2019 UCI Road World Championships Men's Road Race : 284.5km

[Brullnux]

The one thing they all have in common is that they're all hard as nails. Even Betancur. He has done some great rides in horrible weather in the Giro.

Valverde, Alaphilippe or Thomas would look out of place on that list.

Very surprised by Chaves today. But he's a tough cookie too, I guess, having done well in e.g. Lombardia.

Thomas once finished a Tour with a broken pelvis, you're being harsh on him here

 

[Leinster]

The one thing they all have in common is that they're all hard as nails. Even Betancur. He has done some great rides in horrible weather in the Giro.

Valverde, Alaphilippe or Thomas would look out of place on that list.

Very surprised by Chaves today. But he's a tough cookie too, I guess, having done well in e.g. Lombardia.

Wasn’t it raining when he won Lombardia?

 

[Pirazziattacks]

He pulled and pulled all day and the closest thing he had to a strategy to win was to try to grind two lighter guys off his wheel on the climb. He was pulling when Trentin had a teammate. He was pulling when it was just him and two quicker guys. He rode like he’d had a frontal lobotomy. He should have been sitting on the back waiting for an opportunity to attack and try to TT home. That’s what you do when you are the strongest but also the slowest.

Oh I wouldn't say he rode smart, but you couldn't call going on a two man break with Craddock with 60+ k to go smart either. Still, he finished 3rd and Craddock DNFed not long after the peloton caught him. Pedersen's attack didn't look like a winning move either, but today wasn't about riding smart in the end.

 

[jaylew]

Mathieu's drop was so crazy. They had already dropped Moscon and he got back on but when Van der Poel dropped it was just so sudden and final. I wonder if the cold had anything to do with it. I know you need to eat much more than usual which is easy to forget when the weather is bad. It's certainly happened to me in the cold, going from thinking I could win to suddenly having nothing and having to drop out.

 

[movingtarget]

Danish cycling going from strength to strength. The Danes had two in the top six. The top three were great especially Kung who did a lot of work in both groups. Trentin ran out of legs. Sagan's ride was a curious one. His reaction on the finish line was major disappointment. Makes me think he could have gone with the move but decided to wait and see. VDP rode a like a demon too early and hit the wall. Italy will be disappointed, just not good enough on the day. Not a good race for Belgium, France, the Dutch and Spain. Australia were relying on Matthews for a result Not surprisingly in those conditions it was a race of attrition.

 

[Escarabajo]

So he rode ala Sagan again which you cant blame him for since it has netted him 3 Worlds so far. But still, he doesnt have a team and when two captains go, you better try to join them.

Sagan had a point maybe a week ago. But after watching all races there was a big chance that if you miss the late attack you would lose the race. I was watching and it was almost done there with Trentin, Moscon and VDP in the group. Not having a team didn't help.

On a different note I had not seen a crack like the one from VDPM in a long time. Forgot his banana. Feel bad for him.

 

[roundabout]

Wasn’t it raining when he won Lombardia?

don't think so. at least not when it mattered

 

[Zinoviev Letter]

Oh I wouldn't say he rode smart, but you couldn't call going on a two man break with Craddock with 60+ k to go smart either. Still, he finished 3rd and Craddock DNFed not long after the peloton caught him. Pedersen's attack didn't look like a winning move either, but today wasn't about riding smart in the end.

I agree about the day in general. I think rainwater must have been leaking into rider’s brains because pretty much every single guy prominent in the finale made let’s just say... peculiar... decisions.

 

[Eyeballs Out]

Sagan: "Very hard to control the race ... just myself ... the guys made a good decision to attack, somebody maybe was over-confident (!), somebody was just in the right moment, right place....for me, I thought it was just too long to go ... lot of belgian and german guys still in the group, I thought they were going to control the race but in the end there was nobody to pull ..."

 

[tobydawq]

Wauw. That was just fantastic.

When part of me really think it was a pity that Sagan messed up by not having positioned himself to go with MvdP and Trentin, which would have enabled him to get a pretty clear fourth rainbow jersey, I'm over the moon by finally seeing a Dane wearing it.

I had a feeling before the race that Mads P might be our best shot, and boy did he prove me right.

I also thought that Trentin would win before the sprint but we have to take into account that he (Trentin) really hasn't featured in that many finales of 260km races so it's not like him winning was the only possible outcome (evidently). He did look better than Pedersen on the final climb, though.

 

[Bushman]

Trentin is a rider who has made the most of his physical talent.

How so? He seems to be always up there but his biggest victories yet are grand Tour stages and Paris - Tours.

 

[movingtarget]

I agree about the day in general. I think rainwater must have been leaking into rider’s brains because pretty much every single guy prominent in the finale made let’s just say... peculiar... decisions.

Don't think Trentin should have been sprinting from the front but it didn't matter as the Dane had much better legs. Kung did too much work but almost dropped Trentin on one of the final climbs. Sitting back and attacking is a 50/50 proposition near the finish and if he gets caught, his sprint is even worse. He had done a lot of work even before VDP's attack.

 

[zigzag wanderer]

Thomas once finished a Tour with a broken pelvis, you're being harsh on him here

Finished 3rd in THAT Gent Wevelgem, too

 

[Bushman]

Congrats to the winner, but not a worlds worth watching. (That is basically the entire week of racing.)

What? This was a fantastic race. As was the u23 race, which imo was one of the most thrilling races of this year.

 

[hrotha]

Not completely sold on the winner because I'm very particular about who gets my blessing as world champion (and yes, I realize my blessing is a greater prize than the gold medal and the rainbow jersey), but objectively that was the best WC men's race in a long while. Perhaps since Geelong, even?

 

[Valv.Piti]

Wauw. That was just fantastic.

When part of me really think it was a pity that Sagan messed up by not having positioned himself to go with MvdP and Trentin, which would have enabled him to get a pretty clear fourth rainbow jersey, I'm over the moon by finally seeing a Dane wearing it.

I had a feeling before the race that Mads P might be our best shot, and boy did he prove me right.

I also thought that Trentin would win before the sprint but we have to take into account that he (Trentin) really hasn't featured in that many finales of 260km races so it's not like him winning was the only possible outcome (evidently). He did look better than Pedersen on the final climb, though.

Yeah, can't help but feel Pedersen was a bit lucky by VdP and Sagan kinda screwing up one way or another. But if you look at it that way, every winner has been lucky.

Chapeau Mads. Better hope he will ride a better spring than this year though...

 

[Koronin]

What? This was a fantastic race. As was the u23 race, which imo was one of the most thrilling races of this year.

Other than the stupid pan flat Worlds in 2016, this was a HORRIBLE week of racing. Totally a waste of time to watch other than the men's Juniors race and ITT. None of the rest of the races were worth the time to watch.

 

[Red Rick]

Not completely sold on the winner because I'm very particular about who gets my blessing as world champion (and yes, I realize my blessing is a greater prize than the gold medal and the rainbow jersey), but objectively that was the best WC men's race in a long while. Perhaps since Geelong, even?

Geelong didn't have that much action did it?

 

[Leinster]

Alejandro didn’t win and I don’t like bike racing.

Fair enough.

 

[SafeBet]

Other than the stupid pan flat Worlds in 2016, this was a HORRIBLE week of racing. Totally a waste of time to watch other than the men's Juniors race and ITT. None of the rest of the races were worth the time to watch.

Seriously, in my opinion this was the best week of WC racing I've ever seen. There were some questionable decisions by the race organizers and jury but the riders were amazing. Some legendary performances that won't be easily forgotten.

 

[tobydawq]

Other than the stupid pan flat Worlds in 2016, this was a HORRIBLE week of racing. Totally a waste of time to watch other than the men's Juniors race and ITT. None of the rest of the races were worth the time to watch.

Haha, okay champ.

I don't really think it was the best elite WC in a long while as many make it out to be but it was definitely worth the watch.

Also, a funny observation: This was the second year in a row where the win was contested in a small sprint desperately chased by Gianni Moscon.

 

[Bushman]

Other than the stupid pan flat Worlds in 2016, this was a HORRIBLE week of racing. Totally a waste of time to watch other than the men's Juniors race and ITT. None of the rest of the races were worth the time to watch.

Did you watch the u23 road race? Apart from the disqualification, which leaves a bitter taste, it was an amazing race with the race splitting up on the climb and crosswinds from far out, a dramatic pursuit race between the front group and Eekhof, Higuita and Kron, and then an exciting sprint finish.

Today was very, very entertaining as well.

 

[Koronin]

Fair enough.

Not what I said, try again.

 

[hrotha]

Geelong didn't have that much action did it?

I've never rewatched it so who knows really, but I thought it had lots of action from afar, especially by Gilbert and Evans - it's only that it all came together at the end and there was a reduced bunch sprint. I remember it as an immensely entertaining race.

 

[Koronin]

Did you watch the u23 road race? Apart from the disqualification, which leaves a bitter taste, it was an amazing race with the race splitting up on the climb and crosswinds from far out, a dramatic pursuit race between the front group and Eekhof, Higuita and Kron, and then an exciting sprint finish.

Today was very, very entertaining as well.

Yep I did watch it and found it be a not great race.