General News Thread

[awavey]

It becoming more of a problem for various activities, Forestry England , via Forestry Commission, budget being squeezed by Government with emphasis on their generating more of their own revenue.

And that I can understand but I don't think much else happens in King's forest, there are no real facilities there, its not like Thetford, it's just a forest with trails people ride, and instead of making some money, they now make no money from it

 

[Netserk]

He will switch to Danish TV2.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1802984491712974892

View: https://x.com/m_mundbjerg/status/1802984491712974892

Big news. That good from a selfish POV. I wonder how much of the same he will bring to the table at TV2 - I assume his work will be a bit shorter and appeal a bit more to the casual while still keeping his DNA of a very nerdy approach to the sport.

I'm of course not familiar with Danish media, but to fit any journalistic standards and to make it readable for a broader audience, they would probably need to cut it to 20% at most.

In a response to a question on his last live blog for Feltet today, he said that he will keep his thoroughness and that that was a necessity for him to consider working for them.

It doesn't seem like a very logical fit but great for him if TV2 are up for it as I assume they will pay him quite a bit more than Feltet could.

Axelgaards optakt til 1. etape

Her får du en stor optakt til 1. etape af Tour de France 2024.

sport.tv2.dk

Very similar to his writings on Feltet.dk.

 

[RedheadDane]

Very similar to his writings on Feltet.dk.

With one major improvement:
He's put the star-rankings first!

 

[Samu Cuenca]

With one major improvement:
He's put the star-rankings first!

The LFR climb profiles, however, seem to have lower resolutions.

 

[tobydawq]

Axelgaards optakt til 1. etape

Her får du en stor optakt til 1. etape af Tour de France 2024.

sport.tv2.dk

Very similar to his writings on Feltet.dk.

Perfect.

Now one question remains: will he be covering as many races?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Perfect.

Now one question remains: will he be covering as many races?

I assume he'll only cover races which TV2 has the rights for.

 

[Valv.Piti]

I assume he'll only cover races which TV2 has the rights for.

Which means probably 2/10 of his workload or something like that? They really do not cover that many races tbh.

 

[tobydawq]

I assume he'll only cover races which TV2 has the rights for.

I doubt it but we'll see.

 

[tobydawq]

I assume he'll only cover races which TV2 has the rights for.

In an answer to a question on the live blog today, he says that his ambition is to keep the same amount of previews as on Feltet.

 

[tobydawq]

I assume he'll only cover races which TV2 has the rights for.

Which means probably 2/10 of his workload or something like that? They really do not cover that many races tbh.

In a response today:

"Ja, jeg kommer til at dække både de nævnte løb og mange andre løb. Min umiddelbare plan er at have samme ambitionsniveau i forhold til optakter og livedækning som tidligere, og derfor kommer der meget mere cykelindhold på TV2 end tidligere - også fra løb, der ikke er rettigheder til."

Great news.

 

[awavey]

Fem van Empel got hit by a car driver whilst she was out on a training ride, nothing broken it seems but her hip is in considerable pain, and shes down to ride the Giro dItalia women which starts this Sunday.

Fem van Empel suffers significant hip pain after training collision • ProCyclingUK.com

Unfortunate news emerged today for Fem van Empel just a week before the Giro d'Italia Women. The 21-year-old rider from Visma | Lease a Bike was involved

procyclinguk.com

 

[Squire]

In a response today:

"Ja, jeg kommer til at dække både de nævnte løb og mange andre løb. Min umiddelbare plan er at have samme ambitionsniveau i forhold til optakter og livedækning som tidligere, og derfor kommer der meget mere cykelindhold på TV2 end tidligere - også fra løb, der ikke er rettigheder til."

Great news.

Still no Tour of Austria preview.

 

[tobydawq]

Still no Tour of Austria preview.

I know

 

[Rob5091]

Stjin V ? Lance being his big hero says a lot!
https://cyclinguptodate.com/other/belgian-ex-pro-arrested-for-multimilion-cryptocurrencies-fraud

Stijn V. was arrested at the end of June. The 45-year-old Belgian ex-pro is suspected of having led a criminal organization that defrauded their victims of at least 24 million euros by convincing gullible people to invest in cryptocurrencies thtough shady companies.

The money was transferred to bank accounts in Norway, Singapore, and Hong Kong. Stijn V. is said to have collected 10 million euros himself and used it to purchase real estate in Spain. He also lived in Spain and was arrested there on the basis of a European Arrest Warrant.
"In business, I have the mentality of an athlete, the goal is always to win," he said in one of his videos. He also said that Lance Armstrong is his big hero and that 'The Wolf of Wall Street' is his favorite movie. "I like stories where something is built from scratch."

In Belgium, 58 complaints have been filed against the Limburg Wolf of Wall Street. He risks up to 10 years in prison, but denies all allegations. "My client disputes everything," says his lawyer Joris van Cauter. "It really means nothing, so he is not in jail."

Original article at https://www.brusselstimes.com/11250...pain-on-suspicion-of-multi-million-euro-fraud

Ponzi scheme? The 2nd oldest scam in the book ...

Edit add- the only guy I can find on PCS who matches the info is Stijn Vanstraelen. Could have saved myself some work - see https://behindmlm.com/companies/cry...elen-confirmed-as-arrested-nano-club-scammer/

 

[SafeBet]

Marta Cavalli has been hit by a car while training and is now in a hospital. She felt pain in the back and neck area, never lost consciousness.
Unbelievable how unlucky she's been in the past couple of years.

MALEO Travolta da un’auto mentre percorre una rotonda la ciclista professionista Marta Cavalli

La 26enne atleta di Formigara ha riportato traumi diffusi ma non è in pericolo di vita

www.ilcittadino.it

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Two very different cycling deaths that I have heard of today:

The tragedy in the Tour of Austria, with the sudden death of André Drege at 25

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/andre-drege-dies-age-25-following-crash-at-tour-of-austria/

And the passing, at 99 years of age, of Raphael Geminiani:

The Tour de France mourns Raphaël Géminiani

Legendary French rider and directeur sportif dies at 99

www.cyclingnews.com

There are others here far more versed than I in the history of the sport who might be able to speak to his significance.

May their names be forever honoured.

We used to have a thread for death announcements: I searched by what I thought it had been called (Adieu) but to no avail.

 

[Rob5091]

Condolences to family and friends of André Drege (from Ålesund, where I've been many times) who's been the latest pro-cyclist to fatally crash. A tragic end to a young man's life.

 

[Netserk]

Clásica San Remco with a slightly adjusted route this year, a goat track of a final climb.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1810297984988414203

View: https://x.com/Eritropoetina/status/1810297984988414203

 

[Rob5091]

Can n't wait for the clamor to get that climb in the Vuelta!

 

[awavey]

Men's tour of Britain route announced today

Might be Cav's last race...

Stage hosts announced for 2024 Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men

Today we can announce the host venues for this year’s Lloyds Bank Tour of Britain Men, as Britain’s national Tour heads from Kelso in the Scottish Borders to Felixstowe on the Suffolk coast, over six scintillating stages of racing.

www.britishcycling.org.uk

 

[Mayomaniac]

Condolences to family and friends of André Drege (from Ålesund, where I've been many times) who's been the latest pro-cyclist to fatally crash. A tragic end to a young man's life.

The talk is that it was windy on tge highspeed descent and him having high profile wheels was a fatale mistake on that descent. When the wind suddenly came from the side in one corner he was blown off the road.
At least that's what I've heared regarding the police investigation.

 

[Rob5091]

I suppose after Visma's Control Room van, the use of A.I. & hiring data analysts should not be a surprise. In the hunt for marginal marginal gains, is this getting more like F1 racing?
https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...ata-and-a-i-is-redefining-the-tour-de-france/

“Properly investing into A.I. could show us the next step forward,” UAE Team Emirates performance coordinator Jeroen Swart told VELO. “We just won’t know what that might be until we see it and experience it.”

Tadej Pogačar’s UAE squad is one of many UCI WorldTour super-teams that’s going big on big data. Lidl-Trek, Ineos Grenadiers, Visma-Lease a Bike and others are also diving into the data dimension in the hunt of any competitive edge. UAE partnered A.I. specialist Presight this past winter as part of its push to put Pogačar back at the top of the podium of the Tour de France.

Of course it's a bit ironic that the UCI will test going back in time with banning radios at Poland & Burgos.

 

[awavey]

I suppose after Visma's Control Room van, the use of A.I. & hiring data analysts should not be a surprise. In the hunt for marginal marginal gains, is this getting more like F1 racing?
https://velo.outsideonline.com/road...ata-and-a-i-is-redefining-the-tour-de-france/

gawd I hope not, in anycase didnt we just use to call this marginal gains

 

[Rob5091]

gawd I hope not, in anycase didnt we just use to call this marginal gains

I think we've had all the "marginal gains", we're now looking for even more marginal "marginal gains".

 

[RobertCrawley]

The chips guy was released from jail. Watch yourself out there on your rides. You never know where he will strike next.