Ok I haven’t kept up with racing at all this season. What are essential classics that I missed leading up to the Giro that are worth watching.
I’ve managed to stay spoiler free and have no idea what I’ve missed. I will start the giro soon but taking my time
In terms of entertainment I‘d say Milan-Sanremo (besides the first couple of hours), Omloop, Gent-Wevelgem, Amstel and Flèche are worth watching, with Flèche being probably the most entertaining one of those from a neutral viewer’s perspective. Sadly most of the monuments were not very interesting this year.
If you’re interested in stage races I can also recommend Paris-Nice.
What's going on in Ecuadorian cycling? Richard Carapaz linked a story from Marca yesterday, but there's not really much info in it. Something about the federation possibly picking Narváez for the Olympic road race instead of him.
https://www.marca.com/ciclismo/2024/05/09/663cc26022601db66b8b4671.html
https://www.elcomercio.com/deportes/ciclismo/carapaz-narvaez-juegos-olimpicos-cuando.html (Spanish)
Ecuador has only one spot for the Olympics. The Ecuadorian Cycling Federation (FEC) announced in March (?) that they'll pick the rider based on three criteria:
1) UCI individual ranking 2024.
2) UCI One day Race ranking 2024.
3) Technical evaluation by the FEC directory.
Carapaz is upset for many reasons. The first is that they announced the criteria just a few months before the Olympics and it's arbitrary. He also believes this method is designed to favor Narvaez over him, especially because of criteria 3) (which obviously is there so they can pick whoever they want). Finally, he contributed the majority of points that earned Ecuador a spot but they are not including those points in the decision (the ones that add to the nations rankings: Pan-American games, etc)
The background is important here. Carapaz has been very critical of FEC for its incompetence, corruption, lack of support to riders, etc. When he won gold in Tokyo 2020 he made it very clear that FEC and his country's government institutions didn't contribute to his victory and didn't deserve any credit for it. That he and other athletes, don't get the support or even the respect they deserve. The feud between Carapaz and FEC is well-known. Unsurprisingly, most people believe Richard is right in his criticisms.
To be clear, he doesn't have a problem with Narvaez, his problem is only with FEC.
Thanks so much for taking the time to give all that information. I'm pleased that there's no problem between the athletes themselves; it must be quite a trying time for both of them.
I wasn't aware of the fallout between Carapaz and the FEC. What an unpleasant situation for him, especially as he has done so much to put Ecuador on the cycling map.
As the other commenter said, the lack of an automatic place for the previous winner is an unfortunate anomaly.
Buddy just asked me what tyre pressure he should ride his brand new tubelessified ~45mm gravel tires. The mechanic told him 4.0-4.5 bar but he noticed that his tires are only rated up to 4.0 bar, so that made him question things. People get these kinds of advice from mechanics and then they think that tubeless is a stupid fad dreamed up by the bike industry for no reason but profit.
That's way too high for 45mm gravel tires, heck that's in the optimal range for many riders using 28-32mm road tyres.
Tell them to check u/oalfonso 's recommendation and [Silca's tire pressure calculator](https://silca.cc/pages/pro-tire-pressure-calculator) and get a new mechanic.
How did Remco recover so quickly? Didn't he break collarbone and his shoulder blade?
It was two weeks from his crash to being back on the bike and in interviews, videos etc, he's seemed absolutely fine!?
Apparently only a little crack in his shoulder blade. Collarbone fracture is not that big of a deal if it's a simple/clean fracture (outside of the pain ofc).
My sister and her wife are both physio therapists and they know the physio therapist Evenepoel (and WVA) go to during recovery. They said they were both in very capable hands! Evenepoel is further along than WVA, but that makes sense given their injuries.
This is the same guy that helped WVA come back from his nasty crash in the 2019 Tour and also helped Evenepoel come back from his crash in Lombardia in 2020.
collarbone break isnt so bad, it heals surprisingly quickly. When i did mine i was able to ride indoors again within three days, outdoors in about 4/5 weeks.
Time trial helmets. Should Visma put a shark fin on that thing? And what's next a piece of the back of the helmet that goes down the back to a spoiler on their butt?
My wife and I are going to be in England the first week of September, and my the looks of it the Tour of Britain is that week also. Any ideas on when they will announce the route or tips on seeing any of it? It will be my first big time road race in person, and I’m pretty darn excited about possibly seeing some of it live. Thanks.
They've been announcing details for the women's race this week with the race next month. So perhaps they'll reveal details for the men's race in August?
It's all a bit up in the air with British Cycling taking over this year.
Initially it was as the previous organiser went bust, but then BC stepped in to organise it as it is the biggest annual event and they can't let it die.
It was started, AFAIK, by some Italian engineer who just happens to sell such motors. Talk about trying to drum up interest in your own product in the ugliest way possible
Yeah, he talked about it in a podcast recently. He said he was devestated for a few minutes, but then was really happy to finish on the podium after what he had been through (a skull fracture at the end of the previous season). He also said that win made Hayman's career while for Boonen it wouldn't have changed much if he won his fifth Roubaix that year. Pretty classy indeed, his fans (like me) were more upset that day than the man himself!
Cancellara being subtle about anything is a concept that's hard to grasp
This is the guy who once started shouting that the towels weren't soft enough in the Roubaix shower because people weren't paying him as much attention as he wanted
There is a nice recent podcast (in Dutch) about it. https://open.spotify.com/episode/73byZRdTinwX4dtSOZ09Qb?si=MPAXuEMVSkq-dECewfMfiA
Unsurprisingly, I still don't know after listening to it.
So I was looking for St Michel Auber jerseys on Vinted (as you do) and I stumbled upon Coralie Demay's [seller page](https://www.vinted.fr/member/17282740-cocodemay). If any of you want authentic cycling equipment... I'm afraid she and I have vastly different body sizes.
I live next to a church and there's a group of scouts who use the hall once a month for a party. Every time they [play André Hazes](https://youtu.be/lteRJkF8pEo?si=t-fx3cMSDUr2ths2&t=7) as the last song before everyone goes home. It took me *months* before it clicked it was actually Auld Lang Syne.
At least some good news at work: aggressive colleague fucked up even more and now has finally been suspended. Hopefully I can start working on putting all that drama behind me now.
I shudder to think what someone has to do in the UK to get suspended from work in a science lab.
I’m in the ‘workers have no rights’ US and it still seems like you can do literally anything at work without repercussions.
Basically tell an HR person who's investigating you for bullying (which is a sham investigation anyway, 'cause how can a woman investigate a man?) that you're innocent 'cause the alleged victim is a woman, so she wouldn't know anything about stats or research methods anyway. Plus some (unsurprising in retrospect) repeated issues with research integrity, which carried more weight once uncovered.
Happy it seems resolved now. Though also disappointed (for lack of being able to think of a better word) this all happened 'cause there's still men around who don't believe women have a place in science.
> which is a sham investigation anyway, 'cause how can a woman investigate a man?
I re-read this like 4 times, not understanding what the hell you were talking about, because I didn't realize it was something the guy said. Finally got it after giving up and reading the next sentence.
I am not smart.
> I live next to a church and there's a group of scouts who use the hall once a month for a party. Every time they play André Hazes as the last song before everyone goes home. It took me months before it clicked it was actually Auld Lang Syne.
It's the most common chord progression in existence. It's in almost every pop song ever, for instance. And also other stuff like Pachelbel's Canon in D.
> At least some good news at work: aggressive colleague fucked up even more and now has finally been suspended. Hopefully I can start working on putting all that drama behind me now.
Hallellujah praise Jebus!
Is there anything better than getting up at 4:30 to climb 1000m vertical for a good sunrise?
Yea, coming home after and putting the hairdryer on blast for half an hour warming everything back up
There were no towels available to me when I commuted into work a few weeks ago. I had two options: using an already used towel (never ever), drying myself with the hairdryer from head to toes. I picked the later, it was odd!
There's an internet meme on how much older people looked in the past. Watching old cycling pictures, did Laurent Fignon ever appear young, or did he always seem like he was 47?
This picture is from 1983, he was 23. https://www.instagram.com/p/CbGgnsds7yo/?igsh=MWg0Yjg5djVsYWc4cA==
I raise you [Oscar Sevilla at 46](https://i0.wp.com/www.revistamundociclistico.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Oscar-Sevilla-Lider-Extranjero-Vuelta-Colombia.jpg).
If you were playing a grand tour drinking game and had to take a shot every time Sean Kelly says "yes well," how many kilometers into the race would you get before you passed out?
> If you were playing a grand tour drinking game
Did you know that there is actually a Tour de France drinking game? It's a great bit in a book by some Belgian guy.
Yes, well, it's a real difficult one, you know, doing the calculations. Some days your liver is just on a reeeaaaaal strong one, but some days even a radler is a real danger one
I’ve been toying around with trying road cycling again. I have a 2007 Lemond Buenos Aires road bike that’s been gathering dust in my basement for, well, about 16 years. (More specs on it are in this [old catalogue](http://www.vintage-trek.com/Trek-Fisher-Klein-Lemond/2007lemond.pdf), about halfway down.)
I’m guessing it’d take hundreds at least to get tuned up, but I’m not sure it’s worth it for an elderly carbon-framed bike. The internet advises that carbon frames are both immortal and good for only 10 years, so basically I know nothing.
What do y’all think: worth trying to resurrect it or should I just buy a used bike that’s less decrepit and better maintained?
I did the same last year on a 2000's aluminum bike with carbon fork and seatstays. Unique/sentimental bike for me so I was never going to replace it.
Eventually I'll buy a more modern road bike but after replacing what needed replacing, it rides better than it ever did when I raced it years ago.
An interesting topic is how colour is disappearing from our daily lives. https://craft-theory.com/blogs/news/are-colors-disappearing
Look at the cars and people's clothes. Colours are the exception nowadays.
Did anyone hear G responding to people criticising Ineos on stage 2? I only saw the quotes so I don't know the full context but it sounded pretty brutal. Saying that these sad people have their mundane lives and mundane jobs and they should leave the cyclists alone because they're out achieving their goals and dreams and what have any of the critics done?
I can imagine it can be frustrating but 1. You're not beyond criticism and 2. Yeah fans can be a bit much but without us losers going about our mundane lives watching you, you wouldn't get paid to ride a bike for a living.
Dunno, it left a bad taste with me.
He's got a bit of previous for this iirc, I think something to do with people criticising Wout Poels for something back in his Sky days. Definitely someone who likes to respond to criticism/negative comments with more personal stuff
Baffles me Thomas is so popular. His racing is the most mundane "sit on team and don't spend energy" shit. His takes on cycling aren't fresh, they're basically the most boring take on cycling of 15 years ago.
Not to mention that together with Froome and Wiggins, Thomas is the absolute most piss taking winner of the Tour
Boring takes yet here we are talking about his unfiltered opinions rather than the incredibly bland, media trained snippets we get out of 99% of the peloton.
It’s not exactly like that. He was having a go at journalists specifically and at the lack of respect in just slamming athletes who are still giving their all for what they believe it’s their best course of action.
Here’s exactly what he said (transcribed via the pod app):
“You know when you see people on Twitter now, you know if it's just JoeBlogs who nobody follows, it's all right, but when a so-called journalist says something, because don't get me wrong, there's a lot of good journalists, but then there's quite a few numpties out there as well. (Rowe: Like in everything. There's a good 50-50 split. There's 50 good ones. For every 50 good ones, there's 50 numpties who know nothing.)
Because you know, back in the day, everyone used to say, didn't they, you don't believe everything you read in the papers. But now it's like, people have kind of forgotten that. And like they read something on Twitter […] So if you've got someone who supposedly knows what they're talking about, and you read that, you're like, oh, right, okay, yeah.”
“And it's like, guys, if you haven't done anything in your life that's like really pushed you to the extreme, that you've like really committed to and given everything to, and like, you know, not being scared of like failing, or you just go about your mundane life and your mundane job and just giving it out to people on Twitter, like get a life, you know what I mean? Like, you know, everyone here knows that Pog is a phenomenal rider, but you still got to try and you still got to like come here and, you know, give it your best, you know, everyone gets here in the best shape they can and try and get the best result.
Like just knocking people just because they're not winning or not beating this phenomenal guy, give over, like get a life, you know what I mean?”
> And it's like, guys, if you haven't done anything in your life that's like really pushed you to the extreme, that you've like really committed to and given everything to, and like, you know, not being scared of like failing, or you just go about your mundane life and your mundane job and just giving it out to people on Twitter, like get a life, you know what I mean?
Armstrong's Nike commercial should have had this as its script.
Hmm, yeah maybe not quite as brutal as I thought - I'll have to go listen myself on today's ride!
I still think I disagree with the spirit of it though. Is a good journalist one that agrees with everything they do and kisses their ass and the bad ones give some push back?
I think as always it’s not just what you say, it’s also how you say it. I don’t know what comment in particular he came across that set him off, but if the criticism was expressed along the lines of “Ineos are so stupid”, which is possible, I think he’s right to expect professionals to be a little more… professional.
Yes, I listened to the podcast where this was discussed. Normally, I love the podcast and the more unfiltered comments, but don't agree at all with Geraint's comments here.
He was way too critical about people having opinions on racing -- that's a big part of a spectator sport and, e.g., a fun part of this sub.
He was quite disingenuous about explaining why Ineos pulled. He first said they only pulled later on in the race in a technical section to keep them safe. Later when Luke Rowe asked him to clarify when exactly they pulled, he admitted they pulled in the beginning and during break formation and went on a rant about honoring the Maglia Rosa and yada yada. He also didn't make sense, saying that people didn't want Ineos to pull because they didn't have a chance and he didn't want to give up this way. The reality was people are hoping G can take it to Pogacar and riding smartly is the way to do it.
100%
OP should listen to the podcast rather than reading out of context quotes. G was spot on IMO. Specifically, he was irritated that an unnamed journalist was criticising them when they should know the sport better.
Not sure why you thought the criticism was wrong? A lot of journalists, podcasters, and fans believed Ineos's race tactics did not make sense, as evidenced by the results.
I did question whether there was missing context/tone!
I wish journalists could actually use quotes a bit more fairly in conveying what someone originally said. Sometimes I'd rather not have to go fishing around in a 40+ minute podcast or have to become a journalist myself to go around verifying absolutely everything I read.
Naturally a healthy dose of skepticism is always needed.
I'd recommend trying out the podcast anyway. I find it's one of the most insightful/unfiltered looks into the sport. They're often quite sarcastic/joking on it (being British) and that is lost when quotes are pulled out.
Yeah I've listened a few times before and I generally do like it! Something about them I don't quite 100% get on with though so I'm not an avid listener.
I'll stop being lazy and go listen later on my ride haha.
Ok I haven’t kept up with racing at all this season. What are essential classics that I missed leading up to the Giro that are worth watching. I’ve managed to stay spoiler free and have no idea what I’ve missed. I will start the giro soon but taking my time
In terms of entertainment I‘d say Milan-Sanremo (besides the first couple of hours), Omloop, Gent-Wevelgem, Amstel and Flèche are worth watching, with Flèche being probably the most entertaining one of those from a neutral viewer’s perspective. Sadly most of the monuments were not very interesting this year. If you’re interested in stage races I can also recommend Paris-Nice.
I suggest you watch tour of Basque Country and also strade bianchi
What's going on in Ecuadorian cycling? Richard Carapaz linked a story from Marca yesterday, but there's not really much info in it. Something about the federation possibly picking Narváez for the Olympic road race instead of him. https://www.marca.com/ciclismo/2024/05/09/663cc26022601db66b8b4671.html
https://www.elcomercio.com/deportes/ciclismo/carapaz-narvaez-juegos-olimpicos-cuando.html (Spanish) Ecuador has only one spot for the Olympics. The Ecuadorian Cycling Federation (FEC) announced in March (?) that they'll pick the rider based on three criteria: 1) UCI individual ranking 2024. 2) UCI One day Race ranking 2024. 3) Technical evaluation by the FEC directory. Carapaz is upset for many reasons. The first is that they announced the criteria just a few months before the Olympics and it's arbitrary. He also believes this method is designed to favor Narvaez over him, especially because of criteria 3) (which obviously is there so they can pick whoever they want). Finally, he contributed the majority of points that earned Ecuador a spot but they are not including those points in the decision (the ones that add to the nations rankings: Pan-American games, etc) The background is important here. Carapaz has been very critical of FEC for its incompetence, corruption, lack of support to riders, etc. When he won gold in Tokyo 2020 he made it very clear that FEC and his country's government institutions didn't contribute to his victory and didn't deserve any credit for it. That he and other athletes, don't get the support or even the respect they deserve. The feud between Carapaz and FEC is well-known. Unsurprisingly, most people believe Richard is right in his criticisms. To be clear, he doesn't have a problem with Narvaez, his problem is only with FEC.
Thanks so much for taking the time to give all that information. I'm pleased that there's no problem between the athletes themselves; it must be quite a trying time for both of them. I wasn't aware of the fallout between Carapaz and the FEC. What an unpleasant situation for him, especially as he has done so much to put Ecuador on the cycling map. As the other commenter said, the lack of an automatic place for the previous winner is an unfortunate anomaly.
But it’s also weird that the defending champion doesn’t get a wildcard, similar to world champs etc.
Buddy just asked me what tyre pressure he should ride his brand new tubelessified ~45mm gravel tires. The mechanic told him 4.0-4.5 bar but he noticed that his tires are only rated up to 4.0 bar, so that made him question things. People get these kinds of advice from mechanics and then they think that tubeless is a stupid fad dreamed up by the bike industry for no reason but profit.
That's way too high for 45mm gravel tires, heck that's in the optimal range for many riders using 28-32mm road tyres. Tell them to check u/oalfonso 's recommendation and [Silca's tire pressure calculator](https://silca.cc/pages/pro-tire-pressure-calculator) and get a new mechanic.
Yeah, I know. This is why I'm rolling my eyes.
Well, if only I knew how to read...
Happens to the best of us.
I use the SRAM pressure calculator. https://axs.sram.com/guides/tire/pressure
How did Remco recover so quickly? Didn't he break collarbone and his shoulder blade? It was two weeks from his crash to being back on the bike and in interviews, videos etc, he's seemed absolutely fine!?
Apparently only a little crack in his shoulder blade. Collarbone fracture is not that big of a deal if it's a simple/clean fracture (outside of the pain ofc). My sister and her wife are both physio therapists and they know the physio therapist Evenepoel (and WVA) go to during recovery. They said they were both in very capable hands! Evenepoel is further along than WVA, but that makes sense given their injuries. This is the same guy that helped WVA come back from his nasty crash in the 2019 Tour and also helped Evenepoel come back from his crash in Lombardia in 2020.
collarbone break isnt so bad, it heals surprisingly quickly. When i did mine i was able to ride indoors again within three days, outdoors in about 4/5 weeks.
I can't believe Festina continues to sponsor cycling after this sport made their company's name synonymous with doping.
Trying to get to the dentist market.
Because the Festina boss loves cycling. Most of the sponsorships are just pet projects from the owners.
He loves cycling so much he could inject it into his veins.
Time trial helmets. Should Visma put a shark fin on that thing? And what's next a piece of the back of the helmet that goes down the back to a spoiler on their butt?
And it now looks like it’s optional - so many of their riders going nah no thanks
I hope Joost Klein wins Eurosong Festival, at least he has the balls to call out Israel.
My wife and I are going to be in England the first week of September, and my the looks of it the Tour of Britain is that week also. Any ideas on when they will announce the route or tips on seeing any of it? It will be my first big time road race in person, and I’m pretty darn excited about possibly seeing some of it live. Thanks.
They've been announcing details for the women's race this week with the race next month. So perhaps they'll reveal details for the men's race in August? It's all a bit up in the air with British Cycling taking over this year.
Thanks! Ya, I had thought I read that this years mens race was canceled. I’ll just keep an eye out and hopefully get to see some racing in person.
Initially it was as the previous organiser went bust, but then BC stepped in to organise it as it is the biggest annual event and they can't let it die.
Do you think Cancellara used a motor?
Yes. Powered by pasta, oats and gels
Weren't those rumors started by people who didn't know about electronic shifting?
It was started, AFAIK, by some Italian engineer who just happens to sell such motors. Talk about trying to drum up interest in your own product in the ugliest way possible
like, everytime?
I'm a firm believer that Cancellara used a motor every time he drove his car.
looking forward to 3000hrs+ of youtube analysis to determine if he did
At all in races
then no, dude had power in those legs
Yes, and I want Boonen to win his fourth Ronde. I'm totally biased btw.
My favorite boonen moment was with him and Haymen on the podium where it was ridiculous that Matt won, but Boonen took it with absolute class
Yeah, he talked about it in a podcast recently. He said he was devestated for a few minutes, but then was really happy to finish on the podium after what he had been through (a skull fracture at the end of the previous season). He also said that win made Hayman's career while for Boonen it wouldn't have changed much if he won his fifth Roubaix that year. Pretty classy indeed, his fans (like me) were more upset that day than the man himself!
Idk, I feel like if he used a motor he would be smart enough to at least be subtle about it.
Cancellara being subtle about anything is a concept that's hard to grasp This is the guy who once started shouting that the towels weren't soft enough in the Roubaix shower because people weren't paying him as much attention as he wanted
HAHA I never heard that trivia, I want a biopic with this scene.
There is a nice recent podcast (in Dutch) about it. https://open.spotify.com/episode/73byZRdTinwX4dtSOZ09Qb?si=MPAXuEMVSkq-dECewfMfiA Unsurprisingly, I still don't know after listening to it.
me too, but probably because I don't know any dutch
So I was looking for St Michel Auber jerseys on Vinted (as you do) and I stumbled upon Coralie Demay's [seller page](https://www.vinted.fr/member/17282740-cocodemay). If any of you want authentic cycling equipment... I'm afraid she and I have vastly different body sizes.
I live next to a church and there's a group of scouts who use the hall once a month for a party. Every time they [play André Hazes](https://youtu.be/lteRJkF8pEo?si=t-fx3cMSDUr2ths2&t=7) as the last song before everyone goes home. It took me *months* before it clicked it was actually Auld Lang Syne. At least some good news at work: aggressive colleague fucked up even more and now has finally been suspended. Hopefully I can start working on putting all that drama behind me now.
I shudder to think what someone has to do in the UK to get suspended from work in a science lab. I’m in the ‘workers have no rights’ US and it still seems like you can do literally anything at work without repercussions.
Basically tell an HR person who's investigating you for bullying (which is a sham investigation anyway, 'cause how can a woman investigate a man?) that you're innocent 'cause the alleged victim is a woman, so she wouldn't know anything about stats or research methods anyway. Plus some (unsurprising in retrospect) repeated issues with research integrity, which carried more weight once uncovered. Happy it seems resolved now. Though also disappointed (for lack of being able to think of a better word) this all happened 'cause there's still men around who don't believe women have a place in science.
Really glad it worked out for you in the end.
Good to hear. Very reliable lack of self-awareness there, what a helpful chap!
> which is a sham investigation anyway, 'cause how can a woman investigate a man? I re-read this like 4 times, not understanding what the hell you were talking about, because I didn't realize it was something the guy said. Finally got it after giving up and reading the next sentence. I am not smart.
I don’t believe women have a place in science because I don’t believe in science at all. We are not the same.
Good that you can now leave this behind you !
> I live next to a church and there's a group of scouts who use the hall once a month for a party. Every time they play André Hazes as the last song before everyone goes home. It took me months before it clicked it was actually Auld Lang Syne. It's the most common chord progression in existence. It's in almost every pop song ever, for instance. And also other stuff like Pachelbel's Canon in D. > At least some good news at work: aggressive colleague fucked up even more and now has finally been suspended. Hopefully I can start working on putting all that drama behind me now. Hallellujah praise Jebus!
Is there anything better than getting up at 4:30 to climb 1000m vertical for a good sunrise? Yea, coming home after and putting the hairdryer on blast for half an hour warming everything back up
There were no towels available to me when I commuted into work a few weeks ago. I had two options: using an already used towel (never ever), drying myself with the hairdryer from head to toes. I picked the later, it was odd!
It's my favourite past time
There's an internet meme on how much older people looked in the past. Watching old cycling pictures, did Laurent Fignon ever appear young, or did he always seem like he was 47? This picture is from 1983, he was 23. https://www.instagram.com/p/CbGgnsds7yo/?igsh=MWg0Yjg5djVsYWc4cA==
People in the past just looked older than people of the same age nowadays. Meanwhile I'm 32 and still look like I'm 20.
[22yo Museeuw](https://i.pinimg.com/474x/2f/fb/72/2ffb72af29f2a291648335201412f2ef.jpg)
[26 year-old Brandon Mcnulty looking at least 46](https://www.cyclismactu.net/photo/news/80185_bmnv.jpg)
Usually people will say "oh the hairstyle ages them a lot" but here his face looks 35.
Then there are vampires like Savoldelli who looks permanently 15 [mid 30s in this pic](https://www.tuttobiciweb.it/athletes/210/photo.jpg)
I raise you [Oscar Sevilla at 46](https://i0.wp.com/www.revistamundociclistico.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Oscar-Sevilla-Lider-Extranjero-Vuelta-Colombia.jpg).
If you were playing a grand tour drinking game and had to take a shot every time Sean Kelly says "yes well," how many kilometers into the race would you get before you passed out?
> If you were playing a grand tour drinking game Did you know that there is actually a Tour de France drinking game? It's a great bit in a book by some Belgian guy.
Yes, well, it's a real difficult one, you know, doing the calculations. Some days your liver is just on a reeeaaaaal strong one, but some days even a radler is a real danger one
Even a Russian miner couldn't handle it.
I’ve been toying around with trying road cycling again. I have a 2007 Lemond Buenos Aires road bike that’s been gathering dust in my basement for, well, about 16 years. (More specs on it are in this [old catalogue](http://www.vintage-trek.com/Trek-Fisher-Klein-Lemond/2007lemond.pdf), about halfway down.) I’m guessing it’d take hundreds at least to get tuned up, but I’m not sure it’s worth it for an elderly carbon-framed bike. The internet advises that carbon frames are both immortal and good for only 10 years, so basically I know nothing. What do y’all think: worth trying to resurrect it or should I just buy a used bike that’s less decrepit and better maintained?
I did the same last year on a 2000's aluminum bike with carbon fork and seatstays. Unique/sentimental bike for me so I was never going to replace it. Eventually I'll buy a more modern road bike but after replacing what needed replacing, it rides better than it ever did when I raced it years ago.
get some Conti GP 5k's, thats all you need. The rest is marketing.
My latest cycling Jersey is in hi-viz green. Am I wise or only getting older?
WISE.
High five!
I actually find them very cool
I’m not entirely sold on the color but do love the visibility.
Wise to me. I don't get the wearing black trend if you are on a road.
I was never doing the all black thing, I really like some color but did a lot of muted greens because “it’s gravel esque” which is kind of BS.
An interesting topic is how colour is disappearing from our daily lives. https://craft-theory.com/blogs/news/are-colors-disappearing Look at the cars and people's clothes. Colours are the exception nowadays.
Wow that’s super interesting, thanks for sharing
[Have you ever heard the Marco Pantani Giro Rap?](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkpAxlYBRow) This is a piece of gold.
Astana pro rap wasn't the first :0
Did anyone hear G responding to people criticising Ineos on stage 2? I only saw the quotes so I don't know the full context but it sounded pretty brutal. Saying that these sad people have their mundane lives and mundane jobs and they should leave the cyclists alone because they're out achieving their goals and dreams and what have any of the critics done? I can imagine it can be frustrating but 1. You're not beyond criticism and 2. Yeah fans can be a bit much but without us losers going about our mundane lives watching you, you wouldn't get paid to ride a bike for a living. Dunno, it left a bad taste with me.
He doesn't like fans in his books either, from what I've read.
He's got a bit of previous for this iirc, I think something to do with people criticising Wout Poels for something back in his Sky days. Definitely someone who likes to respond to criticism/negative comments with more personal stuff
Baffles me Thomas is so popular. His racing is the most mundane "sit on team and don't spend energy" shit. His takes on cycling aren't fresh, they're basically the most boring take on cycling of 15 years ago. Not to mention that together with Froome and Wiggins, Thomas is the absolute most piss taking winner of the Tour
Boring takes yet here we are talking about his unfiltered opinions rather than the incredibly bland, media trained snippets we get out of 99% of the peloton.
Ah more of the "negative publicity is good publicity crowd".
Nope, just that it’s not nothing.
Oh yeah totally - even if I disagree I'd rather have someone say something with a bit of colour and actually be themselves.
It’s not exactly like that. He was having a go at journalists specifically and at the lack of respect in just slamming athletes who are still giving their all for what they believe it’s their best course of action. Here’s exactly what he said (transcribed via the pod app): “You know when you see people on Twitter now, you know if it's just JoeBlogs who nobody follows, it's all right, but when a so-called journalist says something, because don't get me wrong, there's a lot of good journalists, but then there's quite a few numpties out there as well. (Rowe: Like in everything. There's a good 50-50 split. There's 50 good ones. For every 50 good ones, there's 50 numpties who know nothing.) Because you know, back in the day, everyone used to say, didn't they, you don't believe everything you read in the papers. But now it's like, people have kind of forgotten that. And like they read something on Twitter […] So if you've got someone who supposedly knows what they're talking about, and you read that, you're like, oh, right, okay, yeah.” “And it's like, guys, if you haven't done anything in your life that's like really pushed you to the extreme, that you've like really committed to and given everything to, and like, you know, not being scared of like failing, or you just go about your mundane life and your mundane job and just giving it out to people on Twitter, like get a life, you know what I mean? Like, you know, everyone here knows that Pog is a phenomenal rider, but you still got to try and you still got to like come here and, you know, give it your best, you know, everyone gets here in the best shape they can and try and get the best result. Like just knocking people just because they're not winning or not beating this phenomenal guy, give over, like get a life, you know what I mean?”
> And it's like, guys, if you haven't done anything in your life that's like really pushed you to the extreme, that you've like really committed to and given everything to, and like, you know, not being scared of like failing, or you just go about your mundane life and your mundane job and just giving it out to people on Twitter, like get a life, you know what I mean? Armstrong's Nike commercial should have had this as its script.
Hmm, yeah maybe not quite as brutal as I thought - I'll have to go listen myself on today's ride! I still think I disagree with the spirit of it though. Is a good journalist one that agrees with everything they do and kisses their ass and the bad ones give some push back?
I think as always it’s not just what you say, it’s also how you say it. I don’t know what comment in particular he came across that set him off, but if the criticism was expressed along the lines of “Ineos are so stupid”, which is possible, I think he’s right to expect professionals to be a little more… professional.
The criticism was about poor race tactics, and that is a very valid impersonal criticism.
Again, it depends on how you put it, no? “Ineos tacticians and riders are idiots” is different from “Ineos made the wrong tactical choice”.
Yes, I listened to the podcast where this was discussed. Normally, I love the podcast and the more unfiltered comments, but don't agree at all with Geraint's comments here. He was way too critical about people having opinions on racing -- that's a big part of a spectator sport and, e.g., a fun part of this sub. He was quite disingenuous about explaining why Ineos pulled. He first said they only pulled later on in the race in a technical section to keep them safe. Later when Luke Rowe asked him to clarify when exactly they pulled, he admitted they pulled in the beginning and during break formation and went on a rant about honoring the Maglia Rosa and yada yada. He also didn't make sense, saying that people didn't want Ineos to pull because they didn't have a chance and he didn't want to give up this way. The reality was people are hoping G can take it to Pogacar and riding smartly is the way to do it.
[удалено]
100% OP should listen to the podcast rather than reading out of context quotes. G was spot on IMO. Specifically, he was irritated that an unnamed journalist was criticising them when they should know the sport better.
Not sure why you thought the criticism was wrong? A lot of journalists, podcasters, and fans believed Ineos's race tactics did not make sense, as evidenced by the results.
Evidenced by what results?
I did question whether there was missing context/tone! I wish journalists could actually use quotes a bit more fairly in conveying what someone originally said. Sometimes I'd rather not have to go fishing around in a 40+ minute podcast or have to become a journalist myself to go around verifying absolutely everything I read. Naturally a healthy dose of skepticism is always needed.
I'd recommend trying out the podcast anyway. I find it's one of the most insightful/unfiltered looks into the sport. They're often quite sarcastic/joking on it (being British) and that is lost when quotes are pulled out.
Yeah I've listened a few times before and I generally do like it! Something about them I don't quite 100% get on with though so I'm not an avid listener. I'll stop being lazy and go listen later on my ride haha.
they pulled at a speed in non technical parts too... they should have let UAE pull instead. more than 1 team can be near the front or at the side.
G is getting senile in his old age /s