2021 Road Racing Thread - Spoilers Included

[claritycycler]

-just consider the tour, not even the unbelievable TT performance from Pogs, but also the fact that he danced to what, 4-5 all time records during the tour? All time records. All time as in armstrong, contador, 90s epo fest. all time.

Makes one wonder....

[rabo]

I think the people who assessed the VAM's did not conclude the performances were impossible. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[Saab2000]

Watch it or not. Cycling, like every professional sport, has an unclean underbelly. If you want clean, wholesome sport watch amateur college football or basketball. Clean as a whistle......

[skouri1]

haha. I have very little illusions about any pro sport being clean. there is money involved. OT: watched the aaron hernandez doc. pretty clear those guys are getting injected with pain killers and probs steroids at college level, as you know. cycling I think just is a bit more obvious than more traditional team sports.
hey. i still had fun. i was grateful for the stuff. but that was an unbelievable season. fun but, unbelievable. imma keep watching.

[rabo]

US pro sports as well as tennis are a joke when it comes to drug testing and sanctions.
The outlyers in cycling were always way above the cut. Not abnormal in statistics.

haha. I have very little illusions about any pro sport being clean. there is money involved. OT: watched the aaron hernandez doc. pretty clear those guys are getting injected with pain killers and probs steroids at college level, as you know. cycling I think just is a bit more obvious than more traditional team sports.
hey. i still had fun. i was grateful for the stuff. but that was an unbelievable season. fun but, unbelievable. imma keep watching.

[gregl]

Watch it or not. Cycling, like every professional sport, has an unclean underbelly. If you want clean, wholesome sport watch amateur college football or basketball. Clean as a whistle......

Heck, amateur sports of any kind are fraught with cheating. Do some Googling on softball bats if you want an eye opener. A couple years ago, the NY state road racing championships were hosted by my local cycling club. On race day, it was announced that drug testing would take place. Several of my masters 45+ competitors decided they didn’t feel like racing that day...

Greg

[Saab2000]

Another star hops off the merry-go-round. Reminds me of Marcel Kittel saying he wanted out of the sport. I wonder if Dumoulin returns or not. I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tom...training-camp/

[rabo]

It’s interresting how some riders (Froome!) can come back after devastating injuries, and others like Dumoulin not after relatively minor not.
I hoped he would perform in the shadow role at Jumbo.
Of course we have no idea what it means to live the life of a grand tour winner.

[darkmother]

Another star hops off the merry-go-round. Reminds me of Marcel Kittel saying he wanted out of the sport. I wonder if Dumoulin returns or not. I won’t be surprised if he doesn’t.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/tom...training-camp/

My 2 cents: Good for him, and I wish him the best in what he chooses to do next.

[Saab2000]

My 2 cents: Good for him, and I wish him the best in what he chooses to do next.

100% agreed. My post was not a criticism. Just passing on the news. He’s got to look out for No. 1. He needs to be at peace and if that means no more racing, good for him.

[darkmother]

100% agreed. My post was not a criticism. Just passing on the news. He’s got to look out for No. 1. He needs to be at peace and if that means no more racing, good for him.

I think that you and I are on the same page.

My apologies if I came off as aggressive.

[j44ke]

From that team video - must something else to pull off one of the best time trial performances of your life - in the Tour de France no less - and then get beaten by an upstart. Dumoulin knew how hard he had trained and how much harder he’d have to train to take seconds like that out of his own time. Who wouldn’t have an existential moment? The line just moved over the horizon out of sight. It could be anywhere. Or nowhere.

[j44ke]

UAE Tour - the race where the peloton is 10m deep and 1km wide (all those 12 lane roads.)

Gianni Vermeersch played break killer and MvdP jumped the sprinters at the end. Afterwards MvdP said CX fitness in the desert.

Hope Viviani and Gaviria both have their health back and can start building. Both were there. I think Viviani got 5th, Gaviria 13th. Almeida is 4th overall and Pogacar is 5th.

[Saab2000]

This looks really hard...

[j44ke]

Yeah, guess I am exaggerating. Not a kilometer wide but it was echelon madness today.

[JoB]

I absolutely *love* riding my bike under most conditions but that looks a lot like a job.

[sk_tle]

The good things with echelon is sprinters have no way to suck wheels. Once the finish line is in sight the fastest sprinters of aren't necessarily the same as when they can hide all stage long.

[j44ke]

And Alpecin-Fenix is out of the race due to positive covid test among staff.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van...onavirus-case/

[j44ke]

Strange. Puncture or rolled tire? In real time, it almost looked like his head drooped just before - like he passed out on the bike?

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ant...bizarre-crash/

[j44ke]

INRNG does an iCal version of the 2021 UCI calendar. Can be helpful for following along. Link to calendar details here.