State of the Peloton 2024

[Froome]

After Milan san remo, fastest Ronde ever.

 

[Rob5091]

After Milan san remo, fastest Ronde ever.

Yep, 2024 edition just slightly faster then last years. On to Roubaix!

 

[Tim Cahill]

Great to see Dylan Teuns find his talent and his suitcase full of courage again after Europol confiscated it, second strongest in the race yesterday, get the house on him in some Ardennes races. Skujins has also decided to throw caution to the wind, seeing him drop Van Aert in Het Volk was magical.

 

[pastronef]

Great to see Dylan Teuns find his talent and his suitcase full of courage again after Europol confiscated it, second strongest in the race yesterday, get the house on him in some Ardennes races. Skujins has also decided to throw caution to the wind, seeing him drop Van Aert in Het Volk was magical.

the case is closed no prohibited stuff was found

 

[Tim Cahill]

the case is closed no prohibited stuff was found

Where did you find that? I've looked for some information and all I could see from the most recent articles was that it was handed over to the judiciary

Europol ends 'operational phase' of Bahrain Victorious investigation

Europol reveals that 'the case is now in the hands of the judiciary.'

velo.outsideonline.com

The confiscation comment was tongue in cheek, more relative was how he was the best rider in the world in April of that season then bang average after the raids.

 

[Rob5091]

Are the current crashes a result of the 120g/h carbs plus ketones plus lord knows what? A faster peloton means more crashes with serious injuries and the likelihood of more crashes due to higher speeds.
I can not help also wonder if the riders are also jacked up to keep themselves alert after eating so much. Pidcock's comments after SB, about not being able to eat come to mind, as does Pogacar's comment from the Tour last year, about eating but not having any energy. Something's amiss here.

 

[Rob5091]

Quinten Hermans comments on the big crash at Itzulia -
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...ingegaard-evenepoel-and-more-are-hospitalised

"Echoing thoughts also shared by Pello Bilbao, Hermans expressed his belief that the speed of the riders may have caused the real danger. “I think the riders misjudged the bend. There were a lot of bumps in that bend and I think that's why they didn't dare brake," he explains.

"The braking moment was gone and the bend was sharper than expected. As a result, the second rider lost all his line. I can't say it was a dangerous course or a dangerous bend, I think we pushed the limits too hard," Hermans concludes."

 

[noob]

Are the current crashes a result of the 120g/h carbs plus ketones plus lord knows what? A faster peloton means more crashes with serious injuries and the likelihood of more crashes due to higher speeds.
I can not help also wonder if the riders are also jacked up to keep themselves alert after eating so much. Pidcock's comments after SB, about not being able to eat come to mind, as does Pogacar's comment from the Tour last year, about eating but not having any energy. Something's amiss here.

That thyroid medication rumour makes sense to me. Nervous bodies on overdrive. But what do I know.

 

[Nick2413]

Are the current crashes a result of the 120g/h carbs plus ketones plus lord knows what? A faster peloton means more crashes with serious injuries and the likelihood of more crashes due to higher speeds.
I can not help also wonder if the riders are also jacked up to keep themselves alert after eating so much. Pidcock's comments after SB, about not being able to eat come to mind, as does Pogacar's comment from the Tour last year, about eating but not having any energy. Something's amiss here.

Being properly fueled probably increases safety. And there’s not really any legal stimulants that can do anything worse than a cup of coffee or two, aside from maybe adhd medication but it’s still a stretch to blame it on that imo.

 

[Rob5091]

We have to remember that not long ago a synthetic opiod Tramadol was reportedly "rampant" in the peloton. Why a substitute is not already being used, is just wishful thinking I believe.

 

[Nick2413]

We have to remember that not long ago a synthetic opiod Tramadol was reportedly "rampant" in the peloton. Why a substitute is not already being used, is just wishful thinking I believe.

That’s fair - all the buzz is about caffeine but I’m sure they find heavier duty stuff. I just think it’s more likely to affect rider health than race incidents.

 

[Rob5091]

WADA's monitoring program for 2024 is always a source of interest -
https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/defa...toring_program_en_final_22_september_2023.pdf
Includes - Semaglutide ("The Real Housewives" weight loss drug of choice) Ozempic, Wegovy etc.

 

[Rob5091]

That’s fair - all the buzz is about caffeine but I’m sure they find heavier duty stuff. I just think it’s more likely to affect rider health than race incidents.

There was talk of caffeine in finishing bottles to overcome the drowsy effects of Tramadol
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tramadol-ban-to-come-into-effect-on-march-1/
"The use of tramadol can have two types of side-effect: nausea, drowsiness and loss of concentration (increasing the risk of race crashes), and gradual dependence on the substance with a risk of developing an addiction," read a statement from the UCI.

 

[Ripper]

That thyroid medication rumour makes sense to me. Nervous bodies on overdrive. But what do I know.

There are loads of medications that are not banned that can be heavily abused for weight loss, and other performance effects, and make you a lot twitchier. That, combined with the high speed itself, makes crashing more likely and more serious when it happens.

 

[Ripper]

Being properly fueled probably increases safety. And there’s not really any legal stimulants that can do anything worse than a cup of coffee or two, aside from maybe adhd medication but it’s still a stretch to blame it on that imo.

Individual effects vary, but there are quite a few medications that can result in somebody being much more stimulated and potentially twitchy on the bike than your regular cup of joe. But racing at higher speeds, for all of the legal as well as doping related reasons, in conjunction with some degree of fatigue, will make crashes more likely to happen and more serious when they do.

 

[Nick2413]

I agree, I just don’t think it’s responsible for the majority of racing incidents and is more a matter of individual health. In the case of caffeine being used to prevent drowsiness from tramadol, that probably is for the best, but caffeine is quite mild compared to things like amphetamines which were far more prevalent in the past even if a legal analog is being used today.

 

[NFTtiddies]

Crashes of pro cyclists resulting in injuries per year (injuries sustained during training also included). Source PCS, graph from a poster on reddit.

 

[Nick2413]

Crashes of pro cyclists resulting in injuries per year (injuries sustained during training also included). Source PCS, graph from a poster on reddit.

Would be nice to have data from earlier. Don’t know if there’s enough to have much statistical significance here.

 

[rghysens]

Yep, 2024 edition just slightly faster then last years. On to Roubaix!

Over or under 48km/h?

 

[MartinGT]

Alpicin aka Mapei LOL

 

[rghysens]

Getting sickening...

 

[Ripper]

Getting sickening...

What? AD is simply putting on a racing ... clinic. 😆

 

[NFTtiddies]

Would be nice to have data from earlier. Don’t know if there’s enough to have much statistical significance here.

Indeed, PCS only started tracking injuries in 2014 sadly.

As for the state of the peloton: Omerta still holds

 

[Netserk]

State of the Peloton: 2024 = 1994

 

[MartinGT]

I love how Hatch etc are just not suspicious at all. Even Hatch mentioned Mapei without a hint of suspicion at all.