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World Championships 2024: Men's Road Race (September 29)

Page 61 - Get up to date with the latest news, scores & standings from the Cycling News Community.
While I'm not a fan of flat world championship courses, I like the fact that the suspense is intact till the end, and the last few kilometers in Copenhagen were brilliant, including the last few meters. Copenhagen was definitely better than the horrible women's world championship in Harrogate where the winner went solo with 100 k to the finish - the low point of women's cycling. Today's race was slightly better, but since it was the top favourite who attacked with 100 k to go, and we've seen him do long range attacks and win on several occasions before, the race became predictable and thus boring in my opinion.

It surprises me that so many cycling fans view it differently and find this scenario interesting (I don't see it much in other sports - most people like suspense), but in the end I guess it's a matter of taste.
Yeah, but you might as well just watch the final km just like any other sprint finish. That's not what the Worlds should be about.
Copenhagen was expected to finish in a bunch sprint with Cavendish winning and that is exactly what happened. The most impressive thing that day was not Cav winning, but the incredible job the Brits did in controlling the race(same with Cipo in 02). They were very much team victories.

Pogacar was the favourite today and sure he crushed it, but how many thought he would do it from 100km? It is that which people will remember.
 
What a insane race and what did i just watch. What is it really left to say about him

Pogacar and this race will go down with the rest this season will go down in the history not only for the result but also the fashion of it and in 50-100 years people will talk about Pogacar in ways which are hard to imagine.

Thats just it and what will happen no matter if your fav rider lost or not. He is in a league of his own over anyone in the history of this sport.
 
Pogacar was the favourite today and sure he crushed it, but how many thought he would do it from 100km? It is that which people will remember.
It was like a football match with one team leading 4-0 after 20 minutes and never looking back. No matter how brilliantly the winning team is playing, it would never be regarded as a historic match (unless you're a big fan of that specific team of course).
 
It was like a football match with one team leading 4-0 after 20 minutes and never looking back. No matter how brilliantly the winning team is playing, it would never be regarded as a historic match.
If never having more than a one-minute gap is a 4-0, then I‘m confused about the sport of football. It‘s more like a 1-0 where the opponent has way more players (like 11 vs 7) but the undermanned team wins.
 
Amazing race.
Still trying to digest.

And sometimes I don't understand a word of the negative vibes on this forum.

IMO so many details of pure enjoyment.
To say I was entertained is an underestimation.
A race for the ages like ive seen many say already but that there was something else weve never seen before. The end. I truly wonder what the naysayers are telling themself after this, its really close right?:sweatsmile:

What Pogacar did here and what a race exciting to the end when they starting to gain and he never got more than 1.30 with 80-90 km to line. Amazing race indeed!! Truly something weve never seen before.
 
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It was like a football match with one team leading 4-0 after 20 minutes and never looking back. No matter how brilliantly the winning team is playing, it would never be regarded as a historic match (unless you're a big fan of that specific team of course).
Disagree on that completely, it will be remembered like when Milan crushed Cruyffs Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final or when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. One sided games that are etched into the pantheon of unforgettable performances. Is there anyone who watched the Germany-Brazil game that will ever forget it?
 
Disagree on that completely, it will be remembered like when Milan crushed Cruyffs Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final or when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. One sided games that are etched into the pantheon of unforgettable performances. Is there anyone who watched the Germany-Brazil game that will ever forget it?
100% this one will go down for the ages for sure and something noone will forget. This is history just and many will remember it as the day he become the best and something weve not been close to see. What a amazing race indeed and will stick for ages.
 
Disagree on that completely, it will be remembered like when Milan crushed Cruyffs Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final or when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. One sided games that are etched into the pantheon of unforgettable performances. Is there anyone who watched the Germany-Brazil game that will ever forget it?
While I agree to some extent, the fact that Pogacar has been winning 7-1 all season makes it a little bit less interesting. You can say this is the greatest performance in a cycling world championship in recent times, but for me it's far from the best in terms of entertainment value. Mendrisio was miles ahead. Harrogate and Glasgow too.
 
Disagree on that completely, it will be remembered like when Milan crushed Cruyffs Barcelona 4-0 in the Champions League final or when Germany destroyed Brazil 7-1 in the World Cup semi-final. One sided games that are etched into the pantheon of unforgettable performances. Is there anyone who watched the Germany-Brazil game that will ever forget it?

The 7-1 match stood out because it was a surprise. If Germany had won all matches with that margin, it would have been a boring tournament.
 
While I agree to some extent, the fact that Pogacar has been winning 7-1 all season makes it a little bit less interesting. You can say this is the greatest performance in a cycling world championship in recent times, but for me it's far from the best in terms of entertainment value. Mendrisio was miles ahead. Harrogate and Glasgow too.
Well I never said it was super entertaining, it was memorable because it was super impressive and an all time performance. I get that people don't like super dominant performances, this applies to any sport. In athletics, Sydney McLaughlin and Mondo DuPlantis are the GOATs in their events and crush their rivals making their events a borefest, but you still have to admire the greatness that is happening in front of your eyes.
 
If never having more than a one-minute gap is a 4-0, then I‘m confused about the sport of football. It‘s more like a 1-0 where the opponent has way more players (like 11 vs 7) but the undermanned team wins.
This pretty much sums up my feelings, basically making me almost unable to contain myself for pure excitement, all the way.

I think it's a big mistake to make comparisons to e.g. Pogi's display (and pre-race picking) in Strade Bianche.

Partly due to the WC race has more distance, partly because several favourites and outsiders are extra determined for the magic rainbow jersey, partly the ingredient of this once a year special team composition comes into play.

Moreover, in my eyes it was only really decided after the last descent and the last 9km, where I still had the infamous black cat crossing the road in my mind.

Your description fits very well with my POV watching the race with frayed nerves.

Pogi's long range attack was amazing, right into the history books.

But besides, IMHO the race itself was purely amazing.
 
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Becoming second after just one elite GC-rider but still way better than all the others, with 5 (?) stage wins under the belt, is not 'cracking' in my book.
I agree that it is a very high bar to assess finishing second in the TdF as cracking, but watching the two seasons of Unchained on Netflix again, I'm struck each time that Pog failed in a very human manner.
 
The problem is that "talent" is relative in cycling. If you can push more watts than your opponents, you probably win. It's not like Pogacar has the technical skills of Roger Federer, Lionel Messi or Simone Biles. Cycling is about suspense and nice landscapes - not much more than that.
That’s no revelation—ball sports typically require more specific skills and technique than most endurance sports. Weight-bearing endurance sports still require some technical expertise—as with distance running, rowing, cycling for example—but if if someone doesn’t have the “engine” they can’t be at the elite level.

And even in ball sports natural gifts, like hand-eye coordination or body type, play a huge role and are combination genetic/training attributes just like high VO2max and recovery ability are for cyclists.
 
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The 7-1 match stood out because it was a surprise. If Germany had won all matches with that margin, it would have been a boring tournament.
Well it was you that brought up football and ironically are now moving the goalposts, from originally a team winning 4-0 to a team doing that all the time.

Like I said, Pogacar winning was predictable, but winning from 100k out was not that predictable. Evenepoel, and Van der Poel have both said the attack was suicide so they were clearly not expecting it either, which is what makes it so impressive to witness.
 
Why do all these forum members get banned? On the day of the World's no less. It's really weird to catch up on threads and seeing a bunch of us suddenly cancelled out. Ok, there are rules, and moderation is necessary, but we never get an explanation or context why these decisions are made. A bit sad, really.
OK, so off-topic, I just hope my presumptions are right:

That the forum consist of impartial and clear-thinking moderators, simply do their job in relation to threads or posts that my eyes miss to see.
 
What a insane race and what did i just watch. What is it really left to say about him

Pogacar and this race will go down with the rest this season will go down in the history not only for the result but also the fashion of it and in 50-100 years people will talk about Pogacar in ways which are hard to imagine.

Thats just it and what will happen no matter if your fav rider lost or not. He is in a league of his own over anyone in the history of this sport.
Look, I didn't even have a fav rider here. Well, MvdP perhaps, but he did about as well as could be expected. On the whole, I was entertained today. And I like Pog's style on the bike. But could you and others just please stop shouting and shoving down our throats that this is "THE BEST PEFORMANCE IN HISTORY", the "GOAT" or any of those other hyperboles?

I get it, you're a fan. And I'm glad for you, I truly am. But you probably weren't around during the 90s and 00s. Forgive me for holding out on celebrating this exceptional feat for the time being.
 
Why do all these forum members get banned? On the day of the World's no less. It's really weird to catch up on threads and seeing a bunch of us suddenly cancelled out. Ok, there are rules, and moderation is necessary, but we never get an explanation or context why these decisions are made. A bit sad, really.
If judged by the posts that I have seen posted today that have since been deleted, then all I can say is that it is for a mix of reasons in different ends of the scale.