Lesser known races 2025 edition

[Dazed and Confused]

Prueba Villafranca - Ordiziako Klasika (1.1) is on today. Starts at 10:00 local and will likely finish before the shortened stage in TdF starts.

Will del Toro slaughter the herd or will a brave soul rise to the occasion?
Streams will be available.

 

[DJO]

Prueba Villafranca - Ordiziako Klasika. Sans comms.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m6a0MBKsDPI&ab_channel=MTBCrossCountryXCO

 

[Dazed and Confused]

25kms to go. 4 riders with 15s.
One more iteration up the climb and then the descent to the line. Slightly damp road. Careful please, no mistakes.

 

[Samamba]

Del Toro

 

[QueenStagiaire]

Well, ok, del Toro just nukes everyone again

 

[Samamba]

Why is a guy who almost won the Giro ruining all these guys' days a whole month straight?

 

[Dazed and Confused]

yea, game over. Another destroyed race.

 

[Squire]

Mexican Hirschi away solo.

 

[Peyroteo94]

Why is a guy who almost won the Giro ruining all these guys' days a whole month straight?

I blame UCI. How the hell don't we have decent WT stage races or classics in July (bar the Tour) and August. Tour de Romandie should be now for sure.

 

[Samamba]

I blame UCI. How the hell don't we have decent WT stage races or classics in July (bar the Tour) and August. Tour de Romandie should be now for sure.

I get what you mean, it can be a bit annoying for some riders (they do it on purpose, attention needs to go to the Tour 100%), BUT nothing is obligating UAE to actually ride all those races and send Del Toro, plenty of teams who just don't race. He rode the whole Giro, he could've just went back into competition at the end of july (for example these races, but not Austria). Imo the problem is that in any other team he would be riding the Vuelta, and then he would be preping for that right now instead of racing. But UAE can't really give him a spot there (and ofc he's young but still he could do it).

I don't know, it's kinda ruining cycling. I hate dominance in general. I don't think it's good for a sport, but you can't blame a team like UAE for being the best. So if they want to dominate the bigger races, win everything there, go ahead (even tho that's already bad for the sport), but it's really bad for cycling when they do it everywhere else too, not giving any chance at spotlight for other teams.

 

[Red Rick]

Del Toro is the next big thing.

In fact he's a thing so big he's being used to spank glorified pubcrawls.

 

[Samamba]

Who's joining Del Toro?

Arrieta?

 

[Samamba]

Well I guess Del Toro can gift it to someone else now.

 

[Brullnux]

Pisstake, 1-2-3 in a random Spanish 1.1 race.

 

[Samamba]

Yeah just gtfo, annoying team.

 

[Brullnux]

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XadLaAYKol0

 

[Rou]

UAE keep farming, huh?

 

[QueenStagiaire]

It used to be back in the day that people were complaining about lack of race days from some of the top riders, now there are complaints that a team actually shows up to bike races.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

After three days of missing out UAE is finally back on top. Nice first pro win for Arrieta, even though it was a gift.

 

[RedheadDane]

That was a dominant display of teleportation from UAE.

 

[Brullnux]

It used to be back in the day that people were complaining about lack of race days from some of the top riders, now there are complaints that a team actually shows up to bike races.

There's a difference between going to WT races and farming at mid-season 1.1 races.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

It used to be back in the day that people were complaining about lack of race days from some of the top riders, now there are complaints that a team actually shows up to bike races.

At the same time, when the same 3-4 teams bogart all the top talent and completely shut 3/4 the World Tour out of any realistic aspirations of success in any of the big races, it's understandable when people yearning for some variety and competition might want to watch some smaller races, and then be resentful of seeing those same teams already smashing the competition to all parts on the World Tour turn up and smash everybody in the small races too, preventing any of those smaller teams from accumulating the kind of points that may be relevant in the race to qualify for wildcard status etc..

Sending guys like del Toro off on a barrelled fish shoot kinda takes the fun away from these smaller races, which often people enjoy as an alternative, especially when the bigger races are less competitive. This isn't quite 2013 Tour of Hainan level stupidity, but it's not far off.

 

[Peyroteo94]

I want Morgado in another team. UAE is too stacked and Morgado can be very good for a team like Redbull or Visma.

 

[Samamba]

It used to be back in the day that people were complaining about lack of race days from some of the top riders, now there are complaints that a team actually shows up to bike races.

You know you don't have to be Visma riding nothing or UAE riding everything right? It's not just black and white right? There's something in between right?

It also isn't only about riding them, it's that UAE rides smaller races with guys who would be in a GT in another team right now. They are simply getting too strong for this sport. If you can't see that's getting a bit problematic I don't know.

 

[Ilmaestro99]

Can't wait for the day Mauro gianetti is out from our sport, was looking forward to that race as a break from the snore de France and it's uae dominance and instead it's just the same thing. Tour le Suisse, same thing. Tour austria same thing. Dauphine same thing. Just want to watch some good road racing man