Ronde van Vlaanderen 2023 *Spoilers* thread
Comments
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Sure. That's also true.Pross said:
Alternatively he sat up once he knew he wasn’t getting back and has saved a bit for the coming weeks.tailwindhome said:Pidcock 8 mins down
Assuming he was 'trying', it'll be a big ask to perform in the next 3 weeks.
Everyone else has been at the pointy end for several weeks now and he hasn't. Today suggests that he's a good bit off and there's not long to *his* week.
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
I'm not sure why. But the instrument allocation is perfect here.
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
Last year was an exercise in Pog getting his strike point in like a boxer sizing his opponent up. He told everyone what his tactic would be…and can I just point out - and I know this organ is perhaps less inundated with the rabid bipolar tendencies of the past (i.e. fewer contributors overall= fewer twerps overall) - but isn’t is it pleasant and refreshing (or foolhardy 🤔?) that we can discuss the likes of Pog - and all those in his wake - without having to caveat everything on the basis that they’re probably doped?
Somebody needs to do a Beatles “Yes, Tadej; all my troubles seemed so far away…” mash up vid with all his victims… I reckon it could easily stretch to a new one each season.0 -
Pog's double attacks on Oude Kwaremont were so perfect there was no tactics by other teams that could have helped. Their best were there and couldn't deal with it.0
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Love the way that some are down of WvA because he didn’t do more with a knee injury. In the Ronde.
The ‘pressure’ comes from that sort of ridiculous statement.Napoleon, don't be jealous that I've been chatting online with babes all day. Besides, we both know that I'm training to be a cage fighter.0 -
4th and half a wheel from 3rd when you probably had the 5th or 6th best legs isn’t bad for this kind of route0
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He had the third best legs, just a way behind the first two.rick_chasey said:4th and half a wheel from 3rd when you probably had the 5th or 6th best legs isn’t bad for this kind of route
"Unfortunately these days a lot of people don’t understand the real quality of a bike" Ernesto Colnago0 -
Roadside footage of the crash from the other side of the road
“New York has the haircuts, London has the trousers, but Belfast has the reason!0 -
We're seeing something that hasn't been seen at least since the days of Hinault, all while speeds on both the flat and the climbs are exceeding those from the 90s. Given the history of the sport I wouldn't want to stake my life on things being entirely clean.ocdupalais said:Last year was an exercise in Pog getting his strike point in like a boxer sizing his opponent up. He told everyone what his tactic would be…and can I just point out - and I know this organ is perhaps less inundated with the rabid bipolar tendencies of the past (i.e. fewer contributors overall= fewer twerps overall) - but isn’t is it pleasant and refreshing (or foolhardy 🤔?) that we can discuss the likes of Pog - and all those in his wake - without having to caveat everything on the basis that they’re probably doped?
Somebody needs to do a Beatles “Yes, Tadej; all my troubles seemed so far away…” mash up vid with all his victims… I reckon it could easily stretch to a new one each season.
It was amusing watching the GCN programme on the Festina affair and the journalist saying how getting egg on his face prompted him to ask more questions about what he was seeing at the same time as GCN being super chummy with the protagonists of today and not asking any questions whatsoever.0 -
The crash even made it onto BBC Breakfast (they didn’t mention the race result).tailwindhome said:Roadside footage of the crash from the other side of the road
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You think he was stronger than Mads? I'm not so sure. Especially after the crash.gsk82 said:
He had the third best legs, just a way behind the first two.rick_chasey said:4th and half a wheel from 3rd when you probably had the 5th or 6th best legs isn’t bad for this kind of route
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To be fair, Pogacar is always strong through out the entire year. His power stays constant and doesn't spike.phreak said:
We're seeing something that hasn't been seen at least since the days of Hinault, all while speeds on both the flat and the climbs are exceeding those from the 90s. Given the history of the sport I wouldn't want to stake my life on things being entirely clean.ocdupalais said:Last year was an exercise in Pog getting his strike point in like a boxer sizing his opponent up. He told everyone what his tactic would be…and can I just point out - and I know this organ is perhaps less inundated with the rabid bipolar tendencies of the past (i.e. fewer contributors overall= fewer twerps overall) - but isn’t is it pleasant and refreshing (or foolhardy 🤔?) that we can discuss the likes of Pog - and all those in his wake - without having to caveat everything on the basis that they’re probably doped?
Somebody needs to do a Beatles “Yes, Tadej; all my troubles seemed so far away…” mash up vid with all his victims… I reckon it could easily stretch to a new one each season.
It was amusing watching the GCN programme on the Festina affair and the journalist saying how getting egg on his face prompted him to ask more questions about what he was seeing at the same time as GCN being super chummy with the protagonists of today and not asking any questions whatsoever.
In the old days where athletes relied on illegal substances, you had guys with only a FTP of 250 Watts in the "off-season" to magically transform to a FTP of 400W in a couple of months.
Therefor, I'm more concerned about TVJ than Pogacar where all their riders spike throughout the entire season.
Just watch next TdF where WvA will transform again into the best sprinter that is able outclimb 60kg climbing specialist no problem, and also being able to crack Pogacar even.0 -
Mads was ridiculous yesterday, but would probably still struggle to stay with WvA on the climbs. He was tactically spot on as well. If it hadn't been for WvA getting dropped and then UAE putting the hammer down to keep him there, Mads might have had the 25 seconds more to be ahead of Pogacar at the top of the Kwaremont, which would have been interesting.rick_chasey said:
You think he was stronger than Mads? I'm not so sure. Especially after the crash.gsk82 said:
He had the third best legs, just a way behind the first two.rick_chasey said:4th and half a wheel from 3rd when you probably had the 5th or 6th best legs isn’t bad for this kind of route
He's been looking very strong recently. Paris-Roubaix will suit him better, if he gets the luck. Last year Rowe crashed right ahead of him in the Arenberg...Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
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You talk some utter shite, fair play.zest28 said:
To be fair, Pogacar is always strong through out the entire year. His power stays constant and doesn't spike.phreak said:
We're seeing something that hasn't been seen at least since the days of Hinault, all while speeds on both the flat and the climbs are exceeding those from the 90s. Given the history of the sport I wouldn't want to stake my life on things being entirely clean.ocdupalais said:Last year was an exercise in Pog getting his strike point in like a boxer sizing his opponent up. He told everyone what his tactic would be…and can I just point out - and I know this organ is perhaps less inundated with the rabid bipolar tendencies of the past (i.e. fewer contributors overall= fewer twerps overall) - but isn’t is it pleasant and refreshing (or foolhardy 🤔?) that we can discuss the likes of Pog - and all those in his wake - without having to caveat everything on the basis that they’re probably doped?
Somebody needs to do a Beatles “Yes, Tadej; all my troubles seemed so far away…” mash up vid with all his victims… I reckon it could easily stretch to a new one each season.
It was amusing watching the GCN programme on the Festina affair and the journalist saying how getting egg on his face prompted him to ask more questions about what he was seeing at the same time as GCN being super chummy with the protagonists of today and not asking any questions whatsoever.
In the old days where athletes relied on illegal substances, you had guys with only a FTP of 250 Watts in the "off-season" to magically transform to a FTP of 400W in a couple of months.
Therefor, I'm more concerned about TVJ than Pogacar where all their riders spike throughout the entire season.
Just watch next TdF where WvA will transform again into the best sprinter that is able outclimb 60kg climbing specialist no problem, and also being able to crack Pogacar even.1 -
It wasn't as if the 90's was the only era of drug taking.phreak said:
We're seeing something that hasn't been seen at least since the days of Hinault, all while speeds on both the flat and the climbs are exceeding those from the 90s. Given the history of the sport I wouldn't want to stake my life on things being entirely clean.ocdupalais said:Last year was an exercise in Pog getting his strike point in like a boxer sizing his opponent up. He told everyone what his tactic would be…and can I just point out - and I know this organ is perhaps less inundated with the rabid bipolar tendencies of the past (i.e. fewer contributors overall= fewer twerps overall) - but isn’t is it pleasant and refreshing (or foolhardy 🤔?) that we can discuss the likes of Pog - and all those in his wake - without having to caveat everything on the basis that they’re probably doped?
Somebody needs to do a Beatles “Yes, Tadej; all my troubles seemed so far away…” mash up vid with all his victims… I reckon it could easily stretch to a new one each season.
It was amusing watching the GCN programme on the Festina affair and the journalist saying how getting egg on his face prompted him to ask more questions about what he was seeing at the same time as GCN being super chummy with the protagonists of today and not asking any questions whatsoever.
Kelly was at PDM and they suffered some controversies over drugs, Millar and co. must have known or used and the post LA years, Contador, Valverde tested positive, paper packages at Sky etc etc.
It has been a continuous cloud in the sport. It would be very interesting to get some athletes and train them to see what wattage they could produce in clinical conditions with dieticians and coaches over a period of time.
Pog's average yesterday: 27.49mph.seanoconn - gruagach craic!0 -
Rick's right that MvdP is the big favourite. He's the rider that everyone needs to find the answer to.ddraver said:Well, you'd be a fool to bet against anything other than a sprint between Mads and MvdP based off of yesterday.
(It's P-R though so both of them could crash/puncture/be carried away by wolves etc.)Warning No formatter is installed for the format0 -
MvdP has a good sprint and has the attacking power to just ride people off his wheel on the cobbles.
Great bike handling, can’t really see a weakness.
Tbh if he did a Boonen/Canc I wouldn’t be surprised as, Pog aside, he was ahead of everyone by quite some way yesterday.0 -
I'd love to see him have a go one year.0 -
He spoke about it yesterday and certainly didn't rule it out. He said he'd need to gain a few kgs and toughen up his hands. It would be a tough one for him to win though, no real launch pad and he probably lacks the raw power and / or sprint but no-one is likely to risk letting him do the sort of move the second tier riders sometimes get away with.kingstongraham said:
I'd love to see him have a go one year.0 -
Is that the 3 he's won now with "just" MSR and PR to go ?Pross said:Well he’s talking about P-R at some point
If he could win all 5 monuments and all 3 Grand Tours that would be something .
[Castle Donington Ladies FC - going up in '22]0 -
To be fair, this is pretty good over the same period:
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We're spoilt.
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No Ganna love for next weekend?No_Ta_Doctor said:
Rick's right that MvdP is the big favourite. He's the rider that everyone needs to find the answer to.ddraver said:Well, you'd be a fool to bet against anything other than a sprint between Mads and MvdP based off of yesterday.
(It's P-R though so both of them could crash/puncture/be carried away by wolves etc.)
Could see MvdP, Mads P and Ganna riding away together whilst Jumbo wonder what to do.
It was impressive how MvdP cracked Wout yesterday.2 -
That's poor in comparison to Pog and MvdP.kingstongraham said:We're spoilt.
(Whilst recognising he does have some very good Grand tour stage results)0
