Cycling

[holystove]

probably unlikely that someone here is into cycling but you never know

 

this week from 5/4 tot 12/4 is the most exciting week in cycling apart from the Tour de France :

-Tour of Flanders

-Ghent Wevelgem

-Paris Roubaix

 

Tour of Flanders was won by De Volder (the winner of last year) .. for Ghent Wevelgem Cavendish is the clear favorite (at 2,75 per euro bet) and for Paris Roubaix the oddsmakers got Boonen at 3,50.

 

Cavendish will win in Wevelgem, he's just so much faster than the other sprinters. But for Paris-Roubaix he's not yet strong enough in my opinion (Milan - San remo which he won, is a much much easier race to win if you're the fastest guy in the peloton).

Obviously hoping Boonen will win in Roubaix but I don't quite see it happening. He's the favorite and everyone will always be jumping on his wheel if he tries anything .. I'd go for George Hincapie. The guy is gettin closer to retirement and really deserves a win in one of the classics so wouldn't mind it much. I wouldn't be surprised if he won the sprint after 170 gruesome miles.

[MikeO]

Funny that we have a world superstar (in Cavendish) who could walk down any street in the UK and barely be recognised. Profile of cycling has risen with the success of our track team (and to a lesser extent Cavedish's TDF exploits) but it's still very much a minority sport. I've always watched whatever coverage we could get of "Le Tour," Robert Millar's King of the Mountains in '84 was the highlight .

 

What's thought on the continent of Britain's master plan to find an overall winner by 2014 (LINK HERE)? Be interested to see what you think....

[holystove]

Funny that we have a world superstar (in Cavendish) who could walk down any street in the UK and barely be recognised. Profile of cycling has risen with the success of our track team (and to a lesser extent Cavedish's TDF exploits) but it's still very much a minority sport. I've always watched whatever coverage we could get of "Le Tour," Robert Millar's King of the Mountains in '84 was the highlight .

 

What's thought on the continent of Britain's master plan to find an overall winner by 2014 (LINK HERE)? Be interested to see what you think....

 

delusional

 

you can't built a winning team in 5 years ... if there was some british talent out there that would be capable of winning the tour de france, i'm quite sure i would have heard about that guy ...

 

so the only way i can see "Team Sky" winning the Tour, is if they buy foreign talent ... that would take so much money that his return on investment will be non-existant in a market that doesn't care about cycling such as the UK ... besides for the brits there's not much fun in seeing a foreigner win even if he's racing for your team .. cycling is still to a large degree an individual sport, where teams come and go.

 

His plan just shows that he doesn't know much about cycling and how other teams and countries are trying to train Tour de France winners.

 

 

however if he just wants to raise intrest in britain, maybe launching a dumb idea is a brilliant strategy .

[Sporting4ever]

The problem with cycling is drugs. It's so widespread, because of the level of performance those guys have to have for an entire week or more, that the body simply can't handle it by itself... The way that they tried to clean everything up, I don't know if they succeded, but there's a dark cloud above the sport now, and we'll see if it can be lifted again...

[holystove]

and the winner in wevelgem is : Edvald Boasson Hagen, teammate of cavendish.

 

cavendish had a flat tire which was the cue for some to attack while he was waiting for help..

same happened to boonen, who also fell.

 

in the rain and wind, brutal race ... Hagen deserved it, maybe he can develop into cavendish' consiglieri .

[Churinga2]

I'm looking forward to Parijs Roubaix! One of my favorites.

I'm hoping for Boonen as always, but another belgian will do aswell

 

Will devolder participate? Him in the same shape will be hard to beat.

[holystove]

I'm looking forward to Parijs Roubaix! One of my favorites.

I'm hoping for Boonen as always, but another belgian will do aswell

 

Will devolder participate? Him in the same shape will be hard to beat.

 

i assume he will .. but i'm hoping he won't ...

 

i like boonen more and devolder is the only guy that can take the win away from boonen .. not because he's better but because he's a teammate and boonen can't chase after him..

i'm sure devolder will make a stupid escape 50 miles from the finish and end up losing in the sprint to some nitwit like Hammond who happens to be a little bit faster ..

[holystove]

boonen wins it in a very good race ... he kept attacking until it was just him left and then finished it off by riding the last 15kms alone..

 

well deserved, re-established himself as the best cyclist of the last 5 years in one-day-races.

[holystove]

boonen caught using cocaine -again- .. although it's not an illegal substance in cycling (it actually has an adverse effect on your conditioning) he is set to face criminal charges.. last time prosecution offered him a deal with strict conditions, which he now obviously broke by using cocaine again..

 

such a shame.. the pressure must have gotten to him.

[Churinga2]

Let's give it another try, this thread wasn't a succes, but I'm sure with the Tour starting today it will be somewhat livelyer

 

Give your thoughts:

 

Yellow

alberto Contador

 

Green

TOM BOONEN

 

First one to leave because of doping

hmm, bold guess.. Armstrong. Would be one hell of an anticlimax

[MikeO]

Hmmm....Contador's not sticking your neck out too far .

 

I'll go for Andy Schleck (although you're probably right).

 

Have to go Cavendish for Green.

 

Doping....pick a name out the hat (if Stefan Schumacher wasn't banned it'd be easy). Not a clue.

[MikeO]

Brilliant photo.....sums up Cavendish's sprinting ability at the mo. Unbeatable.

 

[Churinga2]

yes, only him not surviving the mountains could keep him of green.

Armstrong is looking good, better then I thought. but the same for him, can he handle the mountains.

[MikeO]

Bradley Wiggins hanging on well....still in 5th. Thought he'd be well down by now .

[Churinga2]

Bradley Wiggins hanging on well....still in 5th. Thought he'd be well down by now .

 

And Cavendish just won his 3th stage this tour, the english are doing good! just look at the enthousiamsm on here..

 

do they even cover the tour on english tv?

[MikeO]

And Cavendish just won his 3th stage this tour, the english are doing good! just look at the enthousiamsm on here..

 

do they even cover the tour on english tv?

Hmmm...the enthusiasm on here is fairly limited I think. Just me in fact .

 

And it is covered....on Eurosport and on interactive terrestrial (ITV 4). Watched a lot of the stage yesterday .

[MikeO]

Cavendish looks to have thrown the Green Jersey away today....stupid thing to do .

[MikeO]

delusional

 

you can't built a winning team in 5 years ... if there was some british talent out there that would be capable of winning the tour de france, i'm quite sure i would have heard about that guy ...

 

so the only way i can see "Team Sky" winning the Tour, is if they buy foreign talent ... that would take so much money that his return on investment will be non-existant in a market that doesn't care about cycling such as the UK ... besides for the brits there's not much fun in seeing a foreigner win even if he's racing for your team .. cycling is still to a large degree an individual sport, where teams come and go.

 

His plan just shows that he doesn't know much about cycling and how other teams and countries are trying to train Tour de France winners.

 

 

however if he just wants to raise intrest in britain, maybe launching a dumb idea is a brilliant strategy .

Any update on that viewpoint Holy?

 

Serious question, I just wonder how Sky are now seen among the real cycling aficianado countries.

 

I know they've brought in foreign talent but they still have a decent British presence.

 

Big (naive?) tactical error on Stage 7 (think it was seven) but a top ten place currently in the current team standings would, on the face of it, seem to be a decent first attempt for a new team.

[holystove]

Any update on that viewpoint Holy?

 

Serious question, I just wonder how Sky are now seen among the real cycling aficianado countries.

 

I know they've brought in foreign talent but they still have a decent British presence.

 

Big (naive?) tactical error on Stage 7 (think it was seven) but a top ten place currently in the current team standings would, on the face of it, seem to be a decent first attempt for a new team.

 

They're a ProTour team and have lots of money. They've signed Flecha who's a really good one day race rider, so Sky is definitely taken seriously.

This TdF they've been really poor. Wiggins has been crap. I do like what I've seen from Geraint Thomas but he's no TdF winner.

In cycling nobody really cares about team standings (except for maybe the occasional Spanish team). Teams (=sponsors) come and go and personally I don't see Team Sky as representing British cycling . It's Cavendish, Thomas, Wiggins, ..

 

Cycling just isn't big enough in the UK. We haven't had a TdF winner in 30 years and cycling is huge here.

That's why I thought it was ridiculous to say that Britain could have a TdF winner in 5 years. And I still do.

[MikeO]

They're a ProTour team and have lots of money. They've signed Flecha who's a really good one day race rider, so Sky is definitely taken seriously.

This TdF they've been really poor. Wiggins has been crap. I do like what I've seen from Geraint Thomas but he's no TdF winner.

In cycling nobody really cares about team standings (except for maybe the occasional Spanish team). Teams (=sponsors) come and go and personally I don't see Team Sky as representing British cycling . It's Cavendish, Thomas, Wiggins, ..

 

Cycling just isn't big enough in the UK. We haven't had a TdF winner in 30 years and cycling is huge here.

That's why I thought it was ridiculous to say that Britain could have a TdF winner in 5 years. And I still do.

 

Fuck just wrote a big reply and then accidentally closed the page . I'll get back to you in a bit....but thanks for the thoughts.

[MikeO]

Can't remember what I was going to say now .

 

Anyway bit unsporting from Contador today no? How strictly adhered to is the "etiquette" that he went against?

[Matt]

and the winner in wevelgem is : Edvald Boasson Hagen, teammate of cavendish.

 

cavendish had a flat tire which was the cue for some to attack while he was waiting for help..

same happened to boonen, who also fell.

 

in the rain and wind, brutal race ... Hagen deserved it, maybe he can develop into cavendish' consiglieri .

thats a bit extreme isnt it?! "Quick, hes got a flat - GET 'IM!"

 

ooh, and the Tour of Flanders... all i could picture was a moustached man cycling around saying "hi-diddly doodly" to everyone with his own upbeat theme tune...

 

sleep dep is kickin in...

Edited July 19, 2010 by galacticaracnid

[holystove]

Anyway bit unsporting from Contador today no? How strictly adhered to is the "etiquette" that he went against?

 

Mechanical failure is part of the race. The commentator said it might have something to do with Schleck using the wrong gear, so it could even be his own fault.

 

In one of the earlier stages (3r stage, iirc), there was a big crash with some of the favorites of the TdF about to loose a lot of time. The peloton decided to wait for those riders and afterwards a lot of people critiqued that decision.

 

Staying on your bike, not getting a flat tire, avoiding mechanical problems, .. it's all part of the race. There is no general rule of etiquette that says other riders can't take advantage. It was up to Contador himself to decide, he chose to attack ..

 

The commentators mentioned that during some stage of the TdF in the 70's Merckx saw his rival (Ocana) fall and refused to take the yellow jersey. But then again Merckx is the greatest of all time and he knew he could win any way he wanted to .

 

Generally it's a faux-pas to attack if someone falls because a fan interfered or something, but personally I am annoyed if they wait in any other situation.

Edited July 19, 2010 by holystove

[holystove]

This settles it then :

 

http://translate.google.com/translate?js=y&prev=_t&hl=en&ie=UTF-8&layout=1&eotf=1&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsporza.be%2Fcm%2Fsporza%2Fwielrennen%2FTour%2F100720_TDF_Merckx_over_Contador&sl=nl&tl=en .

[MikeO]

Fair enough.....just wish he hadn't given it the, "I didn't see what happened and I never looked back" bullshit.

 

What he actually said was, "I was told there was an incident but when I attacked I was not aware of it...."

[MikeO]

http://www.rte.ie/sport/cycling/2010/0930/contadora.html

 

"...food contamination is 'the only possible explanation'...."

[Romey 1878]

How can people actually stay interested in this sport when most of the best riders are proven as cheaters at a later date?

 

Genuine question btw, because I'd lose interest in it myself.

[MikeO]

How can people actually stay interested in this sport when most of the best riders are proven as cheaters at a later date?

Footballers (and many other sportsmen) cheat all the time .

 

I see he's claiming it was in "contaminated meat" shipped in from Spain that they ate at the hotel on a rest day, so presumably the whole team will have tested positive .

[Romey 1878]

Footballers (and many other sportsmen) cheat all the time .

 

I see he's claiming it was in "contaminated meat" shipped in from Spain that they ate at the hotel on a rest day, so presumably the whole team will have tested positive .

 

 

I mean by using drugs etc to enhance performance, Mike. Just a little bit different than giving someone a little kick to stop them playing, or holding up an imaginary yellow card.

[MikeO]

I mean by using drugs etc to enhance performance, Mike. Just a little bit different than giving someone a little kick to stop them playing, or holding up an imaginary yellow card.

I don't see that much difference, if someone dives to win a penalty and it turns out to be a game winning one then they're going outside the rules to gain an unfair advantage. That's arguably a more blatent piece of cheating than someone trying to artificially boost their endurance/strength.

 

Difference is they might get a ban for a couple of games on a disrepute charge (or more likely no punishment at all) and a drug user will get banned for years or possibly life.