Amstel Gold Race 2026, April 19

[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).

 

[Oldman]

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.

Again, I'm responding to more specific claims that MSR and Strade were directly impacted and favoring one rider. Racers always b*tch about motos, as they should. But rewatching yesterday's race the motos were conspicuously away from Remco and Mattias almost entirely. There were broadcast bikes ahead of the chasing group on climbs but they backed off as well. Telling was how close the pack appeared to be to the moto and then, in live time they switched cameras to a following moto. The front moto had used a zoom lense to get their shot but were clearly 40m ahead of the chasing group.
I've raced plenty including keirin on the track. Once a motorbike or derny is more than 10' ahead of you any advantage is gone. A flotilla of motos is different but I shouldn't give you too much to think about. As I've suggested: go motorpace a small car to 40km and then have them create a 10' gap. Your power output will need to climb to stay in touch. Happy testing.

 

[Red Rick]

In AGR the motors always get suuuuper close on the Geulhemmer berg or Bemelerberg, I forget which.

Outside of that they tend to be naturally closer due to the narrow and twisty roads.

 

[CyclistAbi]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2046246385163346216

View: https://x.com/Eurosport_ES/status/2046246385163346216

 

[RedheadDane]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2046246385163346216

View: https://x.com/Eurosport_ES/status/2046246385163346216

Based on this, it seems that we can conclude that women are better beer-drinkers than men.