General News Thread

[Netserk]

I doubt there would have been an issue if the stage was 150 or 170kms.

They signed up for 250 km when they started the race.

 

[BR2]

I doubt there would have been an issue if the stage was 150 or 170kms.

Well, many people like me think that long races and stages are still an essential part of the sport. If cycling overall agrees it's not that way anymore, okay, than viewers like me have to deal with it and decide whether it is still the sport they like. (It is also part of the "myths" and the "epicness" which cycling is so proud of.) Anyway, as long as it is a part of the cycling and such a stage has been known to be in a race for months, riders should not just be like "oh no, I don't think it's worth it today", and cancel the racing during the day. It ridicules the sport and is disrespectful towards the fans.
Now the way I understood it, there were other issues at play behind the scenes, and a long stage in the rain was more like the final straw that broke the camel's back than the actual problem. But overall riders should have a real reason to refuse to ride in the middle of a race, not just "not worth it, not interested, not in the mood".

 

[RedheadDane]

Well, many people like me think that long races and stages are still an essential part of the sport. If cycling overall agrees it's not that way anymore, okay, than viewers like me have to deal with it and decide whether it is still the sport they like.

Isn't it lucky that nobody is going to do completely away with long stages?

 

[tobydawq]

I doubt there would've been an issue if riders didn't refuse to do their job that day.

If you're invited and selected for a race, don't undercut that race by refusing to race. It can harm the organiser to organise that race in the future.

Rain isn't part of the EWP. Dealing with weather is part of being a cyclist.

I have also heard a good few riders regret what happened that day, feeling embarrassed.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Am I exceptionally bad at reading maps/routes, or is Basque Country 2023 looking like a shitter?

 

[fmk_RoI]

If you're invited and selected for a race, don't undercut that race by refusing to race. It can harm the organiser to organise that race in the future.

Every now and then, we make a bit of noise about the need for riders to have a strong union, the need for riders to not be powerless.

One of the few bits of power available to any worker is the right to protest. And the best kind of protest - the impactful kind of protest - is going to be well timed and designed to inconvenience someone.

In a bike race, the only time for that really is the day of a race.

Sometimes it is necessary to put a race organiser in danger in order to make them listen. That's been understood for a long time and in cycling is best shown in the story about the riders' protest in Valence d'Agen during the 1978 Tour.

 

[Netserk]

we make a bit of noise about the need for riders to have a strong union

Who is this "we"?

One of the few bits of power available to any worker is the right to protest. And the best kind of protest - the impactful kind of protest - is going to be well timed and designed to inconvenience someone.

The best kind of protest has credible escalation options that it doesn't need to use. Compare the means and the results of labour unions in Denmark and France.

Because at the end of the day, conflicting interests is not a zero-sum game. Resolving conflicts, working out comprises, is usually the winning strategy.

 

[Unchained]

I have read 2 things about the take away from the first few races including the Cycling news story.. My take away is that coaching wise Pogocar saw what his weak points were, worked on them and in doing so fixed what was wrong and as a byproduct has a decent @100 meter jump.. Not the top speed of the current best sprinters but tree stump pulling torque when he stands up and stomps on the pedals.
All others look to be going well..but don't have the depth of confidence that Popocar currently has..

 

[Monte Serra]

Kristen Faulkner disqualified from Strade Bianche.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1635594348376072192

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/cycling_podcast/status/1635594348376072192

 

[tobydawq]

Kristen Faulkner disqualified from Strade Bianche.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1635594348376072192

View: https://mobile.twitter.com/cycling_podcast/status/1635594348376072192

Pretty daft to be wearing it when it's illegal, I would say.

 

[yaco]

I think its daft to admit to wearing it when there is no concrete evidence - Anyway according to reports the sensor on the monitor was not connected to her phone during the race - We need to understand the context that Faulner ( for unknown reasons ) was not originally selected for Strade Bianche and was a last minute replacement.

 

[Izzyeviel]

sucks for her, but on the other hand, 85 points more for my fantasy cycling team. Swings & roundabouts

 

[MartinGT]

I think its daft to admit to wearing it when there is no concrete evidence - Anyway according to reports the sensor on the monitor was not connected to her phone during the race - We need to understand the context that Faulner ( for unknown reasons ) was not originally selected for Strade Bianche and was a last minute replacement.

There are multiple photos of her wearing it.

The faux outrage from people like Jose Been and Orla Chennaoui is laughable. The rules are clear, so its her and the teams fault for wearing one. Yes it seems they offer little advantage if any at all, but the rules are clear.

FWIW I think Faulkner has handled it well, shes got a DSQ lets move on. I enjoyed her last season in the Tour de Suisse and Giro so hoping so see more of her this season.

 

[RedheadDane]

The faux outrage from people like Jose Been and Orla Chennaoui is laughable. The rules are clear, so its her and the teams fault for wearing one. Yes it seems they offer little advantage if any at all, but the rules are clear.

If a rule is stupid, the proper action to take is to contact the people in charge of said rule, and convince them to change it.

 

[yaco]

There are multiple photos of her wearing it.

The faux outrage from people like Jose Been and Orla Chennaoui is laughable. The rules are clear, so its her and the teams fault for wearing one. Yes it seems they offer little advantage if any at all, but the rules are clear.

FWIW I think Faulkner has handled it well, shes got a DSQ lets move on. I enjoyed her last season in the Tour de Suisse and Giro so hoping so see more of her this season.

Except that the monitor was not connected to a phone app and so there was no data. Once that was determined the UCI then found another provision in their rules to disqualify Faulkner - I have an idea - Assuming these monitors are so easy to detect why aren't the commissionars checking each rider before a race to see if they wearing a monitor.

 

[MartinGT]

Doesn't the rule just state not to wear one in competition? If that's the case don't wear it even if it's not connected.

 

[yaco]

Doesn't the rule just state not to wear one in competition? If that's the case don't wear it even if it's not connected.

Maybe the Commissars should check before races, like they often do for the eligibility of bikes.

 

[RedheadDane]

Doesn't the rule just state not to wear one in competition? If that's the case don't wear it even if it's not connected.

From what I understand, part of the issue was that

1: She had not originally been scheduled to race.
2: She had - obviously - already put it in, and they're quite hard to remove/can't really be reinserted.

 

[Unchained]

From what I understand, part of the issue was that

1: She had not originally been scheduled to race.
2: She had - obviously - already put it in, and they're quite hard to remove/can't really be reinserted.

I am going to be confused as if there was a monitoring app running on her head unit on her bike.. or being monitored by team car..think it's all kind of petty.. I see it this way... It's just plastic piece unless you are using it to get some kind of bio feedback during the race..

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Yikes.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1631676296764768261

View: https://twitter.com/ammattipyoraily/status/1631676296764768261


CC: @Libertine Seguros

Hansen was elected unopposed today. A sad day for the sport.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Am I exceptionally bad at reading maps/routes, or is Basque Country 2023 looking like a shitter?

Help me out here

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Help me out here

People "helped you out" with their answers about 4 weeks before you asked the question.

Stage 3 doesn't look too hard, I think it's mainly down to the final 500m. Hills on stage 5 look very short.

Very underwhelming route

This looks dangerously close to being a one-day race for the GC. Replacing the TT with a second sprint opportunity (the last thing Itzulia should be about) is especially horrible.

 

[yaco]

A great decision by the riders - Hansen is still in touch with the sport and is a modern and progressive thinker. He will ensure that riders have a bigger say in the decision-making process.

 

[RedheadDane]

A great decision by the riders - Hansen is still in touch with the sport and is a modern and progressive thinker. He will ensure that riders have a bigger say in the decision-making process.

I don't understand the dislike for him either. Okay, so he was involved in one of the extremely rare cases where it maybe turned out afterwards that a race that got changed could possibly have been ridden as originaly intended, out of the already rare cases where a race gets changed. Hardly a reason to dislike the man.
And he's so in touch with the sport he's active (again), he's riding for the WSA KTM team.

Adam Hansen (procyclingstats.com)

 

[BR2]

We will see how and what Adam Hansen will do. Hopefully it's going to be good for the sport. But after the Giro thing there's some scepticism. Cycling needs to think about safety, but it needs to focus on the real dangers (which usually come from trying to save or earn more money) and not on some symbols and prestige actions.