Cycling thread

Bruce Wayne said:
Obviously Froome and Thomas are near the end of their careers, so you can perhaps see Froome having one more shot at the Tour, with Thomas being consigned to Giro/Vuelta duty. So maybe Thomas and Carapaz ride the Giro and Vuelta, with Froome and Bernal at the Tour.
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That's my guess, but Thomas will surely want another crack at the Tour injury-free. He and Froome probably only have 1 or 2 more chances.

You'd think Carapaz would want to defend the Giro, but it's perfectly possible 2 months ago (pre Froome missing out and Bernal winning) he was signed on the promise of being joint leader for the Tour.
 

lichfieldblue said:
That's my guess, but Thomas will surely want another crack at the Tour injury-free. He and Froome probably only have 1 or 2 more chances.

You'd think Carapaz would want to defend the Giro, but it's perfectly possible 2 months ago (pre Froome missing out and Bernal winning) he was signed on the promise of being joint leader for the Tour.
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I can't see Froome getting back to his previous level with the injuries he's got. I reckon him and Thomas are going to be thrown onto a nice Bradley Wiggins shaped scrapheap, which may see Froome discover a little more empathy than he's demonstrated in the last few years.
 
lichfieldblue said:
That's my guess, but Thomas will surely want another crack at the Tour injury-free. He and Froome probably only have 1 or 2 more chances.

You'd think Carapaz would want to defend the Giro, but it's perfectly possible 2 months ago (pre Froome missing out and Bernal winning) he was signed on the promise of being joint leader for the Tour.
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With Sivakov already having a top 10 in a GC as well, you'd imagine he, Bernal and Carapaz are the future, especially as Brailsford has already shown ruthlessness in terms of moving riders to the margins. I can't see Thomas being anything more than a super domestique from now on, unless he has a go at the Vuelta.
 
Did UK TV show the presentations and the winner's speech last night? Bernal started in English.,then Italian then Spanish and finally in French. No doubt appreciated by the fans of the 3 GT nations. Great ambassador for the sport. Wonderful setting also. Sunset behind the arc de triumph. Brilliant sprint by Cadel Ewan too. So that's it for another year and Viva La Vuelta!
 

Moving on from the Tour, I've just booked my train to Thonen Les Bains for mid September... Plan is to ride 640km to Nice through the Alps. In 3 days.

Now that's making the most of a bad annual leave situation.
 

Bruce Wayne said:
Ah, cool. I know the TGV is generally pretty good with bikes, but Eurostar less so.
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TGV can be a pain, but no worse than Eurostar. As long as the wheels are off and its in a box or a bag on a luggage rack you're usually alright. Then you're simply relying on the French public sector worker's desire for a quiet life.

Took my girlfriend on a weeks tour in Scotland earlier in the year, at least part of my motivation was to show her that British trains are exactly as bizarre with bikes as I promised.
 
Disgruntledgoat said:
TGV can be a pain, but no worse than Eurostar. As long as the wheels are off and its in a box or a bag on a luggage rack you're usually alright. Then you're simply relying on the French public sector worker's desire for a quiet life.

Took my girlfriend on a weeks tour in Scotland earlier in the year, at least part of my motivation was to show her that British trains are exactly as bizarre with bikes as I promised.
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It's been a few years so it might have changed, but when we got the Eurostar with bikes, they mandated that they had to be in a bag, not a box, which when a bunch of schmucks are tossing suitcases and stuff into the luggage area wasn't a nice prospect. The TGV leg of the journey by contrast was considerably more relaxing. No idea why Eurostar got rid of the bike carriage really, as you'd imagine lots of people would love to get a train down to Grenoble rather than fly.
 
Bruce Wayne said:
It's been a few years so it might have changed, but when we got the Eurostar with bikes, they mandated that they had to be in a bag, not a box, which when a bunch of schmucks are tossing suitcases and stuff into the luggage area wasn't a nice prospect. The TGV leg of the journey by contrast was considerably more relaxing. No idea why Eurostar got rid of the bike carriage really, as you'd imagine lots of people would love to get a train down to Grenoble rather than fly.
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I didn't know that.

Been a long time since I took Eurostar with the bike (probably 5 years). Belgian trains I find really strange. They'll sting you €7 for a return ticket for your bike and can still refuse to take it. Although you don't have to pack it or anything.
 
Disgruntledgoat said:
I didn't know that.

Been a long time since I took Eurostar with the bike (probably 5 years). Belgian trains I find really strange. They'll sting you €7 for a return ticket for your bike and can still refuse to take it. Although you don't have to pack it or anything.
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Seems to be the thing with train companies as there's huge variance in the UK. Some have carriages, some don't, some require bookings, some don't, some forbid peak time use, some don't.
 

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