The Pro Road Cycling Thread

[Shands]

I enjoy TTT’s as a spectacle and a discipline, but I don’t think they have any place in one week races as they can have an inordinate impact on the GC - Rodriguez and Sanchez for example now face a mammoth task if they have any aspirations of winning this race. Use TTT’s in the Grand Tours or at the Worlds by all means, but not elsewhere.

The field for T-A is fantastic though, I can’t imagine there have been many races in recent years out with Le Tour that have boasted such a competitive start list, I hope it lives up to expectations.

Paris-Nice was very entertaining yesterday, good win for Talansky. Gesink is probably out of contention now but still 4 or 5 big names in the mix for the overall. I think Quintana may take it. JTL did look to be doing a good job yesterday, whether he can transfer that ability to three week racing and the really big climbs remains to be seen, but he seems to have talent. I’d imagine, given that he’s 27, Sky will be looking to test him out as soon as they can, possibly at the Vuelta? Maybe they'll send Henao to Spain as team leader and back him up with the other new guys like Dombrowski, Edmonson, JTL and Boswell, guess it depends how the Giro and Tour go though really.

 

[Shands]

Looks like Sky have worked their magic again, with Ritchie Porte this time. For the record I don't think there's anything underhand going on within the team but you can understand why some people have their suspicions such is the improvment in many of their riders.

 

[Rascal]

Looks like Sky have worked their magic again, with Ritchie Porte this time. For the record I don't think there's anything underhand going on within the team but you can understand why some people have their suspicions such is the improvment in many of their riders.

I didnt post incase people wanted to watch the highlights later. It was a brilliant attack from Porte to take the win.

 

[Shands]

Looks like Sky have worked their magic again, with Ritchie Porte this time. For the record I don't think there's anything underhand going on within the team but you can understand why some people have their suspicions such is the improvment in many of their riders.

I didnt post incase people wanted to watch the highlights later. It was a brilliant attack from Porte to take the win.

Ooops forgot not everyone can watch it live :( Ah wel it's done now!

Yep very impressive from Porte. Think Talansky will have learnt a thing or two today as well. He's ridden brilliantly for two and a half days with virtually no assistance or protection from his team, I just think he was a bit too eager to show his strength and got picked off smartly by Porte, but Talansky looks one to watch over the next few years.

T-A should really kick in properly from tomorrow onwards, just hope the weather improves a bit.

 

[Rascal]

Ooops forgot not everyone can watch it live :( Ah wel it's done now!

Yep very impressive from Porte. Think Talansky will have learnt a thing or two today as well. He's ridden brilliantly for two and a half days with virtually no assistance or protection from his team, I just think he was a bit too eager to show his strength and got picked off smartly by Porte, but Talansky looks one to watch over the next few years.

T-A should really kick in properly from tomorrow onwards, just hope the weather improves a bit.

I watched last years Dauphine the other night and Porte lead Sky up the Joux plane with Froome, Wiggo and Rogers in tow and you could see he was very good. Today he did it for himself. Worth a watch by the way. Its on you tube.

Yeah i thought Talansky was going very well and upto the Porte attack looked comfortable.

Here you go mate. The Dauphine stage i was talking about

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ac7nWgsbmLc[/youtube]

 

[Shands]

Choo choo, all aboard the sky train!

 

[Rascal]

Choo choo, all aboard the sky train!

It is impressive how they do it, time after time.

Watched Tirreno Adriatco today and they were at the front virtually the whole coverage. It was a superb finish to the race.

Great win for Porte at Paris-Nice, he comes across as a really decent fella, especially as i have always found aussie sportsmen to be arrogant fuckers lol.

 

[JOGAMIGMOG]

Any highlights on ITV4 on any cycling event this year does anyone know? Obviously the TdF will be on and (possibly) the Giro again, but what about any others? I reckon Froomy's got the TdF in the bag already.

 

[Rascal]

Any highlights on ITV4 on any cycling event this year does anyone know? Obviously the TdF will be on and (possibly) the Giro again, but what about any others? I reckon Froomy's got the TdF in the bag already.

By the looks of it Eurosport have got all the big cycling events tied up. Im sure the Tdf will be on ITV4 though.

If you havent got Eurosport you can get Eurosport player for £3 a month on your PC.

 

[Shands]

Choo choo, all aboard the sky train!

It is impressive how they do it, time after time.

Watched Tirreno Adriatco today and they were at the front virtually the whole coverage. It was a superb finish to the race.

Great win for Porte at Paris-Nice, he comes across as a really decent fella, especially as i have always found aussie sportsmen to be arrogant fuckers lol.

It’s certainly impressive, but it’s not a style of racing I’m enamoured with to be honest. I’ve read that Nibali has suggested on Twitter there should be a ban on power meters and I’m inclined to agree with him. Riding tempo up a mountain may well be a legitimate approach, but ultimately its tactical raison d’être is the stifling of individual attacks, and that’s not something I want to see. I think this adherence to how many power watts they’re pushing is too clinical for my own liking. It doesn’t help that the last teams to display this dominant team approach were US Postal (Armstrong) and T.Mobile (Ulrich), and given how they both turned out SKY’s modus operandi is bound to stir up negative connotations.

I have to say the last couple of days have thrown up some questions for me over Team Sky, not so much with regard to ‘are they cheating?’ but more ‘how are they managing to achieve what they are?’. When I see guys like Lopez, Cutaldo and Pate, who have been average domestiques on other teams, suddenly setting a pace capable of distancing top climbers/GC contenders, it makes me scratch my head. Then you have guys like Porte and Froome who just two or three years ago were losing many minutes zigzagging on climbs, now flying up mountains faster than habitual dopers and TT’ing as fast or faster than the best in the business. Add in the drop off in performance from guys like Rodgers since leaving SKY and it all becomes puzzling. Given the vocal public stance made by the team management I find it very hard to believe that they are doping (certainly not systematically anyway), but their competitors aren’t exactly a bunch of amateurs fumbling in the dark, so what is it on the sports science side that SKY are doing to make themselves so strong?

Having said all that when the SKY train does get put under pressure, like Kreuziger and Purito managed yesterday, it does make for exciting viewing!

Any highlights on ITV4 on any cycling event this year does anyone know? Obviously the TdF will be on and (possibly) the Giro again, but what about any others? I reckon Froomy's got the TdF in the bag already.

Despite what I’ve just written there^ I don’t think Froome will be infallible for le Tour. He does look extremely strong and composed in these one week races, and in all likely hood he will be turning up in France with the strongest supporting cast of any on the GC contenders, but I still think there’s the possibility of him cracking over three weeks if the race is ridden hard (a la last year’s Vuelta). I think a lot could depend on Andy Schleck actually. It doesn’t seem likely right now, but if he is able to get himself back in his top shape (both physically and mentally) by July, I think Froome will have a fight on to control both he and Contador. Time will tell.