Cycling Thread

[TimeyWimey]

I do like a Stevo break.

 

[Veggie Legs]

He's having one hell of a ride.

I was hoping for an explosive finish but I think Sky might have just put paid to that...

 

[TimeyWimey]

Whilst on one hand can appreciate the epic-ness of Sky's strength, it doesn't half suck the life out of races at times.

 

[Krazy8]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/ap...lease-decision-doping-scandal-blood-bags.html

Finally it looks like the Puerto case might be going somewhere, the judge has ruled that sportsmen can now be named.

Apologies for directing you to the daily mail, it was the first link that popped up.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Brilliant. Hope this blows the lid off other sports systemic doping, although more likely there'll be convenient excuses aplenty about how the bags cannot be attributed to individuals.

(Also, Sagan yesterday, awesome).

 

[Veggie Legs]

I went to watch the finish of stage one of the women's tour of Britain earlier, was a good crowd give it's a Wednesday afternoon and there's been no publicity. Tough finish though, lone breakaway rider was caught with less than 100m to go

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Either Twitter has gone quite, quite mad, or Nairo Quintana has attacked w/180km to go of the first stage of the Route du Sud and is currently 11m 30s ahead of the peloton with Quentin Jauregui for company. What.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/muur-van-geraardsbergen-returns-for-2017-tour-of-flanders/

 

[lordofthepies]

4 month ban for Simon Yates then. No Tour for him this year.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Not good news about Stig Broeckx.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Bouhanni you absolute nob

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

I dearly wish that he was still with FDJ, so that we could have the treat of a Marc Madiot interview on the subject.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

WWII themed team presentation this year then........................

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

These somehow manage to get more excruciatingly church hall Eurovision every year. I love it.

 

[lordofthepies]

I'm in a velogames.com fantasy league for the Tour - if any of you fancy joining in then feel free to do so. The league code is 622017340521

 

[TimeyWimey]

I'm getting unhealthily stressed over my velogames selection his year. Genuinely one of the hardest decisions I have known.

 

[lordofthepies]

I remembered this evening that I had Bouhanni in my team. The giant idiotic lunatic.

 

[Veggie Legs]

I'm getting unhealthily stressed over my velogames selection his year. Genuinely one of the hardest decisions I have known.

I also found it really hard to pick my team. I can't work out if I've picked people just because I like them and want them to do well, or because they're actually good.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Whilst we're on the fantasy tip, post-nationals/pre-tour update on the season long jobbie:

 

[Veggie Legs]

Is anyone going to stop Froome defending his title? I've got my fingers crossed that Quintana can stay in touch for the first couple of weeks and then stick it to him in that Alps, but I doubt it's going to happen.

 

[TimeyWimey]

I'm making Quintana favourite. He's just looked better in all the lead up races and for all the talk of Sky's insane team (which is insane), Movistar aren't exactly lacking and on match-ups probably aren't too far off. Ion Izaguirre better than any of Froome's lieutenants right now imo (edit, removing the "probably". He just is.).

More hoping Pinot is at least on the podium. Got him at 40/1 a few months back.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

I think it's a coin flip. If it was last year's route then I'd make Quintana fave, but I think them putting a few more TT kms back in (albeit w/ about a third of them uphill) slides it back towards Froome. Would not be surprised if the decisive margin comes from something a bit off-script like a crosswinds split (which could conceivably happen tomorrow) or a bit of carnage on one of the stages that ends with a descent.

And though I suppose it's easier said than done, I can't imagine that this one will so readily follow the script of Froome smashing the first mountain stage, followed by Sky controlling and then eventually hanging on over the last couple of days. Quintana, Contador and even Nibali (who will not be a threat to win the thing, surely, but still) are all first-place-or-nowhere types at this point, with predilections for gambles and unpredictability.

I'm predicting 15 second places for Sagan this time round, btw.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

ITV going with Ned n Dave in the booth rather than Phil n Paul, by the sounds of it.

End of an era, for better or worse.

RIP Suitcase of Courage, YNWA Romain Bardot, no more Richie Froome.

 

[TimeyWimey]

Awesome, Cav!

 

[lordofthepies]

I'd pretty much given up on Cav in grand tour bunch sprints. I am delighted to be wrong!

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Top man.

 

[Super_horns]

Peter Sagan gets an early win - Froome came 10th.

Not a great start for Contador.

Crash yesterday and lost time today..

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

The cycling gods have really got it in for Richie Porte.

 

[Baz]

The cycling gods have really got it in for Richie Porte.

They must have loads of love for Berto Contador too.

 

[Martino Knockavelli]

Umbrellas of Cherbourg quip to open the show. Imlach is the don.