Eldron

If I hear him say "innate ability" one more time I'm going to stab ice picks into both of my ears.

First time I have screamed at the TV for a while. That is incredible.

Grrrrrrrmay! Holy sheetballs!

Their fun/laughter/carefree attitude is really contagious. The friendship really obvious. The boys are going to go places! Edit: Further places - they've already gone pretty far!

Sadly no - it was a link on a site that I visited and I can't find the site or a google result. Sorry man. I lied! Here it is: https://www.facebook.com/MountainBikeSA/

I just watched the interview after the second last stage with SCR in their campervan. I like them even more now. Two clowns with megawatts and a winning but humble attitude. Awesome stuff.

Agreed! How Gerald knows the minute details of every course, wine estate, bike park, area, hill, berm and turn is beyond me. The only weak link on the team is Neil Gardiner (is that his name?) who doesn't really seem to have anything unique to offer. He is probably quite interesting to beginners or non cyclists but mostly he sprouts pretty vanilla stuff. The combination of ebike cameras, motorbike cameras, helicopters and drones is phenomenal!

Man I enjoyed that. Great story - some youngsters talk smack at the start and win through sheer watts and will power with only a Dad as support team. I wanted Matt to win again but a SCR victory is aaaaalmost as good. Most exciting Epic in a while! The coverage was spectacular.

Another vote for GCN. Bought a 1 year subscription. Cheap as chips.

Either Stefan Sahm is a beast or the motor delivers more than 250w (and keeps on giving beyond 25kph!). If Stefan can roll along at 35+ behind the Beers train then he shouldn't be on the ebike but in the race :-)

Does anyone have specs on the media ebikes? I can't find any info. Respect for the media riders - can't be comfy in all that gear for hours and hours!

Most ebikes offer around 250w of assistance. Most ebikes have around 350-500wh batteries. 250w is probably around the average rider's FTP so theoretically (with heat/efficiency losses) an ebike can offer 1-1.5 hours of the riders FTP. Effectively double power for 1-1.5hours. For perspective - this will allow the average riders to smash the world hour record.

Second hand 29er hardball. As above a new bike in that price range will not give your nephew a pleasant cycling experience. Save up a bit and spend a little more I reckon.

I feel sorry for all of Ninos partners!

Back in my day the Epic was all uphill, on lumpy grass fields, with rocks and torrential rain and dust, lots of dust from all the torrential rain. It was 48 degrees every day and they made the altitude for the entire event over 2,000m specifically for my Epic. The hipster posers of today are obviously way softer than me, the older guy who was faster and faster the older he gets. Gotta love people comparing Epics. Unless you rode the course today you have no idea of conditions and cut off times.

I finally got to test my Canyon Grizl on the weekend and was really impressed (it was my second choice in gravel bike so I wasn't super excited but really pleasantly surperised). The balance between plush ride and tight handling is perfect. The carbon lever seat post is a great addition. The bike feels like a fine bledn of nimble/efficient and plush/vibration absorbing. I would certainly recommend the Grizl and the bang for buck is phenomenal. Oddly enough my first choice gravel bike (3T Exploro Race) arrived a few days ago so I'll be riding that soon. I'm hoping to be even more impressed with that...

I didn't hear the rider he swapped with's name but aren't you confusing Andri with these guys? 36-1 Sergio Mantecon Gutierrez 36-2 Francesc Guerra Carretero SCOTT - Calabandida They were up the road...I think.... Edit: Just watched the interview again and Nino definitely said he swapped with Andri.

Ah. Nino confirmed at the post stage interview that he swapped wheels (and that the rider he swapped with had to put a gator in before he could use a tube). Diesel confirmed the rider was Andri Frishknecht.

Wheel suspension? Yeah - another team stopped at exactly the same place. Luckily they could plug'n'go.

Good intel. Thanks!

I wonder of the no needle policy applies to Epic. Best way to hydrate him is with a drip!

Only Day 2 and it's already chaotic with an unexpected GC! Nino reckons he hit some hidden glass, tried to pop a tube in but the hole was too big and eventually swapped wheels with (didn't hear name). Hopefully Matt just had a bad day and isn't ill! Tomorrow is going to be proper exciting!

It almost came to grief a few times by jove he did it. Refreshing to see how the crossers have changed the racing style on road (I credit the crossers with showing the roadies how to race with panache).

100%. Only the 3rd favourite Slovenian to win!

What a finale! My poor heart.