Vuelta a España Vuelta a España 2023, stage 2: Mataró - Barcelona, 181.8k

[proffate]

Today is a perfect example of a stage where GC riders should be wearing body armor (just some small elbow and hip pads would probably do it). Can't hurt you on a non-mtf but can certainly save your race.

Even yesterday would have been better if riders were given full body armor and went hell bent for leather around the course rather than tiptoeing their way home. I'm sure they could even design TT armor that acts as a fairing. But just a simple hip pad could have saved de Plus from leaving the race at essentially zero cost in terms of speed or comfort.

 

[search]

They had several hours to move the equipment (equivalent to what half the municipal gardens in the country have set up every Saturday morning for Parkruns) 9km down the road (several km less actually, considering the loop around Montjuic) and plenty of staff to do it.

And they did so - I didn't see any complaints about the timekeeping at 9k to go, at least. The video is from the bonus sprint on the top of the climb.

I would think it's reasonable to believe that the problems there occured due to less equipment available than planed, or timing people not making it from the new timecheck to the other in time.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

And they did so - I didn't see any complaints about the timekeeping at 9k to go, at least. The video is from the bonus sprint on the top of the climb.

I would think it's reasonable to believe that the problems there occured due to less equipment available than planed, or timing people not making it from the new timecheck to the other in time.

OK: I thought (and the long delay in publishing results seemed to confirm) that the officials looking at the public's phones was at 9km. But I guess there wasn't really a crowd gathered there, so that should have clicked.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

Today is a perfect example of a stage where GC riders should be wearing body armor (just some small elbow and hip pads would probably do it). Can't hurt you on a non-mtf but can certainly save your race.

Even yesterday would have been better if riders were given full body armor and went hell bent for leather around the course rather than tiptoeing their way home. I'm sure they could even design TT armor that acts as a fairing. But just a simple hip pad could have saved de Plus from leaving the race at essentially zero cost in terms of speed or comfort.

Are you Cycling Albi in disguise?

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

i cant wait until this tool retires

Be very careful what you wish for. He'll have more time for podcasting and general media duties. Hopefully GCN won't be able to afford him.

 

[proffate]

Are you Cycling Albi in disguise?

I don't know who that is. Can you give me one good argument for why the riders should not be wearing hip inserts during a 14km ttt in the rain?

It's amazing how resistant people are to common sense, low cost safety measures that detract nothing from the sport.

 

[Bonimenier]

I don't know who that is. Can you give me one good argument for why the riders should not be wearing hip inserts during a 14km ttt in the rain?

It's amazing how resistant people are to common sense, low cost safety measures that detract nothing from the sport.

Aerodynamica comes to mind pretty quick.

 

[Armchair Cyclist]

You may enjoy the Crashes: What can be done? thread.

Or it may drive you to despair.

 

[zlev11]

Be very careful what you wish for. He'll have more time for podcasting and general media duties. Hopefully GCN won't be able to afford him.

i sat through an entire grand tour listening to robbie mcewen, jens voigt and adam blythe on commentary, i can tolerate anything. that's basically guantanamo bay.

 

[proffate]

Aerodynamica comes to mind pretty quick.

Of a hip insert?? Do you even have an idea what they look like? They are way slimmer than a radio.

Of an elbow pad? The elbows aren't even exposed to wind in a tt! All you have to do is move padding from aerobars to skinsuit, like elbow chammies 😀

Of Roglic special edition shoulder pads? No doubt that would be an opportunity to improve aerodynamics by closing the shoulder/head gap.

Did you also make fun of MIPS?

And on a non GC road day like stage 2, tiny amounts of added wind resistance don't matter nearly as much as being able to carry on racing, regardless of whether you're Rog or a gregario. Given that Rog basically only loses by crashing out it seems like a no brainer for him.

So, try again.

 

[Barkintheeye]

i sat through an entire grand tour listening to robbie mcewen, jens voigt and adam blythe on commentary, i can tolerate anything. that's basically guantanamo bay.

McEwen (ayurish) paired with Voigt (sherman) is the perfect storm in the world of commentators

 

[proffate]

You may enjoy the Crashes: What can be done? thread.

Or it may drive you to despair.

All I see is resistance to progress, but then I didn't read very far.

 

[Carrick-On-Seine]

i sat through an entire grand tour listening to robbie mcewen, jens voigt and adam blythe on commentary, i can tolerate anything. that's basically guantanamo bay.

Yeah my pain threshold is also high, but I think Guantanamo Thomas will be next level.

 

[Riek s]

Of a hip insert?? Do you even have an idea what they look like? They are way slimmer than a radio.

Of an elbow pad? The elbows aren't even exposed to wind in a tt! All you have to do is move padding from aerobars to skinsuit, like elbow chammies 😀

Did you also make fun of MIPS?

And on a non GC road day like stage 2, tiny amounts of added wind resistance don't matter nearly as much as being able to carry on racing, regardless of whether you're Rog or a gregario. Given that Rog basically only loses by crashing out it seems like a no brainer for him.

So, try again.

Didn't they experiment with airbags for head/neck protection etc? (for the regular biker)
I agree, there are many things that should be possible to help reduce the damage/impact. even against simplz sliding some proper placed 'heavier' material could help dramatically.

I think the only 2 things that sticked for protection was the helm and the gloves. (And the helm took a very long time)

 

[rallybanana]

Can you ever talk about anything without comparing it to something that happened between 2006 and 2011? lol

That is a groundless accusation. If you were paying attention you would see that Libertine actually referenced the 1957 Vuelta earlier in this thread.

 

[proffate]

Didn't they experiment with airbags for head/neck protection etc? (for the regular biker)
I agree, there are many things that should be possible to help reduce the damage/impact. even against simplz sliding some proper placed 'heavier' material could help dramatically.

Yeah they sold some airbag helmets but they were expensive and I wouldn't personally trust them to deploy at the right time and never the wrong time. But yeah, maybe sew airbags into the skinsuit which do nothing to hinder most of the time and inflate at just the right moment... still, let's start with something simple, cheap, and low tech and let castelli go on to invent a version that's 1% better and 5x pricier.

 

[RedheadDane]

Didn't they experiment with airbags for head/neck protection etc? (for the regular biker)

Frequently see those. They look terribly hot for the neck.

 

[Samu Cuenca]

They look terribly hot for the neck.

I hope they are. People who refuse to wear a regular helmet should be forced to ride head first into an electric fence.

 

[proffate]

I hope they are. People who refuse to wear a regular helmet should be forced to ride head first into an electric fence.

The sentiment on this forum seems to be that padding must be worn precisely on half the head and nowhere else on the body. Wild!

Except during a tt I guess, where it's ok to cover slightly more of the head.

 

[Zoetemelk-fan]

OK so just skimmed through entire TV broadcasting of this stage.
(finally having a day mostly for myself, my body gave in, hence snoring most of the stage away, just to wake up to seemingly a standstill at the front climbing Montjuïc ~1 min before Kron jumped away, so at least I got the essential final part at live signal just in time )

Both here and elsewhere I read toxic punches pointet at organizers, riders and what not.

But for me it becomes a question of pure logics, taking into account the significant and rapid weather changes in the region.
Until a day earlier; completely dry roads, several roads newly repaired, others with dust, sand, etc. accumulated over time.
Then with a snap the roads are washed well and thoroughly for the first time within a very long time frame, they becomes much more slippery with aquaplaning. And then it is perhaps quite (too) easy to criticize the road planners for dangerous roads.

I think neither the organizers nor the riders should be blamed for this.
It is part of the circumstances and conditions of a road bike race.

And then of course all the havoc before the neutralization is also difficult. Most most people would have been even more toxic with neutralization at 30k mark, besides the peleton would've just ridden hard to that point, since, after all, it's a competition.
And would I, as an organizer, have pretended like nothing happened with the sudden change of weather when you heard "something must be done" from half the peleton? Maybe my mind is tired, but I would've placed the neutralization point at exactly same location.

However, I would like to take a critical look at the TV broadcasters. What a mess.
I can only hope they will improve, although, unfortunately, it seems too optimistic right now....

 

[RedheadDane]

The sentiment on this forum seems to be that padding must be worn precisely on half the head and nowhere else on the body. Wild!

Except during a tt I guess, where it's ok to cover slightly more of the head.

If they ever invent something riders would want to wear, I see no problem with riders wearing that.

 

[Libertine Seguros]

i cant wait until this tool retires

The only problem with that is the other insufferable sycophants when he inevitably ends up in the GCN studio. Thomas himself will probably be quite good fun on there, but the others' fawning will be unbearable.

 

[Valv.Piti]

Whenever I hear Thomas speak, he comes across quite nicely to me. I reckon he wouldn't be half bad as a cycling pundit tbh, especially considering he has actually tried riding GTs to win. Adds another perspective.

But man, this stage is just the perfect example of: You screwed us over yesterday, so today we will screw you over. Guillén couldn't do anything, he tried, but I recognize he had nothing left to negotiate with after his massive failure yesterday so he had to give in to all the crybabies - Remco and Vingegaard seemed to loudest.

All good Javier, we all make mistakes, but please don't make such mistakes again so you literally have to bow down to these riders and Adam Hansen again. Vegni on the other hand is just a clown.

 

[Tim Cahill]

Juan Ayuso has a few things to say about whoever put tacks on the road

https://twitter.com/x/status/1695877228423188895

 

[Lequack]

Jumbo bus also crashing

https://twitter.com/x/status/1695863991409500503

View: https://twitter.com/OutOfCycling/status/1695863991409500503?s=20