Pro-cycling thread

Tour or Turka

So is that van their tour car? :)

We can only hope it's a one-off. As I said, bike races are quite vulnerable to this. It would be absolutely horrible if some kind of attack did happen, Boston Marathon-style.

Another n00bish and vague question here, but why doesn't Tony Martin do better in flattish classics races?

Because he's in a team that's choc full of talent in that area so he gets put into stage races where he's very successful.

I don't really get why a good time triallist wouldn't be good at cobbled classics but maybe I'm missing something. I'm still getting my head around the different types of riders and the different types of parcours and who suits what.

I think I read somewhere that cobbled classics don't appeal to him.

Fair enough.

He doesn't like the fighting for position that you need to be adept at to do well in the cobbled classics.

I think Tony Martin is that kind of cyclist who's never let his ego get to his head. When he's in a race in a domestique capacity that's what he concentrates on and he'll go all out for the team. Being on a team of classics specialists he tends to forgo his personal ambitions.

“There are a lot of people that say I should try it [the cobbles],” Martin told Cycling Weekly, “for sure it’s a race for and I’m open for it for the next few years. I still have other goals, but sooner or later I want to give it a try.”

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news/latest-news/tony-martin-cobbled-classics-159337

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he doesn't do too badly leading out sprinters though. but often as 1st or 2nd to get the pace (absurdly) high so the elbow rubbing only goes on for a short time

I've thought the same plenty of times.

He seems to have focused on sniping a few GT stages and week-long tours with a longer time trial.

I'd love to see him have a tilt at Roubaix though. His skills and strengths can't be a million miles away from Terpstra's.

Kittel's abandoned apparently. Illness.

How long before someone (Greg Henderson springs to mind) accuses Kittel of doping given the seemingly innocuous illness he's said to have had lasted for so long?

I've already started the campaign on twitter.

Man, they're really digging on Wiggin's kit ("crocheted gloves - that's a real throwback. He's real connoisseur.")

Reports that Swift also abandoned after the crash.

In other news, I want to visit Whitby now.

Tour of Turkey is the dullest race on earth.

This is looking like nice northern European racing.

I can't deal with paying attention to three races at once.

David Millar is like, kind of, literally, commentating.

Come on, Tommy!

I really enjoyed that. Really would have loved to see TV in yellow(?), but there you are.

Millar as commentator worked pretty well I thought.

I admit I am prejudiced because I always disliked his arrogance and narcissism, even before he turned out to be a cheat (and a self-pitying one at that). I hope he'll get better with experience and relax a bit, get rid of the verbal ticks and be more succinct.

Certainly.

Agreed.

I won a competition and I'll be in the Genesis Madison team car tomorrow. Exciting! #boastpost