Pro-cycling thread

if the moto rider had stopped on the other side of the road, WVA would just have moved over to that side for the shelter

just one of these things - confluence of many small contributory factors (WVA juking late; alan phillips on the radio one hand off the bars; moto in odd position) with no one of them overwhelmingly fatal than the others on their own...

Tao, Fred Wright and Ben Tullett all won on a single night at Palace Crits in 2011.

https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/events/details/48642/Crystal-Palace-Cycle-League-12

Brilliant little doc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f173FH_wEx0

omg thats only couple of miles from me! That will be my connection with Tao then!

If you really want to feel connected, walk/ride up there and bask in the glory of standing where a possibly future grand tour winner once rode his bike. You’re welcome.

I don't agree with Matt or Matty

Its a shame we didn't see the dynamic changing with Alaphillipe in the break.
Clearly he would have been beaten by either WVA or MVDP in a straight sprint, so expect he would have attacked repeatedly until he blew up, or both the others hesitated...
Would have made a brutal and exciting finish.

I don’t think they’d have cooperated to bring him back if he’d got away.

lefevere reckoned alan phillips could have won a sprint, think his reasoning was that WvA only just pipped him in MSR and that was after alan had had a nightmare day of several bike changes etc. whether you agree with that or not, well...

ALan phillip won a sprint at De Brabantse Pijl against MvdP, but he was boxed in. I think any one of the three could have won and it would have been down to tactics as much as anythnig else.

I think Alan would have attacked and MvdP and WvA would have looked at each other and let him get away

vos to jumbo-visma next year
https://www.cyclist.co.uk/news/8823/jumbo-visma-announce-womens-team-for-2021

Big Pat will say anything to stay in the headlines

Supposedly Alaphillipe won his San Remo with a 970w for 20s sprint. That is super competitive, depending on how the sprint plays out.
Also he's about 10-12kg lighter, so should accelerate faster?

mwah.

https://sporza.be/nl/2019/04/17/mathieu-van-der-poel-wint-de-brabantse-pijl-in-beklijvende-sprin/

What a load of bollocks

But I agree with the theory of WvA and MvdP hesitating when AlaaPh would have attacked. Bunch of if's though, the race was perfect imo, showdown between Hanzel and Zoolander was super exciting. No need for a third wheel, so divine intervention for sure.

But Alaphillipe won 2020 edition...
With a long sprint where he boxed MVDP in.

You were wondering about explosivity, in 2020 he accelerated and almost pipped Ala on the line and would have, had he not been boxed in/if the line would have been 1m further. So I do not think Alaphilippe is more explosive (on a flat run-in, that is)

Fair point, maybe 2020 shows MVDP's acceleration better actually.
in 2019, he led out the bunch, started the sprint, and noone could come around him, so rather than explosiveness, just a more powerful sprint with highest top speed. Interestingly, Alaphillipe did beat Michael Matthews, who's normally known as the 'reduced sprint' guy.

I mean, Alaphillipe could beat WVA and MVDP in a sprint, despite them both being faster sprinters, so Lefevre backing his rider in a sprint isn't that ludicrous.

https://twitter.com/TheRaceRadio/status/1318162390173712385?s=20

MVDP and Van Aert had a friendly little moment after the race.

WVA slyly giving MVDP the 'rona he got off that spectator that shouted in his face during gent-wevelgem

Also this
https://www.instagram.com/p/CGg87O6FNvR/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

Great pic.

Another good pic
https://twitter.com/spencerhaugh/status/1318170698288926721?s=21

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Way too slow