S*** Small Races Thread - 2022

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  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,722
    There's a second French race live on GCN/Eurosport, today. Yesterday's was just the second edition of Besançon, this one is brand new. Good additions.
    If anyone fancies an alternative to Turkey as warm up before the women's Paris-Roubaix.

    Tour du Jura Cycliste.


    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,722
    edited April 2022
    The final stage of the alternative to the Tour of Qatar. Almost certainly the 6th sprint stage, after yesterday's surprise break from the norm.



    This race is desperately in need of an overhaul.

    It gets worse.
    Rain has caused the cancellation of today’s race.
    The rain seems light but there have been crashes.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 21,851
    edited April 2022
    ..
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,722
    Back to Earth with a bang, today. The race that signals The Giro is just around the corner.

    45th Tour of the Alps (aka Giro del Trentino)











    Top competitors

    BILBAO Pello
    NIZZOLO Giacomo
    BARDET Romain
    PORTE Richie
    LÓPEZ Miguel Ángel
    DE LA CRUZ David
    LANDA Mikel
    CHAVES Esteban
    CARTHY Hugh
    SIVAKOV Pavel
    PINOT Thibaut
    DUNBAR Eddie
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • bm5
    bm5 Posts: 578
    Close finish. Beautiful backdrop. Apple mascot. Smiling Esteban.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,722
    Strong breakaway from which Sivakov has just attacked.
    Small peloton left and Bouchard is begging to struggle
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • bm5
    bm5 Posts: 578
    Ineos climbing. Bahrain descending. Fruit blossoming. Esteban 7th
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,058
    It's a good watch this year. I get confused, but I'm sure previously its not always been this good to look at.

    Good to see the kid Martinez living the dream.
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,951

    It's a good watch this year. I get confused, but I'm sure previously its not always been this good to look at.

    Good to see the kid Martinez living the dream.

    I always like this race as it so often goes over roads I've ridden. The Furcia today. It's a shame they go straight on to the finish rather than try and finish at the Lago di Braies.


  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,472
    How is that even a real place? It looks like a computer simulation of "the most awesome lake getaway".
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • davieb78
    davieb78 Posts: 99
    ...
  • bm5
    bm5 Posts: 578
    Early start. Traeen crash. Bora win. Esteban 9th.
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,951
    m.r.m. said:

    How is that even a real place? It looks like a computer simulation of "the most awesome lake getaway".

    It is pretty but extremely popular. When we went there the car park was full of coaches. If mountain lakes are your thing, I personally found the much less well known Lago Fusine on the border between Italy and Slovenia to be much quieter (and the restaurant in the picture is fantastic)


  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,058
    Come on peanut!
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,058
    Not a hope.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,058
    Pinot did better than I thought to finish second. The way his legs just stopped working 800m from the finish when trying to stay with Lopez showed how deep he'd gone.
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,472
    phreak said:

    m.r.m. said:

    How is that even a real place? It looks like a computer simulation of "the most awesome lake getaway".

    It is pretty but extremely popular. When we went there the car park was full of coaches. If mountain lakes are your thing, I personally found the much less well known Lago Fusine on the border between Italy and Slovenia to be much quieter (and the restaurant in the picture is fantastic)


    Thanks for the recommendation, @phreak ! My girlfriend loves hiking, so maybe we will take a trip there this summer. Personally, I feel hiking sits in the same niche as cycling and I'd much rather go cycling. 😝😂
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,907
    Bardet .. just always there but never dominant .. frustrating career
    "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
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,951
    edited April 2022
    m.r.m. said:

    phreak said:

    m.r.m. said:

    How is that even a real place? It looks like a computer simulation of "the most awesome lake getaway".

    It is pretty but extremely popular. When we went there the car park was full of coaches. If mountain lakes are your thing, I personally found the much less well known Lago Fusine on the border between Italy and Slovenia to be much quieter (and the restaurant in the picture is fantastic)


    Thanks for the recommendation, @phreak ! My girlfriend loves hiking, so maybe we will take a trip there this summer. Personally, I feel hiking sits in the same niche as cycling and I'd much rather go cycling. 😝😂
    I can highly recommend Slovenia both for hiking and cycling.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEq4mY_zivk

    The climb Pogacar is riding in that video is the Mangart, which is really cool. Indeed, the whole ride into Italy, over the Predil pass into Slovenia, over the Mangart bridge (which is where he's standing in the thumbnail for the video - stunningly beautiful view from it) and up the pass is fantastic. You could then carry on along the Soca valley and back over the Vrsic pass. You might not encounter another soul all day.

    It has all of the natural beauty of the Dolomites but isn't anywhere near as busy (and if you stay on the Slovenian side it's a fair bit cheaper too). Just down the road from the Fusine lake is the Planica ski jump where Roglic cut his teeth. If you happen to visit at the right time you'll see little kids about knee high going off the jump, which is pretty mad.
  • N0bodyOfTheGoat
    N0bodyOfTheGoat Posts: 6,050
    edited April 2022

    Bardet .. just always there but never dominant .. frustrating career

    Too many ragga tips. ;)

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gXCN1DhHTZA
    ================
    2020 Voodoo Marasa
    2017 Cube Attain GTC Pro Disc 2016
    2016 Voodoo Wazoo
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,058

    Bardet .. just always there but never dominant .. frustrating career

    Would have been a difficult decision to not go for GC when at his peak, but with a TT like his there was always likely to be someone better.

    Plus he's the one of only a very few to ever wear polka dot shorts, for whom it was an improvement on his team kit.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,722
    Awful parcour this year.
    Every stage has ended in a long uphill drag, including today's laughable MTF.
    Absolutely useless for attacking on and bonus seconds waiting at the finish.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,951

    Awful parcour this year.
    Every stage has ended in a long uphill drag, including today's laughable MTF.
    Absolutely useless for attacking on and bonus seconds waiting at the finish.

    It doesn't seem to have the same tendency as, say, the Route du Sud or even the Dauphine to experiment with new climbs that ultimately find their way into the Giro.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,540
    The last climb tomorrow, whilst only a cat 2, is 3 kms at 12%, which should make for a GC shake up.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,722
    edited April 2022
    andyp said:

    The last climb tomorrow, whilst only a cat 2, is 3 kms at 12%, which should make for a GC shake up.

    It's a very punchy stage at just 114kms.
    Both the categorised climbs are steep.





    10 kms left from the top and there is a finishing ramp of about 1km which looks about 6%. (according to the CN forum it's 0.6 km at 8.5%.)
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,058
    The uncategorised climb after the hard side of the bannberg looks tasty too.


  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,722

    The uncategorised climb after the hard side of the bannberg looks tasty too.


    It may look tasty, but we won't see just how tasty.
    It's brilliantly positioned to be over, just before live coverage starts.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • bm5
    bm5 Posts: 578
    Hopefully Bardet will make this interesting today.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,722
    The first 17 flat kms covered in 18 minutes.
    96kms left and 90 minutes to live pictures.
    Joke coverage
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,058
    Probably be past the steep bit of the easy side of the Bannberg by the time we see anything.

    Seems a shame to miss all this

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbulg2Cy4cU&t=137s