Vattenfall Cyclassics - Sunday the 21 of August

[The Hitch]

Was good up until Kirby started ranting how clean Cadel is.

Someone who thinks Joaquim Rodriguez won the Tour of Flanders should probably stick to what is going on in the race.

 

[Tank Engine]

Sprinters and their teams wouldn't be banned.

Flat stages would be, however, so having them would be a bit pointless.

Makes up for yesterday's debacle in Benidorm. The tank engine leads the Boss home

 

[Timmy-loves-Rabo]

Was good up until Kirby started ranting how clean Cadel is.

Someone who thinks Joaquim Rodriguez won the Tour of Flanders should probably stick to what is going on in the race.

dude what are you talking about...
cuddles is anglo-saxon, no way he dopes.

--

forgot this on, stupid epl

 

[sublimit]

Sprinters and their teams wouldn't be banned.

Flat stages would be, however, so having them would be a bit pointless.

You would get bored after a while watching the same climbers batter everybody day in day out. Seriously this is cycle racing not cross country skiing.

Flat stages give the heavier riders a chance of doing something and they can be unpredictable at times.. Like today with Greipel and Hushovd going out the back.

But yeah I prefer the hilly stages and that would be like Christmas every day but too much of a good thing is not good.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

I like cross country skiing.

 

[sublimit]

Ski Jumping is better.
Like a glorified downhill prologue but with snow and a heavy landing.

 

[zapata]

Ski Jumping is better.
Like a glorified downhill prologue but with snow and a heavy landing.

You'd like nordic combined. Maybe my favourite sport.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Biathlon > all of them. I absolutely love biathlon. I really like all the nordic disciplines, but biathlon above all.

 

[sublimit]

Biathlon involves shooting? I think i've seen it but I must admit to loving the downhill skiing, I was addicted to that a few years ago but BBC dont show it any more.

Edvald Boasson Hagen would probably be good at most of the disciplines I suspect.

 

[just some guy]

Biathlon > all of them. I absolutely love biathlon. I really like all the nordic disciplines, but biathlon above all.

Best TV sport presentation even if your not into it it gets you watching.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Biathlon involves shooting? I think i've seen it but I must admit to loving the downhill skiing, I was addicted to that a few years ago but BBC dont show it any more.

Edvald Boasson Hagen would probably be good at most of the disciplines I suspect.

Yea, cross-country skiing and shooting. Real range of skills, ranging from XC skiers who've picked up a rifle, to hotshots who lose minutes on the skis. Keeps everything interesting.

Downhill skiing I must admit leaves me completely cold, but I can and do watch biathlon for hours. And as JSG says, the presentation of it is brilliant, really slick, professional and keeps everything covered so you always know what's going on.

 

[ingsve]

Yea, cross-country skiing and shooting. Real range of skills, ranging from XC skiers who've picked up a rifle, to hotshots who lose minutes on the skis. Keeps everything interesting.

Downhill skiing I must admit leaves me completely cold, but I can and do watch biathlon for hours. And as JSG says, the presentation of it is brilliant, really slick, professional and keeps everything covered so you always know what's going on.

Not to menton, winter sports like these combine very well with cycling in that they pretty much fill the entire downtime in the cycling season.

 

[jsem94]

Not to menton, winter sports like these combine very well with cycling in that they pretty much fill the entire downtime in the cycling season.

THis happens every year. I get consumed by XC and Biathlon, and I forget nearly everything about cycling haha.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Biathlon > all of them. I absolutely love biathlon. I really like all the nordic disciplines, but biathlon above all.

Like having darts board at the top of Anglirú. Loose 10 seconds for every dart more than 9 that it takes to score 501. Why? I'm not interested in whether Wayne Rooney can play bridge, or Usain Bolt's ability at pool.

 

[Richeypen]

Any highlights online of today's race?

 

[Libertine Seguros]

Like having darts board at the top of Anglirú. Loose 10 seconds for every dart more than 9 that it takes to score 501. Why? I'm not interested in whether Wayne Rooney can play bridge, or Usain Bolt's ability at pool.

That's all well and good, but the point of biathlon is to do two things. That's why it's called BIathlon and not skiing.

Some people prefer triathlon to cycling. It's their prerogative. XC skiing is just a skiing race. It's a simple, pure competition, and often a very exciting one. The addition of the second discipline (shooting) makes for an interesting tactical role - do you ski a bit slower to keep your heart rate down and shoot more accurately? Do you shoot fast, so that you're out of the range quickly, but risk having to ski penalty loops, or do you shoot slow even as you can hear your rivals leaving behind you? It keeps more people in with a chance of winning for longer and I find it to be a really fascinating sport.

And what's more, the people who do it are biathletes. They aren't skiers who've been handed a gun (except for a few who've voluntarily changed discipline, like Kaisa Mäkäräinen). So it's not like Wayne Rooney or Usain Bolt doing different disciplines. Petter Northug and Marit Bjørgen don't do biathlon. Is Jessica Ennis a worse athlete because she can't do any of her 7 disciplines as well as the best in the world?

 

[Sylvester]

gotta say simon clarke is very consistent,sprints,semi-classics...nice ride by him.

He was incredibly strong in the Ronde, too. One to watch for sure.

 

[The Hitch]

Like having darts board at the top of Anglirú. Loose 10 seconds for every dart more than 9 that it takes to score 501. Why? I'm not interested in whether Wayne Rooney can play bridge, or Usain Bolt's ability at pool.

The idea is that you complete the course in the fastest time while maintaining enough strengh to still be able to shoot.

Keeping heart rate down while racing.

Its a skill in itself, not 2 totally independent ones.

 

[just some guy]

That's all well and good, but the point of biathlon is to do two things. That's why it's called BIathlon and not skiing.

Some people prefer triathlon to cycling. It's their prerogative. XC skiing is just a skiing race. It's a simple, pure competition, and often a very exciting one. The addition of the second discipline (shooting) makes for an interesting tactical role - do you ski a bit slower to keep your heart rate down and shoot more accurately? Do you shoot fast, so that you're out of the range quickly, but risk having to ski penalty loops, or do you shoot slow even as you can hear your rivals leaving behind you? It keeps more people in with a chance of winning for longer and I find it to be a really fascinating sport.

And what's more, the people who do it are biathletes. They aren't skiers who've been handed a gun (except for a few who've voluntarily changed discipline, like Kaisa Mäkäräinen). So it's not like Wayne Rooney or Usain Bolt doing different disciplines. Petter Northug and Marit Bjørgen don't do biathlon. Is Jessica Ennis a worse athlete because she can't do any of her 7 disciplines as well as the best in the world?

and if you were lucky enough to watch it in the past 10-20 years saw one of the greatest athletes in the history of sport any sport competing.

For those who don´t have a clue who I´m talking about - Björn Dählie

 

[Schnell]

TGAK comments:
- I was good all the way until the last km when all of a sudden I was completely boxed in on the narrow road. After that I could never get in a good position again. I'm pretty disappointed as I was feeling really good. Being alone the last three kilometers I had to gamble a little but I lost today and I can't help but be disappointed when there were so many non-sprinters ahead of me. In a sprint you have to be incredibly strong to stay in a good position and today I was not good enough.

(Source)

 

[Andy99]

sky now closing in on top spot in CQ ranking for 2011....who'd have thought??

 

[JRanton]

sky now closing in on top spot in CQ ranking for 2011....who'd have thought??

They've been quite comfortably the strongest team over the last three months or so and if they'd got the results their performances deserved in the cobbled classics then they'd be top by now. Brailsford said they would target every race this season as opposed to last year when all the focus was on the Tour and they haven't disappointed.

 

[Reverend_T_Preedy]

Thought Sky rode the perfect race. Marked the moves, got men in breaks towards the end so they didn't have to chase and then had enough guys to lead out EBH for the win.

Kennaugh, Flecha and Thomas were superb Knees did well sheltering EBH.

I only saw EBH in the last 15km which just goes to show how well they protected him.

Very surprised that Greipel and Hushovd weren't there at the end. OPL looked very confident with about 20 to 30km to go.

Ciolek?? Wow. At last he shows some kind of performance.

 

[greenedge]

Congrats to EBH ( beating a strong field near the end/ pity Kristoff had no teammates because he might have challenged ) and Team Sky ( CJ ). I like how Devenyns is attacking a lot as of late, hopefully he will fit in well next year with Velits, Golas etc and his attacks might have set up the springboard for a Ciolek win but he got outsprinted.

I thought from the start Sky had the strongest team here. EBH will shock the world next year. This year has been great for him winning 2 stages at the TDF, this, Oman coming second to Gesink and showing good form at the Dauphinie, Norwegian ITT which proves he is consistent all year rider.

 

[AussieGoddess]

I thought from the start Sky had the strongest team here. EBH will shock the world next year. This year has been great for him winning 2 stages at the TDF, this, Oman coming second to Gesink and showing good form at the Dauphinie, Norwegian ITT which proves he is consistent all year rider.

and not to mention winning Eneco

He has had a great season. Very pleased for him