He's definitely been the best rider, with none of the others able to consistently challenge him. It will be interesting to see if he's returned to the level of Roglic and Pogacar.
Cycling thread
- Thread starter Bruce Wayne
- Start date
Sassy Colombian
Member: Team PoP
He really has been the best rider and after having such a hard time last year because of his injuries and people doubting him as good cyclist l, even after wining the Tour De France, it is nice seeing him do well and prove his critics wrong.
A huge shout out to fellow Colombian Dani Martinez as well, who has been incredibly helpful to Bernal this past week and is currently 6th overall. For a domestique, that's remarkably good.
Sassy Colombian
Member: Team PoP
Well deserved shout. Martinez is one of those riders that doesn’t get enough credit but he is always working hard for the Team and his teammates.
tradition
Ineos didn't seem to suffer down the wet descent today, even with the race very much on.
Pinarello ship all of their F12s with discs, don't they? I suspect the aerodynamic differences are minimal, but I know the game of marginal gains is very much a concern for pro teams. Personally, my next bike will have discs because I want an all weather bike and if I upgrade wheels I don't want carbon rim brakes that could be useless in marginal conditions. But my preferences and needs certainly aren't the same as pro riders.
They may do but I'm fairly sure Ineos ride with rim brakes. No idea why they do, but they're the only team that does I believe.
Taking a quick glance at Ineos on instagram and you are correct.
lichfieldblue
Player Valuation: £500k
Martinez was a beast today, and Bernal could have been in real trouble without him. I thought he was going to win the stage half way up the final climb.
When you think he's probably not in Ineos' top 5 climbers, that's scary, and not good for the sport IMO.
If Sivakov had remained upright he'd probably have been 3rd man in the race, which as you say, was without Thomas, Carapaz, TGH, Porte, Adam Yates...
I thought Castroviejo has done an amazing job as well. He's nearly always been there long after the domestiques of the other teams have been dropped.
Umm, so how hard is mountain riding? Asking for a friend.
Short story--on a trip later this week and was looking forward to renting a gravel bike and finding some nice rides, but there are no rentals at all to be found (no surprise, although surprised nobody kept old stock...), so I was reading up on routes and there are some nice write-ups including a 50 mi loop that goes through a pass (col?) on dirt roads before descending gently back into town. The writeup is on a road bike so now I'm excited about tackling this on my own equipment, except... I've never done any significant climbs (10 minute climb is my max) and I've never been on a ride at altitude.
So, is this too much or is this a ride I have to try because I can't pass it up? (Or are both answers yes?)
Short story--on a trip later this week and was looking forward to renting a gravel bike and finding some nice rides, but there are no rentals at all to be found (no surprise, although surprised nobody kept old stock...), so I was reading up on routes and there are some nice write-ups including a 50 mi loop that goes through a pass (col?) on dirt roads before descending gently back into town. The writeup is on a road bike so now I'm excited about tackling this on my own equipment, except... I've never done any significant climbs (10 minute climb is my max) and I've never been on a ride at altitude.
So, is this too much or is this a ride I have to try because I can't pass it up? (Or are both answers yes?)
Climbing is all about tempo and gearing. Let's say it's a climb that will take an hour, do you have the legs and the gears to do a steady pace with no real rest for an hour? If you're doing a few climbs then ask the same question but consider fatigue or altitude.
Climbing is nothing to be intimidated by if you prepare well.
it looks like the difficult stretch is two climbs over 4 mi total that are 8-10%. Before that it’s about 30-45 mins of 3%. Seems like I could take a break before each steep section to give my legs a rest, but the top is near 10k ft and I’m sure that will make no small impact as well.
That length of climb will require the right gearing, especially on the second one as you'll be that bit more tired. It's one thing to mash out a short climb at 50-60rpm but doing that for over 30 minutes isn't much fun. From memory with my 30 tooth rear sprocket on a 10% climb I'd need to do upwards of 10kmh to keep my cadence around 80rpm. If you can do that, great, but if not maybe explore slightly bigger gears.
Welcome
Join Grand Old Team to get involved in the Everton discussion. Signing up is quick, easy, and completely free.
Shop
