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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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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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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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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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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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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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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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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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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| Just say "NO!" to WCP!!!!
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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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