State of the peloton 2022

[Ripper]

Hard to comment on individual threads when it's all pretty ridiculous. Vinnie the new chicken. Pog still ridiculous (and let's be serious, the win is still all very much still in play). G-Man better than 2018. Pidcock blasting to another nutty win. And of course all the others.

Cycling's having a renaissance of sorts

 

[noob]

Hard to comment on individual threads when it's all pretty ridiculous. Vinnie the new chicken. Pog still ridiculous (and let's be serious, the win is still all very much still in play). G-Man better than 2018. Pidcock blasting to another nutty win. And of course all the others.

Cycling's having a renaissance of sorts

This sounds more likely yes. Someone started the new era and now everyone has to keep up again. Can't complain about the entertainment it brings as it evens out the field. Jaded.

 

[red_flanders]

I just don't see that much of a difference between now and any other time. No, it's not the height of the 90's, and maybe it's a bit less than during the first decade of the 2000's, but there have been ridiculous performances the entire time. I don't see any evidence of motors anymore, but clearly cycling has been and continues to be fairly unbelievable.

All that said, I've kind of gotten to a place of "oh well". As long as they're not throwing stupid stories and denials in my face which insult my intelligence, my level of caring is a lot lower.

Pogi, Vingo, and WVA are the most ridiculous, with Vingo for me being the top of the absurdity heap. The old coming from nowhere thing always gets me.

 

[Netserk]

They have reached the pre-Puerto levels. The peloton is flying, and it seems more and more riders are getting on the wagon. Something has changed the past few years, that much is clear.

 

[Riek s]

They have reached the pre-Puerto levels. The peloton is flying, and it seems more and more riders are getting on the wagon. Something has changed the past few years, that much is clear.

From twitter
@faustocoppi60

(bike weight limit was set on 6,8kg since 2000)

 

[noob]

From twitter
@faustocoppi60

(bike weight limit was set on 6,8kg since 2000)

Finally numbers even my noob self can understand and relate something to.

That's pretty darn suspicious, especially since it was the finish climb of two days of that intense racing in that insane heat.

 

[Pistolas]

It could be easily 1 min less for Pog and Vingo if they didn't stop after the Pogacar attacks...Impressive stuff going on.

 

[Ripper]

It could be easily 1 min less for Pog and Vingo if they didn't stop after the Pogacar attacks...Impressive stuff going on.

Those crazy attacks slowed them down but must have made for some spectacular power numbers. Good lordy!

And given pog's bad day yesterday and what should have been impaired recovery, interesting how that perfect metabolism was still able to drop a bunch of people

 

[Rackham]

They climbed Alpe 1 minute faster than juiced Ullrich & Beloki 2001. Forget Armstrong, i.e. the comparison isn't just with him, it's with the rest of the field from that era which was also on epo. In any case Jumbo Visma deserves some disrespect for disrespecting the sport, i.e. beyond the issue of doping full stop, there's the issue of replacing one toy (Roglic, with all strengths & weaknesses) with a newer, upgraded mutant without any personality or character on a bike (Vingegaard).

I find that sort of behavior completely cynical.

 

[triglavsky]

They climbed Alpe 1 minute faster than juiced Ullrich & Beloki 2001. Forget Armstrong, i.e. the comparison isn't just with him, it's with the rest of the field from that era which was also on epo. In any case Jumbo Visma deserves some disrespect for disrespecting the sport, i.e. beyond the issue of doping full stop, there's the issue of replacing one toy (Roglic, with all strengths & weaknesses) with a newer, upgraded mutant without any personality or character on a bike (Vingegaard).

I find that sort of behavior completely cynical.

well can we really say pogacar had that much more personality or character than vingegaard before winning tdf20?
he has now but then?

 

[ppanther92]

From twitter
@faustocoppi60

(bike weight limit was set on 6,8kg since 2000)

Best post-2006 times for multiple riders is indeed quite some sight. And I don't think the first kilometers were raced particularly hard. And with out start-and-stop attacks Pogacar and Vingegaard would anyway have gone faster.

 

[Rackham]

well can we really say pogacar had that much more personality or character than vingegaard before winning tdf20?
he has now but then?

Vuelta 2019? I think that's when he built up his first fanbase.

Vingegaard meanwhile has the character & personality of a fish, which is probably ironic considering where he once worked.

 

[Cookster15]

From twitter
@faustocoppi60

(bike weight limit was set on 6,8kg since 2000)

Thanks for this. Really helpful. Quicker than Sastra 2008. I still marvel at Marco.

 

[ahsoe]

Vuelta 2019? I think that's when he built up his first fanbase.

Vingegaard meanwhile has the character & personality of a fish, which is probably ironic considering where he once worked.

Well, Vingegaard is just from Thy in the north-western part of Jutland, Denmark. The more west and north you come in Jutland, the fewer words people are using when expressing themselves and the fewer emotions they are showing.
This is a generalisation, I know, but nonetheless true.

I have come across a guy from the western part of Jutland, that used 'Hmm' as 'Yes', 'No', 'Thank You', 'I am fine' etc.
A joke in Denmark also goes, that the people in the north-western part of Jutland has killed off the careers of several Stand-up comedians because of their motionless expressions.
It doesn't mean they don't have emotions and personality, they are just more cautious about showing it.

Well, just trying to explain why Vingegaard might come across as a bit stiff.

 

[SarahtheDane]

Well, Vingegaard is just from Thy in the north-western part of Jutland, Denmark. The more west and north you come in Jutland, the fewer words people are using when expressing themselves and the fewer emotions they are showing.
This is a generalisation, I know, but nonetheless true.

I have come across a guy from the western part of Jutland, that used 'Hmm' as 'Yes', 'No', 'Thank You', 'I am fine' etc.
A joke in Denmark also goes, that the people in the north-western part of Jutland has killed off the careers of several Stand-up comedians because of their motionless expressions.
It doesn't mean they don't have emotions and personality, they are just more catious about showing it.

Well, just trying to explain why Vingegaard might come across as a bit stiff.

On the other hand, his girlfriend and his mother in law have PLENTY of personality.

 

[ahsoe]

On the other hand, his girlfriend and his mother in law have PLENTY of personality.

Indeed. Some would say too much

 

[Rackham]

Well, Vingegaard is just from Thy in the north-western part of Jutland, Denmark. The more west and north you come in Jutland, the fewer words people are using when expressing themselves and the fewer emotions they are showing.
This is a generalisation, I know, but nonetheless true.

I have come across a guy from the western part of Jutland, that used 'Hmm' as 'Yes', 'No', 'Thank You', 'I am fine' etc.
A joke in Denmark also goes, that the people in the north-western part of Jutland has killed off the careers of several Stand-up comedians because of their motionless expressions.
It doesn't mean they don't have emotions and personality, they are just more cautious about showing it.

Well, just trying to explain why Vingegaard might come across as a bit stiff.

Interesting, thanks for the regional info.

To me he's stiff because they've artificially doped his watts in a lab & he's very awkward with everything & everyone because zero work has gone into his actual personality & teaching him how to deal with these new realities he faces. He has a champion's power but he doesn't have a champion's character (not yet anyway). He's not the first cyclist to be socially introverted & in his case it looks like a typical case of 'fish out of water' (pun totally intended), i.e. he finds himself in a situation he never should have under normal circumstances.

This is the same rider who awkwardly crashed into Vlasov & Izagirre in Itzulia (terrible spatial awareness) & played that hilarious game of musical bikes last week on the cobbles. He has panic attacks. For real (like in Poland a few years ago). So it's not just about "stiffness" & I don't think that's anything to do with Danish people (Riss by comparison was a total badass).

Most of these sorts of quirks we see in Vingegaard are universal & get ironed-out by going through all the foundational phases before becoming a top rider & especially a champion (basically character building from cadets to pros), i.e. this rider looks like he's skipped all those phases & now finds himself with the most powerful watts in the TdF (certainly a match for the 'great' Tadej Pogacar, which is a crazy transformation in 18 months).

The hardest part will start for him after the TdF because he's going to face an onslaught of interest & I doubt Jumbo have prepared him for any of that.

 

[Pantani Attacks]

Something is rotten in the state of Denmark...

 

[nayr497]

FIVE racers in the top 25 from one day of racing d'Huez? Jeez.

And from my perspective, it seems like road cycling is popular again and a lot of fans are clueless about the jet fueling going on.

 

[noob]

A year ago or so I saw a cyclist (I don't want to name right now) talking about sleeping bad because having to piss in the night/early morning. And I couldn't believe anyone would dare to air something like that. To me it suggests you drink like crazy to hide for example microdosing. And then you make sure you pee all out before they test you.

Yes of course you could also just be stupid enough to drink so much you have to pee several times a night, but that's really stupid if you really need recovery from sleeping.

 

[dercuforever]

A year ago or so I saw a cyclist (I don't want to name right now) talking about sleeping bad because having to piss in the night/early morning. And I couldn't believe anyone would dare to air something like that. To me it suggests you drink like crazy to hide for example microdosing. And then you make sure you pee all out before they test you.

Yes of course you could also just be stupid enough to drink so much you have to pee several times a night, but that's really stupid if you really need recovery from sleeping.

It's not inusual to pee during the night. Also they probably need to drink more water than a normal person to recover efficiently.
What could be stupid is lacking water during the night, risking cramps, because you were afraid of waking up 30 seconds to pee ...

 

[noob]

Seriously though, moto pacing; does it not change numbers?

I really wonder how it does compare to EPO etc on climbs for real.

 

[Ripper]

A year ago or so I saw a cyclist (I don't want to name right now) talking about sleeping bad because having to piss in the night/early morning. And I couldn't believe anyone would dare to air something like that. To me it suggests you drink like crazy to hide for example microdosing. And then you make sure you pee all out before they test you.

Yes of course you could also just be stupid enough to drink so much you have to pee several times a night, but that's really stupid if you really need recovery from sleeping.

There is nothing shocking or concerning about getting up to pee at night or to talk about it, at least not in a doping context! But as many a middle or older aged man can tell you, it does suck if you need to awaken frequently to go!

 

[Netserk]

I really wonder how it does compare to EPO etc on climbs for real.

For Mende you can watch for yourself:

View: https://youtu.be/k7-eYjZklIY?t=4536

 

[noob]

For Mende you can watch for yourself:

View: https://youtu.be/k7-eYjZklIY?t=4536

Thank you Here I thought that if people complain about moto pacing "going out of hand" etc it meant it was worse today than in the past. Seems it's basically the same now and then?