The Pro Road Cycling Thread

[Nervous Nedum]

Kennaugh wins Copa Bartoli

G gets a superb 3rd at E3

Froomey eases himself back into 6th at the volta catalunya

what we need is the Sheik to take over the velodrome change team sky to team city and away we go :))



E3 was brilliant today, good to see G ride so well but Sagan is a beast.

Yup, Sagan looked imperious. That being said, if Cancellera hadn't have been caught on the wrong side of the split after the crash he would surely have featured. The way he blew past so many of the chasers, hauling a group of 15/20 along with him was seriously impressive. The man is a machine.

 

[Rascal]

Kennaugh wins Copa Bartoli

G gets a superb 3rd at E3

Froomey eases himself back into 6th at the volta catalunya

what we need is the Sheik to take over the velodrome change team sky to team city and away we go :))



E3 was brilliant today, good to see G ride so well but Sagan is a beast.

Yup, Sagan looked imperious. That being said, if Cancellera hadn't have been caught on the wrong side of the split after the crash he would surely have featured. The way he blew past so many of the chasers, hauling a group of 15/20 along with him was seriously impressive. The man is a machine.

Felt a little sorry for Fab today as nobody would work with him.k But ive learnt thats bike racing. My fave EBH was just sat on his wheels knowing G was 40 secs in front.

 

[Shands]

Thomas did a great ride yesterday. That was very select company he ended up with and I don't think he could have really done much different to what he did. Good confidence boost for the races to come, but Canc still looks the man to beat.

Who do we think SKY should send to the Giro as team leader if Porte decides to skip it?

 

[Pokes28]

What teams are your favorites? Just like in soccer, I'm pretty new to watching professional cycling having really gotten into it the last 5 or so years. I find it interesting who people support and who they dislike. So since the vast majority of posters on Bluemoon are English, I would assume that Sky is favorite team of most here.

My favorite teams:
1) Garmin - US team for a company headquartered about 2.5 hours from my house. I like they way they ride and their anti-doping stance.
2) BMC - I really like Teejay and hope that he can continue to ascend in a real GC threat
3) Movistar - They just have a LOT of guys that I like on that team
4) OPQ - Same as Movistar. Love some of their riders and how they perform as a team

 

[Shands]

What teams are your favorites? Just like in soccer, I'm pretty new to watching professional cycling having really gotten into it the last 5 or so years. I find it interesting who people support and who they dislike. So since the vast majority of posters on Bluemoon are English, I would assume that Sky is favorite team of most here.

My favorite teams:
1) Garmin - US team for a company headquartered about 2.5 hours from my house. I like they way they ride and their anti-doping stance.
2) BMC - I really like Teejay and hope that he can continue to ascend in a real GC threat
3) Movistar - They just have a LOT of guys that I like on that team
4) OPQ - Same as Movistar. Love some of their riders and how they perform as a team

I tend to support individual riders, rather than teams as such. The peloton is so volatile in its make up that favouring one team can be a difficult exercise.

Having said that I always had a love for Euskatel and their strong sense of identity. I think the closest to them in spirit now are FDJ'r, so if I had to pick one team I like to see prosper it's probably them. They remind me of the City of old to some extent too. Out with them I have a soft spot for AG2R, and also Saxo because a) I like their bright kit and b) I'm a big Contador fan.

 

[Nervous Nedum]

What teams are your favorites? Just like in soccer, I'm pretty new to watching professional cycling having really gotten into it the last 5 or so years. I find it interesting who people support and who they dislike. So since the vast majority of posters on Bluemoon are English, I would assume that Sky is favorite team of most here.

My favorite teams:
1) Garmin - US team for a company headquartered about 2.5 hours from my house. I like they way they ride and their anti-doping stance.
2) BMC - I really like Teejay and hope that he can continue to ascend in a real GC threat
3) Movistar - They just have a LOT of guys that I like on that team
4) OPQ - Same as Movistar. Love some of their riders and how they perform as a team

I'm a big fan of OPQS. I like watching the Classics and they always seem to be at the front making things happen, which obviously makes for exciting racing. I have a bit of a soft spot for Team Sky too, as you say just because they are British and they have done a huge amount of good for the sport in this country.

Gutted to see Geraint Thomas on the floor again yesterday. Lots of pro's complaining on Twitter about the standard of some of the riding.

 

[Dave Ewing's Back 'eader]

What teams are your favorites? Just like in soccer, I'm pretty new to watching professional cycling having really gotten into it the last 5 or so years. I find it interesting who people support and who they dislike. So since the vast majority of posters on Bluemoon are English, I would assume that Sky is favorite team of most here.

My favorite teams:
1) Garmin - US team for a company headquartered about 2.5 hours from my house. I like they way they ride and their anti-doping stance.
2) BMC - I really like Teejay and hope that he can continue to ascend in a real GC threat
3) Movistar - They just have a LOT of guys that I like on that team
4) OPQ - Same as Movistar. Love some of their riders and how they perform as a team

I'm at the same place with modern cycling as I was during the earliest years of supportin' City! Picked a football team that wore skyblue and a cycling team that rides Bianchi bikes.

 

[Nervous Nedum]

From Gent-Wevelgem yesterday. Not the cleverest thing to do.

 

[Shands]

^ What an idiot, some people really have no sense at all do they, utterly selfish.

Check out this for a brutal conclusion to a TT! You can see Kennaugh starting and tackling the climb from 49.00

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkrghzndcu4[/youtube]

 

[Pokes28]

I ditto the Euskatel comment. I hate not seeing them out there. The rule change that the UCI is likely to put forward where they have 16 teams (instead of 18) and then fill races by invite to smaller club teams seems great on the surface however I think it will bring a lot more inexperienced riders into bad situations. It is one thing when the club being invited is Europcar who has a really nice team and for years was just a step below the UCI top squads. But bringing in some 2nd or 3rd tier local squad could be very bad.

Obviously it is easier to follow certain riders as they bounce from team to team and the longer I watch the more I find that happening. However in a break if there are 4 or 5 guys and I'm not really familiar with them, that is when the team part comes in. Though I will admit probably my most hated cyclist rides for my favorite team. Tyler Farrar shouldn't be earning a paycheck on a bike. My hypothesis is that Garmin is so anti-doping that they basically have found a sprinter that they are certain isn't doping. Lord knows he probably wouldn't suck nearly as bad if he cheated.

I finally was able to get through a few races this weekend that had been stacking up on the DVR. Was so nice seeing road racing.