Pro-cycling thread

You mean Sky getting told off for RLJ wasn't exciting enough for you?

No. They needed to be freezing cold and covered in crap. Far too fucking sunny

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/video/2018/jan/12/truck-crashes-through-finish-line-at-tour-down-under-video

Stay classy 'Stralia

42 sleeps till Omloop

cx racing on the beeb

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/live/cycling/42637057

the new route sounds flipping brilliant, could be one of the races of the season.

Saw a lot of joy from presumably mainly Aussie watchers with Ewan beating Sagan, one saying he was morphing in to a 'cross between Cav and Sagan'. I told him to calm his tits, its the TDU for fuck's sake. Plus Sagan jumped way too early and essentially led Ewan out.

Aussies I dunno

This, by Herbie Sykes, is a cracking article on the demise of Lampre and, with it, Italian cycling;

https://soigneur.nl/stories-en/arrivederci-ciclismo/?lang=en

Actually, the random and completely unnecessary attack on Jess Varnish turned my stomach.

What's his problem?

Maybe hasn't got laid in a while?

The first part reads like a Dave Brailsford mind dump after a night on the Triamcinolone, Tramadol and Testosterone patches

He’s making the point that her case gained publicity mainly because it was another stick to beat BC with, i.e. she was used by the press.

I personally don’t think you can argue against that viewpoint.

It reads a bit more of a personal attack on her with quite a bit of vitriol, than making a fair point. And if BC hadn’t done wrong by her, then there wouldn’t have been a stick.

Maybe BC quite rightly needed the beating?

He said she was 'incompetent, disinterested or simply unable', and later in the article has another pop at her when discussing Raimondas Rumšas, of all people.

Jess Varnish was a World, European and Commonwealth medallist, and was unlucky not to add an Olympic medal in 2012. She probably has more talent in her little finger than Herbie Sykes has in his entire family tree, so his analysis is a bit rich and creamy. Add to that, Shane Sutton is transparently a nasty bully and deserved everything he got.

It's hard to discern what the arguments of the article are. It appears to be the set of calcified and inconsistent prejudices of a middling, middle-aged hack.

Italians are good because they embrace skullduggery. Apart from Ivan Basso. Anglicisation of cycling is bad, apart from Wiggo who is great. The Daily Mail is bad, but misogyny towards Jess Varnish is fine.

I found the whole Rumšas section a bit uncomfortable. Aside from the bizarre comparison with Varnish, he and his wife seemed to be portrayed as lovable rogues from an Ealing comedy. The recent fate of his two sons (who he coached) would suggest otherwise.

You recon today is a good day to go back and speak again to those Australian acquaintances of yours, after TDU stage 3 results?..

It's darkly entertaining but I feel like a need shower after reading it

Well that went well...

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Caleb Ewan vs Elia Viviani vs Andre Greipel is the sprint battle no-one gives a fuck about.

Rubbish; everyone loves Greipel, Ewan is part of the future of sprinting and it will be interesting to see what Viviani can do at a new team.

I think Greipel is a spent force and knows it.

He must go home to his power data files and weep at the sure and steady decline over the last couple of years.

Though it's true that, in a month's time, no one will remember who won what in Australia.

how the fuck do you go from racing in 40 degree heat to the Spring Classics where your corneas are freezing in the sleet anyway? Must totally fuck your body and mind.