Richmond 2015 World Championships, Sep 19-27

[Kwibus]

Woke up to a very surprising podium! Wow!

Very happy for Kirienka! Look at him smiling, never seen such a long big smile on his face. Awesome! He deserves it as well.
Dissapointing from the big guns, but then again what does it matter? It was fun!

Also what's with "the Inka". Inca? Wtf? Silliest nickname ever for a Bellarussian?

 

[Tyr]

Tony Martin looked fatter and looking at his shoulders it seems like he lost quite a bit of muscle mass (broken collarbone).

 

[ppanther92]

So does this mean we'll get a strange result on Sunday?

S. COLBRELLI!

There is only one obviously answer to that - Moreno Moser of course

 

[damian13ster]

Too bad that Bialoblocki mismanaged his strenght (first time on such a long course).
Could have been in top 5 otherwise.

Still, great TT for Poland. Got 2 spots for Rio

 

[Kwibus]

Dumoulin said this to dutch media after he finished.
Mentally the hardest hour of his life. Didn't enjoy a single moment of this TT and couldn't focus at all. He was quite surprised he still finished 5th. The adjusted sadle was really helpful though.
The journalist ofcourse asked is because of the injury? Is it because of the Vuelta? etc. etc. Tom answered that he didn't know and you can never really tell exactly why.

No excuses, just rode a bad TT.

 

[djconnel]

Injuries are funny. I awoke the day before yesterday with a kink in my neck -- restricted range of motion. I got a massage and the next morning it was actually a lot worse -- I was in bed most of the day. Today it's a lot better, but it's funny how stuff like this can happen without obvious cause. I'm a lot older than him and stuff is more prone to revolt the older you get but still, sometimes injuries happen for little obvious reason. I know with my shoulder/neck no way I was going to ride a race.

Interesting story about Linda V, who was reprimanded by UHC for racing on her NZ team bike instead of UHC Wilier. Irony is if the NZ bike was at all better for her she'd have been at best 3rd on the Wilier, so would that have been better for UHC? Maybe they fine her a fraction of the bonus she gets for winning. In any case, if I was Linda I'd not regret for a second the decision.

Has anyone seen wind tunnel data comparing the Wilier to the standard top tier bikes (Specialized, Cervelo, ...)?

 

[WheelofGear]

A weakened Tony Martin is, while sad, a good thing for the Road Race if you want a break to survive.

He counts for having three extra helpers in the peloton for Degenkolb (and perhaps even Griepel)..

 

[djconnel]

Ah -- so I learned Linda's bike in WC was a Trek Speed Concept, not a NZ team frame as was implied by Rochelle Gilmore on the coverage I saw on YouTube via Steephill.tv.

Of course the Trek always tests extremely well. But in this case the issue was the smallest Wilier wasn't small enough for her -- it's a 2.3 cm taller HT than the smallest Trek Speed Concept.

 

[Jagartrott]

Rain forecast for the next days.
Especially hard on Saturday, but also quite good amounts on Sunday.

Yey!

 

[Afrank]

Re:

Rain forecast for the next days.
Especially hard on Saturday, but also quite good amounts on Sunday.

Yey!

Excellent. I applaud anything that will reduce the chances of a bunch sprint.

 

[Happy dude]

Re: Re:

Rain forecast for the next days.
Especially hard on Saturday, but also quite good amounts on Sunday.

Yey!

Excellent. I applaud anything that will reduce the chances of a bunch sprint.

What would people prefer? I have always wondered

Would they prefer a recognised rider who is visible in lots of races becoming WC so the Jersey is on show?
Or would they prefer a complete outsider to win? Even though the Jersey may not be visible
Or would everyone just prefer zubeldia to win?

 

[Afrank]

Re: Re:

Rain forecast for the next days.
Especially hard on Saturday, but also quite good amounts on Sunday.

Yey!

Excellent. I applaud anything that will reduce the chances of a bunch sprint.

What would people prefer? I have always wondered

Would they prefer a recognised rider who is visible in lots of races becoming WC so the Jersey is on show?
Or would they prefer a complete outsider to win? Even though the Jersey may not be visible
Or would everyone just prefer zubeldia to win?

If Zubeldia won it's likely no one would notice. They'd be giving the jersey to the second place guy when suddenly Zubeldia would tackle him to the ground shouting that he was the actual winner.

Who people would prefer probably various greatly and depends on who they like. I mostly want to see an exciting race, regardless of who wins it. But if a rider I like is going up against a lesser known guy in the final of course I'll cheer for the one I'm a fan of.

 

[Jagartrott]

Re: Re:

Would they prefer a recognised rider who is visible in lots of races becoming WC so the Jersey is on show?
Or would they prefer a complete outsider to win? Even though the Jersey may not be visible
Or would everyone just prefer zubeldia to win?

I think there is almost no chance a nobody wins a race this long.
When was the last time that happened? Maybe 2000, with Romans Vainsteins? (although he's not really a nobody)

 

[hrotha]

Personally I think it's very important that the world champion feels "right". Of course, this is very subjective, but it usually means I actually have a problem with complete outsiders winning, unless they'restill young and/or insanely promising (like Vainsteins was at the time).

 

[Valv.Piti]

Re:

Personally I think it's very important that the world champion feels "right". Of course, this is very subjective, but it usually means I actually have a problem with complete outsiders winning, unless they'restill young and/or insanely promising (like Vainsteins was at the time).

Agree, the biggest riders should win the biggest races. Otherwise I generally end up feeling empty after the race, especially such a big one like RR WC.

 

[oldcrank]

Tony Martin looked fatter and looking at his shoulders it seems like he lost quite a bit of muscle mass (broken collarbone).

And apparently lost quite a bit of flesh off his backside yesterday.

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

Personally I think it's very important that the world champion feels "right". Of course, this is very subjective, but it usually means I actually have a problem with complete outsiders winning, unless they'restill young and/or insanely promising (like Vainsteins was at the time).

Agree, the biggest riders should win the biggest races. Otherwise I generally end up feeling empty after the race, especially such a big one like RR WC.

+1. I would even feel bad if GVA won. Guys who have not just high placings but wins in the races that suit them, like Valverde, should be the first port of call for next WC in a perfect world.

 

[Gigs_98]

Re: Re:

Personally I think it's very important that the world champion feels "right". Of course, this is very subjective, but it usually means I actually have a problem with complete outsiders winning, unless they'restill young and/or insanely promising (like Vainsteins was at the time).

Agree, the biggest riders should win the biggest races. Otherwise I generally end up feeling empty after the race, especially such a big one like RR WC.

+1. I would even feel bad if GVA won. Guys who have not just high placings but wins in the races that suit them, like Valverde, should be the first port of call for next WC in a perfect world.

I agree that a nobody win in the WC is lame but GVA would be great. Generally I just want that riders who simply deserve this win get it. The world champion should be the best cyclist (although that ofc hardly ever happens) so I want at least a very good rider who could win other big races too.

 

[Sasquatch]

At the end of the day the rider that wins the World Championships deserves it. You can't fluke a win in a race like this. So it won't matter where the jersey is.

 

[hrotha]

At the end of the day the rider that wins the World Championships deserves it. You can't fluke a win in a race like this. So it won't matter where the jersey is.

 

[Flamin]

Re: Re:

Personally I think it's very important that the world champion feels "right". Of course, this is very subjective, but it usually means I actually have a problem with complete outsiders winning, unless they'restill young and/or insanely promising (like Vainsteins was at the time).

Agree, the biggest riders should win the biggest races. Otherwise I generally end up feeling empty after the race, especially such a big one like RR WC.

+1. I would even feel bad if GVA won. Guys who have not just high placings but wins in the races that suit them, like Valverde, should be the first port of call for next WC in a perfect world.

Permanent bans should be introduced for people who write stuff like this.

 

[pastronef]

At the end of the day the rider that wins the World Championships deserves it. You can't fluke a win in a race like this. So it won't matter where the jersey is.

he was unlucky too. Cofidis had money problems and he had to sign for Lampre during the season

 

[TMP402]

Re: Re:

Personally I think it's very important that the world champion feels "right". Of course, this is very subjective, but it usually means I actually have a problem with complete outsiders winning, unless they'restill young and/or insanely promising (like Vainsteins was at the time).

Agree, the biggest riders should win the biggest races. Otherwise I generally end up feeling empty after the race, especially such a big one like RR WC.

+1. I would even feel bad if GVA won. Guys who have not just high placings but wins in the races that suit them, like Valverde, should be the first port of call for next WC in a perfect world.

I agree that a nobody win in the WC is lame but GVA would be great. Generally I just want that riders who simply deserve this win get it. The world champion should be the best cyclist (although that ofc hardly ever happens) so I want at least a very good rider who could win other big races too.

But GVA so far hasn't won races that matter. I don't want to say of a sport's world champion "he can't win any of the big races he specialises in, but he's the world champion".

 

[Kwibus]

Re: Re:

Personally I think it's very important that the world champion feels "right". Of course, this is very subjective, but it usually means I actually have a problem with complete outsiders winning, unless they'restill young and/or insanely promising (like Vainsteins was at the time).

Agree, the biggest riders should win the biggest races. Otherwise I generally end up feeling empty after the race, especially such a big one like RR WC.

+1. I would even feel bad if GVA won. Guys who have not just high placings but wins in the races that suit them, like Valverde, should be the first port of call for next WC in a perfect world.

I agree that a nobody win in the WC is lame but GVA would be great. Generally I just want that riders who simply deserve this win get it. The world champion should be the best cyclist (although that ofc hardly ever happens) so I want at least a very good rider who could win other big races too.

But GVA so far hasn't won races that matter. I don't want to say of a sport's world champion "he can't win any of the big races he specialises in, but he's the world champion".

Then the WC would be the first race "that matters".
GVA is no nobody, he's a topnotch rider that has a hard time actually winning the big races, but he's among the best on a very wide range of races and that alone makes him a very special rider.

 

[Billie]

Re: Re:

Personally I think it's very important that the world champion feels "right". Of course, this is very subjective, but it usually means I actually have a problem with complete outsiders winning, unless they'restill young and/or insanely promising (like Vainsteins was at the time).

Agree, the biggest riders should win the biggest races. Otherwise I generally end up feeling empty after the race, especially such a big one like RR WC.

+1. I would even feel bad if GVA won. Guys who have not just high placings but wins in the races that suit them, like Valverde, should be the first port of call for next WC in a perfect world.

I agree that a nobody win in the WC is lame but GVA would be great. Generally I just want that riders who simply deserve this win get it. The world champion should be the best cyclist (although that ofc hardly ever happens) so I want at least a very good rider who could win other big races too.

But GVA so far hasn't won races that matter. I don't want to say of a sport's world champion "he can't win any of the big races he specialises in, but he's the world champion".

Van Avermaet's palmares is better than Kwiatkowski's was before last years race. Or Costa's before Firenze

Van Avermaet is everything that is so great about cycling: Fighting spirit, perseverance, determination, suffering, disappointment, coming back, never giving up, dedication.... Someone who races year round (you can count those on your 2 hands unfortunately) and gets a lot of smack when he loses but never complains and fully goes for it again the next race.
I don't really understand how one can be unhappy with him as a world champ.