The Classics

[DJuice]

Akward dinner tonight.

['Dale]

1 hour ago, Furbz said:

Watching the ladies race. Kirsten Faulkner is wearing a glucose monitor (Supersapiens).

I am 99% certain those are banned for use in racing?

That would be correct @Furbz 

Two teammates bike throwing vs hand-in-hand finishing - was gaan aan?

Conditions are fast after the recent rains firmed up the white streets for the men's race.

Edited March 4, 2023 by 'Dale

[Jewbacca]

1 hour ago, 'Dale said:

That would be correct @Furbz 

Two teammates bike throwing vs hand-in-hand finishing - was gaan aan?

Conditions are fast after the recent rains firmed up the white streets for the men's race.

Healthy competition in the squad!

Vollering wins a lot for a self proclaimed 'super dom'.....

[NotSoBigBen]

I know I'm a bit Grumpy but because of loadshedding I missed the end of the ladies Strade Bianche and all of the men's ... only thing I'm disappointed about is not seeing Puck get 6th!

['Dale]

Geez, what a race by the diminutive and superb Tom Pidcock - first man from the island to win this race. Courageous long range effort. Like the 50 km attack by Pogačar in 2022

Two Bumblebees in the top 5 again. And Costa showing steady form after quite a strong start to the season.

”Honestly, this is gonna take time to sink… this wasn’t the plan… I got a gap on the decent and I just kept going… I thought I missed it up and went too early as the chasers were catching up…” - TP

[Thomo]

10 hours ago, 'Dale said:

… I thought I missed it up and went too early as the chasers were catching up…” - TP

If that's messing it up, watch out when he gets it right.! 😊

['Dale]

It's about that time after watching very cold and wet Ronde van Drenthe - MSR. Remember the dropper post assisted escape by the lanky Slovenian?

 A race so unpredictable that the winner list is a mix of names. A nightmare for the sports betters. Set your reminders. Light up the braai. 

['Dale]

Come on, Magnus Cort 💕

 

[Frosty]

I’m wondering if the Cipressa will result in a race winning break this year, by someone capable of riding away. I certainly don’t think the sprinters have a chance with the likes of TP, WvA and MvdP in the mix up the Poggio. JA didn’t look to be in tip-top shape at Tirreno-Adriatico compared to WvA on the penultimate day, but even he can ride away from the sprinters.

[Ozzie NL]

On 3/4/2023 at 2:15 PM, Furbz said:

Watching the ladies race. Kirsten Faulkner is wearing a glucose monitor (Supersapiens).

I am 99% certain those are banned for use in racing?

Anyone clear on the rationale to ban these? From what I understand it just helps riders to ensure they eat the right stuff at the right time .... can't see a problem with that

[Frosty]

19 minutes ago, Ozzie NL said:

Anyone clear on the rationale to ban these? From what I understand it just helps riders to ensure they eat the right stuff at the right time .... can't see a problem with that

Perhaps JV's comment sums it up best: "If they don't understand it, they ban it" (read the replies to get more insights.

 

[Vetplant]

3 hours ago, Frosty said:

I’m wondering if the Cipressa will result in a race winning break this year, by someone capable of riding away. I certainly don’t think the sprinters have a chance with the likes of TP, WvA and MvdP in the mix up the Poggio. JA didn’t look to be in tip-top shape at Tirreno-Adriatico compared to WvA on the penultimate day, but even he can ride away from the sprinters.

My spidey senses are thinking TJV will launch WvA and/or Laporte the way they did on Stage 4 of the TDF last year: 

 

 

[Bub Marley]

3 hours ago, Frosty said:

I’m wondering if the Cipressa will result in a race winning break this year, by someone capable of riding away. I certainly don’t think the sprinters have a chance with the likes of TP, WvA and MvdP in the mix up the Poggio. JA didn’t look to be in tip-top shape at Tirreno-Adriatico compared to WvA on the penultimate day, but even he can ride away from the sprinters.

I think if Pog wants to win he will need to gap the rest up the Cipressa already. I don’t think the Poggio is steep enough or long enough for him to do any damage there but I’ll be interested to see how he does.

 

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. MSR is probably the hardest monument to win for Pog in terms of the course and the fact that it’s so flat and the 2 bumps at the end are so small. I personally don’t see it happening but you can never write Pogacar off. He’s shown he can ride any course. 

 

[babse]

3 minutes ago, Bub Marley said:

I think if Pog wants to win he will need to gap the rest up the Cipressa already. I don’t think the Poggio is steep enough or long enough for him to do any damage there but I’ll be interested to see how he does.

 

Will be interesting to see how it plays out. MSR is probably the hardest monument to win for Pog in terms of the course and the fact that it’s so flat and the 2 bumps at the end are so small. I personally don’t see it happening but you can never write Pogacar off. He’s shown he can ride any course. 

 

Based on what we'v seen so far if poggie goes on steep or not so steep, not many can follow. He really looks on another level from the rest currently. Should be ineresting how JV plays/handles him.

[Frosty]

TP has attacked from far out a few times and won, as recently as last week, and also on the white roads of Italy last year. If he can catch them by surprise, and not allow certain teams to dominate, then he’ll have a chance. 

 

[Frosty]

The last successful Cipressa attack came from Gabriele Colombo in 1996, but the most famous moves ended in failure. Vincenzo Nibali went for it in 2014, at the peak of his powers. Marco Pantani tried in 1999, flying up the right side of the peloton and into the waiting swarm of TV motorbikes, which pulled him along in symbiotic Italian collaboration. Both crested the climb with a sizable lead but the long, flat coast road to the Poggio was their undoing. Neither stayed away over the Poggio.

~ CyclingTips.com