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Olympics thread
Last Post 02/20/2022 04:22 PM by Cosmic Kid. 49 Replies.
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Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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02/19/2022 07:19 PM
They average 0 or 1 medal in winter games. This time looks to be first time since 1948 they got a gold and first time since 1948 they got 2.

Maybe if they add cyclocross to the games lol.
79pmooney

Posts:3180

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02/19/2022 08:21 PM
OC, its the mass start racing. Now if they start adding stage races on skates, the Belgians will have to step up and learn to skate against the clock. And when they add cobbles, watch out! Real cobbles would be kinda hard on skate blades. But an ice maker could be made to make ice cobbles. (Ben goes and duck-ducks Zamboni. An American, Frank Zamboni lived in Paramount, CA, making and selling ice. Refrigerators arrived, business left and Mr Zamboni built an ice rink using his now surplus reefer equipment. In those days, it took 5 men 90 minutes to resurface a rink. Zamboni invented a machine using a hydraulic cylinder from an A-20 attack plane, an oil derrick chassis and a Jeep engine. By 1953, he was using a Jeep chassis and had his patent. Indoor ice was never the same!

Funny that Zambonis were born in California. I grew up watching old men do absolutely perfect 4-wheel sliding turns to make ice in the minimum of passes, leaving no missed spots. (Boston. Every rink had one of those old men.) Moved to the west coast and watched hacks botch the jobs many times.

But to get back to bike racing (oops, speed skating) - an enterprising Belgian needs to step up, invent cobbled ice and be forever famous (in rather small circles). On the west coast, "Zamboni" is password to see if that stranger is from back east and grew up with real sports. A blank stare and no. If they know, it's instant passionate dialog.
Orange Crush

Posts:4499

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02/19/2022 09:40 PM
Ben - they already have racing against the clock. All main speed skating events are basically TTs.

They also have stage racing. It’s called the allround championship held over two days: 500, 1500, 5000 and 10000 m TTs (4 stages).

Cobbles? That would presumably be skating on natural ice.

Now uphill and downhill skating that be something.

What I’d really like to see though is the 100k mass start events that they run all winter in NL. Just 10k is like a crit.
79pmooney

Posts:3180

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02/20/2022 11:48 AM
I've sailed ice boats on cobbled ice. DNs of the modern single steering skater forward. Like sitting on a jackhammer. And a 60 yo A-class (I think I remember that right) with the steerer aft. This on ice that was really bad. A fleet of DNs were beating themselves up that day. I got to ride the old Cadillac in style at 50 mph (almost their speed).

So the Dutch really do have all the events and Belgium just has to get with it and make a few roads (canals) to generate interest. And just thinking with my typing fingers - they could lay some refrigeration pipes under the pavement on hills. Water the hilltop with hoses. Equip a Zamboni with studded tires. With a couple hundred miles of canals laid out with right angle turns and periodic iced off-ramps leading to those iced hills - real mass start racing!
Cosmic Kid

Posts:4209

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02/20/2022 04:22 PM
Finnish XC skier froze his penis in the Mass start event.

Yeah, fook that.
Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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