2014 Pro-cycling season thread

Finishing bottle full of 'phet

Oh yeah

Lol

This just reminds me what a great race it was. Once a group is away at carrefour it usually stays away, but not this year. Seeing the Wiggins group pulling themselves back into contention was proper good shouting at the telly stuff!

Wining PR Roubaix is monumental.

Il Lombardia.

Start list is up.

http://www.pelotonwatch.com/calendar/2014/worldtour/illombardia/startlist.html

Has this always been a downhill finish? I'm sure I remember seeing Rodriguez climbing to his win last year.

I think it finishes in a different town!

Most recent finishes have been in Lecco (which was uphill) and before that Como.

The route

Bergamo, of course, has previous as a Tour of Lombardy host. The race finished there between 1995 and 2003. Indeed, as in 2003 the race begins in Como this time around, although the parcours is significantly different to the one on which Michele Bartoli secured his second Lombardy win in as many years.

The alteration to the route means that the most recognisable aspects of the Lombardy route – the section by the shores of Lake Como and the climb to the chapel atop the Madonna del Ghisallo – take place in the opening hours of racing. Indeed, the Ghisallo comes after just 58 kilometres, and does little more than break up the lengthy preamble that constitutes the opening half of the race.

After the short Colle dei Pasta, the Colle Gallo (7.4km at 6%) with a shade under 100km to race heralds the beginning of real hostilities. It is followed immediately afterwards by the Passo di Ganda (9.2km at 7.3% with a maximum gradient of 15%), and the combination ought to force a significant selection.

Indeed, unlike the route of the past three years, there is scarcely a metre of flat in the final 100 kilometres or so, a development which – in theory at least – ought to lead to a less controlled race than the Lecco finale provided. The short but steep Bracca with 46km remaining could catch some unawares, though the Berbenno (5.5km at 5.3%) looks set to be a key climb in the finale.

As was the case during the Tour of Lombardy’s previous visits to Bergamo, the short, sharp cobbled climb to the old town, Bergamo Alta, offers the prospect of further fireworks at the death. The drop from the summit to the finish on Piazza Matteotti is just a shade over 3 kilometres and could provide a finale as breathless as last Sunday’s in Ponferrada.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/il-lombardia-2014/preview

RCS keep changing the route. This finish in Bergamo was used in the late 90s and the early 00s, then it moved to Como, before the last three editions finished in Lecco.

I'm glad they've moved it from Lecco as the finish was dull as it came down to an uphill sprint on the final climb and whoever crossed that alone, usually Rodriguez, won after the short descent down to the town.

This finish could be dull as it might be all together as they hit the climb to Bergamo Alta, where again it could be an uphill sprint. But the final 50 kms are quite complicated so it might break up a bit, especially if the weather is bad.

I much preferred the finish in Como, two climbs, both with hair raising descents, in the final 20 kms and no discernible pattern to how the race unfolded.

Valverde is a mega cunt but this should suit him.

maybe someone will win it, by accident, because one of the other teams/riders makes a tactical error

but yes the Como finish is the best, Bettini...

Cheeky swine. I done read a book about it and stuff. Trufax!

It's a shame that the quality of the coverage isn't better in Europe. Never really does the scenery justice.

Nice one from Dan Martin.

Valverde sees Dan Martin go past and looks back to see who will chase him instead of going himself. WAFC.

Yup, he could make a living teaching people how not to win.

On the other hand, riding defensively has enabled Valverde to take lead in UCI league table (as much as i dislike his tactics)

Yeh, I'll bet Martin is wishing he could swap victory in a monument for that.

Great bit of racing by Martin. Made up for him.

Valverde, always happy with second. WAC.

Sammy's line into the tunnel was exciting.

Yeah - was a bit :-o

Made up for him.

How can you be sure that he's into that sort of thing?

I couldn't believe the lack of a response to Martin going off. I guess they all assumed he would crash on the last corner again and they would sweep past him..
They all looked guilty of looking at each other to make the (probably) suicidal effort to bridge up to him. And by then he was gone.
Chapeau to Dan.

Hesjedal killed himself to get that back together. Fair play. Great win.

Quite a tasty looking palmares for Dan Martin now. I'd be surprised if he's ever allowed to do that again.

From the overhead you can see his passing speed. He was gone.

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