Pro Cycling Thread

[Craig]

Was having a look at the Giro route this year and this is what I found:

Stage four:

Stage 6:

Stage 12:

Stage 13 (Mountain TT):

Stage 15 (the next day is the rest day and wouldn't you want it):

Stage 17 and meet the Selle Monte Zoncolan, it makes the Alpe d'Huez or anyother climb in the Tour look like nothing. This is brutal, expect a few guys to go 'stuff this and pull out':

They went over it in the 2003 Giro, but on the 'easier' East Side where it averaged 6-8% and the last three k's it was at 13%.

You would want a mountain bike for the Zoncolan

 

[Matteh]

Jeez, that's vertical. Would love to see Cippolini's face when he saw that coming up.

 

[Neil Pickup]

I look forward to watching that climb. That sort of ascent kills me over 200 metres never mind 10km!

 

[Magrat Garlick]

You would want a mountain bike for the Zoncolan

Motor bike tbh. (actually, you wouldn't, they don't make engines that strong...)

 

[Craig]

Jeez, that's vertical. Would love to see Cippolini's face when he saw that coming up.

If they had that in the Tour de France you would have about 50 riders left. And one of the biggest girls in the peloton Alessandro Petacchi would have abandoned straight away.

Imagine Magnus Backstedt on it, you and I would both pass him. Actually Big Magnus would probably be better served taking his cycling shoes off and running/walk up it

 

[Matteh]

If they had that in the Tour de France you would have about 50 riders left. And one of the biggest girls in the peloton Alessandro Petacchi would have abandoned straight away.

Imagine Magnus Backstedt on it, you and I would both pass him. Actually Big Magnus would probably be better served taking his cycling shoes off and running/walk up it

Tbf, think i'd probably walk up it. Some bastard stole my foot pump so my dire mountain bike (wasn't allowed to take my road bike to Bangor) has flat tyres ffs.

 

[Craig]

Does Scott Styris look a lot similar to Floyd Landis only clean shaven?

 

[Matteh]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/6439769.stm

Millar wins the Paris - Nice prologue.

I think Millar is in with a very solid chance at doing the usual British cyclist role in the Tour which is to basically win the prologue, stay in yellow for maybe 2 days and then creep over the mountain and finish in paris about 100th.

 

[Neil Pickup]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/6439769.stm

Millar wins the Paris - Nice prologue.

I think Millar is in with a very solid chance at doing the usual British cyclist role in the Tour which is to basically win the prologue, stay in yellow for maybe 2 days and then creep over the mountain and finish in paris about 100th.

TBF to Millar, he did manage 59th last time out having been back in competitive riding two weeks. He's not anything like as bad a climber as a Boardman etc etc - and the likes of Yates, Sciandri etc weren't that bad either - just honest domestiques.

 

[Matteh]

TBF to Millar, he did manage 59th last time out having been back in competitive riding two weeks. He's not anything like as bad a climber as a Boardman etc etc - and the likes of Yates, Sciandri etc weren't that bad either - just honest domestiques.

Millar kept a fair bit under the radar in the last Tour as well for fairly obvious reasons. But there's Boardman, Millar, Wiggins who've ridden the Tour the last few years and all are basically TT-specialists.

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Millar kept a fair bit under the radar in the last Tour as well for fairly obvious reasons. But there's Boardman, Millar, Wiggins who've ridden the Tour the last few years and all are basically TT-specialists.

That's what happens when you ride in small fields with crap helpers all the time.

The last decent time triallist from any of the big four nations (where team cycling is rife) was Indurain.

 

[Craig]

I'm going to stick my neck out and say Miller will win the TT in London, he will be super motivated to win and has shown he is starting to find form, and he showed that at Vuelta last year when won the TT there. Plus on I do like him in that at least he had the balls to admit he did something wrong when he confessed to taking EPO. Credit where it is due, which more then the usual bull**** we keep getting from Landis, Basso etc. FFS just take a DNA test and Landis stop playing us for chumps.

Rant aside, you can't rule out Wiggins, but IMO Miller >>> Wiggins, and I don't know about anybody else, but his squad Cofidis are the cycling version of Newcastle United. Other names include Fabian Cancellara, his CSC team-mate Dave Zabriskie (is famous in the 2004 Vuelta for going on a 165km solo break to win a stage after riding off after 1km), and darkhorses would be Levi Leiphiemer, George Hincapie, Sebastian Lang, Mick Rogers, and Thor Hushovd.

 

[Matteh]

Zabriskie is well known for winning a prologue in the Tour as well tbf.

 

[Craig]

Operación Puerto dismissed - http://www.cyclingnews.com/news.php?id=news/2007/mar07/mar13news

 

[Craig]

Despite the fact that Boonen won the sprint for second spot

 

[Magrat Garlick]

Despite the fact that Boonen won the sprint for second spot

Haha. Bright kid, this Tommeke.

 

[Craig]

Haha. Bright kid, this Tommeke.

Bernard Eisel does the same thing (except he came 5th ) :

 

[Craig]

Just as well Paris-Nice went ahead because it has been nothing short of a thrilling race with Alberto Contador having the entire team riding as if it was the Tour stage (like Popoyvch, Leipheimer), before attacking the on the final climb, trailing just by 6 seconds to Davide Rebellin of Gerolsteiner, who had no team has the vast majority had all abandoned by that point, and staying away to win.

Say what you like about the team (DC) but you have to hand it to them on how they raced and really want to make an effort to get a new sponsor for next season. Already they have 8 wins under their belt (would be more if they still had Tom Boonen).

And assuming he is picked, look out for Stefan Shumacher (not related to that tosser Michael) of Gerolsteiner as a good chance of winning the prolouge in London. You heard it here first.

 

[thewizard1o1]

Nah, McGee for the prolouge win...book it!

Who is your tip for Milan - San Remo this weekend?

 

[Craig]

Oscar Freire.

Wouldn't mind Thor Hushovd, but I have doubts about when it comes to such long distances. Ideally I wouldn't mind Samuel Sanchez (probably the only guy at Euskaltel Euskadi who does anything these days) or Erik Zabel to win, but I will stick with Freire when in all likelyhood Tom Boonen will win (if Paolo Bettini doesn't have a crack himself).