The professional cycling thread
Discussion
spikeyhead said:
Next years Grand Tours to be teams of eight rather than nine.
that should be interesting but I think some of the Tours have been a bit predictable and would like to see longer TT's a TTT and more mountain top finishes the Sprinters parade in the first week is a bit old hat now.They should reduce the race length to just two weeks too, two weeks would mean lots more attacks and the teams would find it harder to control. After two weeks there are rarely more than the riders in it. I've said it before but both the tour down under and the tour of California need an extra week.
johnxjsc1985 said:
spikeyhead said:
Next years Grand Tours to be teams of eight rather than nine.
that should be interesting but I think some of the Tours have been a bit predictable and would like to see longer TT's a TTT and more mountain top finishes the Sprinters parade in the first week is a bit old hat now.2015:
Prologue:
Cross wind flat stage (decides race outcome) - Sprint
Mur de HUy
Cobbled stage
Sprint
Ramp finish solo break away
Sprint
2016:
Sprint
Hilly classics course
Sprint
Sprint
Medium mountain stage - winner leads GC by 5 minutes
Sprint
Medium mountain stage - solo winner
+ Bonus team pursuit win by yellow and green jersey on a flat stage later
In both of the last two year we saw new people hold the yellow and it change hands by attacks and bad luck in the first weeks. It's a lot more exiting than when I was a boy in the first week as the top guys can now be on the end of time gaps in the first week that can decide the race.
As for the breakdown of the race into mountains and TT's I think the general trend was from 2008 onwards to increase the TT content to allow riders like Evans and Wiggins to contest Schleck and Contador. Only issue is that Wiggins and Froome lost basically no time in the mountains in 2012 & 2013 and then put three-five minutes into everyone else in the time trials.
Which is why they added more hills and less time trials and more disrupter stages like cobbles. I think their fundamental problem for the GC is that Chris Froome is basically too good and lacking any weaknesses now he can descend and do cobbles. The only way more TT would help would be if they put enough in for Dumoulain to challenge Froome.
I think the way forward in the GC is more alternation between long and very difficult mountain stages to break the big teams and then short mountain stages where a GC attack could go very early and stick, this years Veulta being a good example of this.
The A.S.O announces that it is reducing the size of teams in the Vuelta and TdF to prevent domination by one team (so, Sky then).
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/tour-de...
Then the UCI come out and say that actually, the ASO don't have the power to do this.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/uci-hit...
Which raises the rather interesting question of who has the real power in cycling, the ASO, the UCI, or the teams.
I think the answer in this case is it's a bit of a mess but we'll end up with smaller teams not next year but in 2018.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/tour-de...
Then the UCI come out and say that actually, the ASO don't have the power to do this.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/uci-hit...
Which raises the rather interesting question of who has the real power in cycling, the ASO, the UCI, or the teams.
I think the answer in this case is it's a bit of a mess but we'll end up with smaller teams not next year but in 2018.
_dobbo_ said:
The A.S.O announces that it is reducing the size of teams in the Vuelta and TdF to prevent domination by one team (so, Sky then).
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/tour-de...
Then the UCI come out and say that actually, the ASO don't have the power to do this.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/uci-hit...
Which raises the rather interesting question of who has the real power in cycling, the ASO, the UCI, or the teams.
I think the answer in this case is it's a bit of a mess but we'll end up with smaller teams not next year but in 2018.
Just sums up the UCI to be honest. McQuaid, Verburggen. Corrupt as fhttp://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/tour-de...
Then the UCI come out and say that actually, the ASO don't have the power to do this.
http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/racing/uci-hit...
Which raises the rather interesting question of who has the real power in cycling, the ASO, the UCI, or the teams.
I think the answer in this case is it's a bit of a mess but we'll end up with smaller teams not next year but in 2018.
k. Couldn't go soon enough.Cookson, well he's a nice guy but nothings really happened has it.
Actually that's reminded me, what ever happened to the Kimmage fund that (I chucked a tenner into) was stolen by Aaron Brown.
johnxjsc1985 said:
El stovey said:
Doping in sport select committee grilling going on now live on BBC parliament channel.
Shane Sutton answering questions on TUEs Brailsford on next.
I think Shane Sutton would have liked to have given them a bit of a hiding. Brailsford is a different kettle of fish.Shane Sutton answering questions on TUEs Brailsford on next.
He just kept rambling about sky doing nothing wrong whenever he was asked specific questions.
El stovey said:
Sutton looked a bit like he was struggling. Seems odd he wasn't informed about TUEs in his role.
He just kept rambling about sky doing nothing wrong whenever he was asked specific questions.
He wasn't struggling he was just trying to control his desire to thump the stupid MP's who were asking stupid questions. We now know what was in the package at long last we can now all sleep well tonight.He just kept rambling about sky doing nothing wrong whenever he was asked specific questions.
Slaav said:
pablo said:
Shame they're not interviewing the RFU too given there are more rugby players serving bans for PEDs compared to any other sport in the UK...
Union or League? I genuinely don't know the answer....it's pretty equal between the codes. Mostly steroids.
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