84th Gent-Wevelgem: 27 March, 2022

[limak_]

Niewiadoma is always strong, but doesn't often win.

Last year's Worlds so much this.

 

[fbjim]

Major classics wins achieved by riders from: North America, South American, Europe, Africa and Oceania.

Is Asia still missing?

technically Chris Horner won the Vuelta and was born in Japan but i don't think that counts


Japan probably has the talent but no real mechanism to get riders into the World Tour as opposed to their domestic/track scenes

 

[RedheadDane]

Norsgaard came from too far back to reach the top 3. Confalonieri however gets yet another podium.

Guess the positive is that it means fewer points in the prediction game for you.

 

[RedheadDane]

Major classics wins achieved by riders from: North America, South American, Europe, Africa and Oceania.

Is Asia still missing?

Doesn't Kazakhstan count as Asia?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Balsamo is great, she's been fairly underappreciated for the success she's had in the sprints this last couple of years due to Wiebes getting the headlines and that Elisa was riding for a relatively small Italian squad that couldn't back her fully against the likes of Trek and SD Worx, but now she's on one of those big teams herself she's really showing that she's no less a talent in a sprint than Lorena, and she's more versatile too. Her style on the bike, build etc. are all very different, but her skillset reminds me a lot of Giorgia Bronzini.

 

[StryderHells]

Doesn't Kazakhstan count as Asia?

Yes it does.

 

[Velolover2]

technically Chris Horner won the Vuelta and was born in Japan but i don't think that counts


Japan probably has the talent but no real mechanism to get riders into the World Tour as opposed to their domestic/track scenes

At the very least, Japan has a long history of road cycling dating all the way back to the "Tokyo Wheel Association" from 1908.

Personally, I've always wondered why there are no Indian riders. It's a country of a billion people. There must be some upcoming talents waiting to be discovered.

 

[Velolover2]

Doesn't Kazakhstan count as Asia?

You are right. "The Vino option" is no joke.

 

[StryderHells]

Major classics wins achieved by riders from: North America, South American, Europe, Africa and Oceania.

Is Asia still missing?

Vinokourov and Iglinskiy have both won major classics and are from Central Asia.

 

[jmdirt]

She's good at the rainbow post up! Great race EB!

 

[fbjim]

At the very least, Japan has a long history of road cycling dating all the way back to the "Tokyo Wheel Association" from 1908.

Personally, I've always wondered why there are no Indian riders. It's a country of a billion people. There must be some upcoming talents waiting to be discovered.

all about cricket and hockey


Mexico was always an interesting one to me, especially given that parts of it are very high, and they even have historical links to the cycling industry!

 

[tobydawq]

Major classics wins achieved by riders from: North America, South American, Europe, Africa and Oceania.

Is Asia still missing?

Vinokourov won LBL twice.

Edit: He rode faster than I did here...

 

[Salvarani]

At the very least, Japan has a long history of road cycling dating all the way back to the "Tokyo Wheel Association" from 1908.

Personally, I've always wondered why there are no Indian riders. It's a country of a billion people. There must be some upcoming talents waiting to be discovered.

It is just not very organised over there. You have to be very rich to have the luxury and time to be able to practice any sport. The biggest sport is of course cricket.

Maybe it is changing but it will take time. It is a sleeping giant with their big population, and it is a young population. Culturally, sports isnt something you really pursue though.

 

[ice&fire]

Vinokourov and Iglinskiy have both won major classics and are from Central Asia.

Abdujaparov won GW in 1991

 

[StryderHells]

Abdujaparov won GW in 1991

Can’t believe I forgot Abdu, such a beast of a rider.

 

[jmdirt]

Can’t believe I forgot Abdu, such a beast of a rider.

He always looked like he was trying to rip the bike to pieces.

 

[Jumbo Visma Fan :)]

It is just not very organised over there. You have to be very rich to have the luxury and time to be able to practice any sport. The biggest sport is of course cricket.

Maybe it is changing but it will take time. It is a sleeping giant with their big population, and it is a young population. Culturally, sports isnt something you really pursue though.

Yeah, in India you really focus on your religion and sports is not in the forefront of most peoples mind, and the relevant sports are cricket and field hockey, and most others barely have any following there.

 

[JosefK]

Historic moment. It's the first time that an African wins a classic. He already made a big impression in the previous races. It's a weird story that he wasn't even scheduled to start here. It's a pity he won't be there next week, but he can become a new big name for the classics given his age.

I've been waiting for possible entry into world-tour cycling by athletes from some of the east African nations like Kenya and Ethiopia. Their long-distance runners are dominant, so there is a history of great endurance competition there. But of course cycling is not the same skill set as running. And the competitive cycling culture doesn't really exist there as in Europe. Still . . . big hearts.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

all about cricket and hockey


Mexico was always an interesting one to me, especially given that parts of it are very high, and they even have historical links to the cycling industry!

Mexico does have a few decent riders, most notably former Giro KOM winner Julio Alberto Pérez Cuapio and former TdF white jersey Raúl Alcalá. They have a pretty insular calendar and issues with sponsorships that mean the Vuelta a Mexico has been incredibly inconsistent, and they seem to only go into the US racing scene rather than turning up in the other Central American and Caribbean scenes with strong cycling heritage, like Guatemala, Costa Rica, Cuba and the Dominican Republic. They had a decent number of pro races like the Vuelta a Chiapas, the Vuelta a Chihuahua and similar that just aren't at any good level now, so depth has fallen away and teams aren't really scouting there, just hoping for the occasional rider to succeed when they do races in the better-monitored US scene I think.

That and the Central American scenes have always been perceived as rife with doping even compared to the Colombian and Venezuelan calendars, and not without reason either. The Costa Rican scene has had a huge attempt at a clean-up after the years of domination by the Rojas brothers, and the Guatemalans have seemingly rebuilt their péloton after its worst days as well and are now sending teams of decent young riders to go and compete in Colombia and Venezuela and Ecuador. They're a cycling mad nation that has never had somebody make it big so I hope they have turned a corner on this, there aren't any Guatemalan equivalents of Andrey Amador or Kevin Rivera that have made it to Europe from Costa Rica.

 

[MartinGT]

Nice to see Pidcock finish.

 

[tobydawq]

I've been waiting for possible entry into world-tour cycling by athletes from some of the east African nations like Kenya and Ethiopia. Their long-distance runners are dominant, so there is a history of great endurance competition there. But of course cycling is not the same skill set as running. And the competitive cycling culture doesn't really exist there as in Europe. Still . . . big hearts.

One very big advantage of the Kenyans and Ethiopians is that they have very light calves which is a very important biomechanical thing when it comes to running. I don't think it has the same benefit in cycling.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

I've been waiting for possible entry into world-tour cycling by athletes from some of the east African nations like Kenya and Ethiopia. Their long-distance runners are dominant, so there is a history of great endurance competition there. But of course cycling is not the same skill set as running. And the competitive cycling culture doesn't really exist there as in Europe. Still . . . big hearts.

A Kenyan finished 45th in the Worlds U23 as far back as 2006.

World Championships MU - Road Race 2006 One day race results

World Championships MU - Road Race 2006 was won by Gerald Ciolek before Romain Feillu and Alexander Khatuntsev.

www.procyclingstats.com

 

[tobydawq]

A Kenyan finished 45th in the Worlds U23 as far back as 2006.

World Championships MU - Road Race 2006 One day race results

World Championships MU - Road Race 2006 was won by Gerald Ciolek before Romain Feillu and Alexander Khatuntsev.

www.procyclingstats.com

I don't think that particular Kenyan shares too many anthropometric traits with most of the local population.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

I don't think that particular Kenyan shares too many anthropometric traits with most of the local population.

Yeah, like Vino.

 

[Mayomaniac]

technically Chris Horner won the Vuelta and was born in Japan but i don't think that counts


Japan probably has the talent but no real mechanism to get riders into the World Tour as opposed to their domestic/track scenes

Looking at the depth that they have in amateur Marathon running they probably have the talent, but their is the problem that nearly all the population lives in huge cities and metropolitan areas, so not exactly the ideal place to start cycling. In terms of having mountain passes they can probably rival any alpine country.
Iran is an Asian country with a big population where cycling is pretty big, despite their clinic stuff related problems, but there would have to be a mechanism to get the young riders to ride in Europe (someone like Kiry left Belarus to ride in Italy at the age of 16, you'd need similar systems to have them ride more in Urope/give them a chance to end up on bigger teams). With Iran it's probably also also a political thing, but the Eritrean kids usually don't have a lot of problems when it comes to get work visa to ride and train in Italy (the main reason the NTT developmental team rode under Italian flag was/is the fact that it made getting visas fo their African riders much easier)