The Pro Road Cycling Thread

[Churchill123]

Great win for Nibali, easily the best rider in the race. Chuffed for Cav winning the red jersey too. Awesome achievement for him.

Also well pleased Uran got 2nd and Team Sky won the team classification

Found this vid of stage 20. The fans are mental lol


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




Criterium du Dauphine next. Froomey will hopefully smash it :)

Crazy fuckers!<br /><br />-- Thu May 30, 2013 1:40 pm --<br /><br />

....and look what we find this morning, he's reported to have tested positive for EPO again.

Really? - And here's me thinking they had cleaned the sport up :S

To be fair to the rest of the peleton I don’t think any of them should be measured by any of Di Luca’s actions, the guy is a law unto himself.

This is the fourth time he’s been caught cheating (different performance enhancers each time!). The first occasion he got off with it, but for the other two he received significant bans of, I think, 15 months and two years respectively.

You have to wonder though just how bright the guy is. He failed this out of competition test at the back end of April, just two days after he announced he’d signed with Vini Fantini to make his comeback from his last ban. Given his history he must have known that the minute he returned the testers would be all over him like a rash, so to get caught immediately shows either he’s really crap at doping or he is immeasurably thick.

I did like the statement from the Vini Fantini boss though, no beating around the bush or trying to be diplomatic there; called him a cretin and said he never wanted him on his team in the first place and that they only signed him because one of their major sponsors forced them too.

Inxausti’s tweet on the matter was even more succinct: 'Fuck off Di Luca!'

Love cycling for this exact reason! - You don't half get some characters on the pro tour - Could never imagine brendan rogers or pardew or who ever it maybe, coming out publicly calling there player a cretin and saying they never wanted him anyway!

 

[Judge Roughneck]

I'm not really a big spectator as yet but enjoy mountain biking and road cycling as and when I can get out.
I'm no great shakes in a competitive sense but commute about 60-90 miles per week.
I'm interested in getting into the Sportives after doing the M/r to Blackpool ride last year which was great.
My road bike is a new Giant Defy 1 which I got due to the great reviews it received in the Cycling press for bikes at 1k price.

 

[neilsonblue]

I ride a Giant Defy as well - great bike and entry level one at that. I have race blades and a rack on the back so am looking to get what will be a Summer bike as well. Looking at an Avanti Quantam. Avanti is a New Zealand make and they are hoping to break into the pro-cycling circuit. If anyone has any views on Avanti I'd be keen to hear them.

 

[chesterbells]

Decent mileage that Judge. Much maintenance required commuting 90 miles a week? I assume youre using the road bike for it? I've dabbled the odd day, but I'm a bit fair weather when it comes to starting a bike ride (dont mind once i'm already out).

Fellas, on a different note, has anyone made any plans for the yorkshire tour days yet?
Been looking recently and it looks like most of the county is booked up already; I suppose I should have got my act together more quickly. Harrogate is the one place it looks possible to see both days from (they must obviously have someone of influence who has Prudhomme's ear).

At the moment I'm looking at Buttertubs Hill near Hawes for the Saturday, and Holme Moss just outside Holmefirth for the Sunday, both look the best climbs on each day.
Tbh, from a spectator point of view I'd have preferred a TT as you get the riders coming past over the space of between 1 and 3 hours (although on tv TTs are not that exciting imho), but these should be good.
I'd expect the Moss to be like a mini Alp with spectators.

Both days will be long, but i dont think I'll be camping out there days in advance Apl D'Huez style!

Anyone else got any plans?

 

[Churchill123]

I'm not really a big spectator as yet but enjoy mountain biking and road cycling as and when I can get out.
I'm no great shakes in a competitive sense but commute about 60-90 miles per week.
I'm interested in getting into the Sportives after doing the M/r to Blackpool ride last year which was great.
My road bike is a new Giant Defy 1 which I got due to the great reviews it received in the Cycling press for bikes at 1k price.

Good on you mate.. I'm a pretty into my cycling at the mo and bought myself a Pinarello a few months ago, cost me a few thousand but absolutely love it! - Are you on Strava at all?

I will do a few smaller rides during the week if work isn't to busy and will do a longer ride at the weekend... Really enjoying it at the moment and is nice to get some fresh air and as an alternative to the gym all the time..

I've got a mate who bought a Defy 1 as his first road bike and so far so good, other than the tyres it came with which he thought were absolute shit as they were cheap crap that kept puncturing .. Good bike though..

I've got a charity 100K ride that i'm doing to raise money for a children's cerebral palsy charity in 2 weeks time - Any chance of a donation whilst were talking about cycling lads :P

<a class="postlink" href="https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1</a>

 

[Judge Roughneck]

Thanks for the comments. In terms of maintenance, I'm always cleaning the bike, wet roads and its caked in shite. There is an intermittent clicking which I'm trying to eliminate and I've had 3 punctures in 900 miles. I will probably replace them with Specialized Armadillos before winter for increased protection. Other than that I love the bike.
I'm not on Strava because I haven't got an iPhone/android phone for the app.

 

[manchester blue]

I'm not really a big spectator as yet but enjoy mountain biking and road cycling as and when I can get out.
I'm no great shakes in a competitive sense but commute about 60-90 miles per week.
I'm interested in getting into the Sportives after doing the M/r to Blackpool ride last year which was great.
My road bike is a new Giant Defy 1 which I got due to the great reviews it received in the Cycling press for bikes at 1k price.

Good on you mate.. I'm a pretty into my cycling at the mo and bought myself a Pinarello a few months ago, cost me a few thousand but absolutely love it! - Are you on Strava at all?

I will do a few smaller rides during the week if work isn't to busy and will do a longer ride at the weekend... Really enjoying it at the moment and is nice to get some fresh air and as an alternative to the gym all the time..

I've got a mate who bought a Defy 1 as his first road bike and so far so good, other than the tyres it came with which he thought were absolute shit as they were cheap crap that kept puncturing .. Good bike though..

I've got a charity 100K ride that i'm doing to raise money for a children's cerebral palsy charity in 2 weeks time - Any chance of a donation whilst were talking about cycling lads :P

<a class="postlink" href="https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1</a>

Have you been in that bike shop at the top end [Hilton] of Deansgate yet? Only sell Pinarello starting at £1k up to about £12k. There are some truly beautiful machines in there. Oh to be rich...

Today seems to be a nice day for a ride. Going to head up to Littleborough and the A58.

 

[Judge Roughneck]

I'm not really a big spectator as yet but enjoy mountain biking and road cycling as and when I can get out.
I'm no great shakes in a competitive sense but commute about 60-90 miles per week.
I'm interested in getting into the Sportives after doing the M/r to Blackpool ride last year which was great.
My road bike is a new Giant Defy 1 which I got due to the great reviews it received in the Cycling press for bikes at 1k price.

Good on you mate.. I'm a pretty into my cycling at the mo and bought myself a Pinarello a few months ago, cost me a few thousand but absolutely love it! - Are you on Strava at all?

I will do a few smaller rides during the week if work isn't to busy and will do a longer ride at the weekend... Really enjoying it at the moment and is nice to get some fresh air and as an alternative to the gym all the time..

I've got a mate who bought a Defy 1 as his first road bike and so far so good, other than the tyres it came with which he thought were absolute shit as they were cheap crap that kept puncturing .. Good bike though..

I've got a charity 100K ride that i'm doing to raise money for a children's cerebral palsy charity in 2 weeks time - Any chance of a donation whilst were talking about cycling lads :P

<a class="postlink" href="https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1</a>

Have you been in that bike shop at the top end [Hilton] of Deansgate yet? Only sell Pinarello starting at £1k up to about £12k. There are some truly beautiful machines in there. Oh to be rich...

Today seems to be a nice day for a ride. Going to head up to Littleborough and the A58.

I have indeed, the bikes in there are something else, I think the cheapest was £1300! It's like formula 1 technology on the higher end stuff! Maybe one day. :0)

 

[Churchill123]

Good on you mate.. I'm a pretty into my cycling at the mo and bought myself a Pinarello a few months ago, cost me a few thousand but absolutely love it! - Are you on Strava at all?

I will do a few smaller rides during the week if work isn't to busy and will do a longer ride at the weekend... Really enjoying it at the moment and is nice to get some fresh air and as an alternative to the gym all the time..

I've got a mate who bought a Defy 1 as his first road bike and so far so good, other than the tyres it came with which he thought were absolute shit as they were cheap crap that kept puncturing .. Good bike though..

I've got a charity 100K ride that i'm doing to raise money for a children's cerebral palsy charity in 2 weeks time - Any chance of a donation whilst were talking about cycling lads :P

<a class="postlink" href="https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;">https://mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/tomchurchill1</a>

Have you been in that bike shop at the top end [Hilton] of Deansgate yet? Only sell Pinarello starting at £1k up to about £12k. There are some truly beautiful machines in there. Oh to be rich...

Today seems to be a nice day for a ride. Going to head up to Littleborough and the A58.

I have indeed, the bikes in there are something else, I think the cheapest was £1300! It's like formula 1 technology on the higher end stuff! Maybe one day. :0)

You can spend alot of money on a decent bike! - Its hard for people who don't understand cycling (the misses) why you need a £12K bike or to spend £2K on a set of wheels :P

Great sport and from someone who's just getting into it after a few months i'm loving it!

 

[discopop]

Thanks for the comments. In terms of maintenance, I'm always cleaning the bike, wet roads and its caked in shite. There is an intermittent clicking which I'm trying to eliminate and I've had 3 punctures in 900 miles. I will probably replace them with Specialized Armadillos before winter for increased protection. Other than that I love the bike.
I'm not on Strava because I haven't got an iPhone/android phone for the app.

The intermittent clicking can be a couple of things, if you are using clip in pedals sometimes they can click and make random noises another area to look at is the bottom bracket which are notorious for clicking and although I suspect yours are sealed shimano bearings its not uncommon for theses to have issues, with £30 quids worth of tools changing a BB is a simple job, I prefer the BB 30 system on my bikes as its a 25 min job to change the bearings.

Spec Armadillos are a good winter choice also very good are Conti 4 seasons, very fast but after a full winter on cycling not a sniff of a puncture then its Conti 4000's for the summer