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12 questions

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Where are you from?

Denmark (I don't know if I should write that, though, as it seems like RhD has taken away my citizenship).

Who's your favourite cyclist?

Peter Sagan.

Your favourite moment in cycling history?

Sagan in Richmond and Valverde in Innsbruck. Sorry, I can't choose between those, I don't think.

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?

People claiming it's wrong all the time.

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?

The build-up and epicness. It taking place in nature.

What is the best stage or race design of all times?

Rio Olympics. For something original at least. You can't really fault the designs of the cobbled monuments.

Which other sports do you watch the most?

Football and tennis. And a little bit of american football and biathlon.

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?

No.

How do you feel about women's cycling?

Not too strongly. The small amount of big names makes it a bit trivial for me. Then again, I do follow cross in the winter so maybe that's not the real problem. It's hard to put a finger on.

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?

I don't think I will be.

TT or hard climbs?

I don't understand? Would anyone rather watch a TT than a stage like the Stelvio stage of the Giro? But you have to have both.

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?

Ah, come on, I'm a forum user, I of course know better :p
 
Where are you from
Indonesia

Who's your favourite cyclist?
Alberto Contador, Purito Rodriguez, Luca Paolini, Peter Sagan, John Degenkolb, Igor Antón, Matej Mohorič and several more (I only really watched in the last 12 years or so). But since the question look to be about a single rider then it's Contador, he's the one.

Your favourite moment in cycling history?
So many to chose, but Stannard beating the trio made me so thankful I liked cycling, and I am never a Sky fan nor have things against QS

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?
Superstrong teams and race organizers that never learn

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?
The multi dimensions of it, human beings push their limits, different target for different rider in a race, team strategies or lack of it, race politics, geography, science, and crazy heroism here and there.

What is the best stage or race design of all times?
Paris - Nice with only two sprint stages, without TT, without uphill finish, and with meaningful Col d'Eze stage. While almost at the same time a very intense Tirreno, with some short walls to crawl midstage and last stage short TT, heavier climbs than PN, but higher percentage of sprinter friendly stages with better field. I mean I don't really have 'ideal stage design' but I have my ideal stage order for a closely competitive block of racing days.
But Strade Bianche is great. Or maybe I just like that time of the year.

Which other sports do you watch the most?
Football, but not even close now

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?
No

How do you feel about women's cycling?
I feel guilty sometimes for not giving it too much attention, since I even followed WTA, women's football, or even LPGA. I've tried but I haven't got something that got me hooked. Sometimes I'm a bit put off by the dominations.

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?
A young domestique with little chance to develop into a big star. I once wrote a short film about a teenaged tennis player who got her first tournament main draw, getting excited after winning the qualification, but then discouraged by being drawn against the top seed, haunted by the fear of getting bageled while also dealing with her menstrual and academic problem. I'd love to show the everyday human side of athlete that audience will not want to know and tend to ignore. Cycling is far more potental for a good story than tennis, in my opinion.

TT or hard climbs?
Hard climbs

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?
Current pro rider? Anyone will do.
 
You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?
A young domestique with little chance to develop into a big star. I once wrote a short film about a teenaged tennis player who got her first tournament main draw, getting excited after winning the qualification, but then discouraged by being drawn against the top seed, haunted by the fear of getting bageled while also dealing with her menstrual and academic problem. I'd love to show the everyday human side of athlete that audience will not want to know and tend to ignore. Cycling is far more potental for a good story than tennis, in my opinion.

Interesting. I suppose a fictional literary work on cycling would be difficult, though. Because you probably won't be allowed to use real names of other cyclists, and then you have to create tons of fictitious characters which is necessary to emulate the scope of real cycling but annoying for the reader to have to grind through.
 
Where are you from?

South of England

Who's your favourite cyclist?

Don't really have a favourite in a 'fan boy' kind of way.
Can't think of a single Tour winner i've been a particular fan of.
Historically for variety of reasons: Ballan, Kelly, Robert Miller, Pozzato
Currently van der Poel, Mohoric,
From the recent British riders; Cav (I feel a lot of his bad press is from non-Brits not 'getting him'), Stannard for being a unit and out grunting Quickstep all on his own. Blythe for his ridiculous riding position/bike set up and style.

Your favourite moment in cycling history?

From a Nationalistic point of view, I suppose Wiggins in yellow leading out Cav in the rainbow bands onto the Champs to win the final stage in 2012, or Cav winning the World Champs the year before. Sky or not, having grown up watching cycling in the 80s/90s in Britain where we were lucky to have 2 riders on the start line, it was a bit surreal.

Enjoyed Vansummeran and Hayman winning Roubaix when they weren't supposed to.

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?

Carlton Kirby's commentary...

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?

On TV, everything. The long build up and mounting drama of a one day race. The soap opera'esque daily watch of a 3 week tour.
In the flesh, not a lot.

What is the best stage or race design of all times?

I would say Strade Bianchi, but the finish climb is a bit too decisive.
Roubaix and Flanders take some beating.
With Grand Tours, now they seem to have ditched the week of flat sprint stages, they seem to be putting together a good close race on most occasions.

Which other sports do you watch the most?

Motocross

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?

Yes, sort of...very poorly at cyclocross a few years back when I was fat and unfit. But I am currently a 2hr 50min marathon and sub 17min 5k runner at 50 years old (so not fat and unfit anymore).

How do you feel about women's cycling?

Indifferent. I'll watch it if it's on but currently have no emotional investment in any teams, riders or races.

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?

One where riders pay each other off to win races, take drugs to enhance performance and add motors to their bikes to go faster...sounds a bit unlikely I know ;):rolleyes:

TT or hard climbs?

Short hard climbs (ideally on cobbles)

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?

Mohoric or someone equally crazy for downhill speed.
Sagan/Wout/van der Poel for a cobble lesson.
 
Where are you from?
France

Who's your favourite cyclist?
Robbie McEwen

Your favourite moment in cycling history?
Lance Armstrong's win in Luz Ardiden 2003, I was not even 6 years old and I still remember this incredible moment (Cancellara dropping Boonen in the Tour of Flanders 2010 and Schleck/Contador's battle in the Tourmalet are close)

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?
The hypocrisy about Lance Armstrong and his era in general, sometimes I feel like it's almost a crime to mention him because of UCI and ASO's attitudes (even though they will still praise other riders who did cheat)

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?
I think it's the fact that there are so many ways to dominate the sport. There is the best climber, the best TTist, the best sprinter, etc. The diversity is great.

What is the best stage or race design of all times?
Tour of Flanders

Which other sports do you watch the most?
Football, tennis

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?
Never

How do you feel about women's cycling?
I don't watch it

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?
It would probably be about a huge champion's toughest win. I've always admired how legends can find a way to win a GT even though they were not at their best, like Contador in the Tour 2010 for example.

TT or hard climbs?
Hard climbs by far.

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?
Contador for his ability to stay out of the saddle for so long.
 
Where are you from?

Between two seas, the mountains, and The Big Neighbour.​

Who's your favourite cyclist?

Tom Boonen.​

Your favourite moment in cycling history?


The very moment when it is clear to me that Tommeke will make the bridge to Hayman, just before the pair enter the velodrome.​

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?


Hein Verbruggen. IOC, the WorldTour, and top-down globalism.​

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?

Slipstream and roads. It is the social sport par excellence, and perhaps also the geographical sport par excellence.​

What is the best stage or race design of all times?

I don't know all designs throughout all times. A good recent change in design is the current route of Amstel.​

Which other sports do you watch the most?

None. I do however watch some professional games like chess, handball, and soccer, but not regularly.​

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?

No.​

How do you feel about women's cycling?

Not all that much. I watch the worlds and little else.​

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?

The struggle of Omertà and the difficulty of separating the spheres of life, and through that also showing our protagonist's inability to overcome his own personal silence and come across to his loved one profoundly.​

TT or hard climbs?

Cobbles.​

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?

Heinrich Haussler, on how to be tough as nails and ride without gloves.​
 
Where are you from?

You

Who's your favourite cyclist?

Are

Your favourite moment in cycling history?

Not

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?

Getting

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?

My

What is the best stage or race design of all times?

Passwords

Which other sports do you watch the most?

For

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?

This

How do you feel about women's cycling?

Or

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?

Any

TT or hard climbs?

Other

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?

Sites.
 
Where are you from?
Northwest England

Who's your favourite cyclist?
Vincenzo Nibali

Your favourite moment in cycling history?
Mat Hayman's Roubaix win. I now watch that backstage pass before every edition of the race

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?
Same as every other team sport (and life in general), the rich teams winning everything

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?
No other sport manages to mix individual speed, strength and endurance with team tactics and racecraft

What is the best stage or race design of all times?
It's the riders who make the race, but Strade Bianche has never disappointed

Which other sports do you watch the most?
Football, tennis, F1

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?
No but I may have pretended to be riding the tour de france during some long lonely rides in my youth (and yes, I did win)

How do you feel about women's cycling?
The races I've watched have usually been exciting, though the top 10 are often separated by huge margins. A lack of depth?

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?
An armchair fan who spends his summers watching eurosport and reading cyclingnews somehow ends up getting a late callup to the Tour de France (I haven't decided yet how or why) and ends up winning the damn thing.

TT or hard climbs?
Hard climbs, but prefer short steep and frequent climbing than long steady drags.

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?
Nibali, he could show me how to spread bad luck to my enemies
 
Hi all,

This is actually my first post on this board. I've actually lurked for a long time but I haven't always been able to watch Pro Cycling because of work and school. Because of lockdown and the condensed schedule, I've been able to watch a lot of racing and I've really loved watching the sport.


What's wrong with cycling at the moment?
In the States, its lack of visibility, other than the Tour no races make any impact.

I would also look at the schedule. There's a gaping hole after the Tour. You could put the Ardennes classics, then the world championships, and then the Italian classics, with Strade Bianchi moved to the summer, to try to get the best riders to ride those races and increase their profiles. FInally, end the season with the Vuelta in September.


What gaping hole after the Tour? San Sebastian is the weekend after the Tour ends. Burgos is between Tour and Vuelta. Canadian 1 day races are at the same time as la Vuelta. Vuelta (mid Aug into Sept), then the Worlds, then the season ends with the fall Italian Classics. Also the race in Utah is somewhere between San Sebastian and la Vuelta. Plus they are trying to organize a 1 day race in Baltimore to be held the weekend before the Canadian 1 day races.

The Ardennes are part of the Spring classics and Amstel gets a nice mix of the cobbled classics riders and hilly classics riders all trying to win there. Like Amstel you get a mix of hilly classics riders and cobbled classics riders at Strade. Strade Bianchi has the best possible riders for that race where it currently is located on the calendar as do the Ardennes.

There is a number of riders who end their seasons at the Tour.

By the way, la Vuelta likes their dates and do not want them moved.

Races after the Tour basically get riders who are trying to redeem themselves from a poor season. There are very few riders who actively target anything other than the Worlds after the Tour. Valverde's targeting la Vuelta his entire career is a huge oddity.
 
What gaping hole after the Tour? San Sebastian is the weekend after the Tour ends. Burgos is between Tour and Vuelta. Canadian 1 day races are at the same time as la Vuelta. Vuelta (mid Aug into Sept), then the Worlds, then the season ends with the fall Italian Classics. Also the race in Utah is somewhere between San Sebastian and la Vuelta. Plus they are trying to organize a 1 day race in Baltimore to be held the weekend before the Canadian 1 day races.

The Ardennes are part of the Spring classics and Amstel gets a nice mix of the cobbled classics riders and hilly classics riders all trying to win there. Like Amstel you get a mix of hilly classics riders and cobbled classics riders at Strade. Strade Bianchi has the best possible riders for that race where it currently is located on the calendar as do the Ardennes.

There is a number of riders who end their seasons at the Tour.

By the way, la Vuelta likes their dates and do not want them moved.

Races after the Tour basically get riders who are trying to redeem themselves from a poor season. There are very few riders who actively target anything other than the Worlds after the Tour. Valverde's targeting la Vuelta his entire career is a huge oddity.

I agree, I wouldn't call it a gaping hole either.

It is a bit of a shambles though, and not as well-structured and carried by tradition as everything from March to July.

But I certainly wouldn't want to move anything from the spring, except maybe for Strade. It is a bit annoying that it takes place the day before Paris-Nice, so a lot of riders can't go (I know that a very small number have opted for the combo throughout the years but it is a rarity).
 
I agree, I wouldn't call it a gaping hole either.

It is a bit of a shambles though, and not as well-structured and carried by tradition as everything from March to July.

But I certainly wouldn't want to move anything from the spring, except maybe for Strade. It is a bit annoying that it takes place the day before Paris-Nice, so a lot of riders can't go (I know that a very small number have opted for the combo throughout the years but it is a rarity).

I can a date change for Strade, although I think they were trying to link it to T-A.

Maybe a thought for a new race or two in this time frame. When is the Tour of Poland? That's another one that might fit into a later date.
 
Tour of Poland is usually early August. Soon after is Binckbank. The London one day is now WT, too. So plenty of races after the Tour.
That doesn't even include non-WT races like Tour de Wallonie, whose last 3 stages now get aired live starting the Monday after.
Plus, some riders still do the post-Tour criteriums.
 
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Tour of Poland is usually early August. Soon after is Binckbank. The London one day is now WT, too. So plenty of races after the Tour.
That doesn't even include non-WT races like Tour de Wallonie, whose last 3 stages now get aired live starting the Monday after.
Plus, some riders still do the post-Tour criteriums.

But it's still a bit of a mess. Especially because sometimes the Olympics drop a bomb in the middle of August and everything has to be rearranged.
 
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Where are you from?
England, of Irish background

Who's your favourite cyclist?
I like that cycling can be enjoyed without needing to be partisan. I'll have different favourites depending on how any given race has gone. Even riders who I have thought I like, I find myself rooting for the other guy.

Your favourite moment in cycling history?
Amstel 2019

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?
Other than that the season is over? Too many stages/races not worth watching until the last 3km

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?
(At best) the interplay of various sub plots and goals.

What is the best stage or race design of all times?

No design is so good that it can't be destroyed by unambitious riders. I have seen many races (mainly stages) that are an excellent invitation to race, but nobody has delivered.

Which other sports do you watch the most?
Very little: some soccer, rugby, Gaelic Games, athletics

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?
Only against my own times on my regular routes.

How do you feel about women's cycling?
From the little I see (I rarely look for sources beyond Eurosport) races tend to be more tactically interesting than men's races often are, but the outcomes more predictable.

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?
Young rider from a non-cycling culture nation trying to build a route through the French club system towards a pro contract (I suppose that is pre-pro cycling, but...)

TT or hard climbs?
A climb to watch: my own rides tend to be solo, so are all TTs anyway.

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?
Which one is most likely to be able to invent a time machine and make me 35 years younger: I think that is the only solution by now.
 
If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?
Which one is most likely to be able to invent a time machine and make me 35 years younger: I think that is the only solution by now.

A time machine would not make you younger, it would just take you back in time, with your current age. However, tobydawq is the resident forum time traveller, so maybe he can give you a few tips.
 
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Tour of Poland is usually early August. Soon after is Binckbank. The London one day is now WT, too. So plenty of races after the Tour.
That doesn't even include non-WT races like Tour de Wallonie, whose last 3 stages now get aired live starting the Monday after.
Plus, some riders still do the post-Tour criteriums.
Pretty much less prestigous and less interesting races than in the spring season. There are only three top races in the last part of the season; the Vuelta, the Worlds and Il Lombardia. Four out of five momuments are in the spring and the two least interesting of the one-week stage races takes part after the Tour.

IMO they should try to revitalize the classics season in the fall. Move Strade Bianche, up the status of Paris-Tours and either add a new hilly classic or up the status on one of the existing Italian races. The Canadian races just don't do it for me. But with four WT races after the Worlds, more riders could have that part of the season as a more important goal.
 
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Where are you from?
Belgium, now living in US.

Who's your favourite cyclist?
Inactive: Fons De Wolf - he just looked fantastic on a bike, as if it was an integral part of his body. Hard choice between him and Frank VdB, but the drugs and overall craziness of the latter are in the end just a bit too off-putting.
Active: Brian Lucido, the 2017 Tour Divide winner: because he's my friend ;)and his exploits impress me more than what the top road pros do...

Your favourite moment in cycling history?

Greg LeMond winning the 1989 Tour, after coming back from being shot, riding for a team considered complete crap at the time (ADR - aka 'Al De Restjes'), and then clinching it with that incredible TT .

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?

Cars and other vehicles endangering, injuring and killing riders (mostly during training rides of course, to which I can strongly relate). Also, the slightly ridiculous business model that makes it near-impossible for teams to survive and execute a longer term vision.

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?

The usual: unpredictability (just like in soccer, the best don't always win), tactics, heroics, drama, and the arcane details of tech, physiology etc on which one can geek out.

What is the best stage or race design of all times?

I'm more of the school of thought that the riders make the race, and the parcours doesn't always matter as much as one may suspect or hope, so I'm not going to pick anything. The cobbled classics of course almost never disappoint, but I can't think of any edition of a stage race that got me all excited just by the sheer design of it.

Which other sports do you watch the most?

Soccer/football

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?

Yes - crit monkey on the road, and XC/marathon stuff on the mountain bike

How do you feel about women's cycling?

Good, the more cycling the better. The Dutch need some more competition though.

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?

VdB's life story, but with a fictionalized/enhanced version of the protagonist and a happier ending; after his descent into a drug-fueled spiral of madness and near-death experience our hero finally manages to kick off the stuff, ditches the charlatans and dealers circling in his orbit, trains his rear end off for one last ditch attempt to revive his career but gets beaten at the line in the one race that matters; however, in the process he makes peace with his ex-wife and ends up becoming a loving father to his daughters and mentor/coach of young athletes/riders...

TT or hard climbs?

TT with a hard climb in it

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?

I would rent an entire peloton of riders and have Peter Sagan teach me how to effortlessly float to the front while going 50+kph...
 
Where are you from
Indonesia

Who's your favourite cyclist?
Alberto Contador, Purito Rodriguez, Luca Paolini, Peter Sagan, John Degenkolb, Igor Antón, Matej Mohorič and several more (I only really watched in the last 12 years or so). But since the question look to be about a single rider then it's Contador, he's the one.

Your favourite moment in cycling history?
So many to chose, but Stannard beating the trio made me so thankful I liked cycling, and I am never a Sky fan nor have things against QS

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?
Superstrong teams and race organizers that never learn

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?
The multi dimensions of it, human beings push their limits, different target for different rider in a race, team strategies or lack of it, race politics, geography, science, and crazy heroism here and there.

What is the best stage or race design of all times?
Paris - Nice with only two sprint stages, without TT, without uphill finish, and with meaningful Col d'Eze stage. While almost at the same time a very intense Tirreno, with some short walls to crawl midstage and last stage short TT, heavier climbs than PN, but higher percentage of sprinter friendly stages with better field. I mean I don't really have 'ideal stage design' but I have my ideal stage order for a closely competitive block of racing days.
But Strade Bianche is great. Or maybe I just like that time of the year.

Which other sports do you watch the most?
Football, but not even close now

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?
No

How do you feel about women's cycling?
I feel guilty sometimes for not giving it too much attention, since I even followed WTA, women's football, or even LPGA. I've tried but I haven't got something that got me hooked. Sometimes I'm a bit put off by the dominations.

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?
A young domestique with little chance to develop into a big star. I once wrote a short film about a teenaged tennis player who got her first tournament main draw, getting excited after winning the qualification, but then discouraged by being drawn against the top seed, haunted by the fear of getting bageled while also dealing with her menstrual and academic problem. I'd love to show the everyday human side of athlete that audience will not want to know and tend to ignore. Cycling is far more potental for a good story than tennis, in my opinion.

TT or hard climbs?
Hard climbs

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?
Current pro rider? Anyone will do.

Did you ever shoot that film? Sounds really good. I have tried to write a few things about athletes... usually people are not really into it, and I always have to defend my sports topics because I never competed myself (it's all more about my sister and father).
 
Where are you from?
Brazil

Who's your favourite cyclist?
Contador and now Remco

Your favourite moment in cycling history?
Verbier

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?
probably gap between budgets..
and for the "rest" of the nations some way to participate on the calendar. Don't know how but Rio16 showed there can be good racing/parcurs/wether enough to try..

What makes cycling better than other sports (to watch)?
the many possibilities, different parcurs, the outside elements and the ever present "high hart rate chess" tactics..

What is the best stage or race design of all times?
P-R and Rio16..
ok, i'm suspect but Rio16 was awesome and the ONLY race i could watched the pro's in person..

Which other sports do you watch the most?
Rowing and some football of corse.

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?
cycling no, only rowing.

How do you feel about women's cycling?
i wish would have more of really hard stages/classics

You are writing a novel set in pro cycling – what's your plot?
a netflix series like Ozark, an accountant starts a team with NO intention whatsoever to win just for money laundry, choosing cyclist, trainers, materials, dealing with UCI, other teams and so on..

TT or hard climbs?
climb

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?
by now the only thing I can try to learn is raping with Pog...
 
This is a dangerous thread. I'm already afraid of spending a whole hour just answering one of those questions while I actually have important stuff to do. Anyway, here we go:

Where are you from?
Austria, from the suburbs of Vienna

Who's you favorite cyclist?
I suppose it's Nibali. When I first got into cycling I was a huge Schleck fanboy though.

Your favorite moment in cycling history?
This is really hard to say, but I think I can bring it down to three answers I cannot chose between.
Rissoul 2016, watching your favorite rider make one of those completely improbable gt comebacks is just incredible.
Milano Sanremo 2018, was special for a number of reasons. Firstly, or course, it was also won by my favorite rider, secondly it was the first time I had actually seen a rider win MSR solo which at that point had started to sound like a legend that only happened in the past and thirdly, just how improbable all of that was. You have this rider who always dreamed of winning this race, but it doesn't actually suit him all that much, he is starting to get old, his preperation wasn't perfect, yet somehow so many unlikely things played together to make that win possible.
Finally, Galibier 2011. Schleck's Rissoul moment, although of course he still ended up losing that tour.

What's wrong with cycling at the moment?
I think it really comes down to team strength. I feel like teams have steadily become more dominant throughout the 10 years or so that I've been watching cycling and I feel like you can just see with the bare eye how different cycling is now. When I was young I never felt like someone like Contador was that much more aggressive than anyone else, but thinking back now at how someone like Contador would often just attack out of nowhere and comparing that to today, that just doesn't happen anymore. Of course this is in part rider mentality, but I think the main reason the riders mentality has changed is because riders started to notice that those attacks are pointless when there is a 5 men train chasing you. It's just wrong that we've grown accustomed to the fact that a mtf like the Col de la Loze will be decided on the final kilometre cause attacks from further out are too risky

What makes cycling better to watch?
A few reasons. First of all I think the dynamic of something that is neither really a team nor a singles sport. It's something in between. The idea that a whole team is working together not for the team to win, but for one guy to win, that's just so unique and leads to so many scenarios only cycling can offer.
Then I think it's the stories that cycling writes. I'm generally of the opinion that the narratives are what make sports truly great and cycling is one of a kind in that regard. Every stage and every one day race tells a small story but over a season those short stories become into something much bigger and all the small details add together to make it one big story.
Then there's the thing that in cycling there are multiple competitions in one, which I also really enjoy. Stuff like a Bora guy attacking in this Tour because he is trying to drop a guy who is the rival of his teammate in the green jersey competition, while also massively influencing the gc battle although he doesn't even care about that.
I guess those are a few reasons, but really there are many, and I could probably write for hours about this point alone

Best stage design?
Probably something out of the race design thread, but of real races...idk? Gardeccia 2011

What other sports do I watch?
Way too many probably. The other ones I'm really, really into are Alpine Skiing, Formula 1 and Football, but I also really like to watch American Football, Tennis, Biathlon,...

Have you ever raced competitively yourself?
Nope, which is actually a bit weird. My father is a bit of a cycling enthusiast, I always liked competitions and I always liked doing endurance sport, but despite all of that I was never actually that much into cycling myself.

How do you feel about women's cycling?
I would love to know more about it but unfortunately so little of it is broadcasted that I'm struggling to get into it. Aside from that I'm spending way too much time watching bike races already.

My plot for a cycling movie
Don't really have an exact idea but probably a comeback story. Don't know any other sport where the huge comebacks feel as impactfull as in cycling.

TT or hard climbs?
Hard climbs

If you could rent a current pro rider for one day to help you improve your cycling, who would you choose and what should they show you?
Probably someone I could ask if he just wants to go for a beer instead.
 
Did you ever shoot that film? Sounds really good. I have tried to write a few things about athletes... usually people are not really into it, and I always have to defend my sports topics because I never competed myself (it's all more about my sister and father).

No:D I only wrote it when the province where I live campaigned for a national sports multievent, but the organizers chose to back other's story.
 
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