- Apr 28, 2009
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Alexandr Kristov? Rides on a russian team as wellJRanton said:He also said the home crowd would be disappointed that Kristoff won.![]()
Alexandr Kristov? Rides on a russian team as wellJRanton said:He also said the home crowd would be disappointed that Kristoff won.![]()
theyoungest said:Haha, I tuned in for the final few hundred meters. Kristoff by far the strongest, could win a few more stages in this race.
He'll probably get dropped on stage 4.JRanton said:Surely he can win the whole thing too?
He has learned to climb a bit. At least on cobbles he doesn't climb worse than EBHkjetilraknerud said:He'll probably get dropped on stage 4.
True, but no cobbles on the climbs around Lillehammertheyoungest said:He has learned to climb a bit. At least on cobbles he doesn't climb worse than EBH![]()
Kristoff is good on short climbs, but terrible in long ones. Won't have a chance for GC imo, unless they go unreasonably slowly up the climbs.theyoungest said:He has learned to climb a bit. At least on cobbles he doesn't climb worse than EBH![]()
I suspect Mr. Hristov might be of Bulgarian heritage.kjetilraknerud said:Alexandr Kristov? Rides on a russian team as well![]()
Possibly related to Nencho Hristov, winner of the Peace Race in 1957.LouieLouie said:I suspect Mr. Hristov might be of Bulgarian heritage.
theyoungest said:It's strange for Txurruka to go on the attack, with such a weak field he could add another overall win to his impressive tally of one overall win.
EBH is certainly more popular in Norway, no contest. The girls were screaming for him at the start line, lining up to get hugs and autographs. Obviously Kristoff doesn't get that. EBH has 57000 likes on his facebook page, Kristoff has 1500fezzer said:Over to the point of "angry" fans towards no EBH win today(clearly a mistake by the commentator, nevertheless), that is actually quiet correct. Norwegians(in general) fancy EBH over Kristoff, both because TDF is the only race they follow+ Kristoff had a cocky attitude back in the days..
I don't know about the climb to the Birkebeiner ski stadion, but a climb up Hafjell would be niceLibertine Seguros said:Possibly related to Nencho Hristov, winner of the Peace Race in 1957.
Anybody know what the climb up from Lillehammer centre to Birkebeineren is? That might have livened up the race. I really want this race to succeed, and I know that a combination of population centres and the skillsets of the best Norwegian cyclists keeps them on a fairly flat route in the Oslofjord, but there's just SO much potential for this race even with the Oslofjord-based route. Maybe a split-stage with a time trial could open things up, though the toughening of the Hønefoss stage will hopefully help. Would really love a final day MTT from Oslo to the Vinterpark at Tryvann, too. Short enough that it wouldn't totally decide the race as long as people raced it elsewhere.
maltiv said:EBH is certainly more popular in Norway, no contest. The girls were screaming for him at the start line, lining up to get hugs and autographs. Obviously Kristoff doesn't get that. EBH has 57000 likes on his facebook page, Kristoff has 1500
It's funny, they were "rivals" when they were 16-17 in the sense that Kristoff was the only one who even could compete with Edvald (EBH still won everything though, Kristoff was just 2nd a lot). So far this season the roles seems to have reversed, which no one would have guessed a few years back. Back then Kristoff was just the whiny, cocky kid who thought he was better than EBH but always ended up behind him![]()
Indeed, as a kid Kristoff had the worst endurance in the field. Even when he rode for BMC his endurance was terrible, he only sprinted well in races less than 160 kms. He's always been very fast though and as you say EBH had no chance vs him in a straight sprint on a training ride. However in races EBH simply dropped him before the sprint, even on the flat stages...fezzer said:I've heard that Kristoff always have been faster than EBH in a straight line(even as kids), but he was always tired after 100k+ of racing and couldn't do his best. Kristoff most definitely got equal(if not better) endurance than EBH now, and thats the reason he has been the superior to him this year.
And yeah, no one(except me) were sheering for Kristoff when they passed
kjetilraknerud said:I don't know about the climb to the Birkebeiner ski stadion, but a climb up Hafjell would be nice
http://app.strava.com/segments/706301
Sounds like a nice climb to finish a stage. Hopefully the race continues to develop the next few years, there's plenty of terrain to create great stages in Norway.Libertine Seguros said:I agree, but I was thinking within the context of the race they have, i.e. a short stage race keeping the skillset of the biggest home stars in mind for maximum public interest and international participation.
Tracks4bikers tells me that the climb of Birkebeineren on Nordsetervegen is 4,2km @ 6,4% at a max of 13% - you could still have a group finish there, but in the context of the rest of the race route it's not so much of a "win the one stage, win the race" type of race like those with mostly flat stages and one big MTF, or a TT far too long to balance the rest of the parcours.
Yep, if only the organizers suddenly develop a bit of common sense and move all stages further west. Right now it's the Tour of the most boring part of Norway.kjetilraknerud said:Sounds like a nice climb to finish a stage. Hopefully the race continues to develop the next few years, there's plenty of terrain to create great stages in Norway.
LouieLouie said:Yep, if only the organizers suddenly develop a bit of common sense and move all stages further west. Right now it's the Tour of the most boring part of Norway.
This year there will also be Tour des Fjords (yes, that's actually its name) and Arctic Tour of Norway, both 2.1. Tour des Fjords will certainly show off the beautiful fjords in Norway, although the course seems quite boring.Dazed and Confused said:Wouldn't mind an evening stage (short) somewhere along the fjords with hills if its possible.
(very limited understanding of Norway's infrastructure)
maltiv said:Arctic Tour of Norway is probably my favourite though. Will have absolutely beautiful scenery. It's arranged by ASO so the pictures should be good too. One of the stages will be held during the night with midnight sun.
The arctic tour is also the first time (I believe) Statoil, the national oil company in Norway, sponsors cycling - which is exciting in itself. I know nothing about the route, but even flat stages could be spectacular in this part of Norway.maltiv said:This year there will also be Tour des Fjords (yes, that's actually its name) and Arctic Tour of Norway, both 2.1. Tour des Fjords will certainly show off the beautiful fjords in Norway, although the course seems quite boring.
Arctic Tour of Norway is probably my favourite though. Will have absolutely beautiful scenery. It's arranged by ASO so the pictures should be good too. One of the stages will be held during the night with midnight sun.
kjetilraknerud said:The arctic tour is also the first time (I believe) Statoil, the national oil company in Norway, sponsors cycling - which is exciting in itself. I know nothing about the route, but even flat stages could be spectacular in this part of Norway.
Due to the horrible weather they had trouble with the live pictures...so I guess Eurosport decided to send table tennis instead. Probably a good decision.l.Harm said:Eurosport's showing table tennis?![]()