Lesser known races 2024 edition

[Samamba]

How? Team sizes didn't change after that rule was changed.

Because they had to give up their own chances for others to get points (their own wouldn't count), meaning they had 0 results eventho they couldve gotten some. There were literal cases where teams rode behind breakaways with their own riders in it because they weren't in their top 10 and stuff. It was not a good situation.

 

[Mayomaniac]

Because they had to give up their own chances for others to get points (their own wouldn't count), meaning they had 0 results eventho they couldve gotten some. There were literal cases where teams rode behind breakaways with their own riders in it because they weren't in their top 10 and stuff. It was not a good situation.

Frankly only points for your highest placed rider (at least in one day races) would be better.
Back when winning the Coppa Italia still gave you a free Giro wildcard Italian PCT teams tried to place as many riders as possible in the top 10 instead of actually trying to win the race to score more points. Destroys the spirit of one day racing, IMO.

 

[Brullnux]

Because they had to give up their own chances for others to get points (their own wouldn't count), meaning they had 0 results eventho they couldve gotten some. There were literal cases where teams rode behind breakaways with their own riders in it because they weren't in their top 10 and stuff. It was not a good situation.

I can imagine also teams wanted to stack either points winners or pure domestiques, and people who did best in freeish situations and could sometimes get a result (but would've been around that 12th/13th rider mark) might have been at a loose end.

 

[tobydawq]

Frankly only points for your highest placed rider (at least in one day races) would be better.
Back when winning the Coppa Italia still gave you a free Giro wildcard Italian PCT teams tried to place as many riders as possible in the top 10 instead of actually trying to win the race to score more points. Destroys the spirit of one day racing, IMO.

Yeah, that's a good idea.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Ulissi/UAE hoarding .Pro/.1 wins, stealing them from 21 and 22 year olds...

Not sure what your contention is. If races should be reserved for 21 and 22 year olds, they can run as U23 events.

If they want the best field that they can attract, to the benefit of sponsors/local interest, then the best riders they can attract are likely to win.

Is there a reason why a team should not try to win races?

 

[SafeBet]

Ullisi finished like a bullet. Bad luck for DePretto who looked the winner for most of the last 2kms.

De Pretto's consistency to start the season is quite the surprise for me. He's adapting very quickly to the pro level, while riding mostly the Italian one day races calendar last year.
I talked to him a couple of days ago and he told me he produced roughly the same watts as Michael Matthews on the Poggio during Milano - Sanremo, but he started the Poggio too far back.

At the beginning of 2023 he trained for a few weeks with Jayco and came home completely devasted, but he's coping with the new training regime much better now. Pinotti is doing an excellent job with him.

 

[Brullnux]

Not sure what your contention is. If races should be reserved for 21 and 22 year olds, they can run as U23 events.

If they want the best field that they can attract, to the benefit of sponsors/local interest, then the best riders they can attract are likely to win.

Is there a reason why a team should not try to win races?

No, I'm not being serious

 

[Rob5091]

Before we get too side-tracked here at the Lesser known races thread, it's stage 3 of Settimana Internazionale Coppi e Bartali today, Thursday. 132.2 km, Start 12.10 On the Youtube at 14.40 CET, startlist still at https://www.procyclingstats.com/race/settimana-internazionale-coppi-e-bartali/2024/startlist

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o27HLPVg-fo&list=PLXaqX-q7-H8ouc2q1hvfpFSWybNkxDSTa&index=4

We're off to apparently the home of the World's worst national football team, San Marino on a loop from Riccione to ... Riccione.

 

[yaco]

De Pretto's consistency to start the season is quite the surprise for me. He's adapting very quickly to the pro level, while riding mostly the Italian one day races calendar last year.
I talked to him a couple of days ago and he told me he produced roughly the same watts as Michael Matthews on the Poggio during Milano - Sanremo, but he started the Poggio too far back.

At the beginning of 2023 he trained for a few weeks with Jayco and came home completely devasted, but he's coping with the new training regime much better now. Pinotti is doing an excellent job with him.

He is one who if he makes that significant leap from 1st to 2nd year Neo-pro could be a factor in bigger races going forward.

 

[Rob5091]

Visma going for the old 1,2 in Italy.

 

[repre]

motorpacing in this race is crazy

 

[Samamba]

motorpacing in this race is crazy

It's been a while since I've seen it this bad. And the thing is it's not like they prefer someone. The break got their whole gap in the wheel of a moto. Then Ryan and Staune Mittet just attacked in the wheel of a moto and now it's in front of the chasing group.

 

[Salvarani]

De Pretto's consistency to start the season is quite the surprise for me. He's adapting very quickly to the pro level, while riding mostly the Italian one day races calendar last year.
I talked to him a couple of days ago and he told me he produced roughly the same watts as Michael Matthews on the Poggio during Milano - Sanremo, but he started the Poggio too far back.

At the beginning of 2023 he trained for a few weeks with Jayco and came home completely devasted, but he's coping with the new training regime much better now. Pinotti is doing an excellent job with him.

Looking like a great pick for the 2024-2026 emerging riders game

 

[Samamba]

Tactical disasterclass from Lotto

 

[repre]

It's been a while since I've seen it this bad. And the thing is it's not like they prefer someone. The break got their whole gap in the wheel of a moto. Then Ryan and Staune Mittet just attacked in the wheel of a moto and now it's in front of the chasing group.

yeah, it's just amateur tv production...

 

[Samamba]

Bouwman wins. Matthys 2nd. Pretty good results for Bingoal lately.

Berckmoes wins sprint for 3rd easily. But Lotto completely threw this away. You have 4 guys in a 22 rider group and you just let 2 guys go without doing anything.

 

[Rob5091]

Well, Visma got only the 1 - Bouwman won but well done by Matthys for Bingoal for 2nd. Chapeau!

 

[yaco]

Bouwman wins. Matthys 2nd. Pretty good results for Bingoal lately.

Berckmoes wins sprint for 3rd easily. But Lotto completely threw this away. You have 4 guys in a 22 rider group and you just let 2 guys go without doing anything.

And you let Bouwman who is 13 seconds behind on GC and now into the leaders jersey.

 

[pablohidalgo7]

I was expecting a Koen Bouwman win today in a 20 man group, not in a "sprint a deux" taking as well the GC lead, Nice

 

[ingsve]

Nice to see Staune-Mittet doing much better than in his first few races this season. A lot of the riders he was on level with last year had been doing well so far in various races already this season so it's nice to see him also finding his climbing legs at last.

 

[DNP-Old]

Brenner for another one?

 

[DNP-Old]

Brenner dropped Segaert. It's him vs. the peloton now.

 

[Samamba]

Ryan wins after a nice solo. He's been the best climber here, think he gets the double tomorrow.

Berckmoes after 2 3rd places now 2nd, ffs. Great work from Widar, who's getting stronger here.

 

[ingsve]

Anyone know what happened at the end in Coppi e Bartali. Seems like 5 rider, 2 of them from Visma got the same time as the front 9 despite finishing far down. I assume it was some sort of crash in the last 3 km?

 

[Samamba]

Anyone know what happened at the end in Coppi e Bartali. Seems like 5 rider, 2 of them from Visma got the same time as the front 9 despite finishing far down. I assume it was some sort of crash in the last 3 km?

Yeah they crashed in the last descent, which was apparently in the last 3km, but it's REALLY weird that they are put in the same time as the winnen while there was split in the front group. Like it can't be that it is now better to get held up by a crash than begin in the front group and just behind a split lmao.

Either you put them all in the same time, or you put those who crashed at 4s (which would me the most logical thing to do here, it was an uphill finish after all).