Pro-cycling thread

Three of the top four are their team's second choice GC rider for this race (Almeida and Evenepoel, Hindley and Kelderman and Geoghegan-Hart and Thomas).

**Qualifiers **- top eight times going through to the next round

Bryce 18:18
_Ric 18:44
taogeogheganhart 18:72
Owen Reed 18:72
Conservative Values 18:81
Dancing James 19:03
Furious Tiles (Tim) 19:03
MA3K (John) 19:22
Claus 19:56
Tom. 19.62
A Double Tap (Steve) 19:66
Phil J - BD 19:71
Che Beef (William) 19:71
Adam 20:38
Cliveo 20:41
A 20:69
606 20:81
Hoonz 21:03
Gustav 21:03
R_dy (Rudy) 21:07
Harry 21:25
Tika 21:40
Blue Quinn (Niall) 21:78
Oliver Schick 22:03
Fruit Bat 22:75

**Quarter Finals **(bold denotes win)

Owen Reed vs Conservative Values
19:21

Furious Tiles vs taogeogheganhart
18:60

Dancing James vs **_Rik **
18:60

Bryce vs MA3K
18:69

Semi Finals (bold denotes win)

_Rik vs Conservative Values
18:53

Furious Tiles vs MA3K
19:00

Mens Final (bold denotes win)

Conservative Values vs MA3K

Womens Final (bold denotes win)

Tika vs** Cynthia**
22:04

Fastest time of the night was Bryce with his qualifier apparently

I’m pretty sure it was witnessing your glorious victory in the Masters’ section of the drag sprint on Hackney Marshes that inspired him to achieve what he did today.

Back when you were fast, Clive.

Tao has sped up and you've slowed done. What happened?

There was only about a tyre difference at the finish. I think they were both fucked , surprisingly, and knew it would come down to who could hold it. WVA always looks fucked whereas it seems difficult to tell when MVDP is.

Spent 500-200m to go looking behind him into WVA’s eyes and blowing kisses.

If WVA had jumped first and early, then MVDP would have got on his wheel and got some draft. Looks like MVDP was tactically slightly off the barriers while in front to close off WVA ability to surprise him down the centre of the road, only giving him the option of either staying on his wheel, or sprinting along the barrier, which MVDP could react to easier.

Proper drag sprint though, they both jumped at the same time.

Awesome end to a great race.

Cav dnf

Geoff soup 94th @fizzy.bleach

shit mate literally just came to post that. a creditable result, shepherding in his teammate and monument king nicholas terpstra

Mmm, canyon Aeroad and deep sections making the difference? #marginalaerogains

MVDP explained after the race that his sprint is best kept short and from a low speed, whereas WVA prefers a longer stretch to get to top speed. So he slowed down and waited, did his thing and won on the line.

smart

wonder if WVA could've fake juked to trigger MVDP's sprint and then jumped on his wheel for the draft. probably easier said than done

MVDP explained after the race that his sprint is best kept short and from a low speed

Always going to be best if you're in front, otherwise you're just leading out the other rider.

Sean Kelly said exactly this with about 10 kms to go.

Don’t remember seeing matt take a turn in the last 15k, which probably helped.

Did you fall asleep? They shared turns all the way to the 1 km to go banner.

That’s fair, I was being made to do gardening and the Tiz feed was intermittent for me. The only times I remember matty on the front was on Kwaremont and Paterberg 🤔

If there is anyone to blame for that I'd say WVA, he was drafting behind that motorbike and moved aside the very last second, MVDP just managed and Alaphilippe had no chance

Not the moto rider who slowed right down in the racing line?

Or the rider who was looking at their bike computer? Doing his Alaphillipe thing of "you will ride for me" as learned from the great Tommy V?

You can always blame the moto rider if you want, but he was on the side of the road on an open wide straight section, didn't owe them any more than that in my opinion. He could have stopped on the other side of the road, but he just sat on the tail of the other motorbike in front, not much to blame on this instance, which must be a first

glad there's real expertise in the commentary box, something I'm not hearing often in lfgss feedback about the broadcasts ;-)

I'm guessing Lefevere blamed the motard?