Tokyo Olympics 2021

Valverde gone. Pray for amey.

Too old for this heat.

Belarus kit is nice. There’s far too many wearing white (which has gone see-through).

Why can’t they leave the time gap up?

lol valverde just fully popped and gave up. went from riding to parked in 2 secs flat

Is Vingegaard here?

No

other than cycling, what other sports are there where the olympics isn't its pinnacle but it is still fêted / held in high esteem ? tennis... ? kinda... maybe... if you squint... ?

On BBC red button for anyone looking, BBC1 have cut to random chat

Ta. Did wonder.

Football, boxing, golf, basketball, sports with huge money, and well established professional teams/athletes in it.

Miracle by valverde

Valverde back! Amey dancing.

SRAM battery fail, standard

In HD on iPlayer also.

Why is Remco riding on the front?

Not sure you can make a comparison in boxing. Boxers have to remain amateur to compete in the Olympics. I’ve never really understood that because, by the same logic, the cycling should be a 2/3/4 cat road race.

Boxing definitely does have the acclaim.

participants in football and golf don't really hold the olympics in that high a regard though and it would never be quoted on reading out their palmares. the level of competition is quite low too, despite some pros attending.

boxing is all amateurs isn't it ? agreed it does have esteem though

basketball maybe but then it's won by one team consistently who basically treat it as an exhibition

Viewing wise i've opted for the BBC. I really like Boardman and don't mind Brotherton

Basketball

No crowds, small teams and steady laps of a circuit aren’t filling me with excitement

Boxing is an odd one, different rules to the professional sport.

Tennis allows professionals.

It does but my point is the fighters aren’t at the top of their game. It’s more of a stepping stone on their way into the upper echelons of the sport.

Whats the deal with cars, are they and the mechanics all neutral but each rider has a spare bike?

The money in the alternative is important. Bet winning the women’s road race will be a a pretty big deal for whichever Dutch rider does it, given the lack of money in the female side of the sport.