Author Topic: cycling in 2018 & beyond (Read 49046 times)

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #550 on:** July 10, 2026, 11:40:36 pm »

Kwantum/Rabobank/*insert Dutch company* has a podium spot to play for. That matters! UAE will win two places.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #551 on:** July 11, 2026, 08:41:08 pm »

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-shortens-stage-9-red-alert-heat-wave/

Drop 30 KM from the last stage before the 1st off day due to temps anticipated > 100F. Still 155 Km, or nearly 100 miles.

varoadking · « **Reply #552 on:** July 11, 2026, 09:22:54 pm »

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on July 11, 2026, 08:41:08 pm

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/tour-de-france-shortens-stage-9-red-alert-heat-wave/

Drop 30 KM from the last stage before the 1st off day due to temps anticipated > 100F. Still 155 Km, or nearly 100 miles.

Had NO idea that their stages were anywhere near that long! Man...100 miles on my motorcycle and I'm toast anymore...

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #553 on:** July 11, 2026, 11:05:34 pm »

Quote from: varoadking on July 11, 2026, 09:22:54 pm

Had NO idea that their stages were anywhere near that long! Man...100 miles on my motorcycle and I'm toast anymore...

plus several thousand feet of climbing.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #554 on:** July 12, 2026, 11:59:38 am »

Tuesday will be 103 miles, 12,000+ feet of elevation gain over several mountains

varoadking · « **Reply #555 on:** July 12, 2026, 12:52:26 pm »

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on July 12, 2026, 11:59:38 am

Tuesday will be 103 miles, 12,000+ feet of elevation gain over several mountains

Holy crap...that's crazy...116 foot average rise per mile AND racing in a pack while you're doing it.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #556 on:** July 12, 2026, 01:22:24 pm »

Quote from: varoadking on July 12, 2026, 12:52:26 pm

Holy crap...that's crazy...116 foot average rise per mile AND racing in a pack while you're doing it.

well, there's a lot of up and down on this stage. the climbing is over 7 rated climbs. They rate the climbs on a 1-4 scale, with a 1 being the toughest. There are two of those. They used to say the categories were based on the gear you'd need in Peugeot or a Citroen to get over the climb (sort of a joke). There actually a higher category climb, HC (beyond category), that they have for the very toughest climb. > 10% gradient is pretty common for stretches.

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #557 on:** July 13, 2026, 12:08:51 pm »

And it's not even in the Alps or Pyrenees (Massif Central, an area of extinct volcanoes smack in the middle of France). Le Lioran is a pretty respectable ski area, if not on quite the same scale as the better-known mountain ranges.

English Natsie · « **Reply #558 on:** July 13, 2026, 06:09:20 pm »

Worth remembering that the Tour used to be much longer (both stages and overall race) than today - the longest stage was in 1967 (Stage 21 - Clermont Ferrand to Fontainebleu) at 359km. The stage was won by the French rider, Paul Lemeteyer, in a time of 11hrs 12 mins and 47 secs

. 1926 saw the longest race - 5,745km / 3.569.77 miles.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #559 on:** July 14, 2026, 11:45:27 am »

I think Jonas is sick. Wearing the mask, having reporters stand back. Either that, or he's really fearful of getting sick.

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #560 on:** July 14, 2026, 11:57:04 am »

Maybe he's turning into a weird old germaphobe like Howard Hughes

English Natsie · « **Reply #561 on:** July 14, 2026, 06:18:18 pm »

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on July 14, 2026, 11:45:27 am

I think Jonas is sick. Wearing the mask, having reporters stand back. Either that, or he's really fearful of getting sick.

Probably just being ultra cautious, given the lung issues from his crash.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #562 on:** July 20, 2026, 09:49:44 am »

Quote from: English Natsie on July 14, 2026, 06:18:18 pm

Probably just being ultra cautious, given the lung issues from his crash.

well, he was cautious about some things. The whole enterprise that was V-LAB falls apart. Maybe his clavicle heals to defend the Vuelta. Hard to think that a win at Roubaix for Wout and a win in the Giro is a failed season

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #563 on:** July 20, 2026, 09:54:05 am »

Oh, dark horse for tomorrow's TT: Victor Campanaerts.

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #564 on:** July 20, 2026, 10:33:21 am »

They might as well just cede the TdF to UAE and focus on the Giro/Vuelta/classics.

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on July 20, 2026, 09:49:44 am

well, he was cautious about some things. The whole enterprise that was V-LAB falls apart. Maybe his clavicle heals to defend the Vuelta. Hard to think that a win at Roubaix for Wout and a win in the Giro is a failed season

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #565 on:** July 20, 2026, 12:24:11 pm »

Quote from: Ali the Baseball Cat on July 20, 2026, 10:33:21 am

They might as well just cede the TdF to UAE and focus on the Giro/Vuelta/classics.

that's sort of sensible; yesterday was interesting because they were setting up for one more confrontation despite how Pog has looked. Had put Campanaerts and Amirail ahead just to have them pull into the last climb. They had 2-3 other climbers in the yellow jersey group (not sure if Piganzoli was there). 6 guys lined up leading the group, and the motorcycle leads them through a bad line around the roundabout. They take it too fast, and JV wobbles. After the race, del Toro said he (del toro) could have saved himself from falling but he hit the deck to not wipe out Pogocar.

Let's see if Pog races the Vuelta for a change in order to complete taking all 3 grand tours.

English Natsie · « **Reply #566 on:** July 20, 2026, 06:20:01 pm »

Much being made, by the riders, of being woken in the small hours for drug tests (JV at 2AM, Pog at 5AM). May have contributed to JV losing concentration. He was extremely unfortunate that he was the only faller to impact the corner of the kerb - his shoulder levered across it, hence the severe injury...

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #567 on:** July 20, 2026, 06:26:20 pm »

With a Giro and 2 weeks of the Tour in his legs, Velonews is skeptical of JV doing the Vuelta.

FWIW, Vingegaard is not blaming the disrupted sleep and is accepting the blame for the sloppy handling around the turn. Not quite absolving the moto but saying "we can't rely on the motorbikes" to take the correct path.

https://velo.outsideonline.com/road/road-racing/tour-de-france/vingegaard-recounts-crash-changed-the-tour-de-france/

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #568 on:** July 23, 2026, 09:18:44 am »

ASO is in discussions with the Armed Forces Cycling Classic. Looking to get involved in a race in the USA and likes DC as a local. Discussed on the TdF broadcast. Didn't name it, but said the race was a 2 day race with a 2000 or so person Grand Fondo with it and 27 years old.

Ali - is there another race it could be? I thought the Maryland Cycling Classic but that's 1 day and no GF. Kind of odd they'd get involved in 2 days of Crits.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #569 on:** July 23, 2026, 09:28:37 am »

I love listening to Phil read the promo for Sunday night baseball. "Ben Rice and the New York Yankees take on Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies in and interleague battle." What are the odds he had heard of Ben Rice before the promo was put in front of him?

English Natsie · « **Reply #570 on:** July 23, 2026, 02:18:07 pm »

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on July 23, 2026, 09:28:37 am

I love listening to Phil read the promo for Sunday night baseball. "Ben Rice and the New York Yankees take on Bryce Harper and the Philadelphia Phillies in and interleague battle." What are the odds he had heard of Ben Rice before the promo was put in front of him?

OK - I'm beat. And the cycling connection is?...

Ali the Baseball Cat · « **Reply #571 on:** July 23, 2026, 05:27:16 pm »

Dunno what else it could be. Back in the day there was a big race on the Ellipse ("National Capital Open")...the last time I competed ('85) I got lapped

The winner of the "midget" race that year (age <12) was a kid named George Hincapie.

Quote from: JCA-CrystalCity on July 23, 2026, 09:18:44 am

ASO is in discussions with the Armed Forces Cycling Classic. Looking to get involved in a race in the USA and likes DC as a local. Discussed on the TdF broadcast. Didn't name it, but said the race was a 2 day race with a 2000 or so person Grand Fondo with it and 27 years old.

Ali - is there another race it could be? I thought the Maryland Cycling Classic but that's 1 day and no GF. Kind of odd they'd get involved in 2 days of Crits.

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #572 on:** July 25, 2026, 12:53:59 pm »

Interesting stage today. Won't say more in case you are catching up via streaming

English Natsie · « **Reply #573 on:** July 25, 2026, 05:55:06 pm »

Am I the only one feeling a little uneasy? We've witnessed one of the greatest rides in Tour history, on the Huez, with Pantani's 31 year old record being beaten. Yet no-one else has come close (Froome was two-and-half minutes behind, in 2013 - third fastest time, as Pantani was also second [1997]). And Pantani was drugged off his head. Even He Whose Name Must Not Be Spoken was a minute behind, with doping. Yet Pog not only makes up a three minute defecit, but goes on to break the record by a minute. Last time we saw climbing like that it was VInokourov, the day before he was banned for doping. I'm sure the dark days are gone, but...

JCA-CrystalCity · « **Reply #574 on:** July 25, 2026, 07:13:38 pm »

This is the tour with the sleepy time drug tests. If he's taking anything, it's something they haven't banned yet.

I will also guess they are freezing his blood like they did with EPO before there was a test