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General News Thread

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movingtarget

Aug 5, 2009
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Unchained said:
Wow Greg Lemond movie w provocative titles.. " only American to win the Tour d France "..certainly a matter of opinion.
And American cycling is trying to kill itself.. Road racing withering into near nothing.. And the bread and butter of US racing criteriums..being cut up for lack of organization and diluted further still by the sudden gravel tsunami that is engulfing the country, if not the world.
US crits have an old school reboot w the NCL an American take on roller derby, bike racing and traditional velodrome points race w 3,2,1 points going to first 3 riders every lap and final sprint..9 winner,6 for second and 3 for 3rd .
Typical and traditional deception for the prize money.. Says over a million..5,6 race series with the catch being sex..prize money is based on combined point teams for women's and men's teams combined.. So as if US race fans couldn't figure anything out..again another rules twist.. The real life result is a good fast paced crit in a good city. Wildcard.. you can substitute riders.so sort of like a mechanical lap..rider can come in drill it for the single sprint and drop out to rest.. So flash in the pan by design.
Rules for lapping the field.. Dumb..if riders are nearby it's better for them to hang back and gsalesmanship.because if they catch sprint points are available to the combined group even though some are a lap down.
And now for the elephant.. Unbound..called the championship of gravel.. Takes place in Kansas.. Cool course 200 miles and a bunch of other distances available depending on ability and desire. The 200 mile event is the mainstay of cheerleading about world class and here on CN everyone looking to see if Valverde or anyone famous, recently or currently is racing.. the short answer is no..Wout no..Van der Poel, Pitcock..no..trade teams..no major names for obvious reasons.. lack of start money and prize money.. US to Europe travel times and expenses.. and European race schedule.. Nobody can break away for a one day event and stay on schedule for Tour d France or other offerings in Europe. In the US it's as if race organizers and bike manufacturers have put all their eggs in the gravel basket.. everything else is scraps..
And when you think things can't get more upside down.. Races,racers,media and federation are mixing up a transgender stew with few major race victories being argued by everyone, from current and ex elite racers,media, general public, race organizations and cycling federation.. so far it's only affecting road,cyclocross,mountain bike and track racing but it's still early.. and for sponsors and people looking for sponsors.. Have to ask what else can go wrong in the sport before almost every sponsor says this thing is radioactive. past,currently and in the future
Very very soon American cycling audience will see and hear people say that National Cycling League is world class, as good as it gets and at the same time watch 3 weeks of Tour coverage and competition and wonder if the claims by American race promoters are 99.9% hype or 110% salesmanship
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The stage racing situation in the USA seems to be pretty dire. Most of them died off didn't they ? Maybe Tour of Utah is still alive ? When they are asking riders to pay their own way to the Worlds in Australia, it doesn't augur well for a healthy domestic scene...............
 
StryderHells

StryderHells

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movingtarget said:
The stage racing situation in the USA seems to be pretty dire. Most of them died off didn't they ? Maybe Tour of Utah is still alive ? When they are asking riders to pay their own way to the Worlds in Australia, it doesn't augur well for a healthy domestic scene...............
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No Tour of Utah again this year, the company that ran it isn’t looking at holding it again so it’s up to someone else to try and bring it back.
 
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Unchained

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movingtarget said:
The stage racing situation in the USA seems to be pretty dire. Most of them died off didn't they ? Maybe Tour of Utah is still alive ? When they are asking riders to pay their own way to the Worlds in Australia, it doesn't augur well for a healthy domestic scene...............
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There is really really crazy situation w the federation and the American feeder system.. Guys are really really shining and some bright spots also in pro women's racing. Guys like McNulty and Sepp Kuss and other American riders that have basically skipped the entire US infrastructure and found Europe as the place. So we do have domestic talent to route for in big races. And you see outlets like Cycling News paying attention to gravel and mention of crits so at least we are not being completely ignored. In my opinion, and using your ugly example of riders given a teaspoon of support for trying to get to Worlds on the other side of the planet literally, the infrastructure of American racing has to start working with races and if race organizers can't agree on some kind of competition that involves playoffs and a championship, the federation needs to step in and do it.. Currently we have what is commonly known as speed week.. It's just not enough.. Great races in California, New Mexico, Texas, Georgia, Wisconsin,, NY, NJ and Massachusetts ,Pennsylvania and others all could be threaded together.. Hour or 90 minute crits can't be the building blocks for growing the racers or fan base. Probably one of the biggest things being left on the table is tourism. Places like Arkansas, Kansas, Idaho all could have helicopter, airplane or high altitude drone footage that can showcase the beautiful and breathtaking terrain where the races take place. You watch gran tours and other great races the landscape, architecture and area history are all on display.. Currently watching the Dauphine you see everything fantastic.. the race is only part of the awesomeness.. you see how alluring the country is.. so sure you get a great bike race included in a long version of a video post card.. Had a race like Redlands or Tour of the Gila could show the world or remind people who forget just how awe inspiring the New Mexico high desert is.. or what Southern California mountains look like from high above.. if predictions are even close to accurate about a retail apocalypse and dramatic, severe contraction in bicycle industry sponsorship of all kinds are going to shrink.. If that's even possible..The Tour of California and Utah are ominous examples.. Great racing, over the top beautiful locations and deep fan base and excellent race designs that allow lots of people who are familiar and those who are not to look and enjoy the races..if these races can't make it.. more than a canary in the coal mine..
 
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RobertCrawley

RobertCrawley

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NBC/Peacock TdF Coverage

Commentators: Liggett and Roll
On the road: Porino and VdV
In the studio: Burmeister, Sam Bewley, Brent Bookwalter

I would like to see VdV remain in the studio. I appreciated his insights there, but maybe we'll hear more from him throughout the days as he interacts with Phil and Bob.

Chris Horner isn't there this year. He often has great insights but he can be a little tough to take from time to time.
 
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TourOfSardinia

TourOfSardinia

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Alberto ooch
https://www.corriere.it/sport/cicli...to-016888f2-0df0-11ee-95d6-0f7a427f52d4.shtml
contador-kv1G-U34201556825444VOB-656x492@Corriere-Web-Sezioni.jpg
 
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Armchair cyclist

Armchair cyclist

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Samu Cuenca said:
Both Baloise Trek Lions in Belgium and Euskaltel in Slovenia have had their bikes stolen and are unable to finish the races.
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There was a real spate of this happening a few years ago.
Was there any suggestion of some sort of planned, co-ordinated activity back then, or were they all assumed to be unrelated?
Has there been no improvement in security since that time?

Presumably the bikes need to be cannabalised for parts: surely they are too recognisable to be sold on as they are.
 
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