2016 Tour of Croatia (19-24 april)

[jens_attacks]

wai, there is a 40 km TTT? how, when?

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

wai, there is a 40 km TTT? how, when?

Stage 5.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

wai, there is a 40 km TTT? how, when?

Stage 5.

That's a TTT? What the hell? This is a mad distance for a gc but in a 2.1 European Tour race this is so incredibly stupid

 

[TMP402]

Again total anti-climax. No drama because it wasn't clear where the finish was and twisting/technical roads means no-one sprinted at 100%. Renshaw wasn't really able to lead Cavendish out, he was practically alongside him.

 

[King Boonen]

Re: Re:

wai, there is a 40 km TTT? how, when?

Stage 5.

That's a TTT? What the hell? This is a mad distance for a gc but in a 2.1 European Tour race this is so incredibly stupid

Yeah, does seem a bit crazy. Maybe they were hoping to force teams to bring stronger riders.

 

[Cro racing]

 

[Breh]

That crash looked really, really nasty.

 

[King Boonen]

Re:

Nice shot of Split in the background.

 

[Hugo Koblet]

Re: Re:

So no Majka? Who is the GC favourite now?

Rogina?

With a 40 km TTT, I'd say one of the Trek guys. Arredondo perhaps?

Zoidl?

That's a good bet as well if he somehow finds some of his previous form. I guess that goes for Arredondo as well, though.

 

[yaco]

Riders and spectators were like skittles in the last 2km.

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

So no Majka? Who is the GC favourite now?

Rogina?

With a 40 km TTT, I'd say one of the Trek guys. Arredondo perhaps?

Zoidl?

That's a good bet as well if he somehow finds some of his previous form. I guess that goes for Arredondo as well, though.

Arredondo was randomly at the front of the peloton chasing the break in the last 5-10km today. I don't know if that is good or bad for his GC ambitions.

 

[TMP402]

Re:

Riders and spectators were like skittles in the last 2km.

Well, this year they've obviously managed to attract WT teams and a big name in Cavendish but they are still very Third World in terms of course design and TV presentation so far.

 

[Lance Armstrong]

Lol, once again what a **** stage finish. Downhill sprint?

 

[yaco]

Re: Re:

Riders and spectators were like skittles in the last 2km.

Well, this year they've obviously managed to attract WT teams and a big name in Cavendish but they are still very Third World in terms of course design and TV presentation so far.

TV presentation is fine but course design leaves much to be desired.

 

[yaco]

Lightning strikes twice - The finish you have when you dont have a finish - Anyway Nizzolo got it right again today and won the stage from Dupont.

 

[Lexman]

Dupont sprinting nice again this week

 

[GenericBoonenFan]

Re:

Dupont sprinting nice again this week

Give him a contract pronto!

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

Riders and spectators were like skittles in the last 2km.

Well, this year they've obviously managed to attract WT teams and a big name in Cavendish but they are still very Third World in terms of course design and TV presentation so far.

TV presentation is fine but course design leaves much to be desired.

Well, I've seen km remaining about three times in the whole race so far - and it's yet to be accurate - and they don't even bother telling you the gap to the break. Perhaps not the camera footage but the graphics.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Riders and spectators were like skittles in the last 2km.

Well, this year they've obviously managed to attract WT teams and a big name in Cavendish but they are still very Third World in terms of course design and TV presentation so far.

A big name in Cavendish who can hardly win here.

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

Riders and spectators were like skittles in the last 2km.

Well, this year they've obviously managed to attract WT teams and a big name in Cavendish but they are still very Third World in terms of course design and TV presentation so far.

A big name in Cavendish who can hardly win here.

Have you been watching the race? These are the least contested sprint finishes I've ever seen.

 

[Jspear]

Re: Re:

Riders and spectators were like skittles in the last 2km.

Well, this year they've obviously managed to attract WT teams and a big name in Cavendish but they are still very Third World in terms of course design and TV presentation so far.

A big name in Cavendish who can hardly win here.

Have you been watching the race? These are the least contested sprint finishes I've ever seen.

Only highlights. Are you saying Cav isn't trying? It seems like he would appreciate some wins...even if it is here.

 

[bursaomentalis]

I'm from Croatia so a little bit of insight for you guys wondering about the stage design.

So the problem is that Croatian media and politics view this race purely for marketing Croatian tourism, meaning that the race itself is a slave to showing off beautiful parts of Croatia. It seems that they do not understand the basic concept of cycling (making a sprint finish so twisting that riders cant sprint normally just so that they make the finish in the center of a nice town). All the approaches to the finish are extremely dangerous (example stage 2 going through the woods of Marijan) and the turns in the last 100 meters.

Since the race organizer is Miholjevic (ex pro rider, most of you probably know him) i don't think its ignorance but politics that are not allowing him to organize the race as he would like and he has to create a ''spectacle'' for viewers and politicians so that he can get the needed finances (see 40km TTT).

So sad really that they are prostituting bike racing like this, but cant expect anything else from our corrupt society. Just watch the last stage to Zagreb. High speed, corners, cobble climb and going through tram rails. Just a matter of time before serious injuries happen or teams just decide it's not worth the trouble.

 

[Valv.Piti]

How long to go - when does the climb start?

 

[bursaomentalis]

Around 35km to go, climb starts at 22km to go average around 6%

 

[Lance Armstrong]

This looks like an epic climb. An it will only get steeper.