Generic Pro Road Cycling Thread

Norm

Norm

Mayor McCheese
Team MTBNJ Halter's
Well the Tour seems to have ended (like stb I can't find anything about it so I guess it's over) but now I find myself hooked on the pro cycling talk. Figure there might as well be a generic thread to post random stuff to talk about. I admit this may lose my interest in a week. Or nobody may care. But there's still a lot of talk, and of course, there are pro races like every week.

Contador almost quit after that last crash:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011...t-tour-de-france-after-karpets-bombing_186303

Evans (and Contador) may join Chris Horner in the Tour of Colorado next month:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011...adel-evans-possible-start-for-colorado_186297

Neither Evans nor Contador are racing the Vuelta.

No surprise, but Thor is likely bailing Garmin:
http://velonews.competitor.com/2011/07/news/hushovd-hints-hes-leaving-garmin-cervelo_186280

The Highroad Cavendish stuff is interesting:
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/hig...ce=cyclingnews&ns_linkname=0&ns_fee=0
 
Great idea. I will follow, however I am not sure I care enough after the TDF is done. I like the classics, Giro and TDF, but after that I loose intrest until next year. The Veulta is just plain boring.

I knew Thor wasn't going to be the lead out bitch for F*ckrar. He played nice until he was out of yellow. Like you said, no surprise there. Kinda of interesting about being Evan's teamate next year, although I am not sure that would fully work as Thor obviously wants so time in the spot light and that doesn't always jive with the big GC teams unless you are a TT specialist.
 
stb222 said:
Great idea. I will follow, however I am not sure I care enough after the TDF is done. I like the classics, Giro and TDF, but after that I loose intrest until next year. The Veulta is just plain boring.

I knew Thor wasn't going to be the lead out bitch for F*ckrar. He played nice until he was out of yellow. Like you said, no surprise there. Kinda of interesting about being Evan's teamate next year, although I am not sure that would fully work as Thor obviously wants so time in the spot light and that doesn't always jive with the big GC teams unless you are a TT specialist.
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There seems to be such a large amount of drama that there's always something to talk about. I think it was Cav that basically said all sprinters were high-maintenance and wanted the spotlight. So there's always someone complaining about someone or something.

Interesting that the Vuelta is boring. I'm guessing because a) none of the big names go and b) after the Tour, the rest of the year pales in comparision?

Seems to me like Thor will struggle to find a happy place. Is he really a CG kinda guy? Dude weighs like 10 pounds less than me. I can't imagine he can pull that off.
 
The cavendish stuff is interesting since he is very dependant on other riders to stay in the spotlight. I mean I guess all of them are to some extent, but not like him. I imagine if he lost Renshaw, it would be a major setback.
 
Norm said:
Interesting that the Vuelta is boring. I'm guessing because a) none of the big names go and b) after the Tour, the rest of the year pales in comparision?

Seems to me like Thor will struggle to find a happy place. Is he really a CG kinda guy? Dude weighs like 10 pounds less than me. I can't imagine he can pull that off.
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Ben told me before the Veulta is just alot of teams going through the motions or guys that didn't do anything in the other big races trying to get some wins. I don't know, it just doesn't seem as good to watch.

Thor isn't a GC guy and isn't a pure sprinter. So on a team, while he will work for someone, you have to let him reign free a bit and stage hunting isn't always in that equation.

Even if Cavendish never wins another stage, he has already made his mark and will always be known as one of the best sprinters of all time, regardless of the circumstances that got him there. His last 3 TDF's he was 6, 5 and 5 for stage wins. Alot of these sprinters would love to have that over their career at the TDF. His team is a huge factor but the dude is just fast.
 
Thor I dont think will be a GC guy anymore. I think what he was really upset about was the spring classics specifically Paris Roubaix. I dont think the race tactics panned out the way he wanted even though he ended up nearly a minute off the pace.

I dunno if BMC will be a good fit for him with guys like Hincapie, Van Avermaet and Phinney on the squad who will also be looking to win come spring time.

I like the team game that Garmin plays. Thor wouldnt have spent so much time in yellow had the team not given everything up for him.
 
ArmyOfNone said:
I like the team game that Garmin plays. Thor wouldnt have spent so much time in yellow had the team not given everything up for him.
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I agree, they did a good job for him. If it hadn't been for that 1 brutal crash who knows how long he would have held on to yellow.

Cavendish is awesome to watch. No question about it.
 
ArmyOfNone said:
The HTC leadout is awesome to watch. They are like a navy seal team.
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totally..... As a complete noob....HTC's plan for TV coverage and notoriety has worked great. At stage 1, I couldnt name a single person riding out there other than Schlek and Contador. Im pretty sure I can name the entire HTC team now based on that leadout trains tv coverage.
 
UtahJoe said:
totally..... As a complete noob....HTC's plan for TV coverage and notoriety has worked great. At stage 1, I couldnt name a single person riding out there other than Schlek and Contador. Im pretty sure I can name the entire HTC team now based on that leadout trains tv coverage.
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I completely agree... another noob and first year watching the whole TdF, my first impressions of intermediate and final sprints were that HTC looked like a they wake up and do this as routinely as I brush my teeth and everyone else, in comparison, looked like they were learning as they go... it was a beautiful thing to watch...
 
ArmyOfNone said:
The HTC leadout is awesome to watch. They are like a navy seal team.
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..or like the penguins of madagascar.
Plus how much does Phil Liggett enjoy yelling stuff like "they are getting ready to launch the missille (sounds like misayle) from the island of man"
I swear he just loves saying that.
 
RNG1 said:
..or like the penguins of madagascar.
Plus how much does Phil Liggett enjoy yelling stuff like "they are getting ready to launch the missille (sounds like misayle) from the island of man"
I swear he just loves saying that.
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Sidenote, but its Funny that the fastest man in the world on a bicycle is from a isle of man.....I guess speed is just bred into you on that island.

For those of you who have never heard of it....isle of man TT is absolutley insane. Usually they cover it on discovery hd
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sE7H6f9PVwk
 
RNG1 said:
..or like the penguins of madagascar.
Plus how much does Phil Liggett enjoy yelling stuff like "they are getting ready to launch the missille (sounds like misayle) from the island of man"
I swear he just loves saying that.
Click to expand...

I didnt hear it this year from Phil but Linda's favorite quote from last years tour was "HTC is loading the missile in the tube!"

Every sprint she saw she would scream "load the missile in the tube!"
 
stb222 said:
Ben told me before the Veulta is just a lot of teams going through the motions or guys that didn't do anything in the other big races trying to get some wins. I don't know, it just doesn't seem as good to watch.
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The Vuelta is a good race. One of the reasons it does not catch on in the US is because there are often only a few US riders in it. Lance Armstrong finished third in '98 which he used as a springboard into his 7 TdF victories. TommyD has been there a number of years trying to gain experience.

The race often includes shorter stages and more climbing. The Spanish are known for their climbing ability. This makes the stages very difficult. Some of their climbs have become legendary. I remember calling out sick on the day they did the Angliru in 2002. I sat in front of the TV with a riding buddy and were shocked at what we saw. Racers walking. The spectators pushing the team cars because they couldn't get the traction on wet roads. Absolute ciaos.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2002/09/road/millar-protests-brutal-angliru_3067
I believe it is included again this year.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2010/12/news/angliru-could-be-back-in-2011-vuelta-a-espana_151614

When you read/listen to interviews of riders at the Vuelta, the common thread is that they are filling obligations. Many would rather not be there. Some are paying their teammates back for the work they did at other races. The GC contenders at the TdF play the role of domestique at the Vuelta. (not as common recently) Many young guns are trying to prove themselves. Others are looking to solidify contracts for the following year.

Vs stopped televising the Vuelta due to poor ratings. In the eyes of the network, the season ended in the third weekend of July.
 
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The Vuelta is anything but dull; Google Robert Miller and Vuelta to read about some of the drama it has produced over the years. I think the Lance effect has detracted from its appeal outside the hardcore. Hopefully with guys like Contador we can get back to the good old days of legitimate cycling champions that race all year; rather than that whole military industrial public relations EPO machine that only focused on one event all season.

Reading through the thread from the start I'm suprised people are still attributing Cav's wins to Renshaw and HTC as though any other sprinter could fill his shoes. The HTC train was built around Cav because he is the fastest sprinter in the world. End of. Otherwise, there would be a steady string of sprint based teams, and their solitary dominant sprinter; going back to the 80's. That isn't the case, because there hasn't been anyone like Cavendish since the Lion King. Who, by the way, benefited from leadouts more than any sprinter that came before him. The fastest guys get the fastest trains. Honestly, this isn't being debated anymore amongst people that know their road racing. With the possible exception of Tyler Farrar's house... And secretly they all know the truth too.

Thor is a classics racer with a decent sprint, in the mold of a Sean Kelly. Kelly, of course, was arguably a better all-rounder.

The only question with AC is will he get banned or not. I can't see how he's going to avoid a 2 year vacation, but you never know. Either way, I have a shitload of respect for how he raced this season. He wrung himself out to win the Giro, and if not for some selective rule interpretation on the day he crashed during the Tour, he'd have been fighting for that too.
 
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