State of the Peloton 2024

[Rackham]

For me the most revelatory aspect of PR yesterday was the fact it seemed like a variation on women's pro-cycling, i.e. where there's a bunch of riders head & shoulders above the rest & that bunch simply blows all the others off their wheel. In women's cycling it's because there's a huge gulf between the pros & quasi semi amateurs out there in their peloton, but in the men's races it's harder to explain. There was no real 'racing' in Paris-Roubaix, it was just 20 or so riders who could sustain an insane pace before the best of them (MvdP) rode everyone off his wheel.

I think when Tom Pidcock made the "they're motoring" hand gesture, it said a lot. There's no attacking at those speeds, it's just a matter of hanging on as long as possible. That's incidentally how the TdF has been raced in recent years as well (think the Joux Plane stage last year).

Boom, boom, boom. Full gas for as long as possible until the best just rides away.

 

[Slavique Nuke]

The 58kg climber, who suffered a serious crash less than a week ago that left him unable to walk and who hadn't planned to race Roubaix yesterday, was able to keep up with the 75-85kg cobblestone specialists who were having one of their peaks of the year. Yeah, Pidcock seems very legit.

 

[hrotha]

The 58kg climber, who suffered a serious crash less than a week ago that left him unable to walk and who hadn't planned to race Roubaix yesterday, was able to keep up with the 75-85kg cobblestone specialists who were having one of their peaks of the year. Yeah, Pidcock seems very legit.

You realize any dodginess in Pidcock only makes his statement more meaningful

 

[Slavique Nuke]

You realize any dodginess in Pidcock only makes his statement more meaningful

I'm not sure why it would make it more meaningful.

Maybe if it was one of the highlights of the season for him and he had been preparing for this day for a long time, like Pog for Flanders, but the guy just happened to get into the race at the last minute as he crashed out of the other race.

 

[Ricco']

Can advancements in power output technology also have some effect on the increase in average speeds?

Nowadays power output is instantaneous and each rider power data is profiled and well known by the teams who can plan their race adequately based on that. They know what kind of power output they can sustain in the first hours of the race to go all the way to the finish and so on.

Back then they were riding kind of in the dark. Too much exertion in the beginning could lead them to bonk completely in the end and so on, so the first kilometers were done more easily. Riding more efficiently during the whole race can at least account for part of the differences. Because I strongly believe that the increase in speed in the first 100 km of the race leads to a less than proportionate increase in energy expended for someone who rides protected in the middle of the bunch.

Which also leads me to say, we are not far away from seeing teams claiming their dominance on their adoption of AI to revolutionize training and race preparation.

 

[Altitude Camp]

I'm not sure why it would make it more meaningful.

Maybe if it was one of the highlights of the season for him and he had been preparing for this day for a long time, like Pog for Flanders, but the guy just happened to get into the race at the last minute as he crashed out of the other race.

This reminds me about the rise of two recent GT winners. Both got their leaders crashing out of the race and suddenly found their legs mid race. Especially the danish guy got me smiling. Looked like he finally got the winners preparation.

I would say that roubaix should be a good race for a CX world champion even if he is a smaller guy. Will not dominate like MDVP but has some chances of winning.

 

[kingjr]

Just out of interest, what do you guys think is the percentage of professional chess players cheating online? Higher or lower than doping in professional cycling, and by how much?
Or pick another eSport that you may be more familiar with.

 

[Salvarani]

The 58kg climber, who suffered a serious crash less than a week ago that left him unable to walk and who hadn't planned to race Roubaix yesterday, was able to keep up with the 75-85kg cobblestone specialists who were having one of their peaks of the year. Yeah, Pidcock seems very legit.

Pidcock could have "just" suffered a dead leg or something from that crash and they took him out only as a precaution ahead of the Ardennes.

He probably took it easy for a couple of days and then he felt better again. Wanted a hard race before the Ardennes, so PR made sense.

The guy has a big engine and has won PR in juniors, I believe. Cross and mountainbiker. He has the technique and probably ride very energy efficent, but cant match power of guys like Van Aert or MVDP here... he can probably still be competitive though as showcased by his result.

You cant say no rider is legit, or vouch for anyone, but I dont think for the reasons you mentioned you can say this.

 

[Netserk]

Just out of interest, what do you guys think is the percentage of professional chess players cheating online? Higher or lower than doping in professional cycling, and by how much?
Or pick another eSport that you may be more familiar with.

At the top, much lower. Very little money is at stake for online games.

Income is from physical tournaments, streaming, endorsements, books etc. For a few, even more is to be gained as business entrepreneurs.

 

[Salvarani]

This reminds me about the rise of two recent GT winners. Both got their leaders crashing out of the race and suddenly found their legs mid race. Especially the danish guy got me smiling. Looked like he finally got the winners preparation.

I would say that roubaix should be a good race for a CX world champion even if he is a smaller guy. Will not dominate like MDVP but has some chances of winning.

I dont think it is strange that someone may grow with more confidence and getting an opportunity, especially since they might just be on the cusp after years of hard work. Thats usually the progress for most people in life and their career.

Hard work for a long time... then growth happens fast. Most successful people would subscribe for that. It only seems over-night to those unaware or thats not been on the journey to get there.

Doesnt mean other things are not involved as well, but you understand the point.

 

[awavey]

Combloux dropped my jaw in disbelief. today it was "wow" but not a wild as Combloux

Combloux had same feels to me as Morzine did back from years ago,as it was just completely a shock performance that seemed to come from nowhere. And even just last week watching the TT from the Basque tour, Im still how the heck does someone who looks like a complete novice on a TT bike do that Combloux level ride.

Roubaix regardless of the margins involved doesnt feel that wild because weve seen way back since the first CX race this season he was targetting to be absolutely prime condition for a race he's essentially always been built for, and that none of the other teams has an answer for.

 

[awavey]

The 58kg climber, who suffered a serious crash less than a week ago that left him unable to walk and who hadn't planned to race Roubaix yesterday, was able to keep up with the 75-85kg cobblestone specialists who were having one of their peaks of the year. Yeah, Pidcock seems very legit.

isnt that just situation normal for a cyclist, to be in absolute agony walking most of the time, but absolutely tip top when on the bike

he won the junior and u23 editions, its been expected he'd give the senior race a go at some point, he's not a novice on pave, and really for Ineos it became more a case of well why not give it a try, see how he goes, no pressure on him to turn in a result and no dishonour in trying, and he gets a top 20 placing out of it.

 

[Brullnux]

The 58kg climber, who suffered a serious crash less than a week ago that left him unable to walk and who hadn't planned to race Roubaix yesterday, was able to keep up with the 75-85kg cobblestone specialists who were having one of their peaks of the year. Yeah, Pidcock seems very legit.

Pidcock getting top 20 at Paris Roubaix is not that shocking really

 

[Rob5091]

Laura Weislo sticks her head above the parapet ...
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/va...why-are-the-spring-classics-becoming-so-fast/

Races are faster today than even in the EPO-fuelled era of the 1990s and 2000s, but even L'Equipe didn't mention the possibility of doping in explaining the rising speeds in races.

 

[red_flanders]

Laura Weislo sticks her head above the parapet ...
https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/va...why-are-the-spring-classics-becoming-so-fast/

Strikes me more as her kicking the dirt under the carpet.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Tom Pidcock on Roubaix, it's gotta be deliberate at this point ;

 

[Rob5091]

Too much caffeine?
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...e-for-rising-number-of-crashes-in-the-peloton
"According to Groupama - FDJ's Rudy Molard, there may actually be a somewhat simple explanation for the rise in crashes... caffeine, or the effect caffeine has on riders. "The guys take doses... It's nonsense. We have to set thresholds not to exceed. There's too much tension. The guys are too angry, too excited, and no longer think about the fall," the 34-year-old tells Ouest-France." ...
"He's not alone either, fellow Frenchman, Lillian Calmejane also recently brought to light the potential detriment, pointing out "the famous 'final bottle' that 80% of riders take." Although Calmejane isn't sure caffeine can be viewed as the main issue. "It’s no secret that many riders use caffeine for the end of the races but I don’t think that’s really the problem," he concludes. "There’s just adrenaline in the peloton."

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Just out of interest, what do you guys think is the percentage of professional chess players cheating online?

I really don't think about it. Science does not have a term to describe how little I think about such a thing. Possibly comparable with the amount of time a naked mole rat spends thinking about the thread count in sheets at a Blackpool bed and breakfast hotel.

 

[NFTtiddies]

Too much caffeine?
https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling...e-for-rising-number-of-crashes-in-the-peloton
"According to Groupama - FDJ's Rudy Molard, there may actually be a somewhat simple explanation for the rise in crashes... caffeine, or the effect caffeine has on riders. "The guys take doses... It's nonsense. We have to set thresholds not to exceed. There's too much tension. The guys are too angry, too excited, and no longer think about the fall," the 34-year-old tells Ouest-France." ...
"He's not alone either, fellow Frenchman, Lillian Calmejane also recently brought to light the potential detriment, pointing out "the famous 'final bottle' that 80% of riders take." Although Calmejane isn't sure caffeine can be viewed as the main issue. "It’s no secret that many riders use caffeine for the end of the races but I don’t think that’s really the problem," he concludes. "There’s just adrenaline in the peloton."

Even U14 riders have been chugging caffeine shots since the beginning of times.
Rudy's missing out

 

[Rob5091]

Even U14 riders have been chugging caffeine shots since the beginning of times.
Rudy's missing out

WADA's 2024 monitoring program - https://www.wada-ama.org/sites/defa...toring_program_en_final_22_september_2023.pdf

Bupropion, caffeine, nicotine, phenylephrine, phenylpropanolamine, pipradrol and synephrine.

Is there some new potent "caffeine" out there?
https://beastsports.com/blogs/event...-vs-synthetic-caffeine-which-is-right-for-you

Synthetic caffeine is quickly absorbed in your system and gives you a sudden boost of energy, which is much faster than natural caffeine. ... Because synthetic caffeine is absorbed into your body much faster than natural caffeine, it provides a quick spike of energy that many people enjoy but then an equivalent crash as if you hit a wall going 100mph.

 

[pastronef]

Cosnefroy a French rider from a French MPCC team wins Brabantse Pijl beating super non mpcc teams UAE and Alpecin

 

[kingjr]

Cosnefroy a French rider from a French MPCC team wins Brabantse Pijl beating super non mpcc teams UAE and Alpecin

Are you being ironic, or are you genuinely surprised?

 

[pastronef]

Are you being ironic, or are you genuinely surprised?

half joking, not surprised. I'm a Sky fan, probably the only team that never joined the MPCC at all (instead of joining then leaving when they didn't like it anymore) and I've argued quite a lot with the MPCC fans on here and twitter. so when MPCC teams beats non MPCC teams I always enjoy

 

[zlev11]

is it just me or is there no actual "rise in crashes"? it feels like if anything there's actually less crashes the past 3-4 seasons than in the previous decade. we just happened to have two big crashes with high profile riders that's skewing the perception. caffeine makes you more focused and alert, i would think it'd have the exact opposite effect on crashes.

 

[Escarabajo]

Speeds are higher, probably the sport needs to adjust likewise.