The professional cycling thread
Discussion
alfa phil said:
a couple of bike questions regarding the tour, do they run on tubeless tyres , if so when they get a puncture is it because the Tyre is ripped. And are disc brakes banned in the race for safety reasons.
Most pros are stuck in their ways so a lot still run tubs. I'm sure some are running tubless but don't know who .The UCI now allow disk brakes all round. They did a trial last year with a few riders and have recently ruled them safe. Not everyone is running them vectors dependent on the bike they run - Cervelo for example still don't have a disk S5, despite the world and his wife asking for one.
idiotgap said:
I like Imlach's dry humour.
Main downside for me of the itv4 coverage is the watchfinder guy you see at every ad break. I try and skip through using the PVR as much as possible, but end up having to sit through the one at the end of the break fairly often.
Who wears a poncy watch when they are cycling? His bike is rubbish! His cadence looks painful, there's a lot wrong with that advert.
I do like the comedy katusha alpecin adverts though.
I think Katusha, hired Alex Dowsett mainly because he has good hair.Main downside for me of the itv4 coverage is the watchfinder guy you see at every ad break. I try and skip through using the PVR as much as possible, but end up having to sit through the one at the end of the break fairly often.
Who wears a poncy watch when they are cycling? His bike is rubbish! His cadence looks painful, there's a lot wrong with that advert.
I do like the comedy katusha alpecin adverts though.
Scabutz said:
Most pros are stuck in their ways so a lot still run tubs. I'm sure some are running tubless but don't know who .
Not quite sure it's because they're stuck in their ways, there's still some pros to using tubs in pro race. Rolling resistance in the main is better against most tubs vs clincher / tubeless (yes there are exceptions)
Tubulars are much safer in the case of a puncture as the tyre stays on the rim
Braking on carbon tubs vs clinchers is much safer, these guys are coming down alpine recents at 80kmh+ the risk of cooking brake tracks is much less on tubs
Compatibility issues between rims and tyres, yes being pro they will be sponsored but how many threads do we see with being complaining of issues of tyres not seating / sealing
Anecdotally riders prefer the road feel and handling of tubulars
Things may change but for now tubulars are the preferred choice for good reason.
Mr E said:
I like cobbles on a one day special.
The carnage today was such that I questioned their place on a grand tour.
Rule 5, I know.
I was thinking the same even before the stage, but Boardman yesterday and another today on commentary (don’t recall his name) both justified it by being something to stretch the GC contenders to be more than ‘just’ a climber and/or TT specialist. Which doesn’t seem unreasonable and some managed to crash before or between the cobbles.The carnage today was such that I questioned their place on a grand tour.
Rule 5, I know.
Actual distance on the cobbles not much more than 10% of today’s distance, but clearly gets in their heads!
king carnage.
Mr E said:
I like cobbles on a one day special.
The carnage today was such that I questioned their place on a grand tour.
Rule 5, I know.
I was thinking the same even before the stage, but Boardman yesterday and another today on commentary (don’t recall his name) both justified it by being something to stretch the GC contenders to be more than ‘just’ a climber and/or TT specialist. Which doesn’t seem unreasonable and some managed to crash before or between the cobbles.The carnage today was such that I questioned their place on a grand tour.
Rule 5, I know.
Actual distance on the cobbles not much more than 10% of today’s distance, but clearly gets in their heads!
Scabutz said:
Porte crashed before the cobbles didn't he? Still bad when they got on to them but cobbles weren't to blame for him.
Reminds me of the Sniff Petrol story about Lamborghini offering the option of having their cars pre-crashed to save the owner the hassle of doing it themselves.Maybe Porte's employers can just announce he's crashed before the tour and save the effort.
His background is triathlon, it shows.
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