The professional cycling thread
Discussion
pablo said:
Shame that Froome has pulled out of Tirreno too, it would have been good to see Froome vs Quinatana vs Nibbles vs Contador at least once....
Boonens fall was really bad luck especially at this stage of the season and I was surprised to see Wiggo lose his rag whilst at the head of the peloton bringing back Voeckler and DelapLace
I may be wrong but I think Orica have a reputation for doing ZERO work but always turning up in the last 5k.Boonens fall was really bad luck especially at this stage of the season and I was surprised to see Wiggo lose his rag whilst at the head of the peloton bringing back Voeckler and DelapLace
pablo said:
Katusha looking after Kristoff, Orica looking after Haussler and Cofidis looking after Bouhanni, none of whom did much to chase down the pair up ahead but profitted from the hard work Sky, Astana and Lotto put it... but thats racing.
Cav has mentioned how little work Orica do in the peleton in every race but there are no laws about how the burden of chasing down a break is divided up.Of course its racing, however, much like attacking after an attack, often counter productive...
There are always those with long memories in the peloton. Favours owed/asked, riders with influence outside their own team.
Many have found that saving a little bit of assistance can lead to killer efforts in an early stage of a three week race...
There are always those with long memories in the peloton. Favours owed/asked, riders with influence outside their own team.
Many have found that saving a little bit of assistance can lead to killer efforts in an early stage of a three week race...
No, I like that though, lots of different strageies playing out in one stage with teams ahving to work for themselves where they see a potential reward. It seems to be a very continental approach that Sky havent quite adapted to?
Its pretty obvious though that If a guy in the break is in "virtual yellow", I'd expect the current yellow jersey team to do the pulling to claw back the time, also if a team like Etixx want to set up Cav for a sprint, I'd expect them to be at the front. The rest can just cash in on any effort at the end, look how well Coquard did yesterday and they were nowhere in the chase.
Its pretty obvious though that If a guy in the break is in "virtual yellow", I'd expect the current yellow jersey team to do the pulling to claw back the time, also if a team like Etixx want to set up Cav for a sprint, I'd expect them to be at the front. The rest can just cash in on any effort at the end, look how well Coquard did yesterday and they were nowhere in the chase.
Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 10th March 16:38
Oh dear, another EPO bust:
"In a week in which professional cycling is again in the headlines over doping, it has been revealed that AG2R-La Mondiale rider Lloyd Mondory has tested positive for EPO. The news coincides with Lampre-Merida leaving the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) after deciding to re-engage Diego Ulissi following his ban, in contravention of the voluntary organisation’s rules."
"In a week in which professional cycling is again in the headlines over doping, it has been revealed that AG2R-La Mondiale rider Lloyd Mondory has tested positive for EPO. The news coincides with Lampre-Merida leaving the Movement for Credible Cycling (MPCC) after deciding to re-engage Diego Ulissi following his ban, in contravention of the voluntary organisation’s rules."
mcelliott said:
But the sport is cleaner now...
I think the UCI should tell everyone that they are still playing catchup with the doping and cheats and riders will be found out but at this point we cannot say that every rider is clean.the drip drip effect of finding the odd rider positve is like death by a thousand cuts.
johnxjsc1985 said:
mcelliott said:
But the sport is cleaner now...
I think the UCI should tell everyone that they are still playing catchup with the doping and cheats and riders will be found out but at this point we cannot say that every rider is clean.the drip drip effect of finding the odd rider positve is like death by a thousand cuts.
ewenm said:
We'll never be able to say every rider is clean. The battle against doping cannot be won outright, but IMO is still a battle worth having.
Entirely agree but maybe the UCI should show us how hard they are trying to catch up.Somehow the world sees cycling as a dirty sport compared to Athletics or swimming for instance when I would imagine any athletic sport which has prize money attatched to it has a doping problem.
I've been shouted down for this before and probably will be again, but, I spoke to a good friend who works for Sky 3 or 4 years ago and the long term plan for Geraint Thomas has always been with an eye on having a serious stab at one of the grand tours - maybe not this year, but certainly in the near future. He seems to be maturing nicely, and with a little bit of weight loss, I'm convinced he could get a top 5 overall in a grand tour.
johnxjsc1985 said:
Entirely agree but maybe the UCI should show us how hard they are trying to catch up.
Somehow the world sees cycling as a dirty sport compared to Athletics or swimming for instance when I would imagine any athletic sport which has prize money attatched to it has a doping problem.
As a cycling fan, people in work ask me why I follow a sport full of drug cheats. Easy, cycling takes doping seriously. You think football, rugby, tennis, etc are clean? Get real, they're even worse - but there are double standards at play. Why aren't investigative journalists sniffing around those sports?Somehow the world sees cycling as a dirty sport compared to Athletics or swimming for instance when I would imagine any athletic sport which has prize money attatched to it has a doping problem.
As for Paris-Nice, my favourite race of the year , it's shaping up nicely. Thought todays stage was fantastic, a nice performance from Sky wirh Porte leading Thomas to a 1-2. And Kwiakowski regains the yellow jersey. Should be an interesting final 3 days.
[quote=Alex Langheck]
Why aren't investigative journalists sniffing around those sports?
quote]
what a great question and one that should have been asked many times over the last 50 years.
If anyone has doubt just look at the Olympic records for Women over the last 40 years and in particular since the break up of the soviet union or just ask Sharon Davies
Why aren't investigative journalists sniffing around those sports?
quote]
what a great question and one that should have been asked many times over the last 50 years.
If anyone has doubt just look at the Olympic records for Women over the last 40 years and in particular since the break up of the soviet union or just ask Sharon Davies
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