S*** Small Races 2023

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  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,165
    Ineos get back on just in time for the next lot of echelons to form
  • commuterlegs
    commuterlegs Posts: 271
    Coming back together, bit of fun for a boring few km though.
  • phreak
    phreak Posts: 2,953
    RichN95. said:

    phreak said:



    You don't always need a stellar field to make a great race either. The 2010 Giro stage that really kicked off the love for the white roads didn't have a premier field at the time, but the likes of Cadel and Vino made it an awesome race nonetheless. Indeed, that whole Giro was one of the best GTs of modern times.

    Not just Cadel & Vino, but also Basso, Scarponi and Sastre in the top ten along with emerging talents Nibali and Porte.

    But I agree with your main point. Strade made it's reputation without Pogacar and it will thrive long after he's gone.
    And Wiggins. You would say at the time though that Contador and Schleck were the top dogs in GC terms. Cadel wasn't quite ready to shed his bridesmaid tag, Nibali and Wiggins were a few years off winning these races, and Sastre was a few years past challenging for them (with Garzelli even more so). The awful weather made it an epic stage though, with Basso comicly spread-eagled on the floor, and Cadel and Vino covered from head to toe. It summed up the chaotic nature of that race.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,165
    Lotto done a lot of work trying to break this up without being completely successful.
  • Pross
    Pross Posts: 43,463
    That was one of the messiest finishes I've ever seen, riders sitting up in the front leaving groups splitting all over the place. Surprised no-one went down.

    Cav looked short of pace compared to the group on the left but started a long way back again.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,165
    Cav had no help - he was leading out Bol, and finished quite fast again but from a terrible position.

    Picked the wrong side, and was too far back even on that side. He's going to need to ignore his team in the last 10km to win this year.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,165
    Vingegaard looks on decent form already - launched off solo with 2km to go of the last climb and just went.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,165
    edited February 2023
    Not sure what's going on with these barriers.



    But at the top of a 10% crazy paving section.
  • kingstongraham
    kingstongraham Posts: 28,165
    Johannes Staune-Mittet looked pretty strong leading them up the last climb. Second to Cian Uijtdebroeks in the Tour de l'Avenir last year, both of them could be real ones.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    Omloop beaten to the pave punch.
    Impressive finish for an impressive finisher.
    Vingegaard already looking in a different league to everyone bar Pogacar.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    First of the pair of hilly, one day races taking part in the South of France this weekend, which are growing in popularity.
    As a result, the Faun-Ardèche Classic boasts an impressive startlist and extensive live coverage on GCN/Eurosport player.



    Top competitors

    ALAPHILIPPE Julian
    HIGUITA Sergio
    HINDLEY Jai
    SKJELMOSE Mattias
    BARDET Romain
    MARTIN Guillaume
    ROTA Lorenzo
    ULISSI Diego
    GAUDU David
    TESFATSION Natnael
    WOODS Michael
    LATOUR Pierre
    CHAVES Esteban
    COSTA Rui
    .....and many more.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    edited February 2023
    More disruption for the Camino race.
    Snow on the ground but roads a clear, so they ride.
    However, the final climb has been chopped in half.
    Odd, since it’s hardly alpine height, with the new finish 300 metres lower than much of the stage.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • mrb123
    mrb123 Posts: 4,819
    Alaphillipe gets the win in France, beating Gaudu in a 2 man group at the finish.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    I can thoroughly recommend watching the final 5kms of O Gran Camino, as I would describe them as “unique”.
    I will leave it at that.
    Enjoy
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,232
    blazing_saddles said:

    I can thoroughly recommend watching the final 5kms of O Gran Camino, as I would describe them as “unique”.
    I will leave it at that.
    Enjoy

    Interesting watch. Inc the road/track and the scenery.
  • daniel_b
    daniel_b Posts: 11,982
    blazing_saddles said:

    I can thoroughly recommend watching the final 5kms of O Gran Camino, as I would describe them as “unique”.
    I will leave it at that.
    Enjoy

    Are all the stages worth a look?
    Felt F70 05 (Turbo)
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  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    daniel_b said:

    blazing_saddles said:

    I can thoroughly recommend watching the final 5kms of O Gran Camino, as I would describe them as “unique”.
    I will leave it at that.
    Enjoy

    Are all the stages worth a look?
    Not the first, as it was abandoned, but both the other stages had interesting finishes.
    Some nice Galician scenery along the way, too.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • andyp
    andyp Posts: 10,553
    blazing_saddles said:

    I can thoroughly recommend watching the final 5kms of O Gran Camino, as I would describe them as “unique”.
    I will leave it at that.
    Enjoy

    That was wild. The right hand turn at about 3.7 kms to go, followed by the sharp turn through what appeared to be a farmyard, then immediately onto a narrow road with the sharp drop into a culvert on the left. And that was just the start of it.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    A repeat cast will take part in the second of the right back-left bank of the Rhone, races.


    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • Lanterne_Rogue
    Lanterne_Rogue Posts: 4,334
    blazing_saddles said:

    I can thoroughly recommend watching the final 5kms of O Gran Camino, as I would describe them as “unique”.
    I will leave it at that.
    Enjoy

    Thanks for the heads up - that was utterly brilliant. I notice the road had been freshly resurfaced on its way back out of the farmyard, though unfortunately by the livestock.
    Twitter: @canocola @thedreadships
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    If anyone wants to watch, who doesn't subscribe to GCN or the Eurosport player, here are the last 10kms of that Gran Camino stage.

    https://youtu.be/aUkapf9TWxg?t=12
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • andyrac
    andyrac Posts: 1,198
    hanshotfirst said:

    flite said:

    Pidcock, the Olympic mountain bike champion and world cyclo-cross champion, is competing in his first race of the year for Ineos.
    Excellent journalism from the BBC

    They referred to Cav as Olympic silver medallist the other week in the story about the court case for his burglary.

    BBC's coverage of cycling is absolutely laughable.
    There was a time when they seemed to be taking it seriously, and also had a regular show/podcast. Even the final 30 mins of TdF stage commentary was dropped in the last year or so.

    They need the airtime for more football commentary/ or another inane discussion show...
    All Road/ Gravel: tbcWinter: tbcMTB: tbcRoad: tbc"Look at the time...." "he's fallen like an old lady on a cruise ship..."
  • davidof
    davidof Posts: 3,123
    blazing_saddles said:

    First of the pair of hilly, one day races taking part in the South of France this weekend, which are growing in popularity.
    As a result, the Faun-Ardèche Classic boasts an impressive startlist and extensive live coverage on GCN/Eurosport player.

    It was a nice parcours with an attractive climb at the end. Very cold yesterday so was surprised to see them racing in short sleeves. Ardeche is underated cycling country.

    BASI Nordic Ski Instructor
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  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    Adam Yates cracks Evenepoel like an egg.
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • blazing_saddles
    blazing_saddles Posts: 22,726
    Yates sits up and celebrates the stage win, which costs him second place on GC.
    I sometimes wonder about professional cyclists….
    "Science is a tool for cheaters". An anonymous French PE teacher.
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    blazing_saddles said:

    Yates sits up and celebrates the stage win, which costs him second place on GC.
    I sometimes wonder about professional cyclists….

    Training races 😜 who cares
    _
  • Mad_Malx
    Mad_Malx Posts: 5,183
    edited February 2023
    TT at O Gran Camino was interesting.
    Vingegaard smashing it, 35 sec faster than Dennis on short lumpy course
  • mididoctors
    mididoctors Posts: 18,908
    Mega jumbo doing a gweiss ballan
    "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
  • rick_chasey
    rick_chasey Posts: 75,661
    mididoctors said:

    Mega jumbo doing a gweiss ballan

    On the omloop thread
    _
  • orraloon
    orraloon Posts: 13,232
    Mad_Malx said:

    TT at O Gran Camino was interesting.
    Vingegaard smashing it, 35 sec faster than Dennis on short lumpy course

    Just watched that. Vinegar is hot!

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