Pro-cycling thread

Wow

Poor guy. Just raced 6hours now 2mins rest and into an interview. Trying to breathe through a face mask.

So did Kirby win?

Just going by whose name has been mentioned the most.

You guys need more beer.

Two beers in and Kirby is tolerable.

If you can't deal with him tune in to the Belgian streams. I don't really like him either but the racing is exciting enough for me to ignore his wittering.

Lidl fruit and veg bouquet is hilarious

"If anyone can, Van Der Poel can, and he's doing a can can, dancing up the road"

Put that on my tombstone

Great stuff, especially from lead into last time up Oude Kwaremont

Ooof. Feel for MVDP parking up like that.

Asgreen is something else. So smooth. So calm.

carlton and hatch anyday over marty.

AVV going clear over the Paterberg couldn't have sounded more pedestrian.

GVA's attack is doing some damage, but it's GBH that this trio are inflicting up the road.

EF education-nippo are sporting custom helmets designed by muc-off. you have to be careful about how you say that one

Kirby’s pathetic attempts to link metaphors and puns are up there with his most annoying crimes

That finale was brilliant though. @skinny I was also thinking that, sucking air through so you could see his lower face

^

Enough about puns, we need to talk punctures, as that could be his race over as he waits for neutral service. It's not over for our leader though who looks back over his shoulder as if to ask 'is that all you've got'? He's got legs like a tree house that man and today he's showing everyone the door.

Etc etc.

I just put it on mute and watched the pretty pictures. It's not like the commentators were telling me anything I couldn't see for myself, and most of the time they were just wittering away with inconsequential bollocks when something interesting was actually happening.

Did the same for the women's race. I'm sure Dani Rowe knows what she's talking about, but I find her weirdly monotonal speaking voice highly soporific. Doubt I'd have made it to the end awake if I'd left the sound on.

I did watch the women's race and it was bloody good. I never thought it possible, but Cunton Cuntby would have improved the commentary. What we actually got was a continuous stream of past data, no reference to where the riders were on the course or what was coming up. Women's cycling deserves better.

.

Back to the real racing today with Itzulia Basque Country. Tao's there. And a couple of up and coming Slovenians.

Watched the women's too. Was surprised they couldn't get organised and chase AVV down. Multiple sqworx riders, 2 FDJ. It should have been possible but they marked themselves out and lost anyway.

Avv incredible as ever.

2 SD Worx riders; Vollering and Van Der Breggen. Longo Borghini sat on for most of the last 15 kms, only started working with 2 kms to go.

But it always happens, a lone rider is harder to pull back when you have a group chasing, as those in the group won't fully commit as they want to save something for the finish. Meanwhile the lone rider is totally committed.

Valverde is racing Basque 🙌🏽

I was enjoying Lloyd and Blythe commentating yesterday and Magnus too, but bloody Kirby was on top form. At one point point was laughing at his own puns because they made no fucking sense.

Sky with three leaders to pick from again.

Itzulia is one race I really want to go and watch. Amazing scenery. I put a stone on in a week the last time I was in that part of the world.

Van Der Poel has posted his Ronde effort to Strava:

https://www.strava.com/activities/5071352854

Yea was weird to see Borghini come on the front an pull with 2km to go.

75’ at Vo2 max and above is ridiculous