That's the one. Serve em right for being fucking stupid. Good to see everyone calm down when der Panzerwagen went on the front. Haven't had anyone since Cancellara do that regularly - the Peloton needs a capo
That's the one. Serve em right for being fucking stupid. Good to see everyone calm down when der Panzerwagen went on the front. Haven't had anyone since Cancellara do that regularly - the Peloton needs a capo
Connor Swift, Luke Rowe and Hugh John Carthy without checking lineups. When Brad rode for Cofidis we only had Millar at Saunier Duval in 2006. After Boardman it was just Millar, until prob the mod noughties.
Cheers, didnt think of Luke Rowe at the very least!! - It is the four of them though
Good to know its more than just the one guy, although we need a Sprinter to follow in Cavendish's footsteps
All our sprint talent is hoovered up by BC and lives exclusively in the velodrome like hermits. We've had lots of potential in that department over the years get ruined by the Olympic sausage press of the BC Elite Track Programme when they should have been stagiares for pro conti teams in Europe (Adam Blythe, Owain Doull, Phil Hindes, Joe Truman to name just a few).
That's starting to change, as it is for lots of other British riders. Matt Walls has just signed for Bora, and Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright (both from VC Londres) have got contracts with Ineos and Bahrain McLaren, Harry Tanfield had a year at Katusha and is now with AG2R, Matty Holmes - who was bashing round the domestic scene with Madison for a few years is now with Lotto Soudal (and won his first ever world tour race earlier in the year in Oz), and talent like Pidcock has been sensibly left to develop before signing up for a world tour team - so things are definitely looking up.
It's still more difficult for young British kids than continental youngsters because the pro conti setup in Britain is non existent, and - outside the Dave Rayner fund - it's very difficult and expensive to get talented kids out to Belgium and France where they need to race to develop properly. For instance, one of the riders I coach is 17 and has lots of untapped potential (wasted his junior years as a trafleet so doesn't have the experience of junior racing to get teams interested, but won his first race (in the senior categories I might add) by a street, outsprinting the bunch and crossing the line 50 yards ahead of them, had three other podiums in his first four races), and before covid happened I had plans for him to get his second cat license early in the year then take him to Belgium for a couple of weekends to do some kermesses (basically to get his head kicked in and see how much he loved it 🤣) but it's so expensive to do that without any backing, and we'd have been relying on his mum and dad to fund it.
But it's a lot better than it used to be. Of course, Brexit will fuck it right up 😒
Tom Pidcock won three stages at the Baby Giro .. such a talent for the future.
Connor Swift, Luke Rowe and Hugh John Carthy without checking lineups. When Brad rode for Cofidis we only had Millar at Saunier Duval in 2006. After Boardman it was just Millar, until prob the mod noughties.
Cheers, didnt think of Luke Rowe at the very least!! - It is the four of them though
Good to know its more than just the one guy, although we need a Sprinter to follow in Cavendish's footsteps
All our sprint talent is hoovered up by BC and lives exclusively in the velodrome like hermits. We've had lots of potential in that department over the years get ruined by the Olympic sausage press of the BC Elite Track Programme when they should have been stagiares for pro conti teams in Europe (Adam Blythe, Owain Doull, Phil Hindes, Joe Truman to name just a few).
That's starting to change, as it is for lots of other British riders. Matt Walls has just signed for Bora, and Ethan Hayter and Fred Wright (both from VC Londres) have got contracts with Ineos and Bahrain McLaren, Harry Tanfield had a year at Katusha and is now with AG2R, Matty Holmes - who was bashing round the domestic scene with Madison for a few years is now with Lotto Soudal (and won his first ever world tour race earlier in the year in Oz), and talent like Pidcock has been sensibly left to develop before signing up for a world tour team - so things are definitely looking up.
It's still more difficult for young British kids than continental youngsters because the pro conti setup in Britain is non existent, and - outside the Dave Rayner fund - it's very difficult and expensive to get talented kids out to Belgium and France where they need to race to develop properly. For instance, one of the riders I coach is 17 and has lots of untapped potential (wasted his junior years as a trafleet so doesn't have the experience of junior racing to get teams interested, but won his first race (in the senior categories I might add) by a street, outsprinting the bunch and crossing the line 50 yards ahead of them, had three other podiums in his first four races), and before covid happened I had plans for him to get his second cat license early in the year then take him to Belgium for a couple of weekends to do some kermesses (basically to get his head kicked in and see how much he loved it 🤣) but it's so expensive to do that without any backing, and we'd have been relying on his mum and dad to fund it.
But it's a lot better than it used to be. Of course, Brexit will fuck it right up 😒
Tom Pidcock won three stages at the Baby Giro .. such a talent for the future.
When interviewed, he hopes to be competing in the Tour in a couple of years.
Seen the size of Pidcock? He almost matches the power of MVP in cyclocross, and must have a phenomenal watts per kilo number.
Not sure on Roglic. Always thought he'd tail off in the third week on form, but more worried that Jumbo won't support him in the third week. It's vastly different supporting someone in the Vuelta to the Tour. Dumoulin, Gesink and Kuss should all have been visible in the front group on the Peyresourde, with at least two there in the last few k's.
Seen the size of Pidcock? He almost matches the power of MVP in cyclocross, and must have a phenomenal watts per kilo number.
Not sure on Roglic. Always thought he'd tail off in the third week on form, but more worried that Jumbo won't support him in the third week. It's vastly different supporting someone in the Vuelta to the Tour. Dumoulin, Gesink and Kuss should all have been visible in the front group on the Peyresourde, with at least two there in the last few k's.
Pidcock’s cyclocross background will help him enormously in the Grand Tours ... as it is doing for Pogacar.
Roglic is interesting ... as you point out, in the end he had no support yesterday so today will be intriguing.
I think Roglic'll be fine this week. It's Wednesday and Thursday in the third week that he'll have a bad day. If Bennett or Kuss are continuously and pointlessly burnt up in a mountain train, they might pay for it. I'd be saving Bennett's legs.
Maybe Bennett's riding into form for the third week after the crashes, as he seems to be popping early. Roglic is the best in the bunch for supporting himself, but you always need someone in case of bad luck or your support car taking a toilet stop when you're on your own.
I've raced against Pidcock a couple of times when he was a junior. Most memorably three years ago at the Eddie Soens (it's round Aintree on the car track and is a notorious hard man's race) I was (briefly!) in a break with him, Ed Clancy, Harry Tanfield and a load of other hitters when the Elites caught us (it's a handicap race). He is absolutely tiny - seeing him next to Clancy, who is a complete unit, was hilarious. I got dropped after a lap and a half... Pidcock went on to finish fourth. As a 17 year old.
He is a monumental talent - and there is literally nothinf he can't do - climb, sprint, TT, the lot.
I was shouting Hirschi home in that one, beaten by half a wheel after leading for so long.
I was wondering if he might sit up a bit earlier and get on the back of the guys, and let them drag him to the finish, rather than stay away for as long as he did. A couple of extra kilometers of recovery might have helped him in the sprint.
I've raced against Pidcock a couple of times when he was a junior. Most memorably three years ago at the Eddie Soens (it's round Aintree on the car track and is a notorious hard man's race) I was (briefly!) in a break with him, Ed Clancy, Harry Tanfield and a load of other hitters when the Elites caught us (it's a handicap race). He is absolutely tiny - seeing him next to Clancy, who is a complete unit, was hilarious. I got dropped after a lap and a half... Pidcock went on to finish fourth. As a 17 year old.
He is a monumental talent - and there is literally nothinf he can't do - climb, sprint, TT, the lot.
That’s an experience to look back on when he wins the Tour
He does seem to have everything and has always been full of confidence.
Be interesting to see which team he ends up at. Plenty probably clambering for him already.
I've raced against Pidcock a couple of times when he was a junior. Most memorably three years ago at the Eddie Soens (it's round Aintree on the car track and is a notorious hard man's race) I was (briefly!) in a break with him, Ed Clancy, Harry Tanfield and a load of other hitters when the Elites caught us (it's a handicap race). He is absolutely tiny - seeing him next to Clancy, who is a complete unit, was hilarious. I got dropped after a lap and a half... Pidcock went on to finish fourth. As a 17 year old.
He is a monumental talent - and there is literally nothinf he can't do - climb, sprint, TT, the lot.
That’s an experience to look back on when he wins the Tour
He does seem to have everything and has always been full of confidence.
Be interesting to see which team he ends up at. Plenty probably clambering for him already.
Racing is weird. I was on Clancy's wheel in that break - not often you can say you're competing with a triple Olympic gold medallist (although in truth, 'competing' would be too strong a word for it. 'holding on for grim death for 5 minutes' would be more accurate 😂)
I reckon you're right though - he's a potential tour winner in future. Only worry is that you never know how someone will pan out over three weeks - they can look like a world beater for two but then fall apart in the last week because they can't put back to back days in at the ridiculous effort levels needed to win.
I've raced against Pidcock a couple of times when he was a junior. Most memorably three years ago at the Eddie Soens (it's round Aintree on the car track and is a notorious hard man's race) I was (briefly!) in a break with him, Ed Clancy, Harry Tanfield and a load of other hitters when the Elites caught us (it's a handicap race). He is absolutely tiny - seeing him next to Clancy, who is a complete unit, was hilarious. I got dropped after a lap and a half... Pidcock went on to finish fourth. As a 17 year old.
He is a monumental talent - and there is literally nothinf he can't do - climb, sprint, TT, the lot.
That’s an experience to look back on when he wins the Tour
He does seem to have everything and has always been full of confidence.
Be interesting to see which team he ends up at. Plenty probably clambering for him already.
Racing is weird. I was on Clancy's wheel in that break - not often you can say you're competing with a triple Olympic gold medallist (although in truth, 'competing' would be too string a word for it. 'holding on for grim death for 5 minutes' would be more accurate 😂)
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Real schoolboy error.
Not sure on Roglic. Always thought he'd tail off in the third week on form, but more worried that Jumbo won't support him in the third week. It's vastly different supporting someone in the Vuelta to the Tour. Dumoulin, Gesink and Kuss should all have been visible in the front group on the Peyresourde, with at least two there in the last few k's.
Roglic is interesting ... as you point out, in the end he had no support yesterday so today will be intriguing.
Maybe Bennett's riding into form for the third week after the crashes, as he seems to be popping early. Roglic is the best in the bunch for supporting himself, but you always need someone in case of bad luck or your support car taking a toilet stop when you're on your own.
Pogacar closer to the podium where I expect him to finish.
Bernal growing into this. I still fancy Roglic for the win but, as others have said above, will he have enough for the third week?
He is a monumental talent - and there is literally nothinf he can't do - climb, sprint, TT, the lot.
He does seem to have everything and has always been full of confidence.
Be interesting to see which team he ends up at. Plenty probably clambering for him already.
I reckon you're right though - he's a potential tour winner in future. Only worry is that you never know how someone will pan out over three weeks - they can look like a world beater for two but then fall apart in the last week because they can't put back to back days in at the ridiculous effort levels needed to win.
This is fine though - it's not like the race director has to have regular contact with all the teams.
Oh.
Wait...