La Flèche Wallonne: September 30th, 2020

[johnymax]

Yeah he is at his best on the longer climbs I think where he can use that TT engine.

That's not what anybody would have said just a couple weeks ago lol

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

A bit shocking to see Lotto's lineup for this race. Or is it just me? I also can't understand why they're not bringing Vanhoucke.

Interested to see how Simmons, Arensman, Van Wilder, Goossens, Champoussin, Alba, Bagioli, Vansevenant... will do.

Bagioli, Champoussin, Tulett, Van Wilder, Vansevenant all very good. PS: and Jorgenson.
The others a bit less.

 

[Anderis]

Bagioli, Champoussin, Tulett, Van Wilder, Vansevenant all very good.
The others a bit less.

Hey, weren't replies to your past self considered cheating?

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Hey, weren't replies to your past self considered cheating?

This is my past self speaking. My current self is unavailable right now.

 

[Jungle Cycle]

holding tight even when down...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1311322419328679940

View: https://twitter.com/junimba/status/1311322419328679940

 

[Velolover2]

Is the last 100 m of the final downhill or is it an illusion because it flattens out a bit?

It has always been a mystery to me.

 

[Pantani_lives]

Is the last 100 m of the final downhill or is it an illusion because it flattens out a bit?

It has always been a mystery to me.

It flattens out a bit. Guys with a good sprint often wait even on the Mur to go full in the final 200 m. Climbers without a sprint try to go halfway the climb on the steepest part, but it's hard to make a gap and stay away.

It's hard to believe, but the winner of the poll ended up winning the race, in spite of all the start list changes. Hirschi would be considered an exceptional young talent if he wasn't in the shadow of a few others. I'm also surprissed about Cosnefroy. I thought in the Tour they just allowed him to go, but he's actually quite strong.

300 m before the finish I thought Kwiatkowski was going to win, but he staggered on the last steep bit. Pogacar is probably just past the peak of his shape.

 

[SafeBet]

Bagioli, Champoussin, Tulett, Van Wilder, Vansevenant all very good. PS: and Jorgenson.
The others a bit less.

Disappointing to see Jorgenson beaten by Champoussin though.

 

[Andy262]

That was a great ride by Vansevenant. Gutted for him. If anything it looked like he'd drawn away from Uran's challenge again. Given he had time to crash, retrieve the bike get on and shove away with time to spare.

Well done Hirschi. Properly arrived.

 

[Velolover2]

It flattens out a bit. Guys with a good sprint often wait even on the Mur to go full in the final 200 m. Climbers without a sprint try to go halfway the climb on the steepest part, but it's hard to make a gap and stay away.

Yeah. The 450 m mark seems to be the soft spot for the climbers. Porte attacked in the same corner as Purito and Fuglsang but he wasn't punchy enough to get a gap.

 

[Keram]

holding tight even when down...

https://twitter.com/x/status/1311322419328679940

View: https://twitter.com/junimba/status/1311322419328679940

Unbelievable he managed to stay ahead of Uran after this crash

 

[Logic-is-your-friend]

Is the last 100 m of the final downhill or is it an illusion because it flattens out a bit?

It has always been a mystery to me.

View: https://youtu.be/uY4cVhXxW64

 

[Sciatic]

It was a decent ride by Martin and he made ground up the climb, his problem once again though was really poor positioning, he was at least 30/35 back when the road got steeper. He may have made a podium had he been towards the front.

Some things are constants in life: death, taxes, and Dan Martin being too far back at the start of the Mur.

 

[Koronin]

Hirschi has some great form currently.

 

[tobydawq]

Is the last 100 m of the final downhill or is it an illusion because it flattens out a bit?

It has always been a mystery to me.

It's definitely not downhill!

 

[Leinster]

Some things are constants in life: death, taxes, and Dan Martin being too far back at the start of the Mur.

I missed the race, but as soon as I saw his name in 5th, I knew what happened.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It's still uphill, you can see how despite having a more than sufficient advantage in the women's race van der Breggen still has to get out the saddle to force enough momentum to cross the line. It's just one of those optical illusions, like Magnetic Hills, as the gradient goes from somewhere around 13% to about 3% very quickly, leading to the impression of riders emerging over the summit from the camera behind the finish.

 

[Red Rick]

It's definitely not downhill!

To me it looks closer to the opposite, as if they're not even on top at the finish.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

To me it looks closer to the opposite, as if they're not even on top at the finish.

That's cos they're not, it's basically climbing out of the river basin up onto a plateau, and there's a bunch of uphill false flat after that. You can see it on the profile after the penultimate ascent of the Mur.

 

[tobydawq]

I didn't think they showed the sea lions today! I think there's an animal park near the top of the Mur which prominently features sea lions who are always shown after the finish. Now I'm worried about what happened to them.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Some things are constants in life: death, taxes, and Dan Martin being too far back at the start of the Mur.

But someone will point out to him that he was overtaken by Barguil at the very end, so he will deduce that he should make his move even later.

 

[Wvv]

For someone out of form, a good ride by Dan Martin.

He started the climb in like 35th position. Imagine his result with a good position at the bottom. Might be an outsider for Liège.

 

[SafeBet]

Apparently Hirschi climbed Mur de Huy in 2'47", fastest time since 2014.
It's always slightly below or slightly above 2'50" so not much difference but I didn't expect it.

 

[Ted Striker]

any climbing times?

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

any climbing times?

Apparently Hirschi climbed Mur de Huy in 2'47"