S*** Small Races Thread - 2022

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  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,616
    Who's this Pippo Garner he keeps banging on about?!
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,254
    I put the German commentary on yesterday when "Mr bojangles" made an appearance.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    edited February 2022
    kingstongraham said:

    I put the German commentary on yesterday when "Mr bojangles" made an appearance.

    Then today you will have missed him unashamedly claiming that he invented the term hockey stick profile to describe a flat stage ending in a steep climb.

    I have heard him use it once before, either last season or the year before.

    Everybody on this forum knows that it coined by Rich, quite a few years ago, when La Vuelta was seemingly designing every other stage to look like a hockey stick.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • twotoebenny
    twotoebenny Posts: 1,435
    DeadCalm said:

    just watched UAE on catch-up. Kirby making a complete eejit of himself (for a change) inventing a conspiracy when none exists. Has he never heard of bonus seconds?

    missed that, what's the conspiracy? There appeared to be a clear gap between Pog but given same time as Yates and Vlasov....
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    edited February 2022
    Here I am again.
    GCN/Eurosport have 2 hours live coverage each day of a brand new stage race, starting tomorrow, at 12-30pm.
    Called the Gran Camiño, it's also to be known as the Tour of Galicia: a mini version of Pais Vasco.
    It's a very interesting route, both scenic and diverse. A flat stage with a coastal section for those crosswinds, followed by two uphill finishes and an medium length, ITT.



    Stage 2 ends up this!



    26% is a maximum gradient.



    Stage 3, on Saturday, is the Queen stage.



    Top competitors

    VALVERDE Alejandro
    WOODS Michael
    IZAGIRRE Ion
    CORT Magnus
    CARTHY Hugh
    FUGLSANG Jakob
    DE MARCHI Alessandro
    EIKING Odd Christian
    HERRADA Jesús
    SERRANO Gonzalo


    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,157
    blazing_saddles said:



    Then today you will have missed him unashamedly claiming that he invented the term hockey stick profile to describe a flat stage ending in a steep climb.

    I have have heard him use it once before, either last season or the year before.

    Everybody on this forum knows that it coined by Rich, quite a few years ago, when La Vuelta was seemingly designing every other stage to look like a hockey stick.

    And I basically took it from climate change science: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hockey_stick_graph
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,100
    twotoebenny said:

    DeadCalm said:

    just watched UAE on catch-up. Kirby making a complete eejit of himself (for a change) inventing a conspiracy when none exists. Has he never heard of bonus seconds?

    missed that, what's the conspiracy? There appeared to be a clear gap between Pog but given same time as Yates and Vlasov....
    He couldn't figure out how Pogacar (previously 11 seconds down on GC) could have got ahead of Ganna with only a 3 second gap and was wittering on about it being due to Pogacar being a UAE rider in a UAE race.
    Team My Man 2022:

    Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,157
    Drama as Pogacar has a mechanical 8km from the finish. But this is the UAE Tour, so the commissaire's car and following cars were tightly up against the back of the peloton so he had easy drafting back to the bunch.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    RichN95. said:

    Drama as Pogacar has a mechanical 8km from the finish. But this is the UAE Tour, so the commissaire's car and following cars were tightly up against the back of the peloton so he had easy drafting back to the bunch.

    And the idiot on the coms thought it might help his cause if there was as a crash at the final roundabout.
    This, despite the fact that he wouldn’t be counted as part of the bunch and so would get whatever his time difference at the line.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • TheBigBean
    TheBigBean Posts: 20,622
    blazing_saddles said:

    RichN95. said:

    Drama as Pogacar has a mechanical 8km from the finish. But this is the UAE Tour, so the commissaire's car and following cars were tightly up against the back of the peloton so he had easy drafting back to the bunch.

    And the idiot on the coms thought it might help his cause if there was as a crash at the final roundabout.
    This, despite the fact that he wouldn’t be counted as part of the bunch and so would get whatever his time difference at the line.
    That's always very harsh and something they should look at changing.
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,616
    A win for Gazprom-RusVelo there - just what we all wanted to see!
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,157
    edited February 2022
    mrb123 said:

    A win for Gazprom-RusVelo there - just what we all wanted to see!

    A Ukrainian won in Rwanda to balance it out
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,254
    They really laid on a treat for the spectators with today's finale.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,553
    This final climb at Galicia is savage!
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,254
    Pross said:

    This final climb at Galicia is savage!

    It looked insanely steep, then kicked up again - the bit with 800m to go was ridiculous!
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,553
    Valverde looked like he was feeling his age trying to respond to Woods' attack, still managed second place though.

    That's almost certainly going to feature in the Vuelta at some point.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    An interesting day's racing.
    We had a spectacular stage in Galica and a bad joke of a stage in the UAE.
    Wot a climb that was.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • takethehighroad
    takethehighroad Posts: 6,646
    Pross said:

    Valverde looked like he was feeling his age trying to respond to Woods' attack, still managed second place though.

    That's almost certainly going to feature in the Vuelta at some point.

    It already has a few time, lastly in 2020 when it was a time trial that Rog smoked everyone on
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    takethehighroad said:

    Pross said:

    Valverde looked like he was feeling his age trying to respond to Woods' attack, still managed second place though.

    That's almost certainly going to feature in the Vuelta at some point.

    It already has a few time, lastly in 2020 when it was a time trial that Rog smoked everyone on
    2016 being the other time.



    So not so much of a surprise to see Rubén Fernández, who beat Valverde, Froome and Chaves to the top on that day, up there yesterday.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 21,812
    Meanwhile, we get a carbon copy of last year’s grand finale stage in the UAE yawnfest Tour.

    How long before the Pogacar phenomenon turns stale I wonder?
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • RichN95.
    RichN95. Posts: 27,157
    Impressive ride by Plapp on his pro debut. 5th today and would have been in the GC top ten if he'd had a working TT bike.
    Twitter: @RichN95
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,553
    takethehighroad said:

    Pross said:

    Valverde looked like he was feeling his age trying to respond to Woods' attack, still managed second place though.

    That's almost certainly going to feature in the Vuelta at some point.

    It already has a few time, lastly in 2020 when it was a time trial that Rog smoked everyone on
    The way the commentators were talking it sounded like it was a new climb. I think they even mentioned it possibly getting featured in future Vuelta.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 26,254
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 40,553
    kingstongraham said:

    WTAF?!
  • seanoconn
    seanoconn Posts: 11,410
    edited February 2022
    I’ve always associated Rafa Majka with a highest grade steak tenderiser 😕
    Pinno, מלך אידיוט וחרא מכונאי
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,042
    edited February 2022
    Just watching the Faun Drome Classic live on TV.

    good coverage of this chipper

    well I say a chipper, some big names riding
    https://boucles-drome-ardeche.fr/index.php/liste-engages_/
    BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
    Instagramme
  • DeadCalm
    DeadCalm Posts: 4,100
    davidof said:

    Just watching the Faun Drome Classic live on TV.

    good coverage of this chipper

    well I say a chipper, some big names riding
    https://boucles-drome-ardeche.fr/index.php/liste-engages_/

    Ayuso, probably the rider with the best chance of challenging Pogacar's dominance over the next few years. Pity they are on the same team.
    Team My Man 2022:

    Antwan Tolhoek, Sam Oomen, Tom Dumoulin, Thymen Arensman, Remco Evenepoel, Benoît Cosnefroy, Tom Pidcock, Mark Cavendish, Romain Bardet
  • JimD666
    JimD666 Posts: 1,932
    davidof said:

    Just watching the Faun Drome Classic live on TV.

    good coverage of this chipper

    well I say a chipper, some big names riding
    https://boucles-drome-ardeche.fr/index.php/liste-engages_/

    Catching up with this one at the moment. Rather enjoying the commentary pairing of Hanner Walker and Conner Dunne.
  • briantrumpet
    briantrumpet Posts: 17,916
    JimD666 said:

    davidof said:

    Just watching the Faun Drome Classic live on TV.

    good coverage of this chipper

    well I say a chipper, some big names riding
    https://boucles-drome-ardeche.fr/index.php/liste-engages_/

    Catching up with this one at the moment. Rather enjoying the commentary pairing of Hanner Walker and Conner Dunne.

    Actually popped along to Eurre to see one pass-by of this. The crowds gather at the silly Mur d'Allex, but there was just a handful at Eurre. Got a few passable shots. It was an interesting route - three laps north of the Drôme (good for spectators who want to stay in one place), then headed south for a couple of cols and a change of scenery.

    Breakaway at 1pm:



    Peloton:





    Bike p0rn:



    https://topsham.wordpress.com/2022/02/27/drome-classic/
    https://www.facebook.com/unanglaisendiois
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,042
    Thanks for the photos. It was a good little race. Some spirited riding and nice scenery and villages. Punch little climbs too.
    BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
    Instagramme

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