S*** Small Races Thread - 2022

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Comments

  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 12,692
    Catched up on la Provence S1. Good watch, lovely scenery inc that seriously weird building. Ganna impressive and when he stopped pedalling in the final kms... That bloke is an engine.
  • m.r.m.
    m.r.m. Posts: 3,342
    mrb123 said:

    A win for Cav!

    Really winding back the years. Was a sensational effort by Cav. Came from miles back and destroyed everyone.
    Richeze blocked off Gaviria for too long at the barrier. Needed to pull off a little earlier. Made no difference though, Cav was in a league of his own.

    Status: unfinished.
    PTP Champion 2019, 2022 & 2023
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,815
    If anyone is desperate for a Cav fix (not that he can win, today) Oman tv does now show the whole race live, but obviously in Arabic.

    http://part.gov.om/part/OmanTvSport.html

    The Tour of Antalaya also has live coverage this week It's available on YouTube. I only mention this because the commentators are Ned Boulting and David Millar.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,815
    Carapaz out of Provence due to testing positive for Covid.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,100
    Really enjoying Provence.
    Team My Man 2022:

    Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 6,932
    See Cav has retained race lead in Oman today.
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,005
    edited February 2022
    Dorset_Boy said:

    See Cav has retained race lead in Oman today.

    Charmig according to CN ?

    Cav @69 on GC I think
  • Dorset_Boy
    Dorset_Boy Posts: 6,932
    Mad_Malx said:

    Dorset_Boy said:

    See Cav has retained race lead in Oman today.

    Charmig according to CN ?

    Cav @69 on GC I think
    Looks like I was very wrong! Picked it up from the QS feed which implied he had retained the race lead, but must have been from yesterday when he took the race lead!
  • hommelbier
    hommelbier Posts: 1,555
    Provence. Good to see Quintana back on form - takes the final stage and the GC, Alaphillip second on GC with Ganna in seventh overall (although there does seem to be a question mark over a bike change during the race?)
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,815
    hommelbier said:

    Provence. Good to see Quintana back on form - takes the final stage and the GC, Alaphillip second on GC with Ganna in seventh overall (although there does seem to be a question mark over a bike change during the race?)

    I am not sure when it became illegal to change bikes, since it regularly happens, but for some reason the commentary team questioned it.
    I was most interested to see that the Danes seem to have found themselves another Vingegaard.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • hommelbier
    hommelbier Posts: 1,555
    Ganna now disqualified for illegal bike change
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,815
    hommelbier said:

    Ganna now disqualified for illegal bike change

    Really?
    I never knew.
    Contador regularly changed his bike before finishing climbs.

    Presumably you can still change for a mechanical, so I expect we’ll have teams adopting whatever their equivalent of the magic spanner.

    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,619
    Seems to be Nairo's usual policy to have world beating form early season and then fade by the time all the big races come round.
  • hommelbier
    hommelbier Posts: 1,555
    edited February 2022
    blazing_saddles said:

    hommelbier said:

    Ganna now disqualified for illegal bike change

    Really?
    I never knew.
    Contador regularly changed his bike before finishing climbs.

    Presumably you can still change for a mechanical, so I expect we’ll have teams adopting whatever their equivalent of the magic spanner.

    Announced during ‘Ca va frotter’ on L'Equipe tv. Changed from disc to rim brakes at pre arranged location.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,157
    edited February 2022
    blazing_saddles said:

    hommelbier said:

    Ganna now disqualified for illegal bike change

    Really?
    I never knew.
    Contador regularly changed his bike before finishing climbs.

    Presumably you can still change for a mechanical, so I expect we’ll have teams adopting whatever their equivalent of the magic spanner.


    You can only change to a bike that is on the team car (or in a designated change zone for TTs). I believe Ganna's was a roadside change. A schoolboy error really.

    (This excludes taking a teammate's bike of course)
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,470
    mrb123 said:

    Seems to be Nairo's usual policy to have world beating form early season and then fade by the time all the big races come round.

    I'm not sure he beat the world
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,619
    gsk82 said:

    mrb123 said:

    Seems to be Nairo's usual policy to have world beating form early season and then fade by the time all the big races come round.

    I'm not sure he beat the world
    Well he beat the world champion at least!
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,815
    RichN95. said:

    blazing_saddles said:

    hommelbier said:

    Ganna now disqualified for illegal bike change

    Really?
    I never knew.
    Contador regularly changed his bike before finishing climbs.

    Presumably you can still change for a mechanical, so I expect we’ll have teams adopting whatever their equivalent of the magic spanner.


    You can only change to a bike that is on the team car (or in a designated change zone for TTs). I believe Ganna's was a roadside change. A schoolboy error really.

    (This excludes taking a teammate's bike of course)
    Yup. Team being dumb again. I can plead ignorance.
    Should have changed on a random section of road like everybody else does.

    Just been looking at next weekend’s schedule. No fewer than 4 stage races live on Sunday.
    The old Tour de Haut Var now getting a couple of hours live for each of it’s 3 stages.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • JimD666
    JimD666 Posts: 1,932
    Adam Blythe questioned the legality of the change on commentary, but I was under the impression that they'd had clarification that it was all above board. Apparently not.
  • gsk82
    gsk82 Posts: 3,470
    JimD666 said:

    Adam Blythe questioned the legality of the change on commentary, but I was under the impression that they'd had clarification that it was all above board. Apparently not.

    This is a race comissaire we're talking about. They probably did get pre approval...
    "Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,815
    The first edition of the race the Spanish are calling their Strade Bianche takes place tomorrow.
    A half dozen WT teams are turning up.
    The Jean Classic is live from 3pm on GCN/Eurosport player.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,157
    An unsubstantiated theory about Ganna's big change. Luke Rowe was in the breakaway. What if the car following him stopped and got Ganna's lighter bike off the roof ready for when he passed. Technically that might not break the letter of the rules, but it's something the commissaires would want to stop.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • No_Ta_Doctor
    No_Ta_Doctor Posts: 13,328
    It's got a ring of plausibility to it, and it would certainly be a bit of a grey area.
    Warning No formatter is installed for the format
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,641
    RichN95. said:

    An unsubstantiated theory about Ganna's big change. Luke Rowe was in the breakaway. What if the car following him stopped and got Ganna's lighter bike off the roof ready for when he passed. Technically that might not break the letter of the rules, but it's something the commissaires would want to stop.

    I thought the car always has to stop behind the rider, so that still doesn't work.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,815
    RichN95. said:

    Provence offers: Alaphilippe, Carapaz, Ganna, Quintana, Viviani, Demare, Gilbert. Hayter, Rowe and Askey for British interest. A TT, a sprint, a bumpy stage and proper big climb to finish. It looks like a nice race.

    Oman: Less stars. Cavendish and Gaviria for the sprints. Masnada looks like the only climber so really his to lose.

    Which, despite leading the race by a minute, going into today's stage, he has just obliged.
    Jan Hirt turned back the clock a couple of season's to easily win on Green Mountain.
    Masnada toiled in a couple of minutes back.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,157
    edited February 2022
    Cycling's answer to the Superbowlhalf-time show

    Twitter: @RichN95
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,262
    Commentary by Alexa on the Jaen Paraiso.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,815
    edited February 2022
    kingstongraham said:

    Commentary by Alexa on the Jaen Paraiso.

    :D
    She’s becoming hard flipping work. Rather spoiling an interesting race.

    First look at the finishing km and it’s tough.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,262
    edited February 2022
    blazing_saddles said:

    kingstongraham said:

    Commentary by Alexa on the Jaen Paraiso.

    :D
    She’s becoming hard flipping work. Rather spoiling an interesting race.

    First look at the finishing km and it’s tough.
    The bit at the end of the gravel looked vicious. Lutsenko made the last few metres before the line look tougher by deciding to tighten up his front wheel while riding up it!
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,157
    blazing_saddles said:

    The first edition of the race the Spanish are calling their Strade Bianche takes place tomorrow.

    I didn't see the Spanish gravel racing, but I guess it was something like this

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bBsBuxxh7OI

    Actually in a race in California - rider was OK https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/racers-charged-by-bull-in-california-gravel-race-video/
    Twitter: @RichN95

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