Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/03/2022 09:45 AM |
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Worthy of it's own thread.....
Pog has to be the overwhelming favorite given his form coming out of UAE, but Tim Wellens has had this race circled on his calendar for awhile and is in great form.
And of course you have a guy who just won the rainbow jersey in CX also in piping good form....as well as former winner Thiejs Benoot, who was rolling really well last weekend. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 03/03/2022 10:15 AM |
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I went to Professional Racing to start the thread but you beat me to it!
Tires - CN's preview talks of most teams going ~28c tubular, around 7 bar, with more tread than smooth road. Sounds like the Clement Paris-Roubaix of decades ago would fit right in. And 7 bar = 98psi. (Isn't this 2022? Aren't they supposed to be squishing along on 70 psi. Everyone knows low pressure is fast.) So with all this new knowledge and research, they are going to roll rubber we would have expected in a race in my day; on pressures we would have ridden. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/03/2022 11:02 AM |
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| I'll put down Valverde and Bardet as dark horses. And JA always does well here. But I do think Pog wants this one. First time waking up early for a bike race this year. Yikes. Edit, just saw a picture of Kuss pre-riding Strada; this should be something that suits him but not sure where is form is. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/03/2022 11:57 AM |
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Everyone knows low pressure is fast.
It is...especially for gravel. But two factors remain:
*There is still a crapton of pavement in the race, so lower pressure may not make sense overall. It is about finding the right balance
* European bike racing is horrifically bound by tradition and "bro science"
That said, 7 ABR is insane. Hell, I stopped using that much pressure in my tubulars (23's) 12+ years ago.....using it in 28's is just stoopid. (See point #2 above)
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/03/2022 12:51 PM |
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Hmm, Patrick very much fits the traditionalist shoe but QS/Specialized have done a fair bit of experimenting with tires, pressures etc.
I'm going to say that CNs info on tire pressure is probably wrong. They're printing a lot of garbage. So I'd take what's printed with a pinch of salt. Or maybe they're being purposely led by the nose. For example, last year Trek indicated "For classics and strade bianche we go lower, around 6 to 6.5 bars (87-94 psi) depending on the ride.” |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/03/2022 01:16 PM |
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I'm going to say that CNs info on tire pressure is probably wrong.
Certainly a strong possibility. |
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Dale
Posts:1767
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| 03/03/2022 01:25 PM |
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European bike racing is horrifically bound by tradition and "bro science"
Oh sure, now you'll be telling us we can eat ice cream during race season. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/03/2022 03:58 PM |
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now you'll be telling us we can eat ice cream during race season.
Funny you mention that....was listening to the Marginal Gains podcast this week....it was the episode where they interview Andy Hampsten and he talks about that!!!
It is a fantastic listen....heard a lot of details about the Gavia stage that I had never heard before.
https://silca.cc/blogs/marginalgains/andy-hampsten-and-marginal-gains |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/03/2022 08:26 PM |
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Posted By Dale Dale on 03/03/2022 01:25 PM
European bike racing is horrifically bound by tradition and "bro science"
Oh sure, now you'll be telling us we can eat ice cream during race season.
No you can’t. But you can indulge in Vlaamse frites met mayonaise. Ask Matje. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/04/2022 07:04 AM |
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VN article re: tire selection, etc. wondering if any teams decide to use tire inserts. Seems like a no-brainer since riders could keep going until they get to a team mechanic w/ wheels (either by team cars or by having mechanics at the end of the dirt sections)
https://www.velonews.com/gear/strade-bianche-tech-building-out-the-perfect-bike-for-the-white-roads/ |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/04/2022 08:45 AM |
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| Crap...Pidcock out with a stomach bug. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/04/2022 08:55 AM |
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| No Pidcock, no Bardot, no Dumoulin. The latter due to Covid. Oh, and Sivakov just became French. Russian but born in Italy and lifelong lies in France, didn’t know that. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/04/2022 09:28 AM |
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Good for Sivakov....bit easier for him to do it since he always had dual-citizenship and never really lived in Russia, but he deserves full credit for renouncing his Russian citizenship.
Dumoulin being out should just help JV rally behind Benoot, as they should be doing. Don't think Tom would have been much of a factor. |
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mondonico
Posts:158
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| 03/04/2022 09:49 AM |
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| Need to just go with Mr. Tuffy. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/04/2022 10:56 AM |
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Posted By Cosmic Kid on 03/04/2022 09:28 AM
Don't think Tom would have been much of a factor.
He was mostly there for support but has come in 5th once if I read correctly. Covid might explain why he suddenly did so poorly in UAE after putting in a descent TT. The other explanation of course could be that his training in Columbia was a bit too much fun and not enough focused work.
Anyway, hoping to have smart TV dialed in so that I can stream directly from it. VPN app up and running with direct links to VRT (Belgium/Sporza) website and NPO app (Dutch). TV is hardwired into fibre optic network. With changes in home network the chromecasting from PC to TV became a bit more challenged (noticing delays compared to friends who were watching same stream). This "should" solve it. Maybe an additional RAI link needs to be hardwired for Giro. I've been trying to load the VRT Sporza App onto TV but the basterds keep asking for proof of Belgian citizenship despite the VPN, so the weblink will have to do. I'll have to ask my Belgian friends if there's any workarounds the citizenship ask. The NPO app doesn't ask for anything so I can now stream whatever Dutch programs on my TV. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/04/2022 01:35 PM |
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With changes in home network the chromecasting from PC to TV became a bit more challenged
If I am using a VPN, I cannot cast GCN+ to a SmartTV or to AppleTV. If I am using GCN+ w/o a VPN, then I can cast the feed no problem.
*shrug* |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/04/2022 02:23 PM |
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Weird. The chromecasting just uses home wifi network which should not depend on VPN. For me the issue is location of wifi router; the TV wifi antenna is pretty poor. Before the router sat right next to TV and casting was fine; now its in a different location and casting is more challenged.
Maybe it depends how you are running VPN; if its the app for entire computer then maybe that does it? I am just using VPN extension for chrome which should not affect rest of PC (LAN, wifi, etc). |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/04/2022 02:57 PM |
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if its the app for entire computer then maybe that does it?
Could be....happens on both my phone and iPad when I have VPN enabled.
Could also be the GCN+ app and how it works with the vPN, dunno....for the few races that I have to use a VPN for, I just run a HDMI adapter and it works fine. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 03/04/2022 07:48 PM |
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| The Sivakov story fascinates. Wow we live in such crazy times. Best wishes to him and his family. I'm more than willing to pay a crap-ton more for gasoline to stick it to Putin, but that's not so easy for a lot of folks. As for the race, bring it on! Regardless of blue bloods or junk yard dogs, it should be fun to watch. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/04/2022 09:41 PM |
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| Gas prices now are about what we paid in NL when I was a kid. It’s all relative. As to putting it to Putin, there’s unfortunately only one thing that will do that, which is the will of the Russian people.that’s why he’s clamping down so hard domestically. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/05/2022 07:09 AM |
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| Wow….crazy wind. MASSIVE pileup @ 100km to go. Allaphillipe flips over his bars after the wind pushes other riders into him and then slide out in the gravel. Looked like at least 30 riders down. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/05/2022 07:19 AM |
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| Benoot out as a result of the crash and JA is almost 2 min down on the peloton. I don’t think he can get back with his strong the wind is. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/05/2022 07:27 AM |
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| JA may get back on….peloton seems to have taken their foot off the gas a bit. Gap is down to 50” now. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/05/2022 07:38 AM |
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Video of the crash….
https://twitter.com/outofcycling/status/1500094819296854021?s=12 |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/05/2022 09:00 AM |
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Who was the AF rider that drifted so much and into JA? The others seemed to be holding relatively well.
Pog putting on a number but gap is dropping. |
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/05/2022 09:03 AM |
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I think the whole bunch was getting slightly pushed to the side of the road…JA already had his foot out before the AF rider barreled through….my guess is he caught a gust and just couldn’t hold it on that loose section of gravel.
Gap is down to less than a minute for Pog…but JA is done. We’ll see if there is enough firepower to finish off the chase. One thing is for sure - Pog has no fear. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/05/2022 09:39 AM |
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That was some performance by Pog. Tour, Lombardia, LBL, now this. He’s got to be a favourite for Flanders.
Kudos to Valverde on his second place. He looked stoked. |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 03/05/2022 09:55 AM |
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Another great race, and beautiful scenery.
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/05/2022 10:43 AM |
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Pog is good at riding a bike.
#obvious
😝 |
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longslowdistance
Posts:2881
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| 03/05/2022 03:02 PM |
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Just read a brilliant comment on a British site:
"Pogacar is either the new Eddy Merckx or the new Lance Armstrong. Fingers crossed." |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/05/2022 04:15 PM |
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| Kramon Photo on Insta: “Pog ‘n Roll” |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/05/2022 07:15 PM |
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I do think it would have been a better race without that crash. Valverde is in great shape but the guy is 42. Clearly mighty happy w second on his farewell tour. Asgreen was off the pace last week.
Benoot will be missing next couple races. |
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79pmooney
Posts:3180
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| 03/05/2022 08:28 PM |
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Posted By Orange Crush on 03/05/2022 07:15 PM
I do think it would have been a better race without that crash. Valverde is in great shape but the guy is 42. Clearly mighty happy w second on his farewell tour. Asgreen was off the pace last week.
Benoot will be missing next couple races.
My thought after the crash was that had JA not been in it and not had to burn those matches to get back on and therefore been in the chase group at the end, he would have either brought that chase much closer or left them to go after Pog. I felt that JA could have beaten Pog's finish with that final climb. (No, I"m not saying JA would have beaten him. Pog would have reached deeper in the tank by JA would have finished in the same time or less than Pog's today.
I felt JA was on today and going to do big things but that crash had to have been a real body slam and that chase had to have taken a lot out of his legs.
Good for Valverde.
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Cosmic Kid
Posts:4209
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| 03/06/2022 08:02 AM |
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The race certainly was massively impacted by that crash….Bennet taken out, JA left to chase, Campanaerts out of the mix which then limited the cards Lotto could play, etc.
But the biggest impact to the race was probably Pidcock getting the stomach bug….he was probably the only guy who could have gone w/ Pog, but even then, no one was beating him yesterday, IMO. |
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Orange Crush
Posts:4499
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| 03/06/2022 05:44 PM |
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| The womens race was awesome, great sprint battle between Kopekey and van Vleuten. And good on the Belgian on finally nailing a big one. |
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