The Pro Road Cycling Thread

I wasn’t convinced about Rwanda being a host of the Worlds but glad to be proven wrong. Brilliant to see so many people out on the roads and the parcours lending itself to some exciting racing
 
Really hope Pog can pull this off. A rider for the ages, he can just do so much. A absolute pleasure to watch him.
What do you reckon Jonas?
 
That comment from Boardman was right, this chasing group getting a fair bit of help from having a bike in front of them. It’s not all the time and not always close, but it’s close enough to make a bit of a difference I reckon.
 
Disappointed they let the Russians ride, albeit under a neutral banner. Sad for the riders but they shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near international competition whilst Putin wreaks death and destruction upon Ukraine.
 
bluethrunthru said:
to be it you have to see it - sadly so many kids won't

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I wasn't aware ITV wasn't showing Le Tour anymore. It's hugely disappointing it's no longer on free to air television and will undoubtedly have a significant negative impact on British cycling. I watched all the stages live this year, whilst working but didn't hang around for the chat afterwards so missed this.

Personally, the Tour de France has been a major part of my life. My Dad loved all sports, but cycling was his passion. I have extremely fond memories of him getting back from work and sticking the highlights on - Channel 4 initially and have watched myself on ITV over the years. The iconic voice of Phil Liggett and the wonderful coverage over the years.

Cycling simply doesn't get enough attention in this country as it is. It's a sport we've had so much success in. Boardman winning the opening TT and getting the yellow jersey was as good as it got once upon a time. But then we had Cavendish and Wiggins, Froome and Thomas. We had all the success in the Olympics on the road and in the velodrome. Then with Pidcock also on the MTB.

There was a token gesture update on La Vuelta. But not enough considering Pidcock's podium. Behind a paywall this is only going to make things worse. Unless you're into cycling you'll never find any news about it, despite it being such a hugely successful sport for this nation over the past 12-15 years.
 
supercity88 said:
I wasn't aware ITV wasn't showing Le Tour anymore. It's hugely disappointing it's no longer on free to air television and will undoubtedly have a significant negative impact on British cycling. I watched all the stages live this year, whilst working but didn't hang around for the chat afterwards so missed this.

Personally, the Tour de France has been a major part of my life. My Dad loved all sports, but cycling was his passion. I have extremely fond memories of him getting back from work and sticking the highlights on - Channel 4 initially and have watched myself on ITV over the years. The iconic voice of Phil Liggett and the wonderful coverage over the years.

Cycling simply doesn't get enough attention in this country as it is. It's a sport we've had so much success in. Boardman winning the opening TT and getting the yellow jersey was as good as it got once upon a time. But then we had Cavendish and Wiggins, Froome and Thomas. We had all the success in the Olympics on the road and in the velodrome. Then with Pidcock also on the MTB.

There was a token gesture update on La Vuelta. But not enough considering Pidcock's podium. Behind a paywall this is only going to make things worse. Unless you're into cycling you'll never find any news about it, despite it being such a hugely successful sport for this nation over the past 12-15 years.
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I am 64. Growing up Boxing was huge, F1 was massive Cricket too as were many other sports thanks to Grandstand, Sportsnight and World of Sport screening free to air sports - in fact football battled on despite there being so little live football on TV ( Cup Finals, some internationals ) - one by one they have gone behind paywalls, yes the participants and some players/owners etc have become wealthier but most sports have become niche with only the dedicated fan paying the extra £20-£30 a month to SKY and the like to watch.
 
bluethrunthru said:
I am 64. Growing up Boxing was huge, F1 was massive Cricket too as were many other sports thanks to Grandstand, Sportsnight and World of Sport screening free to air sports - in fact football battled on despite there being so little live football on TV ( Cup Finals, some internationals ) - one by one they have gone behind paywalls, yes the participants and some players/owners etc have become wealthier but most sports have become niche with only the dedicated fan paying the extra £20-£30 a month to SKY and the like to watch.
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Indeed, somewhere along the way people have decided that growing a sport means monetising it at the expense of the everyday men and women who enjoy watching it.

Cycling at an elite level might cost a lot, but all you really need as a kid is a cheap bike and inspiration to ride it. The GB team just had quite a poor World Athletics championships. Again, because it's not a sport that is getting investment, because where's the return?

It's all about business now. We see it with football and it's there with all sports sadly. Youtube boxers making more than genuine fighters.
 
supercity88 said:
Indeed, somewhere along the way people have decided that growing a sport means monetising it at the expense of the everyday men and women who enjoy watching it.

Cycling at an elite level might cost a lot, but all you really need as a kid is a cheap bike and inspiration to ride it. The GB team just had quite a poor World Athletics championships. Again, because it's not a sport that is getting investment, because where's the return?

It's all about business now. We see it with football and it's there with all sports sadly. Youtube boxers making more than genuine fighters.
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I’m not necessarily disagreeing with the rest of your post bud, but the return in athletics? Have you any idea how many people do a 5km run at 9am every Saturday morning in this country? For me, that’s a better measure of success than how many medals a country gets in the World Championships.
 
chesterbells said:
I’m not necessarily disagreeing with the rest of your post bud, but the return in athletics? Have you any idea how many people do a 5km run at 9am every Saturday morning in this country? For me, that’s a better measure of success than how many medals a country gets in the World Championships.
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Sorry went on a rant and the point was probably lost!

What I was trying to get at is that it's all about monetising sport over boosting participation. Athletics is free to air, loads of kids are running but there's little investment in it. To secure some investment you probably need to stick it behind a paywall but participation is likely to then drop.

We seem to be in a dangerous spiral. My son plays football and after having so many games called off due to waterlogged pitches we now all pay extra subs so they can use 4G facilities at another club. The money in the PL is staggering, it should be getting recycled to much more significant extent to boost facilities for kids in this country.

Otherwise our kids will be left behind.
 
bluethrunthru said:
I am 64. Growing up Boxing was huge, F1 was massive Cricket too as were many other sports thanks to Grandstand, Sportsnight and World of Sport screening free to air sports - in fact football battled on despite there being so little live football on TV ( Cup Finals, some internationals ) - one by one they have gone behind paywalls, yes the participants and some players/owners etc have become wealthier but most sports have become niche with only the dedicated fan paying the extra £20-£30 a month to SKY and the like to watch.
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Slightly of topic but when all sport was free to air i followed lots of sport. I could watch Question of Sport and do well, nowadays I haven't watched it for years as I haven't got a clue and gave up watching it.
 
supercity88 said:
Sorry went on a rant and the point was probably lost!

What I was trying to get at is that it's all about monetising sport over boosting participation. Athletics is free to air, loads of kids are running but there's little investment in it. To secure some investment you probably need to stick it behind a paywall but participation is likely to then drop.

We seem to be in a dangerous spiral. My son plays football and after having so many games called off due to waterlogged pitches we now all pay extra subs so they can use 4G facilities at another club. The money in the PL is staggering, it should be getting recycled to much more significant extent to boost facilities for kids in this country.

Otherwise our kids will be left behind.
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Apologies on my part too. I took one small part of your post and put my own spin on it. Yes, I absolutely get your general point around investment and a lack of ‘trickle down’.
If it wasn’t for National Lottery funding in recent decades the black hole in sports finance would be staggering!

I think the free to air vs paywall argument is a bit more complicated but I do see where you’re coming from.
 
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