collapse collapse

Please donate to help towards the costs of keeping this site going. Thank You.

Follow us on...

Author Topic: The cycling thread  (Read 98392 times)

Offline ian c.

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 3457
  • Location: Munich
  • GM : 19.06.2024
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #225 on: September 15, 2016, 08:26:52 PM »
Rachel Atherton won the World Championship as well with Danny Hart winning the men's event.

Atherton is the Downhill equivalent of Villa in the 1890s.


Offline Jon Crofts

  • Moderator
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 20933
  • Location: Lost In The Supermarket
  • GM : PCM
« Last Edit: October 07, 2016, 06:04:59 PM by Jon Crofts »

Offline Dave Cooper please

  • Member
  • Posts: 29991
  • Location: In a medium sized launch tethered off Biarritz
  • GM : 20.04.2019
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #227 on: October 08, 2016, 07:53:35 AM »
Tiernan-Locke may have a bit of an axe to grind after Sky chucked him out for blood doping mind.

I don't think Sky have done anything different to all the other teams, it's just their hypocritical whiter-than-white stance they took from the start that will grind the gears. Don't have a "no needles" policy for instance, then inject your leading riders with steroids, TUE or not.

Offline aj2k77

  • Member
  • Posts: 10802
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #228 on: October 08, 2016, 11:55:53 AM »
Sky haven't done anything different to all the other teams, they're all at it. Wiggins, Froome, Cavendish. The lot of them, they're all as dirty as the rest of them.

My sympathies are with the possible 5% of clean riders, who could have been stars but are nobodies left at the back of the pack because they don't partake in the arms race.

The British media by and large, as per usual, have been a joke reporting British Cycling over the last 7-8 years, have acted like a fan club and done no digging whatsoever or asking the tough questions that needed to be asked and then followed up on. British Cycling fans in general have had their fingers in their ears too ''blah blah I don't want to hear it, our boys are the best and one offs''

Froome the boy who couldn't do shit until 26, suddenly out of the blue becomes one of the greatest riders the world has ever seen. It doesn't sound believable and all the little sideshow stories to explain it away are about as believable as a giant of a rider like Indurain climbing as well as a mega doped up waif like Pantani.

The sport is ruined as a sport, it's a medical arms race based around who's prepared to take the most risks, has the better doctors and who responds the best to products. Farce of a sport.

Offline SteveN

  • Member
  • Posts: 3668
  • Location: Surrey. Well .......Croydon
  • GM : Feb, 2014
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #229 on: October 08, 2016, 12:56:03 PM »
Sky haven't done anything different to all the other teams, they're all at it. Wiggins, Froome, Cavendish.

On what basis do you include Cavendish in that statement?

Offline aj2k77

  • Member
  • Posts: 10802
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #230 on: October 08, 2016, 01:05:52 PM »
Sky haven't done anything different to all the other teams, they're all at it. Wiggins, Froome, Cavendish.

On what basis do you include Cavendish in that statement?

What makes you think a rider could win 30+ stages in the worlds most prestigious race , in a dirty field, without either being the greatest rider ever to live or being fueled himself? He's also ridden for Sky, dodgy team, he will have been on the program too.

Offline aj2k77

  • Member
  • Posts: 10802
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #231 on: October 08, 2016, 01:23:44 PM »
Just to be clear though, I'm not saying Cavendish will have been on the kind of grotesque program the grand tour elites will have been on or the same as the doms but he will have been on something, to what degree compared to others? No one will ever know. That's why cycling is ruined. No one knows who does what, how much, how much it benefits them, what progression they gain from it more than others do. It's just a complete mess.

Is cycling cleaner than the 90's- mid 00's? I would say so, I don't know how much but there's at least a few things in place to limit blatant cases like ''Mr 58%'' Riis but it's only obvious that as the detection systems become more thorough the cheating becomes more clever and sophisticated.

I've spent 26 years watching pro cycling and I would say that for me it's become a case of seeing the believable become the unbelievable, like a form of WWF Wrestling, that I believed as a kid but see it as nothing more than an entertaining sideshow now.

It's not just Cycling with a big problem though, they're just the easier target.

Offline aj2k77

  • Member
  • Posts: 10802
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #232 on: October 10, 2016, 12:03:46 PM »
Just digging this up again.

When Sky were delivering their mysterious package to Sir Brad they initially used the excuse that they were actually sending a Dr to meet Emma Pooley. Unfortunately she was 600 miles away in a different race and it was quickly exposed as bullshit.

For the team of marginal gains, who leave no stone unturned, on numerous occasions they leave every stone unturned and seem ill prepared.

Hiring of doping Dr's.
Hiring of riders heavily linked to doping past.
Having one of the greatest cyclists of all time on the roster completely failing for years and no one knows why....
Excuses that are easily checkable that just don't wash.

Marginal gains? Sure, sure. Don't EVER forget to bring the pillows with you but checking Dr's histories when you are preaching to be the cleanest team ever, yeah don't bother with that.

The most finely tuned, detailed team in cycling history, when it suits.

Offline UK Redsox

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 41284
  • Location: Forest of Dean & 'Nam
  • GM : 10.02.2025
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #233 on: October 18, 2016, 02:04:41 PM »
2017 TdF starts in Dusseldorf

Hopefully they'll start the race outside Kling Klang Studio



http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cycling/37688216


Offline Jon Crofts

  • Moderator
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 20933
  • Location: Lost In The Supermarket
  • GM : PCM
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #234 on: November 04, 2016, 01:38:13 PM »
I won a place in the lottery for the Amstel Gold race in April next year 250km of hurt.

Online thick_mike

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6368
  • GM : 26.02.2025
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #235 on: November 06, 2016, 03:14:21 PM »
Took up road cycling this year as my latest fitness fad. I've really enjoyed competing against myself on Strava. Managed to progress slowly to the point where I did a 100km ride last week in less than 4hours. I'm pretty lucky to live near the Chiltern Hills, so there is plenty of great countryside to cycle in around here.

Next step is to join a ride with my local club.

Offline SteveN

  • Member
  • Posts: 3668
  • Location: Surrey. Well .......Croydon
  • GM : Feb, 2014
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #236 on: November 20, 2016, 06:40:12 PM »
Wiggins and Cav win Ghent Six Day.  Fantastic end to the final Madison to claim the overall win.

Offline Jon Crofts

  • Moderator
  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 20933
  • Location: Lost In The Supermarket
  • GM : PCM
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #237 on: November 21, 2016, 03:35:00 PM »
Took up road cycling this year as my latest fitness fad. I've really enjoyed competing against myself on Strava. Managed to progress slowly to the point where I did a 100km ride last week in less than 4hours. I'm pretty lucky to live near the Chiltern Hills, so there is plenty of great countryside to cycle in around here.

Next step is to join a ride with my local club.

100km in under 4 hours is good going in the Chilterns, how much climbing in that 100k?  A good benchmark for a club middle of the pack rider is 20 metres climb per mile over any distance and averaging over 16mph so you're not doing too badly at all.

Online thick_mike

  • Member
  • *
  • Posts: 6368
  • GM : 26.02.2025
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #238 on: November 21, 2016, 06:38:12 PM »
Took up road cycling this year as my latest fitness fad. I've really enjoyed competing against myself on Strava. Managed to progress slowly to the point where I did a 100km ride last week in less than 4hours. I'm pretty lucky to live near the Chiltern Hills, so there is plenty of great countryside to cycle in around here.

Next step is to join a ride with my local club.

100km in under 4 hours is good going in the Chilterns, how much climbing in that 100k?  A good benchmark for a club middle of the pack rider is 20 metres climb per mile over any distance and averaging over 16mph so you're not doing too badly at all.

Thanks Jon. I'm a bit short on climbing in that respect. Just 520m of climbing in that 100km, there were plenty of hills that I dodged! I'm an old bloke and I don't have any illusions of keeping up with the local racing snakes.

My longer term goal is to ride from Leighton Buzzard to my inlaws house in Rowley Regis...problem is that they live at the top of Turners Hill (the highest point in the West Midlands), so it will be a summit finish to an 80 mile ride. I'll probably give it a go in Summer next year.

Offline Ad@m

  • Member
  • Posts: 12563
  • GM : 23.03.2023
Re: The cycling thread
« Reply #239 on: December 08, 2016, 12:26:00 PM »
I thought this already was the rule...

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38248488

And I can't actually believe the RHA are attempting to completely absolve their members from their responsibility to not kill cyclists.

 


SimplePortal 2.3.6 © 2008-2014, SimplePortal