Pro-cycling thread

Did really, really feel for Majka, thought he had it for a while, I bet he did too. Can't be anything worse for a cyclist, caught in the last couple of Ks

Majka must've been on a roller coaster of emotion from "Bronze at least" to "probable Gold" back to "Bronze at best". The what ifs could be on his mind a while.

Midway through the second lap of the closing circuit I thought 'this would make a great swift course'

A classic race

It had pave zone, rain forest zone and beach zone.

Amazing parcours and great racing - hopefully turned some people who've never watched a bike race before on to cycling

nibali's crash was a buzzkill. henao fractured his iliac crest. a bit late, but i just finished watching dwars door het hageland. what a sick race. i was hoping jelle wallays would take it.

he's referring to vinokurov, 2012

Anyone know what exactly led to the Nibali and Thomas crashes?

Sketchy descending.

Leaning.

Gravity.

Thought this was quite funny: Froome told to register for the race by BBC journos
Rio Olympics 2016: Chris Froome told by BBC journalists to register for race - http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/olympics/36999104

Double collar bone smashup for Nibs, a t-bone i guess you could call it. Was he planning to ride the vuelta?

Two cracks in one, or both? Having both collar bones broken sounds like hell.

Report says 'collarbones' so looks like both.

That sounds like no fun at all.

Nibali was immediately attended to by medical staff, who tested his spine, abdomen and head for injuries but all returned negative results. However, he was diagnosed with a double fracture in his left collarbone. Cyclingnews.

Can someone tell me again how no race radios and smaller teams wouldn't make things more interesting?

Simple answer. No.

Amazing race, that's how the Ardennes should be in my mind.

Ecstatic for GvA, who's had probably his best season ever after the crash in Flanders that meant it might be a write off

Valverde getting fucked over was a joy to watch too

I want to feel sorry for Porte but at this point I now solidly believe that things like this are his fault, because if they're not, how do the happen to him so consistently/often?

Team GB are wank though - after Rod Ellingworth's master tactic of "set it up for a sprint for Cav" in 2011, what has he actually done? A race like this is clearly a free for all, and then the strongest/hardest wins, so let everyone try and get in moves; Cummings would have probably been able to stay with that front group had he been there, and he's got much better pedigree of getting the win by going off the front on the flat than Thomas, Yates, and probably Froome. But because the others are the big names, he has to work - a perfect example of going with what your heart says and not your head.

@fussballclub @T-V would be more aero too. baffles me how teams/manufacturers spend many thousands of moolah making kit and bikes as aero as they can and then stick a bloody big square block of communication electronics under the riders' jerseys

British women's team looking a bit amateur at the start of the Olympic Road Race. Emma Pooley drilling it at the front with Armitstead off the back with a mechanical (to be fair no race radios). Then Nikki Harris not dropping back to pick up Armitsead, instead sitting at the back of peloton and looking over her shoulder for her. Massive bollocking for her by Armitsead once she's rejoined the back.

Armitsead

That's as nothing in the face of British cycling fans mis-spelling the name of their team's leader. :)

To be fair, Nikki Harris is a crosser, what does she know? :)

Vos in the lead group, should be spicey this final climb

What nation is in the black and yellow jersey? It's doing my nut

Exciting race

Was Armistead ever likely to win this with this climb? Mind you if asked you'd say that about GVA

Sweden