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Post by Bod on Feb 26, 2024 20:29:07 GMT
The earth year is 2024 and the early punishments of watching the tours of Oman, UAE, Down Under and their foul ilk are almost done with, so it is onwards to the (sort of) early season mini-classics (lower case ‘C’ as Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne is not getting the capital C for Classics.)
‘This year it will be different’ they said. ‘Maybe Jumbo won’t be as strong’ they said. ‘WVA doesn’t look in top shape’ they said.
Jumbo then win both the opening Belgian races, with different riders, after putting 6 riders in a leading group of 12 at one point in Het Nieuwsblad. WVA takes first on the Saturday and Jan Tratnik is the victor on Sunday. No-one looks in the same league as Jumbo at the minute, their strength in depth is ridiculous and they just bludgeon the opposition in races like this. No MVDP this weekend which is always a shame but he is probably still hammered after riding so well in the cross season that it became a procession. It was possibly the most dominant set of performances by any Dutchman since Robin van der Laan’s Diamond White benders on a Saturday night in Yates’ in the 90’s.
Sagan has retired and consequently Specialized have left AG2R (who are now Decathlon) and Alaphilippe got rinsed by the perennially unhinged Patrick Lefevre about partying and managed to insult his wife into the bargain. Alaphilippe responsed in the best possible way by crashing three times in KBK. Way to go Julian, that showed him.
The most melancholy aspect of the early season races is that the days of riders turning up 10lbs over overweight and breathing out of their arses as they crawl (relatively) around Mallorca and Andalucia are long gone. For that I weep salt tears. Seeing a sprinter like Abdoujaparov weaving through the mountains, sweating out three months of absolute shit that he had ingested is of a bygone era. Now it’s all ‘My power meter says I can’t have a shit until I’ve hit my numbers.’ I kid, of course, but I would quite like to see a race devoid of power meters and see who can manage their red zone efforts on ‘feel.’ I accept that I am a dinosaur though and have only just got over them not wearing woollen jerseys and rubbing cocaine on their gums…
The opening races of the year does allow an insight into the riders who are after gold stars and a treat from their teams and those who know that their focus isn’t until May and so ‘Give fucks in the low digits.’ Sadly, the days when the thought process below was a factor is also consigned to the dustbin of history -
Belgian riders ‘If I show good form now, I might get selected for the Classics. Get in.’
Spanish riders ‘If I show good form now, I might get selected for the Classics. OH FUCKING HELL.’
Paris-Nice at the weekend. If Sean Kelly isn’t co-commentating, we riot.
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Post by salopstick on Feb 26, 2024 20:34:04 GMT
Love it mate.
Sportive season starts Saturday for me. Got 10 decent ones booked so far. Just booked my campsite in July at Bourg d'Oisans. Doing the marmotte. Route not event
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Post by backintheday on Feb 27, 2024 16:43:03 GMT
I just love the spring classics, good hard as nails riding Makes some of the ‘also rans’ seem mortal like the rest of us😁 Jumbo seem unbeatable again
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Post by Bod on Mar 2, 2024 23:06:30 GMT
Strade Bianche. Gravel, hills, Pogacar. I am not ashamed to say that I lack the superlatives to describe both the ride today and the rider. Attacks at 81km to go, solo to the finish, with a chasing group completely unable to narrow the gap to him. Mind-blowing in the physical dominance but also the psychological advantage too. When Pogacar went, no-one could go with him. With no MVDP in the race, for example, that’s not a huge shock. However, the chase group, which had some of exceptional riders in it, almost threw up the white flag because they know how strong Pog is and they accepted their collective fate. A rider who can win in March and perform all the way through to October is someone we should cherish. Pogacar is the embodiment of Special.
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Post by deeside2 on Mar 3, 2024 6:00:40 GMT
The racing was good, Pog was superb, but wasn't Tuscany and Siena beautiful, even so early in the year. One of my favourite races in the calendar.
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Post by backintheday on Mar 3, 2024 13:49:15 GMT
Pogacar is absolutely the best I love his’ right please your selves I’m going to win this are you coming?’attitude He loves racing but importantly he’s not scared of losing as long as he satisfies himself with trying
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Post by salopstick on Mar 3, 2024 20:56:54 GMT
Strade Bianche. Gravel, hills, Pogacar. I am not ashamed to say that I lack the superlatives to describe both the ride today and the rider. Attacks at 81km to go, solo to the finish, with a chasing group completely unable to narrow the gap to him. Mind-blowing in the physical dominance but also the psychological advantage too. When Pogacar went, no-one could go with him. With no MVDP in the race, for example, that’s not a huge shock. However, the chase group, which had some of exceptional riders in it, almost threw up the white flag because they know how strong Pog is and they accepted their collective fate. A rider who can win in March and perform all the way through to October is someone we should cherish. Pogacar is the embodiment of Special. But could he do 170km in the absolute fucking biblical rain and cold on the York Leeds York I did yesterday
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Post by Bod on Mar 3, 2024 21:48:09 GMT
Strade Bianche. Gravel, hills, Pogacar. I am not ashamed to say that I lack the superlatives to describe both the ride today and the rider. Attacks at 81km to go, solo to the finish, with a chasing group completely unable to narrow the gap to him. Mind-blowing in the physical dominance but also the psychological advantage too. When Pogacar went, no-one could go with him. With no MVDP in the race, for example, that’s not a huge shock. However, the chase group, which had some of exceptional riders in it, almost threw up the white flag because they know how strong Pog is and they accepted their collective fate. A rider who can win in March and perform all the way through to October is someone we should cherish. Pogacar is the embodiment of Special. But could he do 170km in the absolute fucking biblical rain and cold on the York Leeds York I did yesterday He’s good, but he’s not that good.
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Post by thepremierbanksy on Mar 6, 2024 12:53:37 GMT
Love it mate. Sportive season starts Saturday for me. Got 10 decent ones booked so far. Just booked my campsite in July at Bourg d'Oisans. Doing the marmotte. Route not event Worth a read - the article and comments are bang on about the last bit after Plan Lachat being hardest! inrng.com/2013/12/roads-ride-col-du-galibier/Love Strade but found this edition a bit dull as the result was inevitable once Pogi had gone solo. UAE tour was pretty good this time around, especially the final stage where the GC script got torn to shreds.
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Post by salopstick on Mar 6, 2024 20:19:49 GMT
Love it mate. Sportive season starts Saturday for me. Got 10 decent ones booked so far. Just booked my campsite in July at Bourg d'Oisans. Doing the marmotte. Route not event Worth a read - the article and comments are bang on about the last bit after Plan Lachat being hardest! inrng.com/2013/12/roads-ride-col-du-galibier/Love Strade but found this edition a bit dull as the result was inevitable once Pogi had gone solo. UAE tour was pretty good this time around, especially the final stage where the GC script got torn to shreds. Love it mate It’s the alp d’huez after telegraphs galibier and 100 miles that troubles me
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Post by salopstick on Mar 6, 2024 20:30:19 GMT
Love it mate. Sportive season starts Saturday for me. Got 10 decent ones booked so far. Just booked my campsite in July at Bourg d'Oisans. Doing the marmotte. Route not event Worth a read - the article and comments are bang on about the last bit after Plan Lachat being hardest! inrng.com/2013/12/roads-ride-col-du-galibier/Love Strade but found this edition a bit dull as the result was inevitable once Pogi had gone solo. UAE tour was pretty good this time around, especially the final stage where the GC script got torn to shreds. I have 98 more of these to complete Attachment Deleted
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Post by thepremierbanksy on Mar 7, 2024 13:54:07 GMT
I did a good deal of the Marmotte route when I went to the Alps about 5 years ago - over the course of about 3 days though! I'm sure you'll piss it given the stuff you've done on Ventoux.
Stayed in St Jean de Maurienne which is the next valley north from Bourg. Day 1 did an out and back over Telegraph-Galibier. First time I'd ever done any of the sort so found the last 5km very tough - tired, felt a bit sick from a caffeine gel, and maybe the altitude effect. The view from the top is something else. Took almost an hour to descend back down the way we came, and really put into context how skilled, and risky, Pidcock's daredevil descent a couple of years ago was as I was barely off the brakes for the steeper parts. Only problem with Galibier is there is a lot of motor traffic.
2nd day we drove up and over the Glandon* the way you will be going down and parked part way down the Croix de Fer road that descends into Bourg to do the Alpe. Found the Alpe OK really despite the legs still feeling the effects of Galibier the day before, but it was only ~1h15 for me. The steepest bits are at the bottom and it's easy to break it down mentally because of the hairpins. Obviously you will be completely f*cked by the time you get there though. Back up the Croix de Fer to the car was harder, there's some long steep and straight sections around that are about 14%, whereas most of the climbs in the area are engineered to 8-10%.
Day 3 rode up Glandon which was incredible, pretty much a completely deserted road during August and really beautiful. Went down the easterly route off Croix de Fer and back via the Mollard.
Day 4 did Lacets de Montvernier, col du Chaussy and then Madeleine, again completely deserted for the first two (which are essentially the same climb).
*Sometimes also gets called the Croix de Fer confusingly, I think Glandon = north side though.
Loads more climbs in just the Maurienne valley alone that we never got to. Basically cycling disneyland.
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Post by marylandstoke on Mar 7, 2024 14:20:44 GMT
I defy any other football fanzine to declare they have better cycling coverage than we have at the Oatie.
I am the most fair weather of cycling fans, fell in love with ‘The Tour’ whilst bedridden from a back op. For me, there is no other. That being said I find myself fascinated by your tales of mountains you’ve conquered, team snippets and tactics, races I’ve never heard of.
Beautifully pieces drawing pictures in the mind, often, later, played out in real time on screen.
Thanks all.
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Post by backintheday on Mar 7, 2024 17:23:47 GMT
If you love the tour Maryland get and watch the Giro (coming up soon) Great racing in some beautiful countryside
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Post by salopstick on Mar 7, 2024 20:59:45 GMT
I did a good deal of the Marmotte route when I went to the Alps about 5 years ago - over the course of about 3 days though! I'm sure you'll piss it given the stuff you've done on Ventoux. Stayed in St Jean de Maurienne which is the next valley north from Bourg. Day 1 did an out and back over Telegraph-Galibier. First time I'd ever done any of the sort so found the last 5km very tough - tired, felt a bit sick from a caffeine gel, and maybe the altitude effect. The view from the top is something else. Took almost an hour to descend back down the way we came, and really put into context how skilled, and risky, Pidcock's daredevil descent a couple of years ago was as I was barely off the brakes for the steeper parts. Only problem with Galibier is there is a lot of motor traffic. 2nd day we drove up and over the Glandon* the way you will be going down and parked part way down the Croix de Fer road that descends into Bourg to do the Alpe. Found the Alpe OK really despite the legs still feeling the effects of Galibier the day before, but it was only ~1h15 for me. The steepest bits are at the bottom and it's easy to break it down mentally because of the hairpins. Obviously you will be completely f*cked by the time you get there though. Back up the Croix de Fer to the car was harder, there's some long steep and straight sections around that are about 14%, whereas most of the climbs in the area are engineered to 8-10%. Day 3 rode up Glandon which was incredible, pretty much a completely deserted road during August and really beautiful. Went down the easterly route off Croix de Fer and back via the Mollard. Day 4 did Lacets de Montvernier, col du Chaussy and then Madeleine, again completely deserted for the first two (which are essentially the same climb). *Sometimes also gets called the Croix de Fer confusingly, I think Glandon = north side though. Loads more climbs in just the Maurienne valley alone that we never got to. Basically cycling disneyland. Great post mate. I’m going to steal cycling Disneyland for my strava 😂😂 I can’t wait. I’m already planning routes. I’m going to fuck myself over for 8 days
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Post by salopstick on Mar 7, 2024 21:01:57 GMT
I defy any other football fanzine to declare they have better cycling coverage than we have at the Oatie. I am the most fair weather of cycling fans, fell in love with ‘The Tour’ whilst bedridden from a back op. For me, there is no other. That being said I find myself fascinated by your tales of mountains you’ve conquered, team snippets and tactics, races I’ve never heard of. Beautifully pieces drawing pictures in the mind, often, later, played out in real time on screen. Thanks all. I’m one of about 85 people who have done all 100 100 Greatest Cycling Climbs: A Road Cyclist's Guide to Britain's Hills amzn.eu/d/bB91aDI
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Post by thepremierbanksy on Mar 8, 2024 10:35:49 GMT
I did a good deal of the Marmotte route when I went to the Alps about 5 years ago - over the course of about 3 days though! I'm sure you'll piss it given the stuff you've done on Ventoux. Stayed in St Jean de Maurienne which is the next valley north from Bourg. Day 1 did an out and back over Telegraph-Galibier. First time I'd ever done any of the sort so found the last 5km very tough - tired, felt a bit sick from a caffeine gel, and maybe the altitude effect. The view from the top is something else. Took almost an hour to descend back down the way we came, and really put into context how skilled, and risky, Pidcock's daredevil descent a couple of years ago was as I was barely off the brakes for the steeper parts. Only problem with Galibier is there is a lot of motor traffic. 2nd day we drove up and over the Glandon* the way you will be going down and parked part way down the Croix de Fer road that descends into Bourg to do the Alpe. Found the Alpe OK really despite the legs still feeling the effects of Galibier the day before, but it was only ~1h15 for me. The steepest bits are at the bottom and it's easy to break it down mentally because of the hairpins. Obviously you will be completely f*cked by the time you get there though. Back up the Croix de Fer to the car was harder, there's some long steep and straight sections around that are about 14%, whereas most of the climbs in the area are engineered to 8-10%. Day 3 rode up Glandon which was incredible, pretty much a completely deserted road during August and really beautiful. Went down the easterly route off Croix de Fer and back via the Mollard. Day 4 did Lacets de Montvernier, col du Chaussy and then Madeleine, again completely deserted for the first two (which are essentially the same climb). *Sometimes also gets called the Croix de Fer confusingly, I think Glandon = north side though. Loads more climbs in just the Maurienne valley alone that we never got to. Basically cycling disneyland. Great post mate. I’m going to steal cycling Disneyland for my strava 😂😂 I can’t wait. I’m already planning routes. I’m going to fuck myself over for 8 days 8 days is loads, well you should be able to rack up both sides of every climb from Bourg anyway! Are you staying in Bourg D'Oisins the whole time or moving around a bit? If the latter then maybe Briancon, St Jean/Michel de Maurienne, Modane might be worth a look for access to other climbs, otherwise you might be looking at schlepping over Croix de Fer at the start and/or end of every day which is going to be 3000m climbing in itself.
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Post by salopstick on Mar 8, 2024 12:06:57 GMT
Great post mate. I’m going to steal cycling Disneyland for my strava 😂😂 I can’t wait. I’m already planning routes. I’m going to fuck myself over for 8 days 8 days is loads, well you should be able to rack up both sides of every climb from Bourg anyway! Are you staying in Bourg D'Oisins the whole time or moving around a bit? If the latter then maybe Briancon, St Jean/Michel de Maurienne, Modane might be worth a look for access to other climbs, otherwise you might be looking at schlepping over Croix de Fer at the start and/or end of every day which is going to be 3000m climbing in itself. Ive booked a campsite at the base of huez. I will ride out from their most days but prepared to drive. off the top of my head from the 100 TDF Climbs App I am aiming to cross off d'huez glandon telegraphe galibier croix de fer les duex alpes granier cucheron de porte madeleine grande cucheron toussuire tarnie granon lautaret Izoard So for example. I can drive to Briancon and do up and downs of Granon, Lautaret and Izoard in one day
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Post by Bod on Mar 9, 2024 9:47:03 GMT
The first week of mildly serious stage racing draws to a close and whilst Tirreno has been pretty dull, Paris-Nice has managed to deliver a little and a procession for Remco isn’t turning out that way, thankfully. McNulty (Brandon, rather than Jimmy from ‘The Wire,) Jorgenson (made the crazy decision of leaving Movistar to pursue a career in an organised team) and Skeljmose (currently scooping up fantasy points for me like a motherfucker) all took over a minute out of Remco and Roglic yesterday. Perhaps more pleasingly, Bernal sits in sixth overall and has looked solid and stayed largely upright.
The most pressing issue though is that Roglic was wearing tights, arm warmers and gloves on Friday. Remco had on short sleeves and no gloves. Luckily, I’m not precious about such things and Remco comes across like so many other prodigies; a bit of an arsehole. As a wider point, I give no fucks whatsoever about footballers who wear gloves (apart from goalkeepers, who should have hands as naked as when they entered the world.) ‘He’s wearing gloves, he needs to man up’ would not be in my mind if we had someone capable of netting us twenty per season. In reality, I would settle for a pair of mittens and a bobble hat for ten goals each year. When the road went up, my fantasy team looked like world beaters, but when it descended, Colombians gonna Colombian and Buitrago went for maximum binnage. Somewhere, G was watching, nodding, admiring the work. A tough, selective stage with a hideous 20% lump at the back end and Skejlmose took the stage but McNulty leads the GC from Jorgenson.
Meanwhile in Tirreno-Adriatico, Vingegaard went late-80’s Tyson on everyone and stomped them like grapes. Philipsen and Milan are the pick of the sprinters, with Milan looking stronger on the more powerful finishes and slightly less wardrobe-like than he did last year. Enric Mas lulled everyone into a false sense of security by stealth hovering outside the top 15 on GC, ready to pounce like the Mallorcan warrior that we all know he is.
Antonio Tiberi dropped to 9th place on GC. Why mention him? Well, because it gives me the opportunity to remind everyone that this piece of human detritus killed a cat, by shooting it in the head with an air rifle which he was ‘Testing out.’ Wanker of the highest order. Although, if he could get us five goals a season… I jest of course, he would never come as he is on record as saying ‘Mar lady dunna like the D road.’
The season is in its infancy, Milan-Turin is in a few days and Milan-San-Remo is next Saturday. At almost 300km, this could be a test of my early season stamina, but with a surgical cushion, amphetamines and the will of the nation behind me, I think that we might be OK and just hang on until the bitter end.
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Post by Mendicant on Mar 9, 2024 14:00:09 GMT
8 days is loads, well you should be able to rack up both sides of every climb from Bourg anyway! Are you staying in Bourg D'Oisins the whole time or moving around a bit? If the latter then maybe Briancon, St Jean/Michel de Maurienne, Modane might be worth a look for access to other climbs, otherwise you might be looking at schlepping over Croix de Fer at the start and/or end of every day which is going to be 3000m climbing in itself. Ive booked a campsite at the base of huez. I will ride out from their most days but prepared to drive. off the top of my head from the 100 TDF Climbs App I am aiming to cross off d'huez glandon telegraphe galibier croix de fer les duex alpes granier cucheron de porte madeleine grande cucheron toussuire tarnie granon lautaret Izoard So for example. I can drive to Briancon and do up and downs of Granon, Lautaret and Izoard in one day If you get chance, I recommend going down the Lauteret into Briançon. It’s like no other experience on a bike. You‘ll feel like Abdoujaparov for 15 minutes.
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Post by salopstick on Mar 9, 2024 16:22:51 GMT
Ive booked a campsite at the base of huez. I will ride out from their most days but prepared to drive. off the top of my head from the 100 TDF Climbs App I am aiming to cross off d'huez glandon telegraphe galibier croix de fer les duex alpes granier cucheron de porte madeleine grande cucheron toussuire tarnie granon lautaret Izoard So for example. I can drive to Briancon and do up and downs of Granon, Lautaret and Izoard in one day If you get chance, I recommend going down the Lauteret into Briançon. It’s like no other experience on a bike. You‘ll feel like Abdoujaparov for 15 minutes. I’ve planned a route of three up and downs from there
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Post by salopstick on Mar 9, 2024 16:23:46 GMT
Nice little 100 miler today. Only 4000 feet but Hope Mountain near Chester was a cunt
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Post by Mendicant on Mar 10, 2024 14:50:02 GMT
If you get chance, I recommend going down the Lauteret into Briançon. It’s like no other experience on a bike. You‘ll feel like Abdoujaparov for 15 minutes. I’ve planned a route of three up and downs from there That’s pretty much what I did with one climb per day. Isoard on the first day. Then the next day Lauterer/Galibier with a coffee at the top of the Lauteret. Finally I drove to the foot of the Col d‘Angel and did that. The hardest climb of all in that area for me was Bourg d‘Oisans to St Christophe en Oisans. It was just nasty. One thing I learned is the difficulty of the climb often comes down to how you feel on the day. Some of the famous ones, I swear adrenalin helps because of seeing them as a kid. Enjoy it anyway!
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Post by salopstick on Mar 10, 2024 16:06:31 GMT
I’ve planned a route of three up and downs from there That’s pretty much what I did with one climb per day. Isoard on the first day. Then the next day Lauterer/Galibier with a coffee at the top of the Lauteret. Finally I drove to the foot of the Col d‘Angel and did that. The hardest climb of all in that area for me was Bourg d‘Oisans to St Christophe en Oisans. It was just nasty. One thing I learned is the difficulty of the climb often comes down to how you feel on the day. Some of the famous ones, I swear adrenalin helps because of seeing them as a kid. Enjoy it anyway! I’m a sucker for punishment I’ll be doing all three in a day. I didn’t start til 2015 Climbing hurts. I hate it I’m shit at it. Being 85ish kg does t help. In 2018 I went with some lads to do cingles ventoux. All three climbs in a day Tough but achievable Next year I set out to do bicingles ventoux. The three climbs twice each in a day. Failed. I could only do 5 I went back out in 22 to complete it. Started at midnight solo and nailed it. Fucking tough but easy as I had trained well. Last year. I did cingles again with the extra gravel climb. That was fucking hard. www.clubcinglesventoux.org/So going do do day after day of similar riding in the alps. Will have good training with tour of the peak, etape du dales and a Yorkshire beast to get the legs ready. Oh and this little beauty : velo29events.com/sportives/a-weekend-in-hell/I’m trying to complete 100 century rides before I hit 50 next May. Yesterday was #78
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Post by Bod on Mar 10, 2024 22:52:45 GMT
The last time I rode in the Alps was done on a bike with 39x23 because I thought it would be a challenge…
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Post by salopstick on Mar 11, 2024 6:23:37 GMT
The last time I rode in the Alps was done on a bike with 39x23 because I thought it would be a challenge… I dont leave the house without a 11-34 on the back
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Post by Bod on Mar 16, 2024 12:51:25 GMT
Milan-San-Remo is here and the Classics season really begins, with a race so lengthy that Christopher Nolan has to be involved somewhere. ‘La Primavera,’ whose literal translation is ‘The race where nothing happens for 270km’ and is beloved by Italians, epitomising slow burn, where boredom and pressure sores are a genuine problem and that’s just for the viewers. Australian champion Luke Plato was interviewed and said that his Italian teammates are so excited that they describe it as being better than Christmas. If you are a Jehovah’s Witness, then they may be correct.
MVDP makes his big race comeback, Pogacar is here but no WVA. The same question always arises in M-S-R as to whether a break can stick over the Poggio and Cipressa and how much time the sprinters can lose before barrelling down towards the finish. Philpsen is present, so Alpecin have gone in heavy, Milan is likely to struggle nearer the end, Laporte has leader status (sort of) for Visma which he shares with Kooij, giving Visma a similar approach to Alpecin. However, MVDP is a man who brooks no comparison and while Laporte is supremely talented, he is as comparable to MVDP as Rocky is to Rocky V. I can’t envisage a sprint except for a scenario where there is some type of incident and no-one fully commits on the Poggio, which is bordering on fantasy. Anyone bar Pogacar and MVDP are outside bets which seems a bit ridiculous given the quality of the other riders, but I’m hoping for an entertaining final hour and Pogacar, MVDP and Pedersen battering each other. I’m currently 140km into it and struggling to remember anything that has happened and therefore it definitely must be M-S-R.
I am also far too amused by my phone autocorrecting ‘Luke Plapp’ to ‘Luke Plato’ and from this moment onwards he is Luke Plato as it’s what Steve Irwin would have wanted.
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Post by salopstick on Mar 16, 2024 14:42:14 GMT
Imagine you’re racing MSR & you’re in the team bus in the morning & the DS points at you & says “I want you in the break today”.
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Post by deeside2 on Mar 17, 2024 6:39:30 GMT
I just can't get into this race no matter how I try. I only watched from the Poggio and am glad that I wasn't tempted earlier.
Looking forward to the Northern Classics.
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Post by RedandWhite90 on Mar 17, 2024 11:45:16 GMT
Does anyone know if Netflix are doing a second season of the TdF documentary?
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