Good point. A sad fact, but a good point nonetheless.
I know it's not at all unusual for riders to travel and ride races back to back, but right off of a Paris Roubaix seems a bit extreme.
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I know it's not at all unusual for riders to travel and ride races back to back, but right off of a Paris Roubaix seems a bit extreme.
The final (professional) Belgian race of the season tomorrow in the shape of Binche-Chimay-Binche.
The route into Chimay is mostly flat, on the way back to Binche there's a few hills at the Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure: Côte de Falemprise (750m at 6.9%), Côte des Violettes (450m at 11.3%) and the Petit Poggio.
The race continues through Thuin, where the Rue du Fosteau (the profile below minus the first 200m) awaits.
Upon returning to Binche, there are just under five laps of the usual circuit to be done.
The long uphill at the start of this circuit is really just a false flat, the first 2k are the 'steepest' at 2.8%. In spite of this, it's usually a reduced peloton that contests this finish and finisseur attacks have succeeded in the past. The finish is at about 5pm with Eurosport live from 3pm onwards.
The route into Chimay is mostly flat, on the way back to Binche there's a few hills at the Lacs de l'Eau d'Heure: Côte de Falemprise (750m at 6.9%), Côte des Violettes (450m at 11.3%) and the Petit Poggio.
The race continues through Thuin, where the Rue du Fosteau (the profile below minus the first 200m) awaits.
Upon returning to Binche, there are just under five laps of the usual circuit to be done.
The long uphill at the start of this circuit is really just a false flat, the first 2k are the 'steepest' at 2.8%. In spite of this, it's usually a reduced peloton that contests this finish and finisseur attacks have succeeded in the past. The finish is at about 5pm with Eurosport live from 3pm onwards.
Things not going well for DQ in Belgium: Jakobsen just abandonded, and Cavendish needed a bike change.
Just over 30 Ks to go.
Just over 30 Ks to go.
^^I'm calling this a late attack -- Very clever by former winner van Poppel. Not easy to set up a full sprint on the cobbles. And DQS blew it with an effort to sneak a win in the last 3 km with a mini-break that was brought back.
361 metres.
�
Look like they lost the stopwatch today.
| Pos. | Binche-Chimay-Binche (Mens) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Danny van Poppel (Ned) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux | |
| 2 | Rasmus Tiller (Nor) Uno-X Pro Cycling Team | |
| 3 | Lionel Taminiaux (Bel) Alpecin-Fenix | |
| 4 | Hugo Hofstetter (Fra) Israel Start-up Nation | |
| 5 | Stan Dewulf (Bel) AG2R Citroën Team | |
| 6 | Christophe Noppe (Bel) Team Arkea-Samsic | |
| 7 | Milan Menten (Bel) Bingoal Pauwels Sauzen WB | |
| 8 | Daan Hoole (Ned) SEG Racing Academy | |
| 9 | Dylan Groenewegen (Ned) Jumbo-Visma | |
| 10 | Vegard Stokke (Nor) Team DSM |
Hang on! Is the French one-day race today Paris-Bourges, or Paris-Gien-Bourges? Or are the Arkea-boys gonna take a detour?
Hang on! Is the French one-day race today Paris-Bourges, or Paris-Gien-Bourges? Or are the Arkea-boys gonna take a detour?
Ooooh, what a crazily important detail!!!1
Regarding Piemonte: I'm a bit surprised to see Colbrelli take part in this most schizophrenic of bike races. He did win it the last time it was flat but lining up just four days after winning Roubaix can't be too fun. They always say that it takes a week before you're recovered from that.
That was my thought with Nizzolo riding the day after Roubaix at Bernocchi!
He did ride though, and he's down to ride today too.
Granted, Nizzolo was a DNF at Roubaix. But even so.
Hang on! Is the French one-day race today Paris-Bourges, or Paris-Gien-Bourges? Or are the Arkea-boys gonna take a detour?
Wikipedia is your friend:
The race originally started in Paris and ran to the town of Bourges in the Région Centre. However, in recent year with the length of races shortened it has become impossible to link the two cities and since 1996 the race has started in the town of Gien in the Loiret department which is 130 kilometres (80 mi) south of Paris. The official name of the race is now Paris-Gien-Bourges although it is still referred to as Paris–Bourges on the UCI calendar and throughout much of the media.
So everyone else - including UCI - is just being lazy. But having a race being called "[Place]-[Place]", and not actually starting in the supposed start location is nothing new. Just take the other - slightly less "Lesser Known" - race supposedly starting in Paris, which was being held this Sunday.
These days it seems like almost a rarity when a race actually both starts and finishes in the town(s) the name implies.
One of the nicest stuffed animals for Lucas Eriksson, winner of the first Circuit des Ardennes stage. Really classy rider that has been consistently good for a couple of years now. Deserves a chance with a bigger team but it's often not easy for riders from outsider/third countries.
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So that's where we are now? Sweden is an outsider country?
One of the nicest stuffed animals for Lucas Eriksson, winner of the first Circuit des Ardennes stage. Really classy rider that has been consistently good for a couple of years now. Deserves a chance with a bigger team but it's often not easy for riders from outsider/third countries.
Squeaks I want to have that pig!!
At least he gets that one if not a WT contract.
It‘s about whether or not there are pro teams in the country (or pro teams which include your country as part of its catchment area, like Bora with Austria). When there was a Polish PCT outfit, every Polish rider got a shot at a pro contract. Now there isn’t one, so they don’t.
If there isn’t a pro team where you are based, your best option is to go to a country where there are pro teams and try to impress on a lower level squad. If your country has access to a local conti circuit outside of the cycling core, you can also stay at home and try to get notice by winning a load of .2s but you have to do really, really well at that to get noticed.
In Ireland, for example, you absolutely cannot get a pro contract without packing your bags and demonstrating that you have it somewhere else first. The most traditional route is to go ride for a French amateur squad. That’s what they were doing in the days of Stephen Roche and it’s what the current most obvious Irish future pro Darren Rafferty did this year. Lithuanians, to give another example I think tend to go to Belgium to try the same thing.
The main exception to this rule is Colombia. You can get a pro ride with teams based elsewhere by doing well at home if you are Colombian, but that’s because the domestic level is particularly good and guys coming straight over from there have an established record at the top tier.
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One of the nicest stuffed animals for Lucas Eriksson, winner of the first Circuit des Ardennes stage. Really classy rider that has been consistently good for a couple of years now. Deserves a chance with a bigger team but it's often not easy for riders from outsider/third countries.
He's defintiely good enough to be picked up by a ProTeam for next season, and Riwal isn't likely to take the step up soon. His younger brother, Jacob, also seems to be developing into a solid rider, and he doesn't have a confirmed contract for 2022 either.
It needs to be qualified though, as distance alone isn't enough. Kristoff launched a long sprint in Ponferrada, not a late attack. A late attack must create a gap (immediately) to qualify.
But surely, not that long ago Sweden wouldn't exactly have been considered "minor country".
Of course, I frequently make fun about the amount of Swedish pro rider these days.
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