Amstel Gold Race 2026, April 19

[Oldman]

Because he is by far the strongest rider of them all. We all know which riders are the second best. And yes, it's a problem with those, too.



That's exactly what teams like Quickstep have had as a tool in their race tactics. Attack and use the motorbike. Why the heck is this great for cycling? Why give the strongest teams and riders an extra advantage?



There are less motorbikes in front of the chasers, because the leaders are the ones that are most interesting to follow for the camera men and photographers. But even if there are motorbikes helping the other groups, it influences the race because it reduces the drag difference between the groups. If a group of five riders are chasing a group of two, it would normally be an advantage for the big group, but if the two-man-group have two motorbikes within a few seconds ahead of them, it's like they are sitting at the end of a peloton. This is probably one of the main reasons why we so rarely see favourites being caught in the last 20 kilometers of big races these days.

Is this theoretical advantage that always exist? I mean; the instances at Strade and MSR that folks claimed motos impacted the race was clearly in error. They aren't dragging anyone up a 15% gravel climb raced at 17 km no matter who is rooting for them.
It's true the race leaders have a moto in front of them because that's the security for the lead riders. Most of the time the press is behind or alongside. If they are in front of a lead rider like Pogacar there is an official moto there as well. Today at Amstel the images were almost always from behind Remco's group in the last 50km.

 

[Oldman]

Maybe some weed outfit will sponsor a classic.

The Acapulco Gold Race? I'm all in on the podium celebration for that one....

Didn't Floyd project that possibility a few years ago?

 

[Red Rick]

Only skjellmose knew how his legs felt. He could have realized that there was no beating Remco. At that point you are trying to hang on for 2nd. And if you make a point of not working then Remco may either call your bluff and let the chasers catch up a bit (they were still fairly close until the point where Gregoire was dropped), or Remco gets mad and attacks you and then you have to survive on your own, or both. Plus you may burn a bridge with someone you later want to have a good relationship with. Why tick off your rival if you're gonna get 2nd anyway?

We literally have the evidence of Evenepoel pulling anyway with with Vingegaard on his wheel in a flat finish.

Seriously there's no reason for Evenepoel to stop pulling, he can just pull slower, they had 2 minutes.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

i do think jorge would normally finish 3rd here

Fair, but none of Laporte, Hagenes, Zingle and Fiorelli being among the 50 best riders in the race is disappointing.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

You do realize 3rd finished two minutes down. When did you last see that at Amstel?

In 2023.

 

[Danskebjerge]

It's true the race leaders have a moto in front of them because that's the security for the lead riders. Most of the time the press is behind or alongside. If they are in front of a lead rider like Pogacar there is an official moto there as well. Today at Amstel the images were almost always from behind Remco's group in the last 50km.

We don't need more examples in order to discuss whether motorbikes have a big influence on the races. They have. Even the riders say it, and the managers.

Yes, on crowded climbs it's good to have a motorbike in front of the riders. This is like 1 percent of the races. It's not where the problem is. The problem is when the riders are going 40-50 kph which is often.

If you do understand that sitting in a big group of riders to reduce drag is an advantage, then it doesn't make sense to claim that the motorbikes don't influence races significantly. It's like saying that Lance Armstrong's successes had nothing to do with doing.

 

[ChasingPotatoes]

I remember a TTT in the Vuelta at the start, where the team car was trailing the riders no more than 5 meters.
The DS obviously knew the aerodynamic gains were significant.
Motorbikes will be less, yes, but e.g. the camerabike riding alongside with sidewind could have quite some impact, and passing motorbikes can give a temporary drag reduction that's enough for a slingshot effect / increase in pace a rider can hold for some time (compared to having to increase the pace without drafting, and keeping it higher).