USA Pro Challenge *spoilers*

ocdupalais

Ed-tron wrote:

Sky website says they are riding for Joe DomBro. Cool.

I can see why you might say that, Edward Trevor Ronald.

knedlicky

gpreeves wrote:

Mikey23 wrote:

Love the big pointy arrow graphic thingy ...

Just seen it for the first time. Lovely idea.

The idea is good, but it leads even more to the celebrity-cult – I only saw Sagan highlighted, not Avermaert, who by the last 5 km was clearly also a potential stage winner, especially the way the BMC team were riding as the finish got near.
Nor were any of the likes of Gallopin, Caruso, Sutherland, Danielsson, Klöden or Schleck highlighted, all of whom have good history or had the potential to win today.

When the camera zoomed in to anyone, if it wasn’t an American rider at the front, it was Voigt, another celebrity in the US. It was all very American and then Sagan played the ‘right’ role for tomorrow, with his wheelies after the finish.
Maybe the teams ought to tell their riders to behave a bit more extravagantly in the US, only if even in the finish area; coverage is to do with entertainment as much as sport success.

The contrast to the ‘big pointy arrow graphic thingy’ was the text information that the leaders were identified as 2, 3, 4 or 5 riders, but never any names. For once I found the commentators useful in identifying those riders.

blazing_saddles

Large lap criterium. Break went, break caught, bunch sprint, the odds on favourite wins, the end.

"Fat" Froome and "Podgy" Porte on the high altitude training diet.

Tomorrow is a 203 km stage with the major obstacle, (Independence pass) right at the start and unlikely to be covered on the tracker feed, let alone tv.

MrTapir

Above The Cows wrote:

Showing off the new Cannondale kit.

Shame its a bit rubbish, the green was so recognisable.

simona75

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Large lap criterium. Break went, break caught, bunch sprint, the odds on favourite wins, the end.

"Fat" Froome and "Podgy" Porte on the high altitude training diet.

Tomorrow is a 203 km stage with the major obstacle, (Independence pass) right at the start and unlikely to be covered on the tracker feed, let alone tv.

Don't think the race organisers have done themselves any favours by having one of the USA's most scenic and highest mountain passes before the TV comes on. This could be a fantastic race if they gave the parcours a bit of thought

blazing_saddles

Well, at the moment, they appear to be riding along the flat/slightly downhill, while the race profile shows steep uphill. :oops:

Ed-tron

Kennaugh abandoned apparently, unsure why, dicky tummy?

above_the_cows

So this is a mountain stage with two supposedly massive passes and there is the possibility of it ending in a sprint. Unlikely but still a possibility. The mountains may be high but they're just long shallow drags on massive wide roads. It doesn't make for exciting racing I'm afraid.

knedlicky

Matthias Frank won the stage, having caught, together with Craddock, Morton at the foot of the last pass (cat 3) – Morton had gone out alone 20 km earlier. At that point they had 3 km ascent and 4.5 km descent ahead of them. Craddock was dropped on the ascent, and Frank finished 3 secs ahead of Morton, who took the yellow jersey.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect, though, was Sagan's performance. He decided to take up the chase on the ascent, and firstly dropped all the supposedly better climbers, except for Van Garderen. Then secondly, on the relatively short descent, he cut Frank’s lead from 38 secs at the top of the pass to just 14 secs by the finish.

greasedscotsman

Above The Cows wrote:

It doesn't make for exciting racing I'm afraid.

Err...

deejay

knedlicky wrote:

Matthias Frank won the stage, having caught, together with Craddock, Morton at the foot of the last pass (cat 3) – Morton had gone out alone 20 km earlier. At that point they had 3 km ascent and 4.5 km descent ahead of them. Craddock was dropped on the ascent, and Frank finished 3 secs ahead of Morton, who took the yellow jersey.

Perhaps the most remarkable aspect, though, was Sagan's performance. He decided to take up the chase on the ascent, and firstly dropped all the supposedly better climbers, except for Van Garderen. Then secondly, on the relatively short descent, he cut Frank’s lead from 38 secs at the top of the pass to just 14 secs by the finish.

So that's what happened.
A third rate nation trying to organise a cycle race through a Fancy Dress Carnival which had much more credence to the TV and commentators
Matthias Frank won (I saw that) but what happened next except other riders crossing the line.
Oh yea we had the Love Scene, then more riders over the line.
Did the TV have the courtesy to show a replay of the finishing order of the riders.

It is so true of the USA that they only interest themselves with "Winners" but a Cycle Race is so much more and until they learn that, then they will remain a third rate cycling nation. :shock:

RichN95.

deejay wrote:

It is so true of the USA that they only interest themselves with "Winners" but a Cycle Race is so much more and until they learn that, then they will remain a third rate cycling nation. :shock:

Sport is all about winners. To think otherwise is delusional.

As a for them being a third rate cycling nation: Garmin, BMC, Radioshack, Cannondale, Trek, Specialized, SRAM, Bontrager etc. They're big players. And they have money. And a thriving domestic scene. There's more to cycling than standing in a field in a Flanders village (unless you're one of those insufferable cycling snobs).

greeny12

The fancy dress knobs are bl0ody annoying, but that was quite a decent day's racing as it goes. Looking forward to today's finish in a place where I've had several excellent skiing holidays in the distant past!

The TdF bike cameramen do need to give their US cousins a crash course in how to ride speed bumps wthout causing sea-sickness among their audience though...

thomthom

greasedscotsman wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

It doesn't make for exciting racing I'm afraid.

Err...

ATC is right.

USA Pro Challenge is nothing but a freak show with dangerous spectators in costumes taking the p'iss of the sport and has been since its first edition in 2011.

above_the_cows

greasedscotsman wrote:

Above The Cows wrote:

It doesn't make for exciting racing I'm afraid.

Err...

It was 'exciting' for approximately three minutes, from the top of the final climb when Sagan broke away from the front of the bunch and it looked as if he may catch Frank, Morton et. al.

It was made actually only exciting because the one screen graphics and the commentators thought there was 5k to go when there was in fact about 2k tops.

Mirror Ball Man Head was the highlight and not in a good way.

I get that Colorado is the 'home' of US cycling and so wants to have a race, but a place that is good to train because of high altitude does not mean it will necessarily be a good place for a race. The altitude and long, drags of climbs all but kills off any pop-fizz cycling and I say that as someone who isn't bothered by diesel trains up European climbs. I'm not very demanding I can usually find entertainment in the smallest of things, however, with this I am really struggling.

mididoctors

there is a lot of pretty obnoxious anti-americanism floating about here

the US races this year have been quite good


Its different for sure due to the nature of US roads and that but thats what makes it so interesting.. brash supporters MCs etc.... clearly have a way to go on delivering decent coverage. Some very amateurish direction and camerawork on all the races. Tv graphic and timing dysphasia.

I thought the tour of utah was a cracking little race.

above_the_cows

mididoctors wrote:

there is a lot of pretty obnoxious anti-americanism floating about here

My gripe, if anything is with the geography and the engineering, it's got nothing to do with country. It would be just as dull in Canada.

It would be good to have a race on the east coast where the roads are slightly smaller and you occasionally have to brake to go around a bend.

Richmond Racer

Above The Cows wrote:

mididoctors wrote:

there is a lot of pretty obnoxious anti-americanism floating about here

My gripe, if anything is with the geography and the engineering, it's got nothing to do with country. It would be just as dull in Canada.

It would be good to have a race on the east coast where the roads are slightly smaller and you occasionally have to brake to go around a bend.

Well if that's how you feel you must be REALLY psyched for the Tour of Alberta

mididoctors

The roads are what the riders make of them. Utah had a very decent parcour

blazing_saddles

Yeah, although the coverage was appalling, Utah turned out to have a grand, exciting finale.
First half was pretty mediocre, but the action in the last 2 stages more than compensated.

Having said that, this US Pro Cycling whatever is potentially another dud edition, given that yesterday's, arse backwards stage is considered by many to be the Queen stage.
Now the latest news.
Tonight's stage start moved back one hour, so tv coverage won't start until 10pm.

Oh and Joe Dombrowski DNS. He's fast becoming Sky's US version of JTL.

Richmond Racer

Blazing Saddles wrote:

Yeah, although the coverage was appalling, Utah turned out to have a grand, exciting finale.
First half was pretty mediocre, but the action in the last 2 stages more than compensated.

Having said that, this US Pro Cycling whatever is potentially another dud edition, given that yesterday's, ars* backwards stage is considered by many to be the Queen stage.
Now the latest news.
Tonight's stage start moved back one hour, so tv coverage won't start until 10pm.

Oh and Joe Dombrowski DNS. He's fast becoming Sky's US version of JTL.

Oh, I wouldnt go that far. At least young Joe has a podium placing plus a top 10 result this season

*swings small handbag*

mididoctors

joe is still very young...cycling fetus

squired

Strange coverage, not helped by the disappointing commentary. A few times yesterday they referred to Josh Edmonson having ridden for Bontrager, when in fact he joined Sky instead of them. They should at least be able to get simple facts like this correct.

If this race can have even a fraction of the quality of the last couple of stages in Utah I'd be happy, but the stage profiles don't point towards much entertainment.

blazing_saddles

So, Jens Voigt wins stage 3, this year, it seems.

Gazzetta67

what a surprise jens "omerta" voigt in front

Gazzetta67

What a horrible looking bike....i feel sorry for all the lance fanboys buying shyte like this on the back of this horrible individual.

fleshtuxedo

Picture makes me think I've taken acid again for the first time in 20 years...

fleshtuxedo

sagan wins easily

ad_snow

Sagan's victory celebration:

https://vine.co/v/heW3rEO6mUa

knedlicky

FleshTuxedo wrote:

Picture makes me think I've taken acid again for the first time in 20 years...

I was thinking that too.


So Voigt did the necessary to keep up his image in the USA.
He always make it look hard work (I mean compared to others who go in for lone breakaways), but it’s probably too late now for him to try and attain a smoother, more economical style.

Sagan kept up his image too – in fact he was so quick he crossed the line 300 m before the stage finish (if you believed how far the screen showed they still had to ride – the sprint took me by surprise anyway).

Highlight of the sprint was actually that Team Columbia had a rider finish in the top 10 of the sprint! He was 6th, I think. That must be a novum outside of Columbia.

One of those guys on the ground after the crash 5 km out looked in a bad way, but apparently he was able to carry on and finished.

FleshTuxedo wrote:

sagan wins easily

Perhaps not quite; had it been 5-10 m farther to the line, Mezgec would have taken the win; he was going faster than Sagan.