Le Pro Cycling Thread

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 7:49 am

So Vuelta is getting ready to kick off. It starts with a 7.4 K team time trial (instead of the more traditional prologue). However, what has teams fired up, is the opening stage is like "crazy golf". The course includes Plastic tiles on the beach, a falling apart boardwalk, and pedestrian sand path).

Organizers decided to not include the times for individuals during this stage. It is actually going to be very cool for TV and fans. Riders are not happy.

Video preview of the course is here.

http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/08/ ... ach_382021" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

also 9 Americans in the field.

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:03 am

Pretty beach, at least.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 8:51 am

They may as well go all the way and keep the walkers and rollerbladers out there on the course.

rass · Post by **rass** » Fri Aug 21, 2015 9:20 am

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Aug 24, 2015 6:44 am

Astana team leader kicked out of the race for cheating...and it was not doping.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/08/ ... ash_382368" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Amazed that this happened, you see the sticky bottle all the time in races on tv.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 8:53 am

Big move by the fan

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Thu Sep 10, 2015 9:57 am

you won't see that in NASCAR. Good thing those bikes are light.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Sep 17, 2015 4:22 pm

World Championships are in Richmond (VA). They start on Saturday. Free app with live streams.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/09/ ... led_385238" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Sep 22, 2015 12:33 pm

BMC wins the Team Time Trial (the only world championship event contested by trade teams instead of national teams). Taylor Phinney's comeback from a horrific crash is going pretty well.

What is more interesting is the press that two Junior riders from the U.S. are getting. Adrien Costa (Bend, OR) and Brandon McNulty (Phoenix) earned silver and bronze medals. I read an article about them earlier in the week. They are considered the top of this generation.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Oct 23, 2015 8:56 am

Le' Ridiculous
http://velonews.competitor.com/2015/10/ ... ing_388118" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 6:57 pm

Okay so doping is old news. Now it is mechanical doping.

There was an old video a few years ago that covered this with Fabian Cancellara and Greg Lemond has a demo of this (included below).

Well looks like they caught someone at the Cyclocross world championships. In cyclocross you can swtich bikes during the race at a pit. They pulled a persons bike and scanned it during the U-23 Women's race and.....
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-con ... pionships/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Post by **Sabo** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 7:47 pm

wlu_lax6 wrote:Okay so doping is old news. Now it is mechanical doping.

There was an old video a few years ago that covered this with Fabian Cancellara and Greg Lemond has a demo of this (included below).

Well looks like they caught someone at the Cyclocross world championships. In cyclocross you can swtich bikes during the race at a pit. They pulled a persons bike and scanned it during the U-23 Women's race and.....
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/uci-con ... pionships/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

And people say pro wrestling is fake.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Sun Jan 31, 2016 11:12 pm

Where can I buy one of those?

Post by **Shirley** » Tue Feb 02, 2016 7:23 pm

I love this clip of one of these apparently in action. The dude wrecks, and yet his bike's wheel keeps spinning and actually driving the bike away from him.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Mar 28, 2016 7:34 am

Rider dies after crash and being run over by a motorcycle. These motos seem to have caused a lot of crashes recently. It was only a matter of time before this was going to happen.
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/ ... ash_399950" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Tue Mar 29, 2016 6:25 am

Comes in 3s
New Pro has heart attack during Criterium International
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/ ... ack_400197" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

College Racer dies in Washington
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/03/ ... ace_400068" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Apr 18, 2016 9:53 am

A snarkly cycling blog I read

Bike Snob NYC wrote:Vildary and Bonarrigo also talked to Hungarian engineer Istvan Varjas, the alleged creator of the hidden motors and suspected supplier to a number of professional riders. Varjas showed an early rudimentary version of a motor and admitted it may have been used as early as 1998. He suggested that it best worked with an extremely high cadence.

In case you're too young to remember (which is unlikely because millennials don't read this lame-ass blog), they key to Armstrong's climbing prowess was supposedly his high-cadence pedaling style, which Freds everywhere attempted to emulate after reading about it in "Bicycling" magazine.

But that's turn-of-the-century technology, and the latest system involves Bluetooth mag-lev crabon rims or something:

Varjas also confirmed that the most advanced form of mechanical doping is now hidden in carbon fibre rims, with neodymium magnets able to produce 60 watts of power. The wheels can be activated and modulated via a bluetooth device – even an expensive watch which has bluetooth – and can only be detected via a powerful magnetic field detector.

Which at €50,000 are only available to the top-tier pros, as well as the vast majority of Cat 4s in New York City and the Silicon Valley:

The wheels reportedly cost 50, 000 Euro but are only made available to a very limited number of athletes.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon May 09, 2016 11:36 am

...
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/05/ ... bus_405069

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon May 09, 2016 11:39 am

Cool story. Glad the race officials did not ruin it.
http://www.bicycling.com/racing/pro-cyc ... tumpjumper

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Mon May 09, 2016 12:05 pm

I'd be more impressed if he hung some groceries on that rack.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Sun Jun 26, 2016 7:42 am

Flody Landis' new business
http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/06/ ... try_411216

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Jul 08, 2016 12:23 pm

Causing Havoc at Le Tour

http://velonews.competitor.com/2016/07/ ... ish_413862

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:09 pm

Tomorrow's Tour stage to Mont Ventoux will be shortened because of 60MPH+ winds in the forecast. This is what it would have looked like (and sounded). Get back on your bikes you wimps!

govmentchedda · Post by **govmentchedda** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:30 pm

Inflatables attacking, llamas invading, Froome punching a fan, super high winds. This is Stefon's TdF.

howard · Post by **howard** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 7:37 pm

Could be worse.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Wed Jul 13, 2016 8:14 pm

Somehow that will end up in a Trump tweet.

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 10:09 am

If there is in fact a rule that you can't run up the mountain instead of biking it, that's the dumbest rule in this sport.

DaveInSeattle · Post by **DaveInSeattle** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 11:15 am

The crash on Mt Ventoux today that started the mayhem...

which resulted in:

Pretty nice pace, considering he's running uphill, and in cycling cleats.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 11:47 am

The Powers That Be decided to award the riders the time gaps that were in effect when that crash happened. Otherwise Froome would have lost the yellow jersey.

Otherwise the jersey would have gone to a different Brit, Adam Yates. But props to him for his response:

Adam Yates agreed that the jury made the correct decision. "I wouldn’t really want to take the yellow jersey like that, so I’m happy with the decision," he said. "If I was in Froome’s position and I’d lost the jersey like that, I’d have wanted the same decision as him. It was pretty dangerous in the last kilometre, but the fans make the sport and there’s not many sports where fans can get so close to the athletes. It is what it is. I wouldn’t have wanted to take the jersey like that. Froome is the rightful owner of the yellow jersey."

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 11:58 am

I'd be completely in favor of a mountain stage where everyone has to ditch their bikes and run the last 500m.

Steve of phpBB · Post by **Steve of phpBB** » Thu Jul 14, 2016 12:08 pm

Rex wrote:I'd be completely in favor of a mountain stage where everyone has to ditch their bikes and run the last 500m.

Maybe they could swim, too. I think you're onto something!

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Oct 24, 2016 6:15 am

Can't wait to see Kanye commuting on a Dogma.
http://www.bicycling.com/news/culture/p ... erate-lvmh

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Wed Jan 04, 2017 10:16 am

While only semi-pro still a cool race. I knew about this but if you have never heard about it, read up.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/08/sport ... s-athletes

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Wed Jan 04, 2017 4:09 pm

Le Old Person Le Breaking Records
http://www.velonews.com/2017/01/news/10 ... ord_427263

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Mon Jan 30, 2017 1:16 pm

Anyone watch 60 minutes?
http://www.velonews.com/2017/01/news/cb ... our_429741

Baloney · Post by **Baloney** » Mon Jan 30, 2017 1:43 pm

Think Wiggins package is the bigger story

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2017/ ... rance-2015

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Thu Feb 02, 2017 6:55 am

So not a pro event but watch what gets captured.

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 8:02 am

A pro cycling, on-bike, fist fight? What is amazing is the guy drew blood considering how skinny, low-muscle upper body a pro cyclist typically is (less to carry up those big mountains)
http://www.velonews.com/2017/02/news/gr ... tel_429991

Rex · Post by **Rex** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 8:09 am

What makes you suggest that these guys can't have a proper throwdown?

wlu_lax6 · Post by **wlu_lax6** » Fri Feb 03, 2017 8:40 am

Rex wrote:What makes you suggest that these guys can't have a proper throwdown?

Road bike shoes are not quite ice skates, but clearly impact the fight. Plus tight spandex makes pulling the kit over the guys head harder