The professional cycling thread

[anonymous-user]

Who the hell is Hugh Carthy?! He's had a brilliant week.

[Dr Imran T]

Long Drax said:

Yeah, it's great to see an upstanding rider like, er, Valv, leading the GC, I'm sure you'll agree.

It is actually! he's a true racer and great to watch

Anywhoo - tour of Flanders this Sunday. Anyone see Gilbert's solo effort yesterday in the '3 days of De Panne'? 16km from the finish solo effort to get stage victory. He certainly looked strong

I've always rooted for Cancellara - not quite the same without Spartacus although Sagan is pretty cool to watch!

[mcelliott]

Dr Imran T said:

Long Drax said:

Yeah, it's great to see an upstanding rider like, er, Valv, leading the GC, I'm sure you'll agree.

It is actually! he's a true racer and great to watch

Anywhoo - tour of Flanders this Sunday. Anyone see Gilbert's solo effort yesterday in the '3 days of De Panne'? 16km from the finish solo effort to get stage victory. He certainly looked strong

I've always rooted for Cancellara - not quite the same without Spartacus although Sagan is pretty cool to watch!

This years classic season is shaping up very well indeed.

[johnxjsc1985]

Dr Imran T said:

It is actually! he's a true racer and great to watch

Anywhoo - tour of Flanders this Sunday. Anyone see Gilbert's solo effort yesterday in the '3 days of De Panne'? 16km from the finish solo effort to get stage victory. He certainly looked strong

I've always rooted for Cancellara - not quite the same without Spartacus although Sagan is pretty cool to watch!

that attack by Gilbert was just brutal and very impressive.

[Matt_N]

No Flanders talk?

55k solo from Gilbert to take it, what a ride.

[johnxjsc1985]

Matt_N said:

No Flanders talk?

55k solo from Gilbert to take it, what a ride.

I missed it but recorded to enjoy it later but the writing was on the wall earlier this week .

[TwistingMyMelon]

Matt_N said:

No Flanders talk?

55k solo from Gilbert to take it, what a ride.

Made my yearly trip there!!! What a great day and race

We go every year, do it in a day and back, pretty cheap as well, just fuel money and cheap eurostar return

Atmosphere is amazing , everyone old and young gets stuck in, you can pretty much touch the riders its so close

Great race, Sagan crashed right next to where we were standing , the faster they go , the close the edge they go as it is smoother, I did think a rider would crash like that, least of all him

Great race, going to watch it all back tonight

[JuniorD]

I love the spring classics.

None of that not capitalizing on your competitors misfortune bks. If he goes gown, you big ring it for all you've got!

[Rich_W]

I do like "some" of the Classics.


A friend of mine did the Ronde de Flanders Sportive the day before the main race, with some guys from his club.

He's the best bike rider I know. He's done The Marmotte etc.

149Miles in under 9 hours!

6000 feet of climbing!

Tough aint the word!

[Magic919]

Basque Tour has just begun.

[johnxjsc1985]

Wow Gilbert just looked unbeatable.

[anonymous-user]

It was an incredible ride but I wonder if he was always planning to skip roubaix? Credit to GvA though, involved in the Sagan incident then pulled two others to the finish and still won the sprint for second.

Roubaix looks like it will be dry again too...

[johnxjsc1985]

pablo said:

It was an incredible ride but I wonder if he was always planning to skip roubaix? Credit to GvA though, involved in the Sagan incident then pulled two others to the finish and still won the sprint for second.

Roubaix looks like it will be dry again too...

Not so much The Hell of the North more of a club run up north. I don't like seeing the rider hit the cobbles but it does add "something".
It is still going to be a great day.

[Digger]

Agreed. Whilst some might like it treacherous, I really don't want to see any participants getting unduly injured, broken etc.

Even dry, it should still be a great spectacle, as long as the riders and teams do their best to make it so.

[johnxjsc1985]

Steve Cummins had a bad fall yesterday, broken collar bone needing surgery looked really nasty.He is normally good at staying away from trouble at the back of the peleton.

[anonymous-user]

The weather just introduces a factor, ultimately the same strong guys will be there at the front whether its rain or shine. I just like the images of riders with mud splattered faces and the grimaces. You have to hit the cobbles in the front section to be in with a chance, especially the narrow sections like carrefour but if its wet, it just encourages an all out sprint in the preceding 1km which is always a laugh.

I see Sky are bringing a revised version of the K8-S with rear suspension... coming to a sportive near you soon...

Gruffy (of this parish) is riding it tomorrow, keep an eye out for an epic blog entry in the coming days.

[Dr Imran T]

It's Boones's last ever race too - surely going to be all or nothing for him to get a 5th PR

[johnxjsc1985]

Dr Imran T said:

It's Boones's last ever race too - surely going to be all or nothing for him to get a 5th PR

I saw him on TV the other day and looked so thin I hardly recognised him.

[johnxjsc1985]

How good was that I won't spoil it for others but a great finish to the race.

[anonymous-user]

Yes, a fantastic race. Stybar's bike handling in some sections was sublime, people criticise him for not putting many shifts in but GvA just had power on tap, incredible stuff. I thought Moscon might just pop through at the end but Greg really wanted that...