2010 in Pictures

[flatclimb]

Basso putting a certain someone in a world full of pain in this years Giro.

 

[Eric8-A]

Basso putting a certain someone in a world full of pain in this years Giro.

Anybody else agree that Ivan Basso has the best suffering faces in the peloton?

 

[colinlues]

moved for their strength, just hold on and on~

 

[mr. tibbs]

Basso putting a certain someone in a world full of pain in this years Giro.

I don't see any cutouts on Basso's shift levers. Is he riding Chorus here? (Compare to the certain someone's levers.)

@Eric8-A: I recall him being referred to as The Smiling Assassin b/c of his emotive grimacing.

 

[knewcleardaze]

I don't see any cutouts on Basso's shift levers. Is he riding Chorus here? (Compare to the certain someone's levers.)

@Eric8-A: I recall him being referred to as The Smiling Assassin b/c of his emotive grimacing.

What are cutouts? Thanks in advance.

 

[mr. tibbs]

What are cutouts? Thanks in advance.

Check Cadel's brake lever blades. Right at the top, there are two visible cutouts. (There are actually three, but the third is hidden.)

2010 Campagnolo Super Record has three such cutouts:

Campagnolo Record only has two. Campagnolo Chorus doesn't have any:

The implication is that Basso wasn't racing the Giro with Super or Pedestrian Record; rather, he was racing on Chorus. I don't blame him (the only difference between Chorus and Super Record are materials like Titanium and ceramics--the design and function are the same), but it's strange that Campy would let an Italian win the Giro on anything less than their flagship money-maker.

 

[knewcleardaze]

Check Cadel's brake lever blades. Right at the top, there are two visible cutouts. (There are actually three, but the third is hidden.)

2010 Campagnolo Super Record has three such cutouts:

Campagnolo Record only has two. Campagnolo Chorus doesn't have any:

The implication is that Basso wasn't racing the Giro with Super or Pedestrian Record; rather, he was racing on Chorus. I don't blame him (the only difference between Chorus and Super Record are materials like Titanium and ceramics--the design and function are the same), but it's strange that Campy would let an Italian win the Giro on anything less than their flagship money-maker.

Thanks Mr. Tibbs. Their only function is the saving of weight?

 

[mr. tibbs]

Thanks Mr. Tibbs. Their only function is the saving of weight?

The cutouts serve more as a status symbol, I think--just like every other "hi-tech advancement" in cycling.

Chorus is good enough for bad*ss pros from all walks. Check out Katie Compton in 2007:

And here's Compton in 2010, proving that the hardware is less important than the engine:

 

[dotcycling]

TdS is a 9 day race. In what terms is it the 4th biggest national tour? Portugal is longer (11 days), and outside of Europe you have several longer races like Venezuela and Colombia.

The Dauphiné, Paris-Nice, Suisse, Tirreno, País Vasco... lots of races can lay claim to that biggest-stage-race-outside-the-GTs crown. It all depends on where you're from and what you prefer to see.

Its the 4th biggest national tour in terms of, among other things, UCI ranking (most recently Protour), prestige (yes, Portugal is the same age, but historically has never had the same ranking), teams size and teams participating, parcours, prize money, and historical standing. Also, Switzerland is a "home nation" for cycling, being amongst the main 6 European home nations.

I agree that there are lots of other "national tours" that may be bigger, such as the Ras in Ireland, but they are not at the top pro level,. TdS is no. 4 in the national tours at the top pro level. And BTW the Dauphiné, Paris-Nice, Tirreno, País Vasco are not national tours, and none is bigger than TdS (Of the top pro events, Paris-Nice, Tirreno and Pais Vasco are of similar distance - but all shorter in number of days and in vertical climbing).

Tour de Suisse also has the record for the longest stage in a modern day stage race when the organisers used super long neutralised starts to have the riders cover over 300km in one day. I cant remember the exact year but it was some time in the 1980s



As for a picture... Here is Kim Kirchen in the prologue of this year's TdS... His final event as a pro... Kim suffered a heart attack two days later

 

[Matthijs]

Besides. TDS is a TDF warm up.

Paris Nice and Tirreno are races in their own right. The only thing they are used to warm up for is Milan San Remo, if your a sprinter or Cancellara.

That's why I think Paris-Nice is the highest class in weeklong races to win. Because it's stands alone.
But if you only consider National tours Suisse is the best. Of course Eneco is the hughest stage race in 2 cycling home countries, so that's also the best And the tour of pologne is the national tour of the biggest country if you only consider weeklong race national tours...

 

[Kvinto]

That's why I think Paris-Nice is the highest class in weeklong races to win. Because it's stands alone.
But if you only consider National tours Suisse is the best. Of course Eneco is the hughest stage race in 2 cycling home countries, so that's also the best And the tour of pologne is the national tour of the biggest country if you only consider weeklong race national tours...

Neither Suisse nor Poland, only Pais Vasco

 

[Matthijs]

Neither Suisse nor Poland, only Pais Vasco

It has maybe a stronger GT/climbing field then PN lately... But still, isn't preparation for Ardennes (and for some Giro)?

 

[El Pistolero]

1. Paris-Nice
2. Dauphine

That's how I rate them. Dauphine beats Suisse as it attracts a better quality of field imo.

Paris-Nice is usually very exciting and Contador is way more exciting there than in the Tour.

 

[Kvinto]

It has maybe a stronger GT/climbing field then PN lately... But still, isn't preparation for Ardennes (and for some Giro)?

I'm surprised and don't know how to argue
Pais Vasco is one of the most prestigious week long races. But for different riders any race can be considered as the preparation for another race. As the example Oscar Freire successfully used Tirreno Adriatico as the preparation for Sanremo, but then can we consider Tirreno as the preparation race at all? Or the way Carlos Sastre rode Tour this year, it looked like a preparation for Clasica San Sebastian... but it's nonsense.
But you wrote about the best of national tours. Then I assumed the best is Tour of Bask Country

 

[on3m@n@rmy]

Basso putting a certain someone in a world full of pain in this years Giro.

Anybody else agree that Ivan Basso has the best suffering faces in the peloton?

First - great pic! And ya, that's quite a suffering face. I could maybe see a laugh there... but that would be stretching it a bit. I just remember it used to be said about Big Mig that you never new if he was suffering, laughing at you, or sneering. Behind those sunglasses, Mig's suffering really did look like he was laughing at you.

 

[Christian]

Anybody else agree that Ivan Basso has the best suffering faces in the peloton?

Chris Anker Sorensen is good at that too. The guy always looks like he's 3 seconds away from fainting

 

[Libertine Seguros]

King of the suffering face is David de la Fuente:

 

[Matthijs]

I'm surprised and don't know how to argue
Pais Vasco is one of the most prestigious week long races. But for different riders any race can be considered as the preparation for another race. As the example Oscar Freire successfully used Tirreno Adriatico as the preparation for Sanremo, but then can we consider Tirreno as the preparation race at all? Or the way Carlos Sastre rode Tour this year, it looked like a preparation for Clasica San Sebastian... but it's nonsense.
But you wrote about the best of national tours. Then I assumed the best is Tour of Bask Country

Haha, I see your point points, maybe. TA has usually a lot of flat stages and only some hills, no real mountains like PN lately. But then again for scarponi and so on it will be a real goal I guess (which he and his team **** up big time last year )

 

[Arnout]

Chris Anker Sorensen is good at that too. The guy always looks like he's 3 seconds away from fainting

That's not the best, that's the worst. It is physically painful to see him ride, awful style.

 

[El Pistolero]

^ No one beats that suffering face.

 

[Parrulo]

^ No one beats that suffering face.

thats good but this shows his suffering a bit better

tho i have seen a better one from that time trial. but can't find it

 

[Kwibus]

AC certainly looked totally trashed a few times this Tour. A sight I had never seen before on his face.

 

[Parrulo]

AC certainly looked totally trashed a few times this Tour. A sight I had never seen before on his face.

and irony of the desteny thats when he gets caught . . .

 

[Christian]

Also a good one, right after the ITT:

 

[Michielveedeebee]

Italians always call the Ronde the Giro delle Fiandre. Sounds better than the Ronde van Vlaanderen tbh
They probably can't even pronounce it decently, so it's better if you say it in the native tongue then.

And I always call FW the Waalse Pijl. Also sounds better lol.

The only safe race from translations is probably the Amstel Gold race.

But Tour of France just doesn't sound right. The "of" totally destroys it.

Yeah, it's like tour of california