The classics thread

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Comments

  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    105044_PIC528665273.jpg

    IAM struggling on the recce ride.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Many of you would have seen Rowe doing a superb job in recent races. G is lucky to have a teammate like him. Good lad.

    “G is in incredible form and he’s going to be the leader come this Sunday so I’ll do everything I can, bury myself for him."

    “There is a chance to go under the radar and do something but as long as G is in the race, I’ve got no intention of flic king him like that. That’s more of a Belgian thing to do I think. I’ll stay by his side and be loyal.”
    Contador is the Greatest
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    My man Rowe. The race I've run the last two years was won by his brother in its first year and his dad last year, Luke needs to turn up for the next one!

    From memory he was up there towards the end at P-R last year (can't remember how he did at RVV but think he did OK there too?). This should go in the 'I'm calling it now' thread but I reckon he'll win a Classic for himself in the next 5 years.
  • muttley_109
    muttley_109 Posts: 177
    RichN95 wrote:
    Pross wrote:
    Where is this shop? I feel a visit coming on!
    Discount Supermarket, 99 Whitchurch Road, Cardiff.
    It looks like a bog standard corner shop, but it's an Aladdin's cave.

    Also known as "The Beer Library". I called in earlier to pick up supplies for tomorrow.

    DSC_0029.jpg
    Cannondale CAAD 10
    Genesis Equilibrium Disc 10
    Bird Zero TR
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    I've made a conscious decision that when I ride the Koppenberg if i get off to walk, I will just go to the bottom and try and make it up without walking until I do. No matter if it takes me all day.
  • mm1
    mm1 Posts: 1,063
    sjmclean wrote:
    I've made a conscious decision that when I ride the Koppenberg if i get off to walk, I will just go to the bottom and try and make it up without walking until I do. No matter if it takes me all day.

    Needs some luck and skill, but the mate who I did the cyclotouristein with a couple of years back didn't put a foot down on any of the climbs. He's in his 60s and wasn't super fit, but was a pretty handy rider on the track as well as the road, which probably helps. I suffered much more having to walk up a few than he did riding them.
  • tailwindhome
    tailwindhome Posts: 19,436
    Nice leg of lamb for tomorrow.
    Superb
    “New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    sjmclean wrote:
    I've made a conscious decision that when I ride the Koppenberg if i get off to walk, I will just go to the bottom and try and make it up without walking until I do. No matter if it takes me all day.

    It's more everyone else on it stopping/falling over/walking.

    I got lucky, guy fell in front of me but a guy on the other side of the barrier stuck his hand out and held my by my arse, so I didn't have to put my feet down.

    Good luck to the guys who did it today. Looked pretty cold and greasy. Tricky with 15,000 others.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    Wiggins making himself popular!

    http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/sp ... /1.2292337

    Ex Tour winner calls Tour of Flanders bigger than the Tour and the most beautiful race in the world to the local TV press.

    Will go down very very well!
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    Screenshot-2015-04-03-15.41.39.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    GvA still feeling the effects of his crash, especially on his hip.

    Boonen, GvA, other QS boys all giving Thomas the only five star favourite rating.
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,182
    Wiggins making himself popular!

    http://sporza.be/cm/sporza/videozone/sp ... /1.2292337

    Ex Tour winner calls Tour of Flanders bigger than the Tour and the most beautiful race in the world to the local TV press.

    Will go down very very well!

    But the mayor of De Panne would like a word with him.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    sjmclean wrote:
    I've made a conscious decision that when I ride the Koppenberg if i get off to walk, I will just go to the bottom and try and make it up without walking until I do. No matter if it takes me all day.

    It's more everyone else on it stopping/falling over/walking.

    I got lucky, guy fell in front of me but a guy on the other side of the barrier stuck his hand out and held my by my ars*, so I didn't have to put my feet down.

    Good luck to the guys who did it today. Looked pretty cold and greasy. Tricky with 15,000 others.

    Yeah I kind of imagined that. I'm out there on a tour in July, so hopefully find somewhere to rent a bike from and do some riding in the area.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    My main advice would be don't hold too much back when you start it.

    The steep bit is really not very long and comes quite early on, so make the most of some early momentum.

    You don't really see riders blow up on it.
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    I called out those dirty old bastards who did the E3 poster but just seen that they made the girls wear this dreadful thing. Shameful. The girls are devoid of dignity if they allow themselves to wear this trash.

    otbf-harelbeke15.jpg
    Contador is the Greatest
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    After being on many of the provisional startlists for the Classics, Peter Kennaugh’s name has been removed and he has not raced. Team Sky has been very quiet as to why the rider hasn’t been at the races.

    He has now spoken in his column in The Telegraph as to why he hasn’t ridden any races since helping Chris Froome win the Ruta del Sol in February. He has suffered a recurrence of the sacroiliac joint injury that he first suffered prior to the 2012 Olympic Games in London.

    “I started riding again last week and plan to have a couple more weeks building the fitness back up,” Kennaugh wrote in his Telegraph column. “Hopefully I’ll do the Ardennes Classics in mid-April – which were a big target of mine at the start of the year, although realistically it will be beyond my power to get a result there now.”
    Contador is the Greatest
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    The girls are devoid of dignity if they allow themselves to wear this trash.

    What right do you have to tell someone what they should do with their body, and how they should feel about it?
  • joelsim
    joelsim Posts: 7,552
    sjmclean wrote:
    The girls are devoid of dignity if they allow themselves to wear this trash.

    What right do you have to tell someone what they should do with their body, and how they should feel about it?

    I agree with ff. Not clever even if they look great. A bit sad really.
  • Anonymous
    Anonymous Posts: 79,667
    Joelsim wrote:
    sjmclean wrote:
    The girls are devoid of dignity if they allow themselves to wear this trash.

    What right do you have to tell someone what they should do with their body, and how they should feel about it?

    I agree with ff. Not clever even if they look great. A bit sad really.

    I agree the poster shouldn't have happened
  • FJS
    FJS Posts: 4,820
    My main advice would be don't hold too much back when you start it.

    The steep bit is really not very long and comes quite early on, so make the most of some early momentum.

    You don't really see riders blow up on it.
    It was pretty much unrideable on Saturday. Way too wet and muddy. Shame it had dried by Sunday :twisted:
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    inseine wrote:
    Looks like it's the first 8 on the list, as expected, so no Pate, Sutton or Viviani.
    Even for a neutral that looks like a strong team.

    Leaving out Viviani is an odd move. Sutton and Pate are not doing very well of late; if they ever did.

    You may want to check where you got your information from. Predictably Fenn DNS and Viviani did.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • hammerite
    hammerite Posts: 3,408
    Anyone know where I can download the road book for this year's P-R?
  • r0bh
    r0bh Posts: 2,436
    inseine wrote:
    Looks like it's the first 8 on the list, as expected, so no Pate, Sutton or Viviani.
    Even for a neutral that looks like a strong team.

    Leaving out Viviani is an odd move. Sutton and Pate are not doing very well of late; if they ever did.

    You may want to check where you got your information from. Predictably Fenn DNS and Viviani did.

    FF you really are priceless! On the Ronde thread you were calling out Fenn for DNFing until someone pointed out to you that he hadn't started. Now in FF world it's "predictable" that Fenn didn't even start! :D:D:D
  • inseine
    inseine Posts: 5,788
    inseine wrote:
    Looks like it's the first 8 on the list, as expected, so no Pate, Sutton or Viviani.
    Even for a neutral that looks like a strong team.

    Leaving out Viviani is an odd move. Sutton and Pate are not doing very well of late; if they ever did.

    You may want to check where you got your information from. Predictably Fenn DNS and Viviani did.

    Bored are we? Sorry, just wrote what i saw at the time. This was on Cycling weekly midweek (if you're really bothered).
    Team Sky
    151. Bernhard Eisel (Aut)
    152. Andrew Fenn (GBr)
    153. Christian Knees (Ger)
    154. Salvatore Puccio (Ita)
    155. Luke Rowe (GBr)
    156. Ian Stannard (GBr)
    157. Geraint Thomas (GBr)
    158. Bradley Wiggins (GBr)


    Read more at http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/racing/t ... RTRySb1.99
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,182
    I called out those dirty old bastards who did the E3 poster but just seen that they made the girls wear this dreadful thing. Shameful. The girls are devoid of dignity if they allow themselves to wear this trash.

    .jpg

    I'm not sure reposting a picture that would otherwise have passed me by ( passed most of us by?) helps your point though. Not wild about the Taliban tone to the last sentence either.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,695
    FJS wrote:
    My main advice would be don't hold too much back when you start it.

    The steep bit is really not very long and comes quite early on, so make the most of some early momentum.

    You don't really see riders blow up on it.
    It was pretty much unrideable on Saturday. Way too wet and muddy. Shame it had dried by Sunday :twisted:

    My mate got up it! He does have Jedi like Bike handling skills tho (don't tell him I said that!)
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,182
    Nice PR article (in French) thanks to inrng's Twitter feed:

    http://webdoc.lavoixdunord.fr/grands-re ... ubaix.html
  • frenchfighter
    frenchfighter Posts: 30,642
    r0bh wrote:
    inseine wrote:
    Looks like it's the first 8 on the list, as expected, so no Pate, Sutton or Viviani.
    Even for a neutral that looks like a strong team.

    Leaving out Viviani is an odd move. Sutton and Pate are not doing very well of late; if they ever did.

    You may want to check where you got your information from. Predictably Fenn DNS and Viviani did.

    FF you really are priceless! On the Ronde thread you were calling out Fenn for DNFing until someone pointed out to you that he hadn't started. Now in FF world it's "predictable" that Fenn didn't even start! :D:D:D

    Er no. Read it all again.
    Contador is the Greatest
  • Daz555
    Daz555 Posts: 3,976
    The girls are devoid of dignity if they allow themselves to wear this trash.

    otbf-harelbeke15.jpg
    The person devoid of dignity there is the idiot doing the pretend arse-grab for the photo.
    You only need two tools: WD40 and Duck Tape.
    If it doesn't move and should, use the WD40.
    If it shouldn't move and does, use the tape.
  • Mad_Malx wrote:
    Nice PR article (in French) thanks to inrng's Twitter feed:

    http://webdoc.lavoixdunord.fr/grands-re ... ubaix.html

    Thanks for that, very enjoyable. Love the way La Voix write