Unpopular Pro Race Opinions

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  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 16,631
    Gravel rocks
    "If I was a 38 year old man, I definitely wouldn't be riding a bright yellow bike with Hello Kitty disc wheels, put it that way. What we're witnessing here is the world's most high profile mid-life crisis" Afx237vi Mon Jul 20, 2009 2:43 pm
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,490

    Gravel rocks

    🤣🤣🤣
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    I don't mind gravel or cobbles just not too much and not every year. I thought the grave in yesterday's stage was fine. The only person negatively affected was Richie and he was due bad luck at some point anyway :wink:
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,134
    Pogacar is a phenomenon at 21. So was Armstrong. He genuinely may have been the talent of his generation.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,305
    The yellow bikes of Tour winners/leaders are incredibly underwhelming.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • RichN95. said:

    Pogacar is a phenomenon at 21. So was Armstrong. He genuinely may have been the talent of his generation.

    We will never really how good he would have been without being on the needle.
    Not a Giro Hero!
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,490

    RichN95. said:

    Pogacar is a phenomenon at 21. So was Armstrong. He genuinely may have been the talent of his generation.

    We will never really how good he would have been without being on the needle.
    Currently watching the documentaries on iPlayer. He admits to drug cheating in his first year as a professional. He was 21.
    1. LA never competed as a clean professional cyclist.
    2. Neither did the vast majority of his competition.
    3. He was the best of the cheating generation*.

    Apples and oranges. We hope. 🤞🤞🤞

    *I preferred Pantani but LA's results speak for themselves.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • ddraver
    ddraver Posts: 26,345
    m.r.m. said:

    The yellow bikes of Tour winners/leaders are incredibly underwhelming.

    What do you want from them? They re just a normal bike, but yellow...
    We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
    - @ddraver
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,305
    edited September 2020
    Well you could add metallic or crystalline flake into the paint, or a yellow fade to a team color etc. etc.

    The lack of creativity is exactly what I'm criticizing.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • salsiccia1
    salsiccia1 Posts: 3,725
    For Pogacar they had 18 hours to knock a yellow one up in the factory, get it transported to the stage start and build the bike. They may not have had much wiggle room to mix a new paint or do anything fancy.
    It's only a bit of sport, Mun. Relax and enjoy the racing.
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,305
    Well if you are contending GC, your factory could prepare in advance. Doubt that costs that much extra money.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,490
    m.r.m. said:

    Well if you are contending GC, your factory could prepare in advance. Doubt that costs that much extra money.

    Pogacar wasn't their No.1 rider though.
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,064

    For Pogacar they had 18 hours to knock a yellow one up in the factory, get it transported to the stage start and build the bike. They may not have had much wiggle room to mix a new paint or do anything fancy.

    I guarantee that frame was pre-prepared just in case.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,134
    andyp said:

    For Pogacar they had 18 hours to knock a yellow one up in the factory, get it transported to the stage start and build the bike. They may not have had much wiggle room to mix a new paint or do anything fancy.

    I guarantee that frame was pre-prepared just in case.

    They seem to have face masks in all the right colours ready by the podium
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • pblakeney
    pblakeney Posts: 25,490
    andyp said:

    For Pogacar they had 18 hours to knock a yellow one up in the factory, get it transported to the stage start and build the bike. They may not have had much wiggle room to mix a new paint or do anything fancy.

    I guarantee that frame was pre-prepared just in case.
    Going by historical stories, all that is required is a paint job and ship.
    No need to build a new frame as they are all stock moulds these days, aren't they?*

    *Exception to prove the rule - Cannondale once said that Sagan's requirements were most definitely not standard (short head tube, long top tube) so special moulds would be required. The paint job would be pretty much guaranteed at the time. 😉
    The above may be fact, or fiction, I may be serious, I may be jesting.
    I am not sure. You have no chance.
    Veronese68 wrote:
    PB is the most sensible person on here.
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,099
    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.
    Team My Man 2022:

    Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
  • 50x11
    50x11 Posts: 408
    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,431
    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
    I'm not sure Amstel good and the tour of Britain rank as exceptional.
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    Yet the man who stopped him winning the world cyclocross championship up to last season, is drug cheat because he has been ripping the legs of everybody.
  • 50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
    Can't disagree but he did say his road palmares which probably wouldn't count as exceptional right now - not on a world level.
    [Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,099
    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
    Read my post again. I'm talking only about the road. To be considered exceptional on the road he needs to do way better than Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen plus a bunch of chippers.
    Team My Man 2022:

    Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
  • 50x11
    50x11 Posts: 408
    DeadCalm said:

    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
    Read my post again. I'm talking only about the road. To be considered exceptional on the road he needs to do way better than Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen plus a bunch of chippers.
    Who do you count as having an exceptional palmares?
  • 50x11
    50x11 Posts: 408
    webboo said:

    Yet the man who stopped him winning the world cyclocross championship up to last season, is drug cheat because he has been ripping the legs of everybody.

    This comment makes zero sense. Winning at cross then going over HC mountains in the front group, then winning a bunch sprint, then top 5 TT with a mountain in it are all the same thing.
  • DeadCalm said:

    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
    Read my post again. I'm talking only about the road. To be considered exceptional on the road he needs to do way better than Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen plus a bunch of chippers.
    He's been little more than average so far this season.
    Just a win on the flat in Tirreno and the Dutch champs.
    Van Aert has been in a different league on the road.
    He hasn't been the same rider since his legs fell off in Harrogate.

    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • webboo
    webboo Posts: 6,087
    50x11 said:

    webboo said:

    Yet the man who stopped him winning the world cyclocross championship up to last season, is drug cheat because he has been ripping the legs of everybody.

    This comment makes zero sense. Winning at cross then going over HC mountains in the front group, then winning a bunch sprint, then top 5 TT with a mountain in it are all the same thing.
    Last year prior to his crash in the Tour, he was doing very impressive rides both in the classics, the Dauphiné and then the Tour. This year post accident he has gradually built up from a 4th place in cross worlds, followed by shut down to hit the ground running. If anyone knows how to hit peak form without racing it must be WvA as done it early in the year. Also if you have ever watched cross and watched WvA , MVP or even Tom Pidcock hit the afterburners in cross race. They make the rest of the Elite class look ordinary.
  • bobmcstuff
    bobmcstuff Posts: 11,196
    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
    Read my post again. I'm talking only about the road. To be considered exceptional on the road he needs to do way better than Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen plus a bunch of chippers.
    Who do you count as having an exceptional palmares?
    Not that.

    There is still plenty of time for him though. He'll have to pick races WvA isn't riding though ;)
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,134
    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:



    Read my post again. I'm talking only about the road. To be considered exceptional on the road he needs to do way better than Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen plus a bunch of chippers.

    Who do you count as having an exceptional palmares?

    Enrico Gasparotto. He's won Amstel twice
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,099
    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
    Read my post again. I'm talking only about the road. To be considered exceptional on the road he needs to do way better than Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen plus a bunch of chippers.
    Who do you count as having an exceptional palmares?
    Of current riders, Gilbert.
    Team My Man 2022:

    Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,145
    DeadCalm said:

    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    50x11 said:

    DeadCalm said:

    Mathieu van der Poel is a flat track bully on the road and his road palmares when he retires will be nothing exceptional.

    Haha, if he retired tomorrow it'd be exceptional. Multiple WT wins, one day wins, multiple National champs wins on top of his cross and MTB make it exceptional. He was one win away from being European champion in XC, MTB and road. This isn't unpopular, it's just nonsense.
    Read my post again. I'm talking only about the road. To be considered exceptional on the road he needs to do way better than Amstel Gold and Dwars door Vlaanderen plus a bunch of chippers.
    Who do you count as having an exceptional palmares?
    Of current riders, Gilbert.
    Valverde? Sagan? Froome? Nibali? Kwia hasn't done too badly either.