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2024 National Championships Overview Thread

Page 20 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
Groenewegens salute final form

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I was kinda hoping for a Harry Maguire vs Albania celebration cupping the ear like he did last time

At least Walker looks like quite a good rider I suppose, like other nations the startlist suffers from being too close to the tour, no yateses, thomas etc.

And theres 100kg Tarling with some of the slowest 'attack the steep rise' I've ever seen in my life.
 
I was kinda hoping for a Harry Maguire vs Albania celebration cupping the ear like he did last time

At least Walker looks like quite a good rider I suppose, like other nations the startlist suffers from being too close to the tour, no yateses, thomas etc.

And theres 100kg Tarling with some of the slowest 'attack the steep rise' I've ever seen in my life.

Walker looked good I think just for the way he got back on them after seemingly being dropped. Vs Swift who rode 10kms and never got anywhere close to making any dent in their lead.

I don't know if the Tour plays a factor, well ok it does but it shouldn't, other nations championships still attract their best riders consistently.

We will have to get used to this course though as we're back here next year
 
As I predicted this was Hayter's race to lose. He'll be an interesting proposition for a number of teams who will be confident they can get him back into form.

I was unsure about Hayter pre race because of his uphill time trial Tour de Suisse appearance, given the race is decided on that climb, it's really who is the quickest to drop the watts in big numbers to climb

So it feels like he got in the right breakaway group at the end, who were tactically naive as well imo, but was the strongest rider of that group. Him v Swift up the hill at the end and I think Swift takes it.
 
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The Dylan Groenewegen celebration photo (at least the one posted on Wielerflits) was pretty funny (I admit I laughed hard because that's just the sort of "bad taste" humor I enjoy, aka Monte Python-esque), but in fairness to Groenewegen & because some people have no humor at all, the full celebration is unequivocally unambiguous:

View: https://x.com/BikeBlz/status/1804914943730360354


You can see at the end of this video his arm extension is merely the end movement of his initial salute.

So nothing to see here folks.
 
De Lie has yet to show he can position himself at the WT level in flat sprint finishes. Transitional stages will be his go in the TDF.
This was not a real mass sprint. Without different "sprinttrains" with teammates.

What was left of the peloton was completely separated by the tough finale and the uphill just before the sprint started. So, that was an ideal situation for De Lie, who is not one of the fastest, but certainly one of the strongest. I think there is only one stage in the Tour that suits him. With an light uphill finish, and not at the end of a too difficult stage.
 
Some great results today.

De Lie beating a bunch of Belgian Pozzatos is great to see.
Bettiol winning is lovely.
Bora beaten in Germany, you love to see it.
UAE beaten in Portugal, you love to see it.
Movistar won in Spain but at leasts its legend Aranburu.
Van Aert getting second in Indonesia is just poetic.
Dylan Groenewegen using his platform to bring attention to the political affiliations of the Dutch royal family 80 years ago is a respectable move.
 
I would normally regard a flat street race in Denmark to be hard to win for anybody (because the level is so high in Denmark in that type of races), but I still think Mads Pedersen could have done better today - or at least ridden smarter. I know he likes to attack, but doing it again and again with 30 kilometers to go, that seemed unwise on a course like this one with so few hills and sharp turns. Uno X and Lidl-Trek should have controlled this till the finish instead of spending up energy in flat road attacks. As a TV viewer, though, I'm grateful that the stars of the line-up did go on the offensive relatively early, as the route was really boring, and the first hours of the race were a sleep fest.

Surprises are nice. But it's always a bit sad when the Danish champion's jersey isn't represented on the World Tour and, of course, not at the TdF.
 
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