Tirreno-Adriatico 2023, March 6-12

[RedheadDane]

Finishing a 1-week stage race with a sprint stage shouldn’t be allowed imo

Just imagine if they'd done the stage the other way round...

 

[DaLong]

Will the announcer stop talking about the bell? Stay tuned.

 

[nightowl]

Just imagine if they'd done the stage the other way round...

That would be much too exciting, the organizers wouldn’t want that!

 

[Taxus4a]

For me, as medium friend of Mikel, it was great to see him leading the race in a short climbs with cobbles.

Acording the penalty, I would like to know if riders knows those rules, and it is forgiven to go by the sidewalk in race like this.

it is not the first time we see that things in cycling, and for sure yesterday he wanst the only, but it ios true that he once get a quite dangerous path (I cant explain more in english, sorry)

 

[RedheadDane]

Philipsen takes the stage.

 

[Ricco']

That Soudal rider mustn't be aware that Jakobsen was nowhere to be seen.

 

[jono]

Mathieu van der Poel, leadout specialist. How many of the TDF sprint finishes will be winding and technical in the final km?

 

[Netserk]

Finishing a 1-week stage race with a sprint stage shouldn’t be allowed imo

Apparently, @tobydawq prefers this stage to finish the race over the usual TT.

 

[tobydawq]

Apparently, @tobydawq prefers this stage to finish the race over the usual TT.

Uh, sure. I never said that, though, but thanks for the mention and putting words in my mouth.

TA has never had a good final stage in the 15+ years I have been watching it.

 

[Billie]

TA has never had a good final stage in the 15+ years I have been watching it.

Having an easier final stage or short tt made sense when it was 3 days before San Remo. now with the change in dates there are more options though i don't mind.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

Uh, sure. I never said that, though, but thanks for the mention and putting words in my mouth.

TA has never had a good final stage in the 15+ years I have been watching it.

Didn't you? You posted this:

Having the TT on the final stage is never better.

For context, that was in response to this:

An underrated reason why the Tirreno was better off with the TT being on the final rather than the first stage is that the GC riders all faced the same weather conditions. At least's a short and untechnical TT, which does something to limit the effect, but it's still not ideal.

That at least implies the argument @Netserk claimed you made...

 

[tobydawq]

Didn't you? You posted this:

For context, that was in response to this:

That at least implies the argument @Netserk claimed you made...

No it doesn't.

First of all, I could be saying the two options are equally bad.

Second of all, I was commenting on the position of the TT in the race when I answered to you, not arguing whether a flat stage or a TT would be better to have on the final day. Both of those options are poor.

 

[Devil's Elbow]

No it doesn't.

First of all, I could be saying the two options are equally bad.

Second of all, I was commenting on the position of the TT in the race when I answered to you, not arguing whether a flat stage or a TT would be better to have on the final day. Both of those options are poor.

The first point is pretty weak, because the phrasing 'never better' in response to a post that uses the word better to describe the same thing doesn't exactly suggest equality. Especially not in text, where there is no tone of voice to suggest otherwise.

The second point is moot, because if it's always worse to have the TT on the final day than the first day, then a flat stage on the final day is better by default given that the TT is on the first day.

And in any case, the final day being a flat circuit race is worse than a TT by definition, because a) a TT at least has some chance of excitement, and b) a TT minimises the chance of a crash caused by a non-GC rider impacting the GC, whereas a flat circuit race does the exact opposite. Especially when there are bonus seconds on offer and the GC has stayed very close - remember the horror show that was the final stage of the Belgium Tour last year?

 

[Netserk]

The first point is pretty weak, because the phrasing 'never better' in response to a post that uses the word better to describe the same thing doesn't exactly suggest equality. Especially not in text, where there is no tone of voice to suggest otherwise.

The second point is moot, because if it's always worse to have the TT on the final day than the first day, then a flat stage on the final day is better by default given that the TT is on the first day.

And in any case, the final day being a flat circuit race is worse than a TT by definition, because a) a TT at least has some chance of excitement, and b) a TT minimises the chance of a crash caused by a non-GC rider impacting the GC, whereas a flat circuit race does the exact opposite. Especially when there are bonus seconds on offer and the GC has stayed very close - remember the horror show that was the final stage of the Belgium Tour last year?

My inference was different. Imaging a Tirreno edition with the ITT in the end. The year after they add a day to the race and put a flat stage in the end after the ITT, like the Tour. Given that it's never better to have the ITT as the last stage rather than the penultimate stage, the added flat stage is an improvement (strictly speaking not worse, of course). Or better yet, take the 2021 edition as the default. Would switching the order of the last two stages be no worse? I think that's clearly worse.

 

[Netserk]

Uh, sure. I never said that, though, but thanks for the mention and putting words in my mouth.

TA has never had a good final stage in the 15+ years I have been watching it.

I did try to do so gently, not violently as when making foie gras. "Apparently" was meant to suggest that it was a plausible reading of your previous post. But of course it was also meant to force a discussion and in light of today's stage ask if an ITT really would be no better than that.

 

[tobydawq]

I did try to do so gently, not violently as when making foie gras. "Apparently" was meant to suggest that it was a plausible reading of your previous post. But of course it was also meant to force a discussion and in light of today's stage ask if an ITT really would be no worse than that.

The problem is that both an ITT and a flat circuit race prevents the opportunity for a good final stage. At least with a non-important stage here, it was all-out racing yesterday because there was no reason to save themselves for an upcoming ITT (the stage never became that epic, though, and I'm not sure that an ITT today would have influenced much in this specific case).

 

[Netserk]

At least with a non-important stage here, it was all-out racing yesterday because there was no reason to save themselves for an upcoming ITT (the stage never became that epic, though, and I'm not sure that an ITT today would have influenced much in this specific case).

This is where I raise the point of 2021 and the order of the last two stages (and how that affects the hilly stage before those two).

 

[tobydawq]

This is where I raise the point of 2021 and the order of the last two stages (and how that affects the hilly stage before those two).

Fair enough but there were other factors at play that year, especially the MvdP factor.

 

[Lequack]

Roglic with his posse

https://twitter.com/x/status/1634994169071665152

View: https://twitter.com/stijnvlaeminck/status/1634994169071665152

Some may have missed the moment when Cavendish was complaining of a helicopter.

https://twitter.com/x/status/1634985105612763136

View: https://twitter.com/RenaudB31/status/1634985105612763136?s=20

 

[Lequack]

Another great leadout for MVDP, he's now so good at it that they team will start asking him to do more.
Other than that it was just staying safe for Roglic and Jumbo Visma. Great overall win, and winning three stages along with it. It was probably more than they were planning on.

 

[DaLong]

DG's face there is all you need to know about MvdP's leadout. Sapped all the sprinters legs besides the one or two in his wheel.

 

[Izzyeviel]

It's probably a bad thing when people only know you're in a stage race because they saw you yell at the sky.

 

[noob]

Maybe someone has already linked this somwhere else but I cannot not link this. I'm laughing myself to tears because whether I agree or not with everything it's still so hilarious.

 

[Elos Anjos]

Maybe someone has already linked this somwhere else but I cannot not link this. I'm laughing myself to tears because whether I agree or not with everything it's still so hilarious.

What the hell is this? He looks like a cowboy on a drunk parade.

 

[Lequack]

You can't just diss the former Vuleta winner, my man Chris Horner, like that!

 

[CyclistAbi]

Congratulations to Jasper Philipsen for winning the sprint and to Primož Roglič for winning overall. Securing all the jersey minus white. On this race JV really did a stellar job in regards to supporting Primož.

Chapeau!