Cycling thread

Kantareller · July 9, 2017

TX Bill said:
Just saw the Porte crash. Not good. Not good at all.

From the clip I saw it looked really nasty, what happened there though? Was he squeezed of the road or was it a lapse of concentration?

Bruce Wayne · July 9, 2017

Armel said:
It's a travesty. It's not a race any more tbh. He has mechanical failure, everybody is forced to wait. Aru is the only real competitor present, the others are resigned to losing. Froome isn't even that strong I reckon, he's weaker than previous years. At least try. Then you have Porte, why you would do what he did is beyond me. BMC was already trying hard to facilitate a SKY victory by doing work for them in the previous days.

To be honest, Aru has been taking snide lessons from Nibali. He practically rides under the armpit of Froome as he calls for help.

https://u.nya.is/cczqav.mp4

It's not about waiting if you've already attacked, it's about not attacking when the yellow jersey signals they have a problem.

Bruce Wayne · July 9, 2017

All told though, nine people won't be starting tomorrow, including two serious GC contenders and the green jersey!

Richie Porte (BMC) – Crashed
Geraint Thomas (Team Sky) – Fractured Collarbone
Robert Gesink (Lotto NLJumbo) – Crashed
Arnaud Démare (FDJ) – Outside of time limit
Jacopo Guarnieri (FDJ) – OTL
Ignatas Konovalovas (FDJ) – OTL
Mickaël Delage (FDJ) – OTL
Jos Van Emden (Lotto NLJumbo) – OTL
Mark Renshaw (Dimension Data) – OTL
Matteo Trentin (Quick-Step Floors) – OTL
Juraj Sagan (Bora-Hansgrohe) – OTL

Armel · July 9, 2017

Bruce Wayne said:
To be honest, Aru has been taking snide lessons from Nibali. He practically rides under the armpit of Froome as he calls for help.

https://u.nya.is/cczqav.mp4

It's not about waiting if you've already attacked, it's about not attacking when the yellow jersey signals they have a problem.

I have no problem with people attacking during mechanical failures. It's a race. Bike racing isn't a pony camp. Mechanical failure is part of the sport. The other ones are there as Extras in the Chris Froome show; yearning for the 2nd or 3th gc place. At least try and not make it easy for him. Still upset with Ulrich when he didn't attack Armstrong after a fall from Armstrong. Sure enough a couple of years later, Ulrich fell Armstrong attacked.

I say this a someone who doesn't care who wins the race but at least wants to see some spectacle.

Kittel is still in the race and is the green jersey.

Bruce Wayne · July 9, 2017

Armel said:
I have no problem with people attacking during mechanical failures. It's a race. Bike racing isn't a pony camp. Mechanical failure is part of the sport. The other ones are there as Extras in the Chris Froome show; yearning for the 2nd or 3th gc place. At least try and not make it easy for him. Still upset with Ulrich when he didn't attack Armstrong after a fall from Armstrong. Sure enough a couple of years later, Ulrich fell Armstrong attacked.

I say this a someone who doesn't care who wins the race but at least wants to see some spectacle.

Kittel is still in the race and is the green jersey.

Beg pardon, thought Demare had it.

Walken · July 9, 2017

Bruce Wayne said:
To be honest, Aru has been taking snide lessons from Nibali. He practically rides under the armpit of Froome as he calls for help.

https://u.nya.is/cczqav.mp4

It's not about waiting if you've already attacked, it's about not attacking when the yellow jersey signals they have a problem.

Nibali was a far more inspiring champion than froome has ever been

rbm · July 10, 2017

Dan Martin was superb. Huge crash, gets up and finishes a minute of so off the pace. Massive effort.

Bruce Wayne · July 10, 2017

Tough buggers are cyclists.

Bruce Wayne · July 10, 2017

Walken said:
Nibali was a far more inspiring champion than froome has ever been

Is that the Nibali whose Tour win was by default because everyone else crashed out, or whose last Giro win was because the leader also crashed? Maybe it's the Nibali who was dq'd from the Vuelta for holding onto a car?

I quite like Nibali, but he's quite a bit below the best GT riders of his generation.

Armel · July 10, 2017

Bruce Wayne said:
lol Is that the Nibali whose Tour win was by default because everyone else crashed out, or whose last Giro win was because the leader also crashed? Maybe it's the Nibali who was dq'd from the Vuelta for holding onto a car?

I quite like Nibali, but he's quite a bit below the best GT riders of his generation.

Tbf he said inspiring, not the best. Let's assume Froome wins this TdF, then he has won 4 grand Tours (only TdF). He has also won a couple of Dauphinees etc. He has also been DQ'ed from the Giro because he was holding on to a motor. He abandoned in every single WC he participated in.

Let's compare with Nibali. Nibali so far has already won 4 grand tours, he has decent results in classics (with even a win), national titles... If people crash out it's there own fault. You race with the people who are there. You can hardly blame him for people riding into snowy mountains etc.

Nibali is exciting. Froome is boring, yesterday it looked like he was going to hit the mechanic because he forgot his computer (when changing bikes). Without his computer he gets stressed.

So it's safe to say that Nibali is a more inspiring rider imo.

degsy · July 10, 2017

I started watching the tour, (mainly for the spectacle and scenery) on C4 with Ligget and his mate. To me, as a once a year bloke they still are the voice of cycling and up to this year they were on SBS (Australia)
Now we get 2 Aussies, who are knowledgeable...but not Liggett.
anyway, the race;
To the cycling bedwetters.
I liken it to the Grand National, sometimes the going is good or heavy or it's raining, sunny. Sometimes the favourite wins, sometime 100-1 shot wins it when they all fall over. People complain it's too hard or complain about this or that...the fences are too hard ( they're actually easier now than they were)
There's drugs in horse racing, shady dealings, too much money, blah, blah, blah.
It is what it is
Watch it or don't.

Black Belt Jones · July 10, 2017

Armel said:
Tbf he said inspiring, not the best. Let's assume Froome wins this TdF, then he has won 4 grand Tours (only TdF). He has also won a couple of Dauphinees etc. He has also been DQ'ed from the Giro because he was holding on to a motor. He abandoned in every single WC he participated in.

Let's compare with Nibali. Nibali so far has already won 4 grand tours, he has decent results in classics (with even a win), national titles... If people crash out it's there own fault. You race with the people who are there. You can hardly blame him for people riding into snowy mountains etc.

Nibali is exciting. Froome is boring, yesterday it looked like he was going to hit the mechanic because he forgot his computer (when changing bikes). Without his computer he gets stressed.

So it's safe to say that Nibali is a more inspiring rider imo.

Froome crushes souls, which personally I find quite inspiring. He's broken every rider in the peleton in his time, to such an extent that they're all now petrified of him and no one will take him on. Nibali seems a strange source of inspiration given the winner-by-default status of his GT victories, but who's to say what each of us find inspiring?

Off the bike it's a different story - Froome is a tedious Monaco-resident robot who is difficult to warm to. I suspect that he actually has quite a strong and interesting character underneath it all, but it's not something we'll ever see whilst he is competing.

Toast · July 10, 2017

Toast said:
I'm on Porte for the GC @2/1 a few weeks back and a cover on Sagan for the Green jersey @ 4/6.
I'm massively unlucky in this usually however, so a ridiculous crash involving both would not be any surprise at all.

And there we have it.

Armel · July 10, 2017

Black Belt Jones said:
Froome crushes souls, which personally I find quite inspiring. He's broken every rider in the peleton in his time, to such an extent that they're all now petrified of him and no one will take him on. Nibali seems a strange source of inspiration given the winner-by-default status of his GT victories, but who's to say what each of us find inspiring?

Off the bike it's a different story - Froome is a tedious Monaco-resident robot who is difficult to warm to. I suspect that he actually has quite a strong and interesting character underneath it all, but it's not something we'll ever see whilst he is competing.

This is a faulty argument; it's not his fault others fall on their face. As far as I am aware he doesn't have divine powers to decide who falls on their face or doesn't. Those things are race incidents; they are part of the race. You ride the race with the people present, and those who are able to finish it.

He has no panache once so ever and he is a boring person on top of that. I respect him for his achievements but that's that.

Walken · July 10, 2017

Bruce Wayne said:
lol Is that the Nibali whose Tour win was by default because everyone else crashed out, or whose last Giro win was because the leader also crashed? Maybe it's the Nibali who was dq'd from the Vuelta for holding onto a car?

I quite like Nibali, but he's quite a bit below the best GT riders of his generation.

At least he has a bit of bottle and isn't scared on wet cobbles, given your obsession with free markets and capitalism, it's little wonder you are drawn to sky and froome, while most others are frankly put off by them, and can see the damage their financed monopoly does