finding an interesting way of winning
Valverde has also announced his retirement in 2021. Seems a Piti.
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