Pro-cycling thread

"Now I want to build something to inspire kids and to reach all those people who might be on the fringes of the sport"

It's not to late for me Brad - I shall ride the tour in a WIGGINS jersey in 2025!

"He added: 'My message is simple: if I can do it, then so can you.*'"

*providing you have a resting heart rate of 16 bpm etc...

Tinkoff and Vaughters are having a nice little spat on twitter. Could get interesting.

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This. But a particular hard-on for the cobbles. I think Cancellara might be a year too old for Flanders and Roubaix this year. Not ruling him out though.

Those two races are probably as wide open as they have been for a while. Take your pick from one of about 10 or 12.

Ardennes races and Milan San Remo have always been harder to call. I'd love to see Kwiatkowski take out Amstel Gold or LBL this year.

Sagan to win Gent Wevelgem and then get marked out of it on the cobbles.

Surely we're due a rainy Paris-Roubaix. Pleeeeaaaase.

I thought Cancellara was old/hyped last year then this happened...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RUYfFG87Ew

That was one hell of a race. 4 hours of exciting racing.

No-one's talking up the actual winner of 2014 P-R then?

Oleg Tinkov ‏@olegtinkov 18m18 minutes ago

@Vaughters @jacobtubbs Russian rouble was never an asset, Russian women are!

John ‏@ScalareSorpasso 16m16 minutes ago

@olegtinkov @Vaughters @jacobtubbs Should create a women's cycling team with them then.

That guy's voice is unbearable.

Great ride by Cancellara - no mistake. As Inrng brilliantly put it - 'three vans and a motorbike'.

I'd love to see him do it again and he's got a chance but I don't think he's quite the clear favourite he once was.

Kristoff is an absolute monster. More from him this year I hope.

Apart from Sky as "silent" sponsor Wiggo's lined up Whyte Bikes to supply frames and Brasso as lead sponsor.

Proposed name for new team is "Whyte-Brasso", so Wiggins' kit will be covered in this, especially the shorts.

He'll be there but OPQS will play whatever hand suits on the day.

This shows how strong he is. One of my favourite race finishes from last year...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fw6lGg4ehVI

Does anything involving Oleg Tinkov ever get interesting?

The man is the Russian equivalent of Richard Branson.

Doesn't that clip show how strong Stybar is, rather than Terpstra?

Terpstra opened up the gap when everyone was going full gas and I don't think anybody really wanted to chase from there.

Does anyone know what the real point of WIGGINS is? The team, that is, not the person. Are people really supposed to just say WIGGINS, in a shouty way, rather than 'team Wiggins'? It reminds me of journalists being told they had to say leo-pard rather than leopard.
Is it too cynical to see it as his top rank management company doing a bit of 'brand-building'? Why can't he prepare for the Olympics with BC? Is he too grand for all that now?
He did talk a few years back about starting, or sponsoring, a women's team and it's a disappointment that women don't seem to feature in WIGGINS at all. Sky could have run a women's team for years on what they paid Cavendish in 12 months. I'm not entirely convinced when people talk about legacy but maybe I'm wrong.

Speaking of women's teams...

http://www.high5dreamteam.com/news/high5-for-australian-womens-cycling/

He's been financially backing the Wiggle-Honda team for the past two years.

Did we watch the same clip? Terpstra opens the gap, but it's Stybar who has the strength to hold it for a kilometre as some very good riders, Degenkolb, Devolder et al, chase hard behind.

Yeah - impressive by both of them. Not saying that one is more impressive than the other really, just a good example of a rider who can turn it on and force a split when the bunch is flat out. There aren't many of them about.

That's the one thing I think Wiggins will lack in his quest for P-R.

I agree that Stybar is impressive in that clip but also not sure that Degenkolb or Devolder really want to give each other a tow chasing him to the line.

You can't tell from that clip but terpstra was getting in breaks all day, he had one get reeled in about 6km till the end I think. So for him to then recover, then make that gap is mighty impressive. Stybar, was less aggressive and thus more fresh, it was mighty impressive from the both of them, in interviews Stybar was very greatful to Terpstra.

That guy's voice is unbearable.

Agreed. It would be nice dubbed into English.

#casualracism

I don't think anybody really wanted to chase from there.

These sorts for references to wanting to chase crop up a lot in our #armchair DS discussions.

The word could is nearly always more accurate. These riders are wasted at this point in the race.

Plus whomever leads the chase is almost certainly not going to win, even if they catch the lone escapee.

Anyway, roll on the racing so we've more to discuss than re-runs of last year's fish and chippers!

hear, hear! but is anyone actually looking forward to the Tour Down Under? I always feel the Omloop is the 1st race to watch