The Classics

[Frosty]

Given that the women’s event is not that old, would be interested to know how often both world champions have won the same event.

[lechatnoir]

10 hours ago, 'Dale said:

Alpecin-Deceunick continues to thrive with its star racer and the current Rainbow Jersey, punching way above its weight in terms of team budget. What a team performance culminating into sheer dominance in the final - dropping the sharp end of the field at will with the velodrome still 60 kms away.

1-2 for the consecutive year for a team that is not a WorldTour team. 3rd Monument this year. Another green jersey in July? Morale must be sky high in this team, adding 15 watts per pedal stroke to every team member.

The Roodhooft brothers created this team and built it around MVDP in the cyclocross space before branching it to road racing. A similar pathway is currently in place, seemingly for the young talent in Puck Pieterse.

47.85 km/h average speed. The fastest time ever, roughly 1 km/h faster than the previous fastest finishing time.

📸 Russ Ellis

thanks Dale... Truly remarkable. We are blessed to be witnessing such legacies being built as we watch these races week after week.

How can any laaitie not be inspired to be like <insert yesterday's winner> as they go about their business? 

As for MVDP, he's won 2 monuments in a season 2 years running. Will there be more to come with Liege beckoning? So far in '24, 5 racing days, 3 wins including 2 monuments... 

Who watched 2019 Amstel live and was stunned by what went on? As amazing as it was, things have only skyrocketed from there.

Edited April 8 by lechatnoir

[Jewbacca]

26 minutes ago, Frosty said:

Given that the women’s event is not that old, would be interested to know how often both world champions have won the same event.

I came here to make the same comment/question!

A double rainbow stripe win at a monument...... Did the curse disappear with the peleton hierarchy? 

[nathrix]

 

[nathrix]

Will we ever see a 50 km/h avg for Paris-Roubaix in our lifetime?

[fanievb]

 

[lechatnoir]

2 hours ago, nathrix said:

Will we ever see a 50 km/h avg for Paris-Roubaix in our lifetime?

sure... a pumping tailwind can make this happen easily

 

[Frosty]

4 hours ago, lechatnoir said:

Who watched 2019 Amstel live and was stunned by what went on? As amazing as it was, things have only skyrocketed from there.

I saw a video (FB or Instagram) on the weekend that showed his power in that race. I will need to find it, as it was quite interesting. The final 10km was higher than the rest of the race. His durability is outstanding.

[nathrix]

2 hours ago, lechatnoir said:

sure... a pumping tailwind can make this happen easily

 

For the speeds they're reaching on the cobbles the riders need to start wearing dainese racing suits for protection 🙈

[DieselnDust]

42 minutes ago, Frosty said:

I saw a video (FB or Instagram) on the weekend that showed his power in that race. I will need to find it, as it was quite interesting. The final 10km was higher than the rest of the race. His durability is outstanding.

He broke away then got reeled in by a group of chasers. I think it was with 6km to go they had a 50sec gap to close and MVDP says to his group , “ hou mijn Amstel moeder knuekers” and sets off after the leaders who have started playing games with each other already. This was Alaphillipe and Fuglsang….

MVDP basically conducted a 5km TT to ride that 50sec gap into the ground.

He’s clearly improved the length of his TT!!

[NickGM]

19 hours ago, Frosty said:

Most Monument wins (green being the most per event). These two (MvdP and Pog) have time and potential get to 10 each.

Makes one wonder how good Coppi's palmares would have been if he didn't have 4 of his best years take out by WW2. In the 4 years immediately after the war he was untouchable.

[Shebeen]

2 hours ago, Frosty said:

I saw a video (FB or Instagram) on the weekend that showed his power in that race. I will need to find it, as it was quite interesting. The final 10km was higher than the rest of the race. His durability is outstanding.

I remember watching it like it was yesterday. There were a lot of coverage gaps as the leaders dillay dallied, so he seemingly "came out of nowhere" with 5 guys struggling to hold on to his wheel. Would love to see the full chase on video as am sure the production house haven't just let it slip into obscurity.

[Jakkals.]

I was in Lesotho, saw it as I walked into the restaurant at Semonkong. 🙃

[DieselnDust]

49 minutes ago, Shebeen said:

I remember watching it like it was yesterday. There were a lot of coverage gaps as the leaders dillay dallied, so he seemingly "came out of nowhere" with 5 guys struggling to hold on to his wheel. Would love to see the full chase on video as am sure the production house haven't just let it slip into obscurity.

That was the coverage broadcast around the world. I don’t think the producer has cobbled any other footage together that showed the entire chase. In the live broadcast there was a few more cut backs and forth between the Mvdp chase and the leading group but I don’t think the producers had any idea of what was goi g on till the MVDP group blew past the third group on the road. That’s when they got a wake up of what was actually unfolding.

[Shebeen]

4 minutes ago, DieselnDust said:

That was the coverage broadcast around the world. I don’t think the producer has cobbled any other footage together that showed the entire chase. In the live broadcast there was a few more cut backs and forth between the Mvdp chase and the leading group but I don’t think the producers had any idea of what was goi g on till the MVDP group blew past the third group on the road. That’s when they got a wake up of what was actually unfolding.

Exactly.

They should.

 

 

[Frosty]

The final 20km of the Amstel Gold 2019, from Sporza.

A few things that stood out:

Disk brakes weren’t fully adopted in the peloton

The aero tuck was not yet banned