Once MS put Affini on their front he nearly single-handledly brought back the break - He's got power in his legs - Now to build up endurance.
The Cycling News forum is looking to add some volunteer moderators with Red Rick's recent retirement. If you're interested in helping keep our discussions on track, send a direct message to
In the meanwhile, please use the Report option if you see a post that doesn't fit within the forum rules.
Thanks!
Long range, uphill sprint and he made the rest of them look like the cat 4's sprinting for 37th at the South Shields Crit.
It's live on ITV4The Tiz stream is a bit choppy for me today.
Any alternative streams?
Next...Emmerdale Farm
but the driver was really breaking the highway code - not looking where he was going for seconds at a time - bad bad example for the ITV4 audience.THIEF! (Camera guy stole the Haribo from some guy in a car.)
Today we set off from the south side of the river
With the Millennium Bridge which blinks to allow larger sea vessels to pass underneath, the Sage looking like a slug and the Baltic Arts Centre.
The then pass through Low Fell and on past the Angel of the North,
This I assume will be the warm up, next they drop down towards the Team Valley before taking a left turn onto a non categorised climb lasting 2.7km with 7-8% average gradient, this could be where the break of the day is formed unless some of the men interested in GC want to contest the early bonus sprint in Whickham, once of the top of the climb there is a short descent towards Sunniside and then on to Whickham where the first sprint of the day takes place.
Then a fast drop down to Swalwell and onto Blaydon where the Peloton might break out into a chorus of the Blaydon Races,
Now they head up Shibden Bank across to Chopwell a former pit village known locally as little Moscow and down into the Derwent Valley,
We now drop quickly into the Derwent Valley and up towards Shotley Bridge where we take a turn up into the North Pennines to the KOM at Snods Edge
We pass through Edmundbyers and up from the Derwent Valley over to the Wear Valley down Crawleyside bank into Stanhope, hopefully the road over this section wont be blocked by sheep.
Not much time is spent in Weardale as we climb unthank bank to the second KOM of the day.
At this point we cross Bollinhope Common
And decending to Teesdale, another brief stay and is is up and over to Brough in the Eden Valley.
We now head south to Kirby Stephen and south through the Howgills down to a sprint in Sedbergh which apparently has a posh school.
We then go up the narrow road towards Dent, where they could pop in to the a brewery but they turn right and up to the final KOM of the day.
Dropping down to Kirby Lonsdale we now turn towards Kendal,
I must confess I don't know the root from Kirby Lonsdale to Kendal but this is James Knox's home roads in this area.
We finish in Kendal where they are famous for Mint Cake and shoes finishing up Beasts Bank where Ciolek beat a young Sam Bennett in 2013.
Any chance they get rid of Groenewegen today or will it be another procession?