Pro cycling returns......and so do the crashes!

[Tazio]

Horrible crash in the final sprint of the Scheldeprijs with one rider hitting the ground very hard and losing his helmet and getting knocked out instantly. Could have done without the cameras focussing on the poor guy as he was getting treatment. Hope he’s ok as he didn’t look too good. 

[Tazio]

7 minutes ago, Tazio said:

Horrible crash in the final sprint of the Scheldeprijs with one rider hitting the ground very hard and losing his helmet and getting knocked out instantly. Could have done without the cameras focussing on the poor guy as he was getting treatment. Hope he’s ok as he didn’t look too good. 

Pascal Ackerman disqualified as the footage shows he cut across the guy who crashed. You know it’s a bad one when other riders stop to help the crashed rider and protect him. 

[heartyhub]

Some fantastic action in the breakaways but I hope the GC lights up soon.

[ri Alban]

They're all mental. 

[Tazio]

Very strong possibility, based on rumours from good sources, that tomorrow could be the last stage with the race called and all positions being awarded the final result. Almeida would be chuffed if that happened as he really suffered on the cold wet stage a couple of days ago and must be dreading the high mountains as the weather could be dreadful. And obviously chuffed as he’d be a grand tour winner at 22, and the first Portuguese winner (I’m pretty sure) 

[Cade]

It's been fairly obvious over the last few days that we were never going to get to Milan.

Teams withdrawing, remaining riders not happy, more lockdowns being imposed across Italy......

 

What a ride by Ganna again today. The boy is a machine.

[Cade]

Idiot takes himself down when trying to throw his feed bag away, gets the strings snarled around the handlebars and down he went.

 

What a riddy.

 

[Tazio]

Eurosport very confusing now, flip flopping between the Giro and the Tour of Flanders. I got up to go for a pee and came back and cobbles had mysteriously appeared in Italy, then I worked out what they’d done. 

[Cade]

Alaphilippe crashes into a motorbike!

 

[Tazio]

Alaphillipe looking in a bad way after crashing at Flanders after going into the back of a motorbike. Poor sod is shouting from the pain and the cameras are hanging around filming him like vultures. Shoulder or collarbone gone by the look of it. 

[Cade]

34 minutes ago, Tazio said:

Eurosport very confusing now, flip flopping between the Giro and the Tour of Flanders. I got up to go for a pee and came back and cobbles had mysteriously appeared in Italy, then I worked out what they’d done. 

 

I actually changed channels a couple of times thinking they'd changed race

[Tazio]

16 minutes ago, Cade said:

Alaphilippe crashes into a motorbike!

 

I agree with this tweet mostly. 

 

[Cade]

Aye totally JA's own fault.

He wasn't paying attention and just blindly following the wheel in front.

[Boof]

With decent cameras, d'you reckon they could use drones instead of helicopters for coverage?

 

Just hearing the thrum of a chopper got me thinking.

[Tazio]

Proper tough man ride from Almeida today and sadly a bad day for Nibali. 

[Cade]

Guardian reporting that "Alaphilippe is out of the Tour of Flanders"

 

Not sure the Guardian realises it's a one day monument race.

What a riddy.

[Tazio]

20 minutes ago, Cade said:

Guardian reporting that "Alaphilippe is out of the Tour of Flanders"

 

Not sure the Guardian realises it's a one day monument race.

What a riddy.

It’s the Guardian so I’m surprised they didn’t call it the Roond Van Vlaanderen to try and look cool. 

[Tazio]

1 hour ago, Boof said:

With decent cameras, d'you reckon they could use drones instead of helicopters for coverage?

 

Just hearing the thrum of a chopper got me thinking.

They’ve probably not got the battery life yet to stay up for a decent amount of time. They would be a good solution for the end of stages though, to keep helicopters away from town centres. 

[Boof]

27 minutes ago, Tazio said:

They’ve probably not got the battery life yet to stay up for a decent amount of time. They would be a good solution for the end of stages though, to keep helicopters away from town centres. 

 

I was thinking more like 20-30 of them used 1-2 at a time if they could manage a 20-minute flight (don't know how realistic that is!).

 

Absolutely love the aerial shots - not just the cycling action but the areas they pass through. I'm sure the organisers would provide some of the background information but the knowledge of the commentators is superb.

 

Compare

"Ah, yes. The ruined chapel of St Martha. And just below you can see the vineyard full of grenache grapes - this region is of course famous for it. And you had a glass or two last night, didn't you Sean? Chuckle, chuckle."

 

with

 

"Aye, Sellik have it all to do today.Their opponents (*stage whisper* who is it, again?) with that big felly...ehhhhh, can't remember his name... at the back will be hard to break down."

[StSow]

3 hours ago, Tazio said:

I agree with this tweet mostly. 

 

Alaphilippes own fault I reckon

[Tazio]

3 minutes ago, StSow said:

Alaphilippes own fault I reckon

Yep, one of the first things you’re taught about group rides is not to get hypnotised into watching the rear wheel of the rider in front. 

[heartyhub]

Totally agree with you guys really confusing yesterday. I recorded it and watched last night and thought the Giro must have been cancelled with Flanders showing. Some great cycling between the two though. Almeida fought like a dog to limit his losses and it will be interesting to see what Ines do now. Do they continue to go for stages or get behind Geoghegan Hart but might be a bit to far behind at nearing 3 minutes. Got the big stuff coming next week though so hopefully the weather doesn’t curtail it. It’s starting to bubble up nicely.

[Boof]

Any word on the Cofidis boy who smacked his leg off a kerb? Looked a real dull wan.

[heartyhub]

Another dual day today with the start of the Vuelta. Hope Froome can get a decent run he’s not had bad luck to seek recently.

[Cade]

This dual race thing does mah heid in, I can't keep track of who's where and WTF is going on.

 

Also, how come they couldn't hold off the Tour of Flanders until yesterday, the rest day on the Giro.

[Tazio]

I’ve just checked the race profile for stage one of the Vuelta. Nice of them to pop a nice easy stage in to get the riders warmed up!

Also just clocked for people without Eurosport S4C the welsh version of channel 4 has live coverage every day of the Giro. Unfortunately the commentary is in welsh though. 

[Cade]

Fernando Gaviria tests positive for Covid-19 over the rest day.

 

He'd previously tested positive way back in February during the UAE Tour.

 

Reinfection is totally a thing.

 

 

[Cade]

Cycling Spring Classics ✔️

Football Season✔️

Cycling Grand Tours ✔️

Winter Sports ✔️

 

All on the telly. All very confusing. What month are we in?

Edited October 20, 2020 by Cade

[Tazio]

46 minutes ago, Cade said:

Cycling Spring Classics ✔️

Football Season✔️

Cycling Grand Tours ✔️

Winter Sports ✔️

 

All on the telly. All very confusing. What month are we in?

The truly bizarre experience of watching the stage finish in the Giro and then tv switching to show the stage finish at the Vuelta. 

[Cade]

Fair few abandons on the 1st stage of the Vuelta

 

[Tazio]

Well that cruel first stage on the Vuelta has done its job. A bit of a slap in the face for the British cycling journalists that were bumping their gums about Froome not getting picked for the Tour or the Giro and saving Ineos. Anyone that paid attention to the Dauphine could see the form isn’t there. Pro cycling is a ruthless game and the team won’t help him as Carapaz is a better bet for the GC. 

[Cade]

That was like a final week stage finish.  

Absolute bedlam.

 

[Tazio]

Good stage win today for Ben O’Conner. A tough ride on a mountain stage especially after his efforts yesterday. 
Now fingers crossed that the weather doesn’t break and they get to race the Stelvio tomorrow as that’s a horror show of a climb, all 25km of it. 

[Cade]

Luckily Eurosport have opted to cover each race one after the other today rather than overlap them and confuse the pish out of the audience.

 

 

[Tazio]

Bizarrely a bunch of ponies appear in the road at the Vuelta right in front of the leading group. 

[Tazio]

Well that’s them on the Stelvio. 25km and 48 hairpin turns to the top which is above the snow line. Lots of possible moves and tactical battles today, and a lot of riders suffering badly. Lovely stuff. 

[Tazio]

This is vicious stuff today. 

[Cade]

Riders scattered all over the mountain in we groups or on their own

 

[Tazio]

Brilliant stage to watch. It will be a good tense last few days and a lot of it down to how well they recover after the beating some took today. 

[Boof]

2 hours ago, Tazio said:

This is vicious stuff today. 

 

6+ hours  

 

Staggering...which I'm sure a few of them will be doing  

[Tazio]

2 minutes ago, Boof said:

 

6+ hours  

 

Staggering...which I'm sure a few of them will be doing  

With about the same again tomorrow with over 250km. Thankfully a flat stage for recovery as Saturday is more mountains, a nasty short mountain stage though. 

[Boof]

250km?

 

That's nuts!

[Tazio]

17 hours ago, Boof said:

250km?

 

That's nuts!

Turns out the riders agree with you. A bit of people power displayed with the riders not willing to do that distance in the cold weather so the stage is shortened to 150km. 

[Cade]

Correct decision, 258km is mental in the final week of a Grand Tour.

[Tazio]

2 hours ago, Cade said:

Correct decision, 258km is mental in the final week of a Grand Tour.

Indeed but it’s all kicking off big time between the scenes as it turns out it wasn’t a unanimous decision through the whole peloton, and the race director is talking about legal action. Good points also about the teams have known about this stage for long enough to have brought up concerns beforehand. 
It’s a mess. 

[Cade]

And now we're bouncing back and forth between the two grand tours

 

[Cade]

Split screens now......am I watching different groups of the same Grand Tour?

Or am I seeing different Grand Tours at the same time because something interesting is happening in both of them?

 

[Tazio]

Great stage win at the Giro. I love those types of wins in races, proper head down, arse up, full on effort. 

[Cade]

Cerny done great, full attack almost right to the line

[Cade]

Didi the Devil at the Giro!