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2019 Pro Cycling: Valverde's Magical Mystery Tour of Spain and Italy (but not France)

G650

By G650
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G650

G650 14,437

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On 2/5/2019 at 9:37 PM, Knoxtnhorn said:

Thanks.  I'll have to look it up on YouTube.  
I got the condensed Tour Down Under on NBCSN.  I'm ready for the one-day races, though, I doubt any of them will be on DirectTV.

I imagine MSR, Flanders and Roubaix at least will be?

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8,822

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So I just thought about the Giro d'Italia and looked it up and it started yesterday, May 11th.

And there was EPO Tour of California preview show on TV today an it turns out that the ToC starts today, May 12th.

I then looked up to see the different teams competing in each and there is more than 50% cross pollination between to the two races, so I guess that teams are using the ToC to get multi-stage race miles into he legs of JV riders as well as some main riders who they are holding back from the Giro d'Italia in anticipation of the Tour de France.

*Teams listed below in BOLD are competing in both multi-stage races at the same time.

Giro d'Italia Team List:  https://www.cyclingstage.com/giro-2019/riders-italy-2019/

Movistar Team
AG2R La Mondiale
Androni Giocattoli-Sidermec
Astana Pro Team
Bahrain Merida
Bardiani – CSF
BORA – hansgrohe
CCC
Deceuninck – Quick-Step
EF Education First
Groupama – FDJ
Israel Cycling Academy
Lotto Soudal
Mitchelton-Scott
Nippo-Vini Fantini-Faizanè
Dimension Data
Team Ineos
Jumbo – Visma
Katusha – Alpecin
Team Sunweb
Trek – Segafredo
UAE-Team Emirates

 

EPO Tour of California Team List: https://www.amgentourofcalifornia.com/the-race/teams

Astana Pro Team
Bahrain Merida
BORA – hansgrohe
CCC
Confidis
Deceuninck – Quick-Step
EF Education First
Hagens Berman Axeon Cycling Team
Israel Cycling Academy
Team Dimension Data
Team Jumbo – Visma
Team Katusha – Alpecin
Team Sunweb
Trek – Segafredo
UAE-Team Emirates
USA Cycling

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8,822

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9 hours ago, G650 said:

ToC is a pretty substantial race in its own right these days.


Yes, during the preview of the race, they kept talking about how it used to be a joke warmup race in February, but now it is near the midway point of the season (their observation), so it is a perfect opportunity for teams or riders to start fresh if they've had a bad start of the season and reset for the rest of the year. 

They also said that for the first time, this year's tour will include the opportunity to earn points that could toward the world rankings.

So even though it is still sponsored by a manufacturer of EPO, it is a legit race now that includes a 3 stage women's race that covers some of the same roads the same day as the men's race, so people can line the streets on 3 different days and see the women race by and then the men. (In fact, I think that it is THE "stage race" in May for the women, so it will get the top female teams and riders in the world.)

They also mentioned how much the riders enjoy the Nice Hotels and the Big Beds that are found at each stop in California.

I guess that sometimes staying in a 200 year-old hotel built for people who were 5'2" and with thick brick walls that hate WiFi isn't always as charming as some would think. (That being said, I'm going to stay in a hotel that is a former house... along a row of identical hotel conversions, that supposedly has tiny rooms this Sunday night in London, and then am considering a very modest former (fake?) castle a week from Thursday in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain.

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G650

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21 minutes ago, Napoleon said:


Yes, during the preview of the race, they kept talking about how it used to be a joke warmup race in February, but now it is near the midway point of the season (their observation), so it is a perfect opportunity for teams or riders to start fresh if they've had a bad start of the season and reset for the rest of the year. 

They also said that for the first time, this year's tour will include the opportunity to earn points that could toward the world rankings.

So even though it is still sponsored by a manufacturer of EPO, it is a legit race now that includes a 3 stage women's race that covers some of the same roads the same day as the men's race, so people can line the streets on 3 different days and see the women race by and then the men. (In fact, I think that it is THE "stage race" in May for the women, so it will get the top female teams and riders in the world.)

They also mentioned how much the riders enjoy the Nice Hotels and the Big Beds that are found at each stop in California.

I guess that sometimes staying in a 200 year-old hotel built for people who were 5'2" and with thick brick walls that hate WiFi isn't always as charming as some would think. (That being said, I'm going to stay in a hotel that is a former house... along a row of identical hotel conversions, that supposedly has tiny rooms this Sunday night in London, and then am considering a very modest former (fake?) castle a week from Thursday in the Ribera del Duero region of Spain.

 

All true. The UCI WT grading is a pretty substantial achievement too.

I honestly won't watch a hell of a lot of it because the Giro is on, but its definitely a legit race. And I always watch the finish in Santa Barbara as it makes me nostalgic for my time there. 

 

Jealous you are almost in London. My home away from home...

 

1 hour ago, Bevo said:

Damn, I wish someone could compete with them in the Tour de France.

Yeah, I'm pulling for Bardet, but it's pretty quixotic on my part.

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Napoleon

Napoleon 8,822

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4 hours ago, G650 said:

...And I always watch the finish in Santa Barbara as it makes me nostalgic for my time there. 

[snip]

Jealous you are almost in London. My home away from home...


This year the finish is in Pasadena, where they will circle "The House That Vince Built" (The Rose Bowl) a few times leading to the finish line.


I've been through London a handful of times, but I've never stayed more than 24 hours. This will be the visit time that I'm actually stopping there for a bit. A few of those nights I'll be staying with a friend and frequenting his corner pub. It should be fun.

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19 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Question: Would the ToC benefit from rescheduling so that its timing did not conflict with one of the Grand Tours?

 

@G650 Get in the MTB thread and post some pics, damnit. Likewise for @52-80 and anyone else who also rides trails.

 

Shit man, my MTB has been hauling my 3 year old to the beach more than trails. I wish I had some to post 

 

I think the ToC needs to go before the Giro. The weather in Cali is gorgeous all spring.

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54 minutes ago, 52-80 said:

getting inspired to visit the giro next year.... always big drama , compared to tdf

The Giro is where it's at man. Especially now that the coverage has caught up to the TdF.

 

I basically quit posting last week because it was crickets in here, but this race has been phenomenal. 

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26 minutes ago, Braff Zacklin said:

Question: Would the ToC benefit from rescheduling so that its timing did not conflict with one of the Grand Tours?

 

attracting big names like sagan helps.  time zone does too... though im not too sure at the moment, how many belgians/dutch/spaniards coming home from work are actually tuning into the tour of california live

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