General race thread 2021 **spoilers**

retalivity

Pidcock and Gilbert down

dastardly00

Pidcock back in the peloton now

11th for Nico in the alps today, don't think I saw him it heard him mentioned.

Mefistofelino

Alex Howes is nothing if not dogged.

dastardly00

It'd be amazing if it didn't finish as a big bunch sprint on the Mur de Huy

retalivity

Cmon Lammertink!

neris

feckin valverde is up there

mr spuckler

Jesus what a finish that was!!

retalivity

Great stuff by Roglic and Alaphillipe!

neris

my legs are hurting after that

Richard Hillman

Tremendous as always. One of my favourite races of the year.

Watching that thinking keep your hands on the f'n bars this time but he just can't help himself

velo.2010

Pogacar will be kicking himself he wasn't there.

dastardly00

I thought Roglic had it but chapeau to Alaphilippe!

dastardly00

There's definitely no curse of the rainbow stripes on the Mur de Huy today anyway! Men's & women's World Champions both win.

Itziger

retalivity wrote: »

Great stuff by Roglic and Alaphillipe!

And the 40 year old?

lissard

Knowing when to jump on the Mur seems to be something you can only learn by experiencing the sheer pain of that climb - no one in the current peloton knows it better than Valverde and Allaphilipe. Think that was the first time Roglic raced Fleche and I'd fancy him to get it right the next time. Class winner though.

Mefistofelino

velo.2010 wrote: »

Pogacar will be kicking himself he wasn't there.

I'm not sure that he (or a trouble-free Pidcock) would have won today - the Mur always seems to prioritise experience over youthful enthusiasm. Since 2010, the mens race has only been won once by a rider under 25 (Hirschi last year) and 7 times by riders over 30. The younger riders usually punch their own lights out by the 200m to go mark.

I seem to recall an article where it mentioned Cadel Evans worked with Aldo Sassi to figure out how to win on the Mur as it wasn't simply a case of dieseling up it quickly with a short gallop at the end.

And once you figure it out , you're golden. I'm not sure I know of any other one day race with so many repeat winners. Between the mens and womens podiums today, the six riders have 15 event wins between them.

neris

Itziger wrote: »

And the 40 year old?

one for the future to keep an eye on

Paddigol

I see Froomedog is down in 98th on GC. I thought he said this was the race to see where his form was at?? Bizarre stuff tbh.

dastardly00

Paddigol wrote: »

I see Froomedog is down in 98th on GC. I thought he said this was the race to see where his form was at?? Bizarre stuff tbh.

For the three stages so far, he's finished last within his own team. This has been his worst performance since joining ISN.

CantGetNoSleep

dastardly00 wrote: »

For the three stages so far, he's finished last within his own team. This has been his worst performance since joining ISN.

They must be wishing they'd signed Cavendish for free

velo.2010

Froome is going backwards just as he did last year. Check out his GC placings...

2020: 71, 37, 41, 71, 91, 98.

2021: 47, 81, 98.

He doesn't deserve a Tour place on current form, but that contract...

Even if he's there to work for the team he clearly isn't even in shape to be fetching bottles is he? Like others I've little time for him as a rider but not good to see his career play out this way.

Definitely seems to be struggling to come close to even a minimum level needed after the injuries from the crash and that was nearly 2 years ago.

CramCycle

Deleted User wrote: »

11th for Nico in the alps today, don't think I saw him it heard him mentioned.

First in the bunch sprint, he was looking in good form.

deise08

Haven't watched the alps yet, turning it on now. What a finish to the lá Fleche race. Would've been happy with either to win.
Thank you to everyone who take the time to reply to this relative newbies stupid questions.(le Tour popped my cherry so to speak).
Can I ask how do you stop from getting cycled out?
I'm watching everything for the first time since last Summer and loving it.
I just don't want to overload.
How do you pick what to watch and not watch?
Is the cycling calendar back to normal now except for the race postponed to October?

griffin100

Valverde is 41 this coming Sunday. The new Chris Horner?

Decuc500

griffin100 wrote: »

Valverde is 41 this coming Sunday. The new Chris Horner?

Sickened that he denied Woods a podium place. Just retire please.

breezy1985

deise08 wrote: »

Haven't watched the alps yet, turning it on now. What a finish to the lá Fleche race. Would've been happy with either to win.
Thank you to everyone who take the time to reply to this relative newbies stupid questions.(le Tour popped my cherry so to speak).
Can I ask how do you stop from getting cycled out?
I'm watching everything for the first time since last Summer and loving it.
I just don't want to overload.
How do you pick what to watch and not watch?
Is the cycling calendar back to normal now except for the race postponed to October?

Most of the big races are on with a few smaller ones cancelled. As for watching the big ones to look for are
3 Grand tours:Italy, France, Spain
5 one day monuments, Liege is next on Sunday
The world championship in September

After that the one day classics Like Fleche today or modern fan favourite Strade Bianci

Also keep an eye on stage races just before the GTs like Alps for Italy or the Dauphine before the Tour for riders form
Some races and stages you only need to watch the last 10/20km if they are flat and for smaller races cycling is the kind of sport where just reading results can be enough to keep up with things

retalivity

Paddigol wrote: »

I see Froomedog is down in 98th on GC. I thought he said this was the race to see where his form was at?? Bizarre stuff tbh.

https://twitter.com/FroomeHas/status/1384833482204094465