2011 TD Bank International Cycling Championship

[The_Z_man]

I'd make a prediction, but I haven't seen a start list yet. While it would be nice to see an American finally win, unless Farrar is there, that probably won't happen.

 

[jobiwan]

 

[bhilden]

Kudos to Dave Chauner and crew for keeping this race going for 26 years, but they really have to do something to make this race more interesting. It is a great showcase for young, US domestic pros to go out early and get some TV time for themselves and their sponsor(s), but the only thing that really makes this course selective is the distance. That's not enough.

 

[The_Z_man]

Kudos to Dave Chauner and crew for keeping this race going for 26 years, but they really have to do something to make this race more interesting. It is a great showcase for young, US domestic pros to go out early and get some TV time for themselves and their sponsor(s), but the only thing that really makes this course selective is the distance. That's not enough.

I agree with your penultimate sentence. I have always thought they should cut out the Lemon Hill circuits at the end. Just go straight from the top of The Wall back down to the Parkway. That would give a group that gets away near the end a chance to stay away until the finish. The Lemon Hill circuits, are flat enough to let the teams of the sprinters chase down any breaks.

 

[dabaideschbi]

I hope that sagan will take it!

 

[TERMINATOR]

Kudos to Dave Chauner and crew for keeping this race going for 26 years, but they really have to do something to make this race more interesting. It is a great showcase for young, US domestic pros to go out early and get some TV time for themselves and their sponsor(s), but the only thing that really makes this course selective is the distance. That's not enough.

Philly is a very boring race. The course is flat and the so-called Manayunk Wall is nothing but a speed bump that is entirely negated by the 1-mile descent that follows it.

The women's race is essentially a crit.

 

[Highlander]

I go to the race every year and there are both positives and negatives with the course. While it almost always turns into a sprint finish, you do get to see the riders go by multiple times throughout the race. I wouldn't mind seeing them tweak the course, but I think that the organizers have limited options. The city itself is predominantly flat unless they finish on Manayunk. There are hills in the surrounding suburbs, but that would do away with the circuits that the organizers provide now. In addition, most Philadelphians act like it is a huge inconvenience to have these streets closed down for one day of the year, so I can't imagine the city letting them move into other areas and trying to shut down even more streets.

 

[The_Z_man]

I disagree that it's a boring race. It's just a sprinters race. The Wall is more than a speedbump. It's not the Ventoux, but it's a very tough climb, especially when you do it 11 times.

A while ago, there was talk of having at least some part of the race on the west side of the Schuylkill, but Lower Merion Township wasn't thrilled with that. Of course, they're never thrilled with anything. It would be interesting if somehow they could do that. Expanding the course anywhere else really gets it nowhere.

P.S. They're advertising it as the biggest race in North America. Obviously, the AToC is. If the protour events in Canada are still on, I'm not even sure if it's the biggest one day race anymore. Still it's a fun time.

 

[nvpacchi]

Always enjoy attending this race, hopefully I can make it down to Philly this year.

Also agree that the route needs a little tweaking. Personally I would be in favor of a route starting in Philly, leaving the city, do a loop around Valley Forge area, then bring it back into Manayunk for 5 or 6 laps. Similar to what Worlds did last year by starting in Melbourne and making its way over to Geelong. Thus riders aren't doing the exact same circuit 12 plus times.

 

[TeoSheva]

Vicioso vs Sagan ftw

 

[Zigster]

i suppose the simplest thing would be to just move the finish to the top of the Manayunk Wall a la Fleche Wallonne. If it were this way I think Chris Horner would have won the race a few times by now.

 

[Highlander]

The start lists have been published at:

http://www.procyclingtour.com/phila-startlist.htm?pab=1_3

I would love to see a dark horse team take it this year, but I don't really care who wins as long as it isn't HTC again. It's almost guaranteed that Ina will win the women's race like she always does, so we need a little variety on the podium.

 

[The_Z_man]

I'm going to have to agree with those who tabbed Sagan for the win.

 

[Michele]

Is there any live streaming for this race?

 

[Gloin22]

1. Alex Rasmussen
2. Peter Sagan
3. Robert Forster

Once again Sagan beaten by HTC.

 

[analo69]

How are the teams chosen/invited for this race. I see there is a Danish National team. With very poor riders.

Then there is some us continental and pro continental teams. And at last a few world tour teams.

 

[Kwibus]

1. Alex Rasmussen
2. Peter Sagan
3. Robert Forster

Once again Sagan beaten by HTC.

Great... HTC managed to control this race with just 5 riders.. zzzzz
Then you really know you should make the race harder.

 

[joy118118]

Great... HTC managed to control this race with just 5 riders.. zzzzz
Then you really know you should make the race harder.

final Alex hasnt a leadout. there was a big crash that only about 30 riders remained.

 

[Bye Bye Bicycle]

Yeah, it's quite boring, as every race without three HC climbs.


Great win for Rasmussen, but also great job by Frösi. Had some fears that he would slowly disappear from the scene while riding for such an obscure US team, but with wins on three continents so far this year he's back in the game. I'm wondering whether he will return to Europe next year.

 

[Highlander]

Great... HTC managed to control this race with just 5 riders.. zzzzz
Then you really know you should make the race harder.

HTC never controlled this race like they usually do. Other teams like Liquigas and Pure Black were on the front for most of the chasing. I was watching on Lemon Hill and actually had a hard time finding the HTC riders on most laps because they were sitting in the middle of the peloton. Rasmussen even thought that he was leading out Howard until the crash happened and he was on his own, so he went for it.

 

[Fus087]

How are the teams chosen/invited for this race. I see there is a Danish National team. With very poor riders.

Then there is some us continental and pro continental teams. And at last a few world tour teams.

The "Danish national team" is made up almost entirely of riders from Herning CK. Søren Petersen in particular has participated in this race for many years (no idea how he got into it in the start), and has also had some OK results.
The "national team" is just a way to get around UCI regulations that don't allow club teams to start in HC races.

 

[Kazistuta]

The "Danish national team" is made up almost entirely of riders from Herning CK. Søren Petersen in particular has participated in this race for many years (no idea how he got into it in the start), and has also had some OK results.
The "national team" is just a way to get around UCI regulations that don't allow club teams to start in HC races.

Peterson rode two years at the American team Saturn - guess that's where he originally got his ticket to ride the race.

 

[greenedge]

I think Rasmussen rode a nice race. He can pull at the pack, he can do a nice leadout and now sprint. Congrats. Your team set it up for you but you had no leadout. Your first person from Htc was 46 seconds down.

 

[Bala Verde]

The race was fun to watch, but the crash - which I saw in slow-motion trying to identify what exactly happened - was horrendous.