Pro-cycling thread

3 crazy days of racing at altitude, shitty transfers, and an overall fatigue based on 20 stages of tour racing.

So a proper Grand Tour then? It's not supposed to be easy. Or anything other than bloody hard.

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I was objecting to the commentary team really, why shouldn't the workers in this situation state "this is a bit fucking mad eh?"

All those GTs raced in October?

We're in unusual times. I get that. But:

1. The teams and the riders have known the parcours for some time now. No complaints or objections until today.
   
2. I'm assuming even World Tour riders know that Star Trek teleport machines don't exist, so they must have appreciated that there would be long transfers. Again, no objections or complaints until this morning.
   
3. The effect of the last-minute no-show was that they all got to stand around in the rain for an hour or so while the team buses got diverted. Hardly seems like a sensible choice.
   
   

Most of all, I feel sorry for the towns and villages in the first 120km who had no doubt been looking forward to the Giro passing through for months, and if my experience of Italy during the Giro is anything to go by, would have spent a long time preparing for it by spraying everything that didn't run away at the sight of a spray can bright pink. Then they got told (maybe) on the day that actually there'll just be some big buses driving through.

I can't see why, if the peloton was united in thinking the stage was too long and too hard, the patrons in the peloton couldn't have decided that they'd ride the first 100/120/140km at an easy pace, have a stop for a wee and to get the arm and leg warmers off, and then give it the beans. The pace they rode today's stage seems to me rather inconsistent with the claim that they'll all shattered and don't have the energy to ride.

I was objecting to the commentary team really, why shouldn't the workers in this situation state "this is a bit fucking mad eh?"

I agree. But surely they could have done so before the morning of the race. The route is hardly a surprise. And, as I said above, if they thought it was a bit mad, they could have decided amongst themselves to neutralise the beginning of the race, rather than stand around in the rain waiting for the team buses.

Didn’t they decide to extend the stage by 80k on the morning of the race?

5km

FWIW, I think Vegni reaped what he's sown with his annual focus on making the last week insanely hard. Any goodwill the organisers build up is lost when they do daft things like sticking a pan flat, 250 km transition stage in the last week of the race, the day after three successive mountain/semi-mountain stages. It adds nothing to the spectacle of the race and just pisses off the riders who've had to endure a 6-7 hour long stage the day before.

The riders main grievance is the long transfers they've had to endure once more in the Giro. Whilst the riders know in advance what the route is, they don't know the before and after stage arrangements until a day or two before and, as always, the Giro organisation has put in lots of long transfers that shorten recovery time. The riders raise this every year, but their concerns seem to fall on deaf ears.

Lopez most likely off to Movistar next year according to Ciro.

all of scotland rooting for tao today

@Brommers if you haven't listened to some audio diaries from some of the riders you should.

Everyone was fucked after the Stelvio and it was hard to find a rider who wasn't glad it was shortened or who 'in my personal opinion' thought it was too much. As @andyp says it's not just about the length of the stages, but the organisation surrounding it. Getting back to your hotel late at night after a 6.30am start, again. Not being able to manage more than six hours sleep when you're on the bike for at least that long, day after day. Riders have literally been spending more time on their bikes than sleeping. The Giro has form for this shit but it's got ridiculous last year.

I would note that all of the commentators like Smith and Wiggo who have been criticising the riders aren't riding the race. Yes, there are issues with the CPA - it's a glorified WhatsApp group - and that contributed to the shitshow, but it's ultimately on the race organisation that the relationship between them and the riders has got so bad.

Yesterday's stage would have added very little, it was just miles for the sake of it. Vengi's comments about someone paying in Milan and decision to donate yesterday's prize money to a hospital are pathetic and childish. Cerny worked incredibly hard to win that stage, surely that was in the spirit of the race? I thought Vengi wanted riders to race and that's how he rewards riders who do? Fuck him, he's a twat.

james knox sounded absolutely done-in in one of his most recent audio diaries

I don’t think Quickstep expected to be defending the jersey for 15 stages.

On the protest - it was done for valid reasons but should have been sorted earlier. If you wait until it’s raining, people will conclude that the riders simply didn’t fancy it on that particular day.

While handled badly, sometimes creating a real shit show is the only way to effect change if the other option of quietly complaining has not worked.

I think @Brommers must have been a bit under the missing when pay for my glorious sportive holiday miles want them all weather.

what?

Comparing my time with Pogačar‘s KOM earlier can riders make substantial time gains today even when trying twice?

are you talking about something else now?

That is cryptic even by your standards, Ludwig. :)

Astana Bahrain and Bora all riding ahead of Sunweb and Ineos

Does anyone know when the GCN highlights are up on the app? Won't be able to watch today so going to try and stay spoiler free til then

Where can you hear these audio diaries?

Podcasts