The Ghost

Nope, not I.

How pathetic do I feel now? [emoji1]

Apparently he still needs to lose the weight he gained during the CX season before being at his best on the road.

I missed it live (decided to go and ride while we had sunshine), but watched and skipped through the last couple of km’s. I was struck by how much the one commentator was banging on about Demare and his Bennett comment was something about him being too far back; needless to say I was overjoyed when Sam came around the others and left them behind. [emoji1319][emoji1132]

That really sucks, all the best to you all and may his recovery go as well as possible.

Holy..... Not the result I hoped for, but a ridiculously impressive effort.

I’m exhausted and about to have a heart attack [emoji1] this is quite a race

Boom! Bloody hell!

Noooooooo WVA

Somebody has to go now or they’re going to drag the climbers to the last [emoji85] Oh the pressure!

Well he’s doing his bit to stay in with a chance.

So many top riders at the front, I just can’t pick an obvious winner here today.

A couple of guys looking a bit sketchy on the gravel too. It sure is an interesting race this.

I think that confused a good few people, the commentator and myself included [emoji52]

I see Bernal, Pogacar and Yates will be having a recce

Canyon has issued a ‘stop ride’ notice https://www.stickybottle.com/latest-news/some-canyon-bikes-withdrawn-from-pro-racing-after-van-der-poel-incident/?fbclid=IwAR0_aYE0QIGd15QvNZfKfqaBhzXR-q-LaMMBdtdNpzNUMmEiWQ7Gs-S_yNA * I see it’s been mentioned on other threads already.

We’ll just have to disagree there if you’re talking about viewing pleasure and therefore sponsorship and pay. I am for equal prize money by the way, but if the viewers aren’t there because it isn’t good to watch then you can understand why the sponsorship etc isn’t there either. And I think not comparing, at least as a means of assessing why one form is more attractive than the other will actually hurt improvement and hence more money. It’s not a gender comparison or a discipline comparison that I make.

Possibly, Im not sure. I also thought of that and I'll be watching a few more women races and see if it changes as I get to know them a bit better. No argument there. While on the subject of women cycling, I quite enjoy Jen's (Jenny Graham) stuff on GCN+

Yup.And the characters have been great too, Neff, Kate, Batty, Langvad etc It’s a strange thing to try and explain but I also sense an intensity in women’s XCO and men’s road racing that I just don’t perceive when watching women’s road racing.

I just don’t find it as enjoyable to watch, and it’s not because I have a gender issue because on the MTB scene I’ve found the women’s racing to be more exciting than the men’s for a few years already.

I’ve been watching (in Eu of course) since they started and it’s been great, just the one hiccup this weekend and I just went for a walk with the family and watched it later. Their other adventures and content are actually very cool and inspirational.

[emoji1] that’s funny; the mind can be an interesting space to be in.

They’re a really impressive team in so many ways. I’ve become a big fan. Wouldn’t it be nice for them to add a grand tour (GC) win but that doesn’t seem to be the focus and make up of the team.

Climbs are done, big group to end now it seems.

It’s looking good for him at the moment.