2014 Pro-cycling season thread

annnnnnnnd he crashed it!

Bit it is THE GREATEST FERRARI PAINTJOB OF ALL TIME

Jeroom's other work

Has someone merged all the threads?

What's the tester-approved 1/8" chain?

TIA

oh god I love Tom Boonen

Think Swift has a decent chance on Sunday, anyone else?

No

You're probably right

Cool chat

I think he's got a chance. Sky haven't exactly covered themselves in glory in the hillier classics, but given the finish someone like Swift should be able to hang on to the better climbers on the last ascent of the Cauberg, then beat them in a sprint.

Thomas is riding.

Betancur, Purito, Valverde going head-to-head should be good stuff!

OPQS have Martin, Kwiatkowski and Stybar – so they're strong.

It's usually a real mix of riders backgrounds and unknown form for this one. I know Paris Roubaix is untouchable for prestige but it's the races either side in the calendar that I often find some of the most interesting.

What has Swift done in the past to suggest he will be a factor on this type of finish? Was stage 5 at Pais Vasco off the top of a rise?

I think his third at MSR was a good indicator that he would go well on the Ardennes. He can climb and he has a strong sprint as well, and looks to be in good form. He doesn't have pedigree but I think he could be a real dark horse tomorrow.

Amazing pics here. Could spend all day looking at them.

http://cyclingtips.com.au/2014/04/shooting-the-classics/

Amstel's a hard one to call. I reckon only 10-15 riders are capable of winning RVV or PR, but that goes up to 30 for Amstel. Not many picked Kreuziger last year I bet.

I reckon it will suit Kwiatkowski perfectly. Betancur has been ill supposedly.

What has Swift done in the past to suggest he will be a factor on this type of finish? Was stage 5 at Pais Vasco off the top of a rise?

It was after a category 2 climb, where he hung onto a small group and then outsprinted them at the finish.

He can clearly climb well, has a decent sprint on him, and has made a career out of winning sprints from a group reduced down in size by some hills, i.e. a rider who is well suited to the Amstel. I don't know if he can win it, but he has a decent chance.

Lets not forget that the Cauberg is only a kilometre long and never gets steeper than 12%, so it isn't the hardest climb around.

Not many picked Kreuziger last year I bet.

or Dan Martin for Liege :)

IIRC Amstel's finish is on a short decent from the Cauberg?

It's a bit tricky to find profiles (with elevation marked on) for the Classics I find.

There's 1.8 kms of flat road from the top of the Cauberg to the finish.

This is kinda interesting:
What Is The Team Sky Service Course? - YouTube

Yes interesting as I was wondering either how I could get a job there, or how I could break in and rob the place

IIRC Amstel's finish is on a short decent from the Cauberg?

It's a bit tricky to find profiles (with elevation marked on) for the Classics I find.

The 34 climbs, if you Google the names you can find the exact profiles:

1. Slingerberg
   at 9,4 km, 12% max

2. Adsteeg
   at 14,1 km, 8% max

3. Lange Raarberg
   at 22,3 km, 6% max

4. Bergseweg
   at 38 km, 8% max

5. Sibbergrubbe
   at 49,7 km, 6% max

6. Cauberg
   at 54,1 km, 12% max

7. Geulhemmerberg
   at 58,6 km, 9% max

8. Wolfsberg
   at 78,1 km, 12% max

9. Loorberg
   at 81,2 km, 8% max

10. Schweibergerweg
    at 92,5 km, 10% max

11.Camerig
at 98,9 km, 9% max

1. Drielandenpunt
   at 109,5 km, 9 % max

2. Gemmenich
   at 114 km, 8% max

3. Vijlenerbos
   at 117,8 km, 9% max

4. Eperheide
   at 126,5 km, 10% max

5. Gulpenerberg
   at 135,1 km, 15% max

6. Plettenberg
   at 138,6 km, 8% max

7. Eyserweg
   at 140,7 km, 9% max

8. Sint-Remigiusstraat
   at 145,2 km, 12% max

9. Vrakelberg
   at 150,5 km, 13% max

10. Sibbergrubbe (2nd time)
    at 158,2 km, 6% max

11. Cauberg (2nd time)
    at 162,6 km, 12% max

12. Geulhemmerberg (2nd time)
    at 167,2 km, 9% max

13. Bemelerberg
    at 179,9 km, 6% max

14. Loorberg (2nd time)
    at 195,2 km, 8% max

15. Gulpenerberg (2nd time)
    at 204,7 km, 15% max

16. Kruisberg
    at 210,1 km, 11% max

17. Eyserbosweg
    at 212,0 km, 16% max

18. Fromberg
    at 215,8 km, 9% max

19. Keutenberg
    at 220,3 km, 17% max

20. Cauberg (3rd time)
    at 230,3 km, 12% max

21. Geulhemmerberg (3rd time)
    at 234,9 km, 9% max

22. Bemelerberg (2nd time)
    at 243,6 km, 6% max

23. Cauberg (4th time)
    at 248,8 km, 12% max

Great. Thank you.

This is kinda interesting:
What Is The Team Sky Service Course? - YouTube

All that Rapha and there are still boxes of Defeet cotton gloves... They're just like us. :)

26,000 bidons a year, God that's depressing. I know fans do pick them up but that's all plastic. Made from oil. Most of which will go to landfill when their owners get bored with them :/

The video provided good inspiration for my cellar though, I've been looking at buying some of those clear, plastic (sad face) storage boxes and labelling all the things.

Interesting that they use XT cassettes for the hillier rides/steeper climbs. You'd almost think SRAM are onto something...