Itzulia Basque Country 2024, April 1-6

[Froome]

Pogi will be on btb GTs, in what world that means 'in the bag'????

It's unbeliavable how a certain user creates 6/7 accounts in two weeks, and it's all about Pogacar.

 

[staubsauger]

Isn't coffee / caffeine basically everyone's performance enhancer? In every office & on every construction site.

 

[kingjr]

It's interesting! It means they are more nervous because of the radios and need the radios to help them to keep the attention because it was destroyed by the radio in the first place

That doesn't follow from what he said.

 

[noob]

That doesn't follow from what he said.

I know. It's just a noob being laconic

 

[Salvarani]

Who was the QS rider on the front? He had no problem with that turn.

Someone fell behind Remco and Remco just went out in the forest, causing the events happening right after it. Everybody got spooked by the looks of it.

Terrible crash.

Hope everyone will be ok.

 

[KOM]

Benji strikes me as being about clicks and building a brand. Not sure how genuine this sentiment is, I suspect it's more about generating a debate and the subsequent engagement on the platform.

Every single tweet of his i have the impression that hes been sitting there for minutes internally weighing and debatting every letter to squeeze out as many likes as possible...

 

[glassmoon]

well they have raced after worse crashes ...I think of the 2012 Tour

So by your logic the breakaway are robots ?

most likely not enough ambulances left to support the peloton...

 

[Slavique Nuke]

Heck, in TA, Vingegaard was wasting so much energy riding literally in 2nd wheel before sprints. It's unnecessary and has been over overexagerated way to much by sports directors and commontators, and the two crashes in question are a result of this IMO.

I don't see why that would be an over-exaggeration. If you're in front, there's less chance of someone in front of you crashing and dragging you down. That's just a fact.

 

[Rackham]

Every single tweet of his i have the impression that hes been sitting their for minutes internally weighing and debatting every letter to squeeze out as many likes as possible...

I don't get how some randoms become cycling 'influencers'. 10 years ago I don't think this Benji Naesen character would have gained any traction whatsoever but now it's always his Tweets + some other usual profiles who seem to be 'trending' constantly. Is he even a real journalist?

No idea how the algorithm works & why some people become social media celebs out of nowhere (this is hardly exclusive to cycling of course).

That has nothing to do with Sky. F1 only has one global feed and the policy there is that they don't show a replay and they don't show the scene until they have proof that the driver is alive and well.

I don't care who's fault it is. It's daft either way.

Imagine if Ayrton Senna's crash had received the same tv broadcast blackout? Everyone would have been clinging to various unsubstantiated rumors about his condition. In fact in his case, TF1 (French broadcaster) did initially say he was conscious & responding to the medical team about an hour later. But since everyone had seen the images there was some doubt which turned out to be sadly (& tragically) correct.

 

[jaylew]

Broken collarbone and several broken ribs for Jonas.

Not good but honestly could have been worse.

 

[jmdirt]

I really dislike days like today. Not only is this race negativley effected, but other races will likely be affected by the absence of these big names. I know itspart of the game, but...

I hope that everyone is OK, and will be back at it soon!

 

[Divergence]

I can understand some guys near the front overshooting the speed limit and crashing. But there were two EF riders who crashed. The one that crashed near Rog was the cause for Rog's crash and he had ample time to see what is going on and not be such an amateur. However, he decided to keep his speed, overtake Rog and then crash him...

 

[Faserr]

Sometimes I would risk to loose time as a favorite and ride at the back. It seems that a lot of crashes happen in the first third of the bunch. Today, yesterday two times.

 

[Salvarani]

Sometimes I would risk to loose time as a favorite and ride at the back. It seems that a lot of crashes happen in the first third of the bunch. Today, yesterday two times.

How many times during a season will this happen though?

It stopped because there no more ambulances.

The amount of races and race days... it probably wont happen more than five times all season.

The same about being in the back of the peloton, you will lose by riding there and miss a decisive split or caught behind a crash. If you want to ride there for safety cool, but you are giving up the chance to win the race overall.

 

[Moose McKnuckles]

Isn't coffee / caffeine basically everyone's performance enhancer? In every office & on every construction site.

I drank a doppio once and had an erection for two days straight. Luckily, I'm hung like a hamster, so people thought those were just keys in my pocket.

 

[Brullnux]

Isn't coffee / caffeine basically everyone's performance enhancer? In every office & on every construction site.

Yeah but the biggest performance enhancing athletic effect comes at around 6mg/kg, which can end up at 500+mg of caffeine depending on your size. That's around six espressos, which in some sports is taken all at once, and in others at whatever rate is needed to keep the requisite amount in your bloodstream.

It's a lot more than your average Joe in an office or on a site.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

Isn't coffee / caffeine basically everyone's performance enhancer? In every office & on every construction site.

Well for the 15% of peloton that has ADHD it will put them to sleep.

 

[armchairclimber]

I'm a race organiser in another sport, which also has its fatalities, sadly. I've also been a health and ssafety manager for 30 years, so I'm used to looking at risks and mitigation. I looked at that corner today and the concrete culvert and my first thought was Lambrecht. My second thought was.... fill it with hay bales ffs.

 

[scribers]

Do we have a triage report yet?

 

[Lequack]

The medical toll is heavy for Belgian Steff Cras (TotalEnergies) with two punctured lungs, two broken ribs and pain in his vertebrae (via @ngeorgereau ). Also involved in the fall in the Basque Country, Natnael Tesfatsion (Lidl-Trek) has nothing broken. #Itzulia2024

https://twitter.com/x/status/1775955210474500593

View: https://twitter.com/LeGruppetto/status/1775955210474500593

 

[KOM]

I don't get how some randoms become cycling 'influencers'. 10 years ago I don't think this Benji Naesen character would have gained any traction whatsoever but now it's always his Tweets + some other usual profiles who seem to be 'trending' constantly. Is he even a real journalist?

No idea how the algorithm works & why some people become social media celebs out of nowhere (this is hardly exclusive to cycling of course).

Broadly speaking I dont really understand it either. In his case specifically, hes basically a cycling populist lol, always having the "obvious good guy" opinion (which despite that is quite often wrong or atleast debateable as those type of opinions often are, if theyre given deeper thought) and spewing as many of those into the twitter abyss as possible. I guess persistence pays of in that regard. Plus I do enjoy the postcast, but mostly if not exclusively for the other guy, who seems more levelheaded, less calculating, alot less pc and generally more knowledgeable imo Benji is getting carried hard. Good for him I suppose

 

[jaylew]

Update on Jay Vine:

Dr. Adriano Rotunno (Medical Director): "Jay Vine suffered a heavy crash today during the race and sustained a cervical and two thoracic spine vertebral body fractures. Thankfully no neurological involvement, and there are no other major injuries or head trauma. Jay will stay in hospital for neurological observation. We await spinal orthopaedic assessment and further management."

 

[Cookster15]

The tightening bend and rider judgement is one thing. Lack of protection in that concrete culvert is another.

 

[LesDiablesRouges]

I don't get how some randoms become cycling 'influencers'. 10 years ago I don't think this Benji Naesen character would have gained any traction whatsoever but now it's always his Tweets + some other usual profiles who seem to be 'trending' constantly. Is he even a real journalist?

No idea how the algorithm works & why some people become social media celebs out of nowhere (this is hardly exclusive to cycling of course).



I don't care who's fault it is. It's daft either way.

Imagine if Ayrton Senna's crash had received the same tv broadcast blackout? Everyone would have been clinging to various unsubstantiated rumors about his condition. In fact in his case, TF1 (French broadcaster) did initially say he was conscious & responding to the medical team about an hour later. But since everyone had seen the images there was some doubt which turned out to be sadly (& tragically) correct.

Benji was a big figure for the Pro Cycling Manager game and later was a consultant for Visma and now he's consulting for Lotto.

I wouldn't call him an influencer as he's not hawking merchandise. He has industry experience.

I literally snuck onto a press row 20+ years ago for the biggest High School basketball AAU tournament in the country as a journalist working for a non-affiliated university website and interviewed players who were potential recruits for the school I was working with.

Sports is all about seizing opportunities and forcing your way in unless you are a world class athlete.

Of course it doesn't mean you have to like or agree with someone.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Broadly speaking I dont really understand it either. In his case hes specifically, hes basically a cycling populist lol, always having the "obvious good guy" opinion (which despite that is quite often wrong or atleast debateable as those type of opinions often are, if theyre given deeper thought) and spewing as many of those into the twitter abyss as possible. I guess persistence pays of in that regard. Plus I do enjoy the postcast, but mostly if not exclusively for the other guy, who seems more levelheaded, less calculating, alot less pc and generally more knowledgeable imo Benji is getting carried hard. Good for him I suppose

Benji is a pathetic shill with an obvious bias that even when he gets stuff right he makes the point in such a manufactured way as to destroy all credibility. Is he still being paid directly by Plugge or is he pretending to be objective now?