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Paris Nice has started! Tirreno Adriatico starts tomorrow! Both races chock full of amazing riders!
Looking at the results from P-N today doesn't yield much interest (unless you're Tim Merlier I guess). But watching Pog grin as he attacks over the top of the intermediate sprint, then Jonas calmly shut him down was just *chefs kiss*. These two are like the Joker and Batman and it's GREAT.
[Mod] please use this thread https://singletrackmag.com/forum/topic/spring-classics-is-upon-us/
Dear mod - I started this as a separate thread to avoid spoilers for the stage races in the classics thread and vice versa. Can you please reainstate the thread? Thanks.
hailing in the Tirreno-Adriatico ITT 😀
Looks nicer there today.. Lets see if the sprinters can get over the hill with the bunch and in the mix at the end.
There's a few of them playing today.
Just realised that Paris-Nice highlights are on ITV4 as well if you want an alternative to the GCN / Eurosport points of view. Gary Imlach, Ned & David, etc
Cycling: Paris - Nice Highlights - Watch Episode - ITVX
T-A shaping up for a sprint finish with a potentially slightly disruptive hill in the final 30km.
P-N warming up for what could be quite a tactically interesting TTT where each rider is timed individually.
some "huge" gaps for an 8 day race in the TTT !
Slightly scrappy but very close bunch sprint in T-A. At least the weather has improved over yesterday's rain and hail!
Yeah once again Cav disappointed me. He does love smacking his bars in frustration, despite looking like he was never going to win/position himself right, it's obviious he's unhappy with something, but i never know if it's someone, or himself he's unhappy with. I'm still hoping today he can get a bit closer and in the mix at the end. It's still early days of course in Astana for him and he's not taken the lead-out train here to T-A with him... but i somehow expect some magic.
is Pog trolling G with a pair of sunglasses ?
It’s still early days of course in Astana for him and he’s not taken the lead-out train here to T-A with him… but i somehow expect some magic.
I dunno - yesterdays's sprint was very scrappy, he's on a new bike in a new team.
He's ridden T-A loads, I think he's one of only about 3 or 4 riders who's up on 12/13(?) rides so I reckon he's just found a nice familiar early season "get settled into it" race.
T-A has been great so far. Watching that live and then getting the Paris-Nice highlights in the evening.
And the Italian scenery is stunning. They passed the villa used in Gladiator earlier.
Echelons!
(is there an italian word for it? Google says staglione but don't know if it translates)
Jumbo have smashed it open @ Tirreno blimey echelons in Italy
though it looks like groupo compacto
oofff the second kick from pog was brutal!
Taking 30 secs out of Vingegaard on a 5km climb? Race looks over TBH.
nearer 45s
JV can book a summer holiday - looks like he won't get anything at the TdF !
looks like a fun finish @ tirreno, a shoe in for the Pog 😉
I'm enjoying both T-A and P-N. Surprisingly, the commentary pairing of Carlton Kirby and Robbie McEwan works well on T-A. I know Kirby is a bit Marmite on the commentary front but I think he's doing this one well.
Still really struggling to work out who is who, the riders in new kits, who is in what team and who is riding in which race!
Edit: Tortoreto looked quite nice in the little tourist clip they've just played but the race appears to be doing a circuit of the "still being built" bits and the "light industrial" bits...🤔
Pidcock blown !
Tao G-H is still up there though. Adam Yates in with a decent chance too.
Alaphilippe put in a hell of a dig earlier.
Pidders and WvA wipe out! (after he got back in!)
WvA and Pidcock both down - TP's bike went a hell of a long way, that looked bad.
At least they're both up and riding in together.
Finally caught up with both races.
Got to say, am really enjoying the watching the Pogacar/Vingegaard rivalry. I think they're like Batman and the Joker.
And the TTT was great - I really hope it sparks a renaissance in TTTTTTing.
Been interesting to see the WvA and MvdP take a bit of a backseat in Tirreno. It was billed as a bit of a showdown between the two but I think they both might actually be human after all. The GC looks a bit odd at the moment - lots of folk from the same teams as if there'd been a classic TTT.
Been interesting to see the WvA and MvdP take a bit of a backseat in Tirreno.
MVdP in particular blew Milan San Remo by doing too much in this race last year. That big solo stage win in the wind and rain in particular. Seems to just be building nicely this time. That lead out the other day was epic.
Surprisingly, the commentary pairing of Carlton Kirby and Robbie McEwan works well on T-A. I know Kirby is a bit Marmite on the commentary front but I think he’s doing this one well.
Still really struggling to work out who is who, the riders in new kits, who is in what team and who is riding in which race!
Agreed on Robbie and Carlton working well, but one of the major bonuses of Ned and David is their understanding that not everyone watching knows as much and explaining who we’re looking at and maybe even what they’re wearing.
At least we’re not just getting “well it’s Very difficult” as per the catchphrase of another well known GCN presenter
couple of interesting stages today, loving the Groupama FDJ Gaudu, Kung and Demare "fly in the ointment" act @ PN 🙂 would be nice to see a frenchman in a french team in the mix at la tour.
paris nice todays stage cancelled 🙁
grim @ Tirreno! 😀
That wind at T-A is insane, you can see them struggling to cope with the aero wheels.
Surprised they've managed to get the helicopter up!
They're all over the place on the descent! Can see the front wheels being blown from underneath them on the corners. I'd be on the absolute shallowest wheels possible in these conditions!
Monumental headwind on the climb now.
Slowest sprint ever! 🤣
LOL!
Loved watching that TA finale. Could really relate to the faces of everyone riding into that headwind - it was really clear just how much that sucked.
Really cool to see Roglič winning with smart manouvres rather than his usual bazoka at 400m to go. Reckon the wind would have got him in that finish if he hadn't shaved his legs last night.
"It eases off" 😀
PN is looking like going to be a tasty shoot out on the final climb.
Jumbo dishing out some pain here!
That is a STUNNING bit of road!
Interested to see how a resurgent Roglic measures up to Pogaca. Vingegaard looks to have a lot of work to do to make it worth not booking a family holiday in July.
Interested to see how a resurgent Roglic measures up to Pogaca. Vingegaard looks to have a lot of work to do to make it worth not booking a family holiday in July.
Yeah but Roglic and Vingegaard together would make a formidable team and you kind of get the impression that in spite of UAE's recruitment drive in the off-season, Pogacar is still head and shoulders above everyone else.
If they can isolate him, and team up against him, it could be an interesting one.
Ineos seem to need some work. Martinez is supposedly first in line for TdF leadership but based on today, he's nowhere close.
Yates did a good rode, he's not far off.
https://inrng.com/2023/03/paris-nice-stage-8-preview-2023/
Preview of the final stage today.
Worth noting that Pogacar is only in the lead thanks to time bonuses so it's still very close.
flying round a corner full gas to come face to face to someone driving to the shops!
jealous of all those unzipped jerseys!
fine young cannibal ?
Although Pog seems to be destroying everyone at the moment wit's worth remembering that he put almost 2 mins into Vignegaard at Tirreno last year. I'm holding out hope that in the fulness of the season we can see other teams stepping up to challenge him a bit more the way JV did at the tour last year. He's a really exciting racer to watch when the competition can match him.
To be honest, that was not a very exciting finale once Pog went.
Hoping for a bit more interest at T-A although I see Pidcock has managed to crash out of that...
not a good day yesterday for oily jims mob @ Volta Catalunya
CASTROVIEJO Jonathan 1:51
THOMAS Geraint 2:24
BERNAL Egan 2:45
HAYTER Ethan 11:21
TULETT Ben 13:30
PUCCIO Salvatore 13:57
obviously Egan is coming back from injury, G looking a bit "leggy"
goes from bad to worse !!!!
CASTROVIEJO Jonathan 1:26
BERNAL Egan 10:24
THOMAS Geraint 11:59
HAYTER Ethan 13:56
PUCCIO Salvatore 19:01
TULETT Ben 21:10
bad day at the office or something iffy running through them ? !
meanwhile it's a Roglic Evenepoel slug fest at the front with Ciccone the fly in the ointment
Yates (Adam) and Carapaz also miles off the pace :/
Adam isn't miles off the pace. He lost 10 mins in the huge pile up on stage 1. Yesterday he was only 11 secs down after waiting for Almeida following his mechanical and 54 secs down today. Not bad for an injured rider.
The Evenepoel/Roglic rivalry could well be quite a story brewing. They seem quite evenly matched and both will be going to the Giro - throw in the usual 'where did he come from' rider that we usually see in the Giro and it could be an interesting race.
Egan Bernal has crashed out of Volta Catalunya, hope he's OK. Primoz teaching the impetuous young man some harsh racing lessons today.
Primoz teaching the impetuous young man some harsh racing lessons today.
Gloves off tomorrow I think with Rog and Ev plus those jockeying for positions just off the podium all after bonuses at the intermediates followed by a punch up on Montjuic. Should be a nice warm up before settling down to watch Gent Wevelgem.
This article on Roglič made me laugh:
https://escapecollective.cc/i-do-not-understand-primoz-roglic/
More seriously I miss 'Fun Roggy' from the vuelta a couple of years ago. Seeing him be so matter-of-fact about winning makes me feel a bit sad.
I'd quite like to see Ciccone win again and yeet his glasses into the crowd. Maybe produce an extra pair from his pocket to make up for the other day.
not quite tough enough to make a difference or just too evenly matched either way a tad disappointing finish.
crazy descent in Itzulia Basque Country today.
Strange stage today with most of the sprinters being dropped very early, so a huge bunch sprint to finish
Cav climbed off, hope it's just a bad day :/
Looks like cav has a bit of lurgy
https://twitter.com/astanaqazteam/status/1651248324324753409?s=46&t=VlnTbr36HbbeUf7htf7B5Q
Hopefully won’t be out for long. Think he needs a bit more practice with his lead out before the tour.
Yesterdays sprint was pretty wild. Ethan Vernon looked like he was sprinting in the granny ring (probably a 58:11 or something in reality) and romain bardet was in there trying for time bonuses.
chucking it down @ le Dauphine 😀
chucking it down @ the tour de swiss.... and Remco probably blown any chance of a shock tdf ride.
and Remco probably blown any chance of a shock tdf ride.
you've lost me, why ? He did OK 🙂
yeah epic sprint for fourth 😉
school boy racing at the moment
Oh wow... missed that bit of it... That's pretty sad, he was a talent.
Sad news from T de Suisse
Watched the short version on Eurosport this morning and noticed that Sheffield didn't cross the line, but there was nothing mentioned in that broadcast at all about a crash. Very sad news indeed.
The peloton will ride the last 30 km of the stage; the race will be neutralized today, and all the riders will form a procession in homage to Gino Mäder to the arrival town of Oberwil-Lieli.
Such sad news!
good or bad news for Cav ? his "lead out man" finished 4th @ Baloise Belgium Tour
1 JAKOBSEN Fabio Soudal - Quick Step
2 PHILIPSEN Jasper Alpecin-Deceuninck
3 NYS Thibau Trek - Segafredo
4 BOL Cees Astana Qazaqstan Team
5 KRISTOFF Alexander Uno-X Pro Cycling Team
6 KOGUT Oded Israel - Premier Tech
7 EWAN Caleb Lotto Dstny
8 VERMEULEN Emiel BEAT Cycling Club
9 THIJSSEN Gerben Intermarché
10 VAN DER POEL Mathieu Alpecin-Deceuninck
Not been watching Baloise Belgium as GCN only do highlights for certain races and with 4 on at the same time (Tour de Suisse, Tour of Slovenia, Baloise Belgium and Route d'Occitanie) we only had time for two.
Watched TdS, and Remco seemd to come good at the end with a typical (for him) solo ride-away to win the 25km raced segment at the end of the neutralised day, then a very strong showing in the TT. Very pleased for Skjelmose too, he deserved the overall
RdO had some good racing with a thrilling end to day 4. I was on the edge of my seat