General News Thread

[Dekker_Tifosi]

Nice error in the CN news article about the Tour contenders

"
Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe)


The German, third at last year's Giro, is yet to appear for his new team after that frightening collision with a car at a winter training camp. Kelderman suffered fractured vertebrae in his neck, plus a concussion, but is expected to return in Catalunya next week.

"

Last time I checked poor Wilco was still Dutch

 

[SafeBet]

Nice error in the CN news article about the Tour contenders

"
Wilco Kelderman (Bora-Hansgrohe)


The German, third at last year's Giro, is yet to appear for his new team after that frightening collision with a car at a winter training camp. Kelderman suffered fractured vertebrae in his neck, plus a concussion, but is expected to return in Catalunya next week.

"

Last time I checked poor Wilco was still Dutch

I think they kept reading that silly thread with all the family names switched to the German version (Keldermann) and got confused.

 

[Kaptain Kool]

I think they kept reading that silly thread with all the family names switched to the German version (Keldermann) and got confused.

Also, some of Wilco's early 2000s material could easily be confused for Krautrock.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Now, now. Don't get me wrong; I won't be staring intesely at the race for 7 hours (I rarely do that for any race), but just have it on in the background, if something happens, switch my focus over.

RAI will be rotating commentators during the race, one pair for the fist half of the race and one for the 2nd half.
Imagine having to commentate a whole MSR, you pretty much have to turn it into a podcast at some point.

 

[Koronin]

It appears that most of the Spanish races that were postponed will be raced in May. Valencia in April. Here's the changes:

Valencia April 14-18
Asturias April 30 - May 2
Algrave May 5-9
Mallorca May 13-16
Andalucia May 18-22
Murcia May 23
Castilla y Leon July 29

Road

Road Calendar

www.uci.org

 

[yaco]

That's a nice block of racing especially for developing riders - There are also men's and women's races to the back end of October.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Well, I guess they had to find some way to get Movistar a win.

 

[RedheadDane]

Well, I guess they had to find some way to get Movistar a win.

I think the ladies are gonna get there before the guys.

 

[will-10]

It appears that most of the Spanish races that were postponed will be raced in May. Valencia in April. Here's the changes:

Valencia April 14-18
Asturias April 30 - May 2
Algrave May 5-9
Mallorca May 13-16
Andalucia May 18-22
Murcia May 23
Castilla y Leon July 29

Road

Road Calendar

www.uci.org

Will be interesting to see if we have any schedule changes from the big hitters. Normally when the Giro's on a lot of TdF guys are at altitude, but maybe one or two of these races will catch their eye.

 

[CyclistA+]

It appears that most of the Spanish races that were postponed will be raced in May. Valencia in April. Here's the changes:

Valencia April 14-18
Asturias April 30 - May 2
Algrave May 5-9
Mallorca May 13-16
Andalucia May 18-22
Murcia May 23
Castilla y Leon July 29

Road

Road Calendar

www.uci.org

Lovely weather that time of year.

 

[Max Rockatansky]

Drumroll please...Le Grand Départ 2023 is set to happen in beautiful Bilbao. 31 years after they started Le Tour in Donostia.

El Tour 2023 saldrá desde Bilbao | El Correo

La ciudad dará el banderazo y será el eje del regreso de la ronda gala a Euskadi, donde se celebrarán al menos dos etapas

www.elcorreo.com

Finally the perfect chance to end the race on cobbles.

 

[Publiuszam]

HAS MARK CAVENDISH ANOTHER GRAND TOUR STAGE WIN IN HIM? Words by Shane Stokes

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Ronan McLaughlin re-gains the Everesting record (6:40.54) in Ireland.

But his most notable climbing performance in a race situation seems to be 13th in the KoM classification in the 2012 Tour of Britain.

What could a real specialist climber do? Or is it more in the realm of the extreme distance cyclist who we don't know so much?

Who would make a record that will really stick and how low might that time be?

 

[Samu Cuenca]

Ronan McLaughlin re-gains the Everesting record (6:40.54) in Ireland.

But his most notable climbing performance in a race situation seems to be 13th in the KoM classification in the 2012 Tour of Britain.

What could a real specialist climber do? Or is it more in the realm of the extreme distance cyclist who we don't know so much?

Who would make a record that will really stick and how low might that time be?

Well, Contador has already done it, and Buchmann failed on his attempt. But if a star really targeted it, they would probably be able do it a faster. But this is obviously different to what the pros are used to, so McLaughlin and his body could be better suited to this kind of racing. And he has beaten his first record by nearly 90 minutes over eight months.

I would love to see the Vans do it the same way as this kid and his father:

'I just like riding my bike' The 13-year-old kid who Everested the Kemmelberg

Cyclist chats to Tom Seipp: 13 years old, still at school (obviously), and a bit of a bike riding phenomenon

www.cyclist.co.uk

 

[Red Rick]

Well, Contador has already done it, and Buchmann failed on his attempt. But if a star really targeted it, they would probably be able do it a faster. But this is obviously different to what the pros are used to, so McLaughlin and his body could be better suited to this kind of racing. And he has beaten his first record by nearly 90 minutes over eight months.

I would love to see the Vans do it the same way as this kid and his father:

'I just like riding my bike' The 13-year-old kid who Everested the Kemmelberg

Cyclist chats to Tom Seipp: 13 years old, still at school (obviously), and a bit of a bike riding phenomenon

www.cyclist.co.uk

IMO what you need is two short, straight climbs towards the opposite of each other so the speed of the descent is converted to free altitude gain and they can go hours faster.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

I believe that is specifically against the rules: the ascent must all be on the same stretch.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

IMO what you need is two short, straight climbs towards the opposite of each other so the speed of the descent is converted to free altitude gain and they can go hours faster.

The rules only allow the use of one climb and you have to ascent and descent the same stretch of road.

 

[Red Rick]

The rules only allow the use of one climb and you have to ascent and descent the same stretch of road.

Boring.

Still could use a ramp to store kinetic energy rather than breaking it all away.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Drumroll please...Le Grand Départ 2023 is set to happen in beautiful Bilbao. 31 years after they started Le Tour in Donostia.

El Tour 2023 saldrá desde Bilbao | El Correo

La ciudad dará el banderazo y será el eje del regreso de la ronda gala a Euskadi, donde se celebrarán al menos dos etapas

www.elcorreo.com

Finally the perfect chance to end the race on cobbles.

I did a Bilbao Grand Départ in the Race Design Thread. It ended up with me only having one stage in the Pyrenées after departing the Basque region, in order to snake across the country using ribinou and then down into the Alps and Vosges and, seeing as the Basque stages obviously weren't flat, I couldn't really go all out mountains for six straight days at the start of the race (and even if you try, the péloton will refuse point blank, as we found out in 2020).

Obviously in 1992 that was a very mountain-shy edition save for the obvious 260km Sestrières stage, and they had the theme of going into almost every bordering country with the EU theme that year, but as we've found from a few recent editions starting in the south (2009 Monaco, 2013 Corsica, 2020 Nice) they're liable to do a big loop and end up in the Pyrenees anyway, because I can't see Le Tour only giving a cursory nod to one of its iconic mountain ranges.

The other possibility would be that they go out of Spain up the coast to Bordeaux and inland toward somewhere like Brive or Tulle and then down into the Pyrenées at the end of week 1, to avoid it being too onerous on transfers, but that then likely means the Alps come fairly early and a tame finale unless there's a big transfer after week 1 to somewhere central or northern.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

I did a Bilbao Grand Départ in the Race Design Thread. It ended up with me only having one stage in the Pyrenées after departing the Basque region, in order to snake across the country using ribinou and then down into the Alps and Vosges and, seeing as the Basque stages obviously weren't flat, I couldn't really go all out mountains for six straight days at the start of the race (and even if you try, the péloton will refuse point blank, as we found out in 2020).

Obviously in 1992 that was a very mountain-shy edition save for the obvious 260km Sestrières stage, and they had the theme of going into almost every bordering country with the EU theme that year, but as we've found from a few recent editions starting in the south (2009 Monaco, 2013 Corsica, 2020 Nice) they're liable to do a big loop and end up in the Pyrenees anyway, because I can't see Le Tour only giving a cursory nod to one of its iconic mountain ranges.

The other possibility would be that they go out of Spain up the coast to Bordeaux and inland toward somewhere like Brive or Tulle and then down into the Pyrenées at the end of week 1, to avoid it being too onerous on transfers, but that then likely means the Alps come fairly early and a tame finale unless there's a big transfer after week 1 to somewhere central or northern.

There's also a third option, IMO: Pyrenees on stage 4 and 5 or 5 and 6, with the first stage being a mid-sized MTF and the second being a Luchon stage with only Aspin and Peyresourde, then up to Mende in the second weekend and an Alpine finale.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

There's also a third option, IMO: Pyrenees on stage 4 and 5 or 5 and 6, with the first stage being a mid-sized MTF and the second being a Luchon stage with only Aspin and Peyresourde, then up to Mende in the second weekend and an Alpine finale.

Mende isn't very far from the Alps though, with ASO favouring a mountain finale in recent years it would be difficult to get from Mende on stage 8 or 9 to the Alps on stages 17-20 without a very long stretch of transitional stages. I guess they could maybe get up into the Vosges for stages 14-15 then work their way down to the Alps, hopefully they can put a good length ITT into that second week to break it up a bit if they do, otherwise it's going to get very predictable.

I mean, I can just see it now. The same old same old in the Pyrenees, probably a Unipuerto MTF somewhere like Luz Ardiden (if we're lucky maybe Aubisque then Couraduque, as I'm not sure they'd want to go with Aubisque, Pierre-Saint-Martin or Hautacam that early in the race especially as the Basque stages could be reasonably expected to open up time gaps (if they 2009 Pyrenées the Basque Country, then there is no hope for them, as they would practically have to intentionally go out of their way to make things indecisive even more than the Brussels start where they made the Vlaamse Ardennen just a token presence) already, then a Luchon stage as you describe. The alternative would be something like Aspin-Azet-Peyragudes from the west, or maybe the other side of Azet and then Pla d'Adet, then head eastward in the Pyrenées via something like the Foix stage from 2012 with Mur de Peguère, which could be pretty cool but depending on what they've done with the Basque stages might be an overload of medium mountains (which is counter to what the recent trend in the Tour would suggest is likely). Then northwards, flat stage on 7, Mende 8, Super-Besse 9, then a week of transitional stages to Planche des Belles Filles 14, flat stage on the penultimate Sunday (a Proudhomme favourite, that), then the Alps from stages 17-20.

 

[tobydawq]

To commemorate the 20 year anniversary of Michele Bartoli's first Lombardia win, a new week-long stage race in Tuscany will see the light of day starting next year.

The name of the race will be Settimana Internazionale Coppa Bartoli.

 

[BlueRoads]

The Bunnyhop monthly chat show to highlight women's racing

First episode looks back at Trofeo Binda, Strade Bianche and De Panne

www.cyclingnews.com

Am I the only one a bit disturbed by the fact they name their podcast about women's cycling bunnyhop?

 

[ciranda]

No come on a bunny is a female or male rabbit. On second thought there could be something cause what does rabbits have to do with cyclists who are women. I loved Tiny Toons soooo much though.

 

[IndianCyclist]

No, i thought it referred to the cycling technique of jumping over kerbs/obstacles. Even rabbits didnot come to mind. Metaphorically jumping over the obstacles to women's racing