Strade Bianchi ***Spoilers***
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Outstanding race, outstanding quality firstly in the selection, then contesting the victory."Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.0
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fantastic race and after the last hill acceleration that was odds on. He must have been super confident.
what a contrast spinning bernal and MONSTER Power smash. This is a superb race.
I think I like it more than Flanders and PR. possibly because its played out over a shorter period of time and things change quickly so I can fit it in a day and still do other stuff.
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That last climb is intriguing because its just one punch, all in. There's no chance to ramp it up slowly, there's no chance to come back and counter.
Anyway, Tao and Matt Stephens did a watch along on the Ineos Insta for the last hour. Well worth the watch. Tao is a real student of cycling, watches like a fan, but with the insight of a rider. he'd make a great commentator one day.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMFRbJrADA-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_linkWarning No formatter is installed for the format2 -
Thanks! I saw they'd gone live but I was busy watching the race so I ignored it...No_Ta_Doctor said:That last climb is intriguing because its just one punch, all in. There's no chance to ramp it up slowly, there's no chance to come back and counter.
Anyway, Tao and Matt Stephens did a watch along on the Ineos Insta for the last hour. Well worth the watch. Tao is a real student of cycling, watches like a fan, but with the insight of a rider. he'd make a great commentator one day.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CMFRbJrADA-/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link0 -
That was seriously impressive from MvdP.
Great to see Bernal at the head of the race.1 -
WTAF0
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Just watched on catchup - that was fantastic.0
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The inside of a nose.RichN95. said:ddraver said:Ah...Tao didnt realise that wasnt such a good angle eh?
(Edit - I had to learn HTML to make it smaller. Soz david)
What the hell is that? It look like something out a David Cronenberg film
Quite beautiful if you think about it...
(be thankful I didn't choose the one I found with a tooth growing inside of it... 🥴 )We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
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Such a great race, seeing a diminutive Tour winner in contention with a big Classics specialist is what makes it a special race for me.
MvdP's power was frightening, I thought his first attack might have been his one big effort but the second was even more impressive. Great to see Bernal back to full form and he really surprise me closing the gap to JA and MvdP on the flat. Really good ride from Gogl too.
I was surprised that of the front 7 it was Pidcock who seemed to struggle the most on the climbs, I thought they would suit him but a 5th to follow the 3rd at KBK is a very solid start to his career.1 -
I thought his only chance was to hit the bottom of the climb hard and try to take them by surprise as I doubt either would have wanted to be first to react but I don't think he had that in him after working hard to close the gap to them. Very impressive ride though.ddraver said:1 to go
Bernal has to go from the bottom and pray, no?
Edit - he doesn't tho...0 -
Aparently MvdP was on the Aeroad SL this week, which has a cheaper carbon lay up and isn't quite as stiff as the top spec version.
Maybe cost him a few seconds on the final effort!
Though at least the bars held firm.0 -
The concept of the monuments is not fairly recent. They've been described as such since the 1950s at least. Maybe the English speaking world was slow to adopt the terminology, but they've been called that on the continent for a long time. You just have to look at the list of winners to understand why, they are the five major one day races.RichN95. said:ddraver said:Intermission Discussion
What makes a Monument? I jest about @iainf72 and his chipper classification but Dani Rowe has now said 'It should be a monument" for the 5th time. Isnt this just something the fans decide?
The whole concept of a 'monument' is fairly recent. 90s at the earliest (see also 'Grand Tour'). But I think the one defining feature is their age. They are all over 100 years old.
It's like the Classics in Horse Racing. They all been around for over 200 years. The King George Vi at Ascot is probably a bigger race than most of them, but has only been around since the 1950s so it's not a classic.
So in summary, barring a huge resurgence in Paris-Tours, there can't be another monument
Strade Bianche is a great race, but it has history and distance against it. It also probably needs a better slot on the calendar too, the first weekend in March doesn't do it any favours, even if it does tie together the Italian spring races nicely.
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I knocked out 3 of my top front teeth in a cycling accident.ddraver said:
The inside of a nose.RichN95. said:ddraver said:Ah...Tao didnt realise that wasnt such a good angle eh?
(Edit - I had to learn HTML to make it smaller. Soz david)
What the hell is that? It look like something out a David Cronenberg film
Quite beautiful if you think about it...
(be thankful I didn't choose the one I found with a tooth growing inside of it... 🥴 )
One of them was found 2 weeks later by the dentist, embedded in my top lip and all healed over. I just thought it was stolen, but it came up in am x-ray.
The dentist said he'd not seen that before in his 30 year career and neither had anyone on the practice, so they had all the dentist's and nurses in the room watching as it was removed.0 -
We're in danger of confusing passion with incompetence
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Simmons looked good today too but suffered seriously bad luck. To chase back onto group 2 after that botch of a wheel change and then go to the front at the point it looked certain they were going to catch the leaders was excellent riding. That was also one of the quickest remounts I've ever seen by the Apecin rider that took him out. He'd barely stopped sliding before being back on his bike.
Two things I noticed today. The first was just how hilly the races, I knew it was lumpy but possibly as I've never seen it from so far out before didn't realise quite how tough it was. The second, after musing on the affects of crashing downhill on that gravel particularly on bare hands, was that all the riders I looked at had their hands covered (someone will now post a photo of a group where at least half of the riders had bare hands.0 -
Just watched on catch up. Wow. #race 👍
I want to go ride my bike in Tuscany.2 -
Agree - it's the scenery, the mixed surface route, and the mix of riders who are competitive at the sharp end; TdF/GT winners, monuments winners, CX World Champions.....david37 said:fantastic race and after the last hill acceleration that was odds on. He must have been super confident.
what a contrast spinning bernal and MONSTER Power smash. This is a superb race.
I think I like it more than Flanders and PR. possibly because its played out over a shorter period of time and things change quickly so I can fit it in a day and still do other stuff.
One useless fact; all 3 podium placed riders have medals at off road World Championships.
And agree about the Matt/Tao instagram watchalong; have just finished watching it; excellent coverage & insight.All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."0 -
The main anchor for Flanders cycling is certainly a fan of Strade
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That certainly didn't last! 😂ddraver said:MvdP looks human for a second...
Great race. Solid build up with ever increasing tension. Phenomenal finale. I don't think I've ever seen anyone make other world beaters look that much like they are standing still. It's ludicrous how much of a gap MvdP got in such a short distance.
This race hardly ever disappoints.
PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 20230 -
Is rather like Amstel Gold in terms of the riders it suits.mididoctors said:Amazing front selection as the race evolved . Really good race ... MvdP monster gears
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monuments as a term was first heard by this poster late 90s. cant be 100% on that?RichN95. said:
[Source needed]andyp said:
The concept of the monuments is not fairly recent. They've been described as such since the 1950s at least."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 pm0 -
i suppose it isrick_chasey said:
Is rather like Amstel Gold in terms of the riders it suits.mididoctors said:Amazing front selection as the race evolved . Really good race ... MvdP monster gears
"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 pm0 -
Pidcock was definitely gloveless.Pross said:Simmons looked good today too but suffered seriously bad luck. To chase back onto group 2 after that botch of a wheel change and then go to the front at the point it looked certain they were going to catch the leaders was excellent riding. That was also one of the quickest remounts I've ever seen by the Apecin rider that took him out. He'd barely stopped sliding before being back on his bike.
Two things I noticed today. The first was just how hilly the races, I knew it was lumpy but possibly as I've never seen it from so far out before didn't realise quite how tough it was. The second, after musing on the affects of crashing downhill on that gravel particularly on bare hands, was that all the riders I looked at had their hands covered (someone will now post a photo of a group where at least half of the riders had bare hands.0 -
Not sure if this is a criticism or praise, but the finish of the course does seem to guarantee that the strongest rider wins without much doubt.
A km or two of flat after the climb would bring in a lot more permutations.0 -
Tom rode most of the cyclocross races bareback this winter.0
