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serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
It has been precisely 5 years since the last thread was started for the 104th Tour de France. The 1st stage of that tour finished in Harrogate and it seems quite apt that this thread is started after one of the best* world championships in years also finished in Harrogate.

Much has changed since 2014. Cyclocross is mainstream. Womens cycling is huge. The spring classics aren't a punch up between Cancellara and Boonen. Theres E sports Bib Shorts now and we compare zwift KOM's like they're a real thing. However some things do remain the same. Quintana is poo poo, anyone but Valverde and Greg Van Avermaet has such a big ego he'd throw away his chances to win a World Championship just to make sure one of his team mates doesn't win it instead.

The road season is now over, the grand tours won by a mistake, a 12 year old and a skier and the new World champion had 160 to 1 odds to win at the start of the day. Its amazing what happens when Chris Froome breaks every bone in his body. So without further ado, lets get into it.

SO WHAT IS PRO CYCLING

Its when you watch people cause varying levels of physical pain to themselves, their rivals, their team mates if they're in a Movistar kit and occasionally members of the public. There's various disciplines, but we tend to focus on the Lycra type in here; Road, track and Cyclocross. The baggy shorts and body armour stuff can get right out.

ROAD RACING

You know what, nothing describes road racing more than this

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UsPFr8Y4ZKY

Excessively long, ridiculously tactical and a single moment of hesitation where you lose everything. But lets be honest, road cycling is the Tour. The Tour is road cycling.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DFttKvN9X9w

We all love it. A glorified travel show for 5 hours every day throughout summer, culminating in some of the most exciting moments you will see in cycling. Brutal mountain fights, surprise crosswinds and unexpected heroes. We were all Julian Alaphillipe, slowly dying on the side of that mountain, desperately trying to cling onto yellow.



And if its not the tour, its the spring classics. The queen of them all - Paris Roubaix.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZE-s56OP3rs

Proper riding that.


TRACK RACING

Track is not my thing. I love watching it, but never understand it and I think that's half the charm. Hurtling around wooden boards at 35mph with no brakes, millimeters from each others wheels. Motorbikes everywhere, throwing each other up the track. Its bananas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3wIuVrUxeW0

Fyi the Madison is the best event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qW3dOWItii0

Also you have absolute monsters on it like Robert Forstemann



CYCLOCROSS









Pretty much sums it up. Its road racing for lunatics that decided the relatively safety of tarmac really wasn't for them, hopped some fences and tore up a few farmers fields before being chased into the forest and up the hill. I'm pretty sure the Belgians invented it because it rewards bravery, stupidity and tolerance for alcohol in equal measure.

The races are short on varied terrain. Sand, snow, gravel, mud, lots of mud. Obstacles to jump, tight corners. Silly gradient hills you have to run both up and slide on your face down. Frankly its simultaneously the most fun and the most pain you can have on two wheels.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ST9LL2BZ6c

The sport is currently dominated by Wout Van Aert and Mathieu van der Poel. Who after getting bored with winning literally everything shifted over to the road this year and proceeded to dominate there too.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6rA9zou0PU

Its Cyclocross and track season now. The road bikes have been put away until Spring. Wout van Aert is currently recovering after a fence went through his leg so I expect Van der Poel to win literally everything, and its the build up to the 2020 Olympics for the track stars.

The next big event is the Cyclocross world cup in Bern on the 20th of October.

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serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
This is one of my fav cycling photos ever



Also Greipel has terminated his contract with Arkea Samsic, he's either about to come back to a World Tour team or retire.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Can't believe the shitpost tag was changed

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
https://twitter.com/wcsbike/status/...erland-crash%2F

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
https://twitter.com/Cyclingnewsfeed/status/1180220092677799936


Lmao

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

wooger posted:

The Worlds looked horrific, but I will definitely go watch in person next time there’s something in Yorkshire. Though maybe they should stick to early summer.

Is there a more general cycling thread somewhere in the forums?

General cycling threads are in YLLS, everything from maintenance to random stuff right up to competitive races.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/riders-left-angry-and-amused-after-going-wrong-way-in-tre-valli-varesine/

Most of the contendors for the win took a wrong turn and Roglic won again.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Mollema woooo

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tour-de-france-2020-route-revealed/

The ASO have gone all in on Pinot for next years tour route. No Ventoux or Alp d'huez either, and a mountain time trial to finish.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Laurens ten Dam has retired too. Hes gonna switch to bikepacking and adventure races.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Arkea Samsic have missed out on the World tour spot, which has gone to Cofidis.

So unlikely to see Quintana at 2 of the 3 grand tours. lol.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
You have to think Arkea expected to be the next World Tour team with signing those 2.

Bintana indeed.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Giro looks like they are trying to drag Froome to it again with the 3 time trials. Looks like a more exciting race than the Tour tbf.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

cgfreak posted:

A Very Good Boi decided to participate in the Druivencross.

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=r5sKQPaTG70

:3:

Thats the same breed as my dog and he has a similar love of chasing bicycles.

In Grand Tour news the Vuelta is going up the Tourmalet and the Angliru is back.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Tour Down Under wont have last years king of the mountains winner after he had his arm broken for not paying an entry fee to a national park.

https://twitter.com/larrymontana/status/1210523363090862081

This is the response to someone not paying a 3 quid entry fee.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Van der Poel won 46 of the 69 races he competed in this year.

https://twitter.com/laflammerouge16/status/1211379030773116928

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Froome has gone home after 2 days at a training camp and now one of the sports directors doesn't reckon he'll be back at all.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Willunga Hill stage and in an effort to stop Richie Porte winning theres a 26 man pace line up the road verses 4 Trek riders in the peloton. Lets see how this plays out.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

serious gaylord posted:

Willunga Hill stage and in an effort to stop Richie Porte winning theres a 26 man pace line up the road verses 4 Trek riders in the peloton. Lets see how this plays out.

Congrats guys, an entire peloton alliance managed to beat him up that hill by 3 seconds.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
In the 2nd group in crosswinds? No team mates left? 1 minute 18 down on the leaders with 20km to go?

No problem.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ev...n36uBveMFaQrtRk

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Big Toms had a case of the Froomies

https://twitter.com/tom_dumoulin/status/1229479759031230466

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

big crush on Chad OMG posted:

Are these the same parasites that made him nearly poo poo himself at the Giro?

Bit rude to call movistar a bunch of parasites.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Remco is going to win the Giro

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Froome getting dropped. I feel I might say that alot this year.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
The UAE tour has been cancelled and its unlikely that Milan San Remo and Strade Bianchi will go ahead due to the Corona Virus.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Slight chance that all the UAE tour spend 2 weeks in quarantine after 2 staff members of the teams tested positive.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

Feels Villeneuve posted:

the fail rear end stage race riders can stay in the UAE forever because it's omloop time :dogcited:

The womens race is carnage already the weather is atrocious

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
I think they're gonna get caught.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Never mind they gave up

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

Smirr posted:

Gianni "Johnny Fiveaces" Moscon just got DQ'd for:

https://twitter.com/BasTietema/status/1234118399233609734

Seems a normal reaction to me.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Moscon did nothing wrong

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Nicolas Portal has died of a heart attack

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/nicolas-portal-dies-of-heart-attack-at-40/

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Jumbo and EF have pulled out of all racing until the end of March.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Giro is also at risk if this continues in the same vein.

Gaviria is apparently infected with the virus and so are a number of UAE Emirates and FDJ riders. Theres so many FDJ riders and staff in quarantine that they cant put a team out for the other world tour races anyway so they've pulled out of racing by default too.

Edit: Ineos withdrawing from all racing until the 28th too.

Half the World tour are out, no way we're getting anymore races.

serious gaylord fucked around with this message at 22:44 on Mar 4, 2020

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

Feels Villeneuve posted:

it's probably fine, the riskiest patients are the elderly and immunocomprimised, so we should just lose Valverde and Thibault Pinot

A course of high power steroids is one of the treatments so Valverde is already prepared

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Astana haven't paid their staff for 2 months.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

HappyCamperGL posted:

quintana is good again!?

He's not on an MPCC team anymore.

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
I miss cycling on tv

serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.

Stutes posted:

In lieu of racing, the Movistar documentary on Netflix is pretty good.



That subtitle tells me all I need to know that I'll love it

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serious gaylord
Sep 16, 2007

what.
Big fan of Dennis just doing 6.5w/kg for 40 minutes.

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