2024 Pro Cycling Season

[G650 14,229]

[G650 14,229]

Oh no Richie

[Whitewater Horn 968]

31 minutes ago, G650 said:

Thanks, AI art. I clocked that the location is Nice, but the random insert of the Eiffel Tower makes sure you get the point. 

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,390]

4 hours ago, G650 said:

Good call @Horn Under a Bad Sign

 

I was skeptical but Jorgenson crushed.

Well, I have a bit of an "in" with Visma. I knew that Matteo was in fantastic early-season shape and that Visma was going to go hard on supporting him. Of course, there are a million things that can happen that prevent somebody from winning a bike race but I was pretty sure that Matteo would do well if he could stay upright.  He might be too tall to ever win the TDF or the Vuelta or the Giro, but his riding style and position on the bike remind me of a young Indurain, so who knows?  He's only 24. And Bradley Wiggins is just as tall and he won the Tour, so all things are possible. 

[G650 14,229]

24 minutes ago, Horn Under a Bad Sign said:

Well, I have a bit of an "in" with Visma. I knew that Matteo was in fantastic early-season shape and that Visma was going to go hard on supporting him. Of course, there are a million things that can happen that prevent somebody from winning a bike race but I was pretty sure that Matteo would do well if he could stay upright.  He might be too tall to ever win the TDF or the Vuelta or the Giro, but his riding style and position on the bike remind me of a young Indurain, so who knows?  He's only 24. And Bradley Wiggins is just as tall and he won the Tour, so all things are possible. 

He looked great, there's no question. I think he caught a break with Remcos tactical ineptitude, but at no point did it seem like he was struggling, in an even up race it probably would gave come down to bonus seconds in my view. Very hyped to see how he does over 3 weeks.

 

Biggest letdown was Roglic. He looked turrible.

[EastHorn 281]

Pretty cool getting US national anthem on the podium with two Americans. 

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,390]

Matteo 13 years ago:
 

 

 

[Whitewater Horn 968]

Milan San Remon is just a few days away, and despite once again not starting in Milan proper, it looks to be a fun one. The starting field has 7 winners from the last 10 years, as well as numerous runners up and podium finishers. The past winners starting on Saturday are VdP, Pogacar, Alaphilippe, Demare, Morohic, Kwiatkowski, and Kristoff. 
 

I think most people are expecting a Pog\VdP duel. Who ya got? 

[G650 14,229]

Damn Bettiol, somehow held on! G2 did some serious G2 ing.

1 hour ago, Whitewater Horn said:

I think most people are expecting a Pog\VdP duel. Who ya got? 

 

I fell like we are due a group sprint, but after Strade how does anyone chase down Pog?

[Whitewater Horn 968]

1 hour ago, G650 said:

Damn Bettiol, somehow held on! G2 did some serious G2 ing.

 

I fell like we are due a group sprint, but after Strade how does anyone chase down Pog?

That’s the big question for sure. With MSR, it could be sprinters day or a breakaway depending on the day. It’s always interesting to see the start list and how each team is approaching it.  Plenty of great sprinters and their lead outs, breakaway and one-day race specialists, agitators & tv attackers, and then complete lunatic on two wheels competitors like Pogacar. How can you bet against that guy? So many riders capable of winning this race that I didn’t name. Hell, even before todays performance, Bettiol’s name showed me that EF was serious about MSR when I looked at the start list to see who they were sending. 

[G650 14,229]

GP Denain today, like a mini Roubaix.

[G650 14,229]

MSR hype thread on Reddit

 

https://old.reddit.com/r/peloton/comments/1bef6iv/prerace_thread_2024_milanosanremo_1uwt/

[Whitewater Horn 968]

1 hour ago, G650 said:

MSR hype thread on Reddit

 

https://old.reddit.com/r/peloton/comments/1bef6iv/prerace_thread_2024_milanosanremo_1uwt/

Pretty tame for Reddit. 😂

[Captain Ron 12,862]

I gotta ask, how much did HBO(max) pick up this year? I see a ton of cycling on there these days.

Flipped on MSR this morning. 

Edited March 16 by Captain Ron

[Whitewater Horn 968]

1 hour ago, Captain Ron said:

I gotta ask, how much did HBO(max) pick up this year? I see a ton of cycling on there these days.

Flipped on MSR this morning. 

Max picked up a handful of early season races. The Giro will be the last race available for 2024. 

[G650 14,229]

So UAE couldn't even manage to drop the sprinters

[Whitewater Horn 968]

1 hour ago, G650 said:

So UAE couldn't even manage to drop the sprinters

Tadej said they didn’t go hard enough on the Cipressa and left too many strong riders leading up to the Poggio. 
 

That was a diverse group in the last few km. Mohoric’s move looked good for a moment, but didn’t hold. Pidcock’s blow up was something to see. Seemed like he had flown the coop with a few hundred meters to go, then got swept up and dropped by the winning group. Finished outside the top 10. Lol.  Nice sprint for Jasper to pip Mathews with the throw at the line. 

[Whitewater Horn 968]

1 hour ago, G650 said:

So UAE couldn't even manage to drop the sprinters

You also have to wonder if the last minute replacement of McNulty for Del Toro messed with UAE’s prep or race day results. Maybe McNulty could have driven harder on Cipressa. 

[EastHorn 281]

MVDP to close gaps for a sprinter is tough to beat.  

[Hornius Emeritus 12,448]

Holy crap what a finish to the state at Milan San Remo.  What a descent!
 

 

[G650 14,229]

So I rewatched the last 60k yesterday while I was on the trainer. On Saturday, I kinda had to catch little bits as it was a crazy day here, my son ran the final mile of the Shamrock Marathon, then we had his soccer meet and greet for the spring. Couple thoughts after looking closer, one, MvDP was ridiculously strong. He closed Tadej on the Poggio while breathing out of his nose lol. He probably could have won the race. Secondly, hats off to Phillipsen for being there in the end. Amazed he survived to sprint. Gutted for Matthews as he was so close again. I felt we were due for a sprint but I didn't see it panning out exactly this way.

 

Catalunya this week, climbs all around.

 

[G650 14,229]

Nick Schultz!!!

[Whitewater Horn 968]

5 hours ago, G650 said:

Nick Schultz!!!

Man, if Schultz doesn’t make that head check at 100m to go to see Pogacar in full acceleration, he gets caught. Never assume assume you’ve got that guy beat. Great finish!

[Whitewater Horn 968]

Spoiler

That looked interesting for a moment when Kuss took off like a rocket to catch Landa, but he obviously burned everything on that effort. None of them have an answer for Pogacar. What a beast  

 

[G650 14,229]

Such a class above. The Tour is gonna be lit

[G650 14,229]

Low key good week of racing this week. Catalunya, Brugge De Panne today, COppi e Bartali (unfortunately not on TV, but  I think on Youtube?), E3 Harelbeke or Saxo or, whatever the fuck it's called now, Friday and Gent Wevelgem on Sunday.

[G650 14,229]

MvdP is in ridiculous form

[Whitewater Horn 968]

2 hours ago, G650 said:

MvdP is in ridiculous form

Ridiculous is an apt description. Can’t really call it a rivalry with Van Aert right now. MVdP is in a different place this year. 

[Whitewater Horn 968]

What spectacular views on the descent of the Col de Pradell in Catalunya today! Also many sightings of GC KUSS clothing and signage.  Unfortunately, the gestation period of his form must not mature until grand tour season. Poor Tadej must be bored at this point. 

[Horn Under a Bad Sign 20,390]

On 3/22/2024 at 10:46 AM, G650 said:

MvdP is in ridiculous form

Man, no kidding. He's on a different level than anybody else at the moment. 

Glad to see Sepp getting some support. 

What an awesome sport.  The premise ("you go from point x to point y in the fastest time) is so readily understood, but the tactics and strategy and luck are nuanced enough that it takes a lifetime to understand. 

[EastHorn 281]

On 3/20/2024 at 12:48 PM, G650 said:

Low key good week of racing this week. Catalunya, Brugge De Panne today, COppi e Bartali (unfortunately not on TV, but  I think on Youtube?), E3 Harelbeke or Saxo or, whatever the fuck it's called now, Friday and Gent Wevelgem on Sunday.

Eurosport on YouTube has been great. 

[Hornius Emeritus 12,448]

Pogo has been on fire in the early part of the season, too.

[G650 14,229]

8 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

Pogo has been on fire in the early part of the season, too.

Yeah, Catalunya was basically his personal spring training camp.

 

He switched coaches this offseason, I'm curious to see how the season unfolds. I'm slightly nervous he is too good to soon.

[G650 14,229]

De Ronde this weekend.

https://www.rondevanvlaanderen.be/en/race/men-elite/news/follow-tour-of-flanders-on-these-broadcasters-1

 

[Whitewater Horn 968]

1 hour ago, G650 said:

De Ronde this weekend.

https://www.rondevanvlaanderen.be/en/race/men-elite/news/follow-tour-of-flanders-on-these-broadcasters-1

 

Soon, indeed. Also a little cobble appetizer today. 

[G650 14,229]

17 minutes ago, Whitewater Horn said:

Soon, indeed. Also a little cobble appetizer today. 

Yes, the imaginatively name Across Flanders. To be followed this weekend by Around Flanders.

[G650 14,229]

Ho Lee Fuk

[Whitewater Horn 968]

35 minutes ago, G650 said:

Ho Lee Fuk

For real. Not a great year for Wout so far. 

[G650 14,229]

Just now, Whitewater Horn said:

For real. Not a great year for Wout so far. 

That crash took out every RVV favorite other the MvDP.

[Whitewater Horn 968]

3 minutes ago, G650 said:

That crash took out every RVV favorite other the MvDP.

Yep. Takes much of the excitement out this weekend. 

[G650 14,229]

Man this race is so ridiculous, apparently now a team car and a commissaire car wrecked and blocked the road. The women's race has been neutralized behind.

 

But on the plus side go Matteo!

[Whitewater Horn 968]

44 minutes ago, G650 said:

Man this race is so ridiculous, apparently now a team car and a commissaire car wrecked and blocked the road. The women's race has been neutralized behind.

 

But on the plus side go Matteo!

Someone had to be the beneficiary of that mess. Good for Matteo. ‘Merica!

[G650 14,229]

reports of collarbone for Wout

[Whitewater Horn 968]

20 hours ago, G650 said:

reports of collarbone for Wout

And ribs. That will keep him out for a good while. Hope we don’t get more of the same in the Ronde. 

[G650 14,229]

If our boy Matty J wins De Ronde, imma go ham.

[Whitewater Horn 968]

13 minutes ago, G650 said:

If our boy Matty J wins De Ronde, imma go ham.

For sure. He’s also in the TVL lineup for The Hell, too. Could be a HUGE couple of weeks. 🚴‍♂️🇺🇸

[Hornius Emeritus 12,448]

Collarbone breaks are often incredibly painful. And ribs only hurt when you breathe.  Bad turn of luck for Wout.

[G650 14,229]

10 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

Collarbone breaks are often incredibly painful

 

Mine certainly was

 

 

10 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

And ribs only hurt when you breathe

Laughing is the worst

[Hornius Emeritus 12,448]

2 hours ago, G650 said:

 

Mine certainly was

 

 

Laughing is the worst

I was just thinking about this: I don't know anybody who is a serious cyclist who hasn't broken his collarbone at some point or another. It's the weak link when you fall and extend your arms

[G650 14,229]

2 hours ago, Hornius Emeritus said:

I was just thinking about this: I don't know anybody who is a serious cyclist who hasn't broken his collarbone at some point or another. It's the weak link when you fall and extend your arms

Funny story, well not so funny actually, but I broke my collarbone in a car wreck and not on my bike, along with my nose and my back for the second time. The collarbone was by far the most painful part.