General News Thread

[TourOfSardinia]

Contador and Basso join up for another coffee (in italiano)

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2AsdX2ChA2k

 

[Peter von]

Hasn't It been Like that for ages?

I am no economists, but I don't think that it makes it better

 

[Tim Cahill]

Unsure if already posted, but Tour Colombia is back.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1718007241310130344

I want to see Bernal, Nairo in the Colombia kit, Miguel Angel in a cunning disguise and that commentator that goes mad every time a South American guy attacks.

 

[Tricycle Rider]

Unsure if already posted, but Tour Colombia is back.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1718007241310130344

I want to see Bernal, Nairo in the Colombia kit, Miguel Angel in a cunning disguise and that commentator that goes mad every time a South American guy attacks.

Could we also include Esteban Chaves in this? Then I'll be happy...

 

[Rob5091]

With all the rumours of a new league and "free cash for all!" a new report out on Saudi money and sport -
https://www.bbc.com/sport/67295892
New research claims to show the extent and scale of Saudi Arabian state investment and involvement in sport for the first time.

The report published by Play the Game - run by the Danish Institute for Sport Studies, which is funded by the country's government - found 312 sponsorship deals across 21 sports, as well as multi-sport events.

Play the Game's data was released days after the gulf kingdom was confirmed as the sole bidder for the 2034 World Cup.

see also
https://www.playthegame.org/news/th...investments-in-sport-from-football-to-esport/

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Congrats to Lotte Kopecky and to Jasper Philipsen for being chosen as Flandrien and Flandrienne of the year!

Mathieu van der Poel was chosen as International Flandrien of the year and both Greg Van Avermaet and Peter Sagan received Lifetime Awards.

Jasper Philipsen en Lotte Kopecky verkozen tot Flandriens van het Jaar, Van der Poel is internationale laureaat

Jasper Philipsen heeft Remco Evenepoel achter zich gelaten als Flandrien van het Jaar. Bij de vrouwen geen verrassing: daar werd wereldkampioene Lotte Kopecky voor de vierde keer op een rij gelauwerd. Ook Peter Sagan, Greg Van Avermaet en Mathieu van der Poel vielen nog in de prijzen in Oostende.

sporza.be

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Only just occurred to me: why are the titles for the outstanding riders in the conditions of Dutch speaking Belgium, nearly always won by Dutch speaking Belgians and awarded by a Dutch language Belgian newspaper, in French?

(or does my lack of knowledge of Flemish/Dutch extend to not realise that adjectives in those languages look like French?)

 

[Netserk]

I'd guess that the reason why it's not Vlaming of the year is that Flandrien has come to denote a type of rider in cycling, like grimpeur, more so than a person from Flanders.

The first winner of the award was Bettini, and it was only later that there were separate awards for Belgian and international riders.

 

[awavey]

Future of Tour of Britain in doubt, like it wasn't on shaky enough ground as it was, as British Cycling cancel contract with Sweetspot, over claimed unpaid rights fees, and now in the hands of lawyers.

Future for Tour of Britain men’s race in balance over dispute with promoter

The future of the men’s Tour of Britain is uncertain after British Cycling terminated its agreement with SweetSpot over unpaid rights fees

www.theguardian.com

If BCs decision sticks, I can't imagine Sweetspot could survive as a going concern, which would also kibosh the Women's Tour.

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Only just occurred to me: why are the titles for the outstanding riders in the conditions of Dutch speaking Belgium, nearly always won by Dutch speaking Belgians and awarded by a Dutch language Belgian newspaper, in French?

(or does my lack of knowledge of Flemish/Dutch extend to not realise that adjectives in those languages look like French?)

If I remember well, "flandrien" started out as a mildly derogatory term for East and West Flanders seasonal workers in northern France and Wallonia, then became a honourary term for Flemish track and road cyclists.

Wikipedia calls it a belgicism - an example in Belgian French is the word "dringuelle" (drinkgeld in Flemish, tip in English, pourboire in French) or in Flemish the word kado (cadeau in French, gift in English).

Today a Flandrien denotes "a cyclist with an undiluted attacking instinct. A cyclist who rides through all conditions, never hangs his head (and preferably also wins the race)." Some of the overtones of regional superiority are not great, but okay.

Don’t let the bib shorts stop you from becoming a real flandrien or flandrienne – SIROKO CYCLING COMMUNITY

I hope our Flemish readers will forgive our boldness in using one of their very own terms to name one of our products. Well, at least it is a neat and classic

www.siroko.com

 

[Unchained]

I can't say how happy I am to see posts all over the forms and cycling sites about general unhappiness about bike racing business model and Life Time Grand Prix has engaged.
The prize list is bigger than anything offered in the US by anyone, ever. They have taken control of their product and using a rider resume system having 60 quality athletes competing against each other. The predictable format and race venues make the riders, races and individual races and overall series championship title easy to follow.
USA Cycling and others are completely asleep about the product of bike racing and the rider and fan experience and have summarily dropped the ball .Life Time also has the ultra popular part of the product which is age grade and other public categories for participation by thousands.So you can go with family and friends and enjoy one or both experiences.. Follow the race or participate in the gran fondo style event with fun and spectacle or both.
The format has room for wide variables like a Valverde, MVP, Wout or Pidcock coming to one or more events and racing for a result and playing a small factor in the overall race series outcome. In my view NCL is doomed for lack of media presence, and ultra confusing and complicated race format and scoring, by design it's absolutely impossible to follow the race even going as far as to have riders who appear to have dropped out, only to be resting and reenter to contest intermediate sprints. Crit series an old take on regional teams that are not just guys assembled together for the race but may have never been to the city they are riding for or met other teammates previously. Better than NCL but miserable.
And USA cycling offering zero organization, w rumored no age grade national championship so really no focus for anyone..
Super happy to see someone try to make bike racing survive and thrive in the US

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

If I remember well, "flandrien" started out as a mildly derogatory term for East and West Flanders seasonal workers in northern France and Wallonia, then became a honourary term for Flemish track and road cyclists.

Wikipedia calls it a belgicism - an example in Belgian French is the word "dringuelle" (drinkgeld in Flemish, tip in English, pourboire in French) or in Flemish the word kado (cadeau in French, gift in English).

Today a Flandrien denotes "a cyclist with an undiluted attacking instinct. A cyclist who rides through all conditions, never hangs his head (and preferably also wins the race)." Some of the overtones of regional superiority are not great, but okay.

Don’t let the bib shorts stop you from becoming a real flandrien or flandrienne – SIROKO CYCLING COMMUNITY

I hope our Flemish readers will forgive our boldness in using one of their very own terms to name one of our products. Well, at least it is a neat and classic

www.siroko.com

Thank you.

Is a flahute the same, or the extreme of being a flandrien, or what?

 

[Miss Violet Smith]

Thank you.

Is a flahute the same, or the extreme of being a flandrien, or what?

Oh, this one is fun! Flahute allegedly means "hardest of the hard" or "hardman" in Flemish (dialectal?) and there's a delightful description in the link below.

"A Flahute thinks the Tour de France is just a bunch of long training rides. A real race is one where it’s pouring rain, it’s cold, the roads are treacherous, and the prize list is about the same as your 8-year-old neighbor’s allowance. When you’re a Flahute, that’s racing."

"The term is believed to have been coined after the Second World War by French journalists, who used it endearingly to describe their Belgian neighbors to the north. It specifically refers to cyclists from the Flemish-speaking northern provinces of Flanders; racers who rode the legs off their rivals over the pavé and through cold, rainy conditions."

What is a Flahute? Flahutes win bike races where 150 start and 1 finishes.

What is a Flahute? The type of rider who wins cold, rainy races on the cobblestones where 150 riders start and one finishes—that’s a Flahute.

www.flahute.com

 

[fmk_RoI]

Pickering's The Ronde does a good job of explaining what a Flandrien really is.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Pickering's The Ronde does a good job of explaining what a Flandrien really is.

I understood the concept of the Flandrien(ne), I was just surprised to see a French word for an obviously Flemish concept, but @sevenall has gone a grand job of sourcing and explaining it.

 

[Oldermanish]

I can't say how happy I am to see posts all over the forms and cycling sites about general unhappiness about bike racing business model and Life Time Grand Prix has engaged.
The prize list is bigger than anything offered in the US by anyone, ever. They have taken control of their product and using a rider resume system having 60 quality athletes competing against each other. The predictable format and race venues make the riders, races and individual races and overall series championship title easy to follow.
USA Cycling and others are completely asleep about the product of bike racing and the rider and fan experience and have summarily dropped the ball .Life Time also has the ultra popular part of the product which is age grade and other public categories for participation by thousands.So you can go with family and friends and enjoy one or both experiences.. Follow the race or participate in the gran fondo style event with fun and spectacle or both.
The format has room for wide variables like a Valverde, MVP, Wout or Pidcock coming to one or more events and racing for a result and playing a small factor in the overall race series outcome. In my view NCL is doomed for lack of media presence, and ultra confusing and complicated race format and scoring, by design it's absolutely impossible to follow the race even going as far as to have riders who appear to have dropped out, only to be resting and reenter to contest intermediate sprints. Crit series an old take on regional teams that are not just guys assembled together for the race but may have never been to the city they are riding for or met other teammates previously. Better than NCL but miserable.
And USA cycling offering zero organization, w rumored no age grade national championship so really no focus for anyone..
Super happy to see someone try to make bike racing survive and thrive in the US

One of the reasons I left racing was the absolute negative support USAC provided to promoters. Most regional stage races have disappeared. Largely the died because the USAC event insurance costs were punitive with no incentive for local agencies/sponsors to support events that historically were part community identity. Parking lot crits don't attract fans but they didn't require expensive police control for roads. Gran Fondos are not a substitute for good road races; they are club rides with a few hyper-serious competitors.

 

[Oldermanish]

Does anyone else find it ironic that the e-sports championships are held in Dubai? One of the least bike friendly environments on the planet encouraging "competitors" to fly to compete indoors seems like a gigantic environmental F*ck you. Now, if they had all competitors do an outdoor TT, Road race and circuit/crit and then do the indoor version in a 3 day period it could be interesting. Still stupid but interesting to non-competitors to watch.

 

[Unchained]

Does anyone else find it ironic that the e-sports championships are held in Dubai? One of the least bike friendly environments on the planet encouraging "competitors" to fly to compete indoors seems like a gigantic environmental F*ck you. Now, if they had all competitors do an outdoor TT, Road race and circuit/crit and then do the indoor version in a 3 day period it could be interesting. Still stupid but interesting to non-competitors to watch.

In the US we are really at a crossroads.. Most races are gone.. and criteriums while easier to make happen almost everything is done. Redlands is early, too short in distance and days and has a very limited prize list to attract more talent. The spinoffs are trying and NCL and Crit series working hard both w an almost zero media presence, so if you find yourself at a race location city you may have a chance to take in the event. For the most part races are seldom over 2 hours..
And to spread it around.. Tour of Britton looks pretty fragile.. and then the ultra weird dog and pony show for Gulf States.. No tradition of bike racing but if a royal family member likes bike racing then make it happen. China not sending strong signals for a expansion of the race calendar. Don't know the path forward to grow the sport or fan base..As I was going on about.. even the YouTube presence for Life Time and Belgian Waffle events is head and shoulders above anything USA Cycling is doing. Also European cyclocross coverage for the most is excellent.. Can see races live or shortly after they happen w multiple camera angles and some drone footage.
Dubai is dubious at best.. But listening to me ..there is nobody stepping up.. and then complaining when Dubai writes a check.. So I accept whoever it is that pushes bike racing forward. In my opinion bike racing could drastically contract in the US if federation does not step up..

 

[Izzyeviel]

Not really cycling related, but I thought it wonderful that Isotta Fraschini launched their new car by driving it from Milan to San Remo...

 

[rallybanana]

Not really cycling related, but I thought it wonderful that Isotta Fraschini launched their new car by driving it from Milan to San Remo...

Apparently, there's a historic auto race called the Coppa Milano-Sanremo which is older than the bike race.

Coppa Milano-Sanremo - Wikipedia

it.wikipedia.org

 

[Leadbelly]

https://twitter.com/x/status/1728087630351388708

View: https://twitter.com/tour_du_Rwanda/status/1728087630351388708


More places for local national selections this upcoming year, but hopefully we'll still see some exotic CTs (JCL?) included in the final four picks.

The route has also been revealed including a TTT on stage 1.

 

[Rob5091]

Good to know the Rwanda tour is going ahead, and Adams is still putting some funds into Rwanda cycling. A TTT might well be entertaining.

 

[DJ Sprtsch]

Did someone post this already?

https://twitter.com/x/status/1729069616843178032

View: https://twitter.com/OutOfCycling/status/1729069616843178032?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1729069616843178032%7Ctwgr%5Eca1e176830918290540fed532fc44d57be7db148%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.feltet.dk%2Fnyheder%2Fguatemalaner_ville_lave_en_vingegaard_men_vaeltede_som_dominobrikker%2F

 

[awavey]

more threats of litigation surrounding the Tour of Britain, as the Isle of Wight council consider attempting to recover their hosting fee from the abandoned 2022 edition finishing stage
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/racin...f-legal-action-as-claims-reach-nearly-pound1m

which has been rumbling on since pretty much they cancelled the stage tbf, so whether this is really that significant news and a change in the councils approach...who knows, its just with BC apparently having also cancelled Sweetspots contract for the race, though not confirmed till all the lawyering is done with, it does leave everything in quite the mess.

 

[Rob5091]

While we non-Parisians look forward to the Olympics, the locals are not amused -
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-67564177

...the city's own Mayor Anne Hidalgo said out of the blue that transport for next summer's Games would "not be ready in time".
Then it was announced that far from buses and metros being free for competition ticket-holders - as promised in the Paris bid for the Games - fares will actually double for the six weeks of the Olympics and Paralympics.
The police chief revealed that his security plan comprises no less than four separate exclusion zones around each Olympic venue - prompting the head of the hoteliers' union to say it was "so complicated I get a headache just looking at it".
And an Odoxa opinion poll showed that nearly one in two Françiliens - inhabitants of the Paris region - now thought the Games were a "bad thing". The 44% negative rating was double what it was in 2021.

The same poll found that 52% of Françiliens were considering leaving Paris for the duration of the Games. "Perceptions about the Games are reaching alert level," Odoxa reported.