2024 Pro thread

[Miller]

For those of us living in the S of England it looks convenient to pop over the channel in week 1 and see some racing.

[mike]

i don't think the tdf route will make any difference. they can add even more climbs and tadej will still win, VG in second, and Roglic third.

[spud]

^ I think Evenpoel has surpassed Roglic. The rest holds true.

[BenSiskri]

i don't think the tdf route will make any difference. they can add even more climbs and tadej will still win, VG in second, and Roglic third.

I'd rather they cut some climbing, and include more cobbles/ gravel stages. GT's are far too loaded in favour of climbers, and we just get a w/kg contest.

[spud]

^ standard arguement against cobbles/gravel is that they introduce random variables to teams that have invested quite a lot of $. Whether that's a bad thing or not is a debate itself ie do we want a situation where UAE spends 2x the next richest team and wins EVERYTHING. But it would be more interesting for more than 2 guys to have a shot at the win.

[LeDuke]

i don't think the tdf route will make any difference. they can add even more climbs and tadej will still win, VG in second, and Roglic third.

I'd rather they cut some climbing, and include more cobbles/ gravel stages. GT's are far too loaded in favour of climbers, and we just get a w/kg contest.

How about some gravel/dirt roads in the mountains?


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[maquisard]

I would love to see the Colle delle Finestre back in the shirt or even the TdF. It was last ridden in 2018 in the Giro and is the ideal mountain gravel stage.

[Karvalo]

i don't think the tdf route will make any difference. they can add even more climbs and tadej will still win, VG in second, and Roglic third.

I'd rather they cut some climbing, and include more cobbles/ gravel stages. GT's are far too loaded in favour of climbers, and we just get a w/kg contest.

They're great to watch, but they don't make any difference to the W/kg unless someone crashes. A one day parcours in the middle of a three week race is not a one day race, and doesn't work like one. Remember who the three best guys on the gravel were this year? Pog, JV and Remco.

[Requiem84]

JV wasn't best, he made because of his team mates.

Regardless of who was best, it was an amazinggg stage.

[spud]

^ VG had to be in close proximity to TP in order to get towed up to him. Anybody else in proximity would have gotten towed as well as a result of team work. They weren't, so they didn't. VG rode a very strong stage, no matter the result.

[Requiem84]

^ VG had to be in close proximity to TP in order to get towed up to him. Anybody else in proximity would have gotten towed as well as a result of team work. They weren't, so they didn't. VG rode a very strong stage, no matter the result.

Yeah almost getting dropped and needing both Laporte and Jorgensson to close gap(s) for him didn't make him 'best' that day.

He did ride a good stage, sure.

[Karvalo]

Yeah almost getting dropped and needing both Laporte and Jorgensson to close gap(s) for him didn't make him 'best' that day.

He did ride a good stage, sure.

JV had already flatted, chased back and was still on a teammates bike at that point. When he was back on his own bike and the favourites group of 3 had formed, he was in it. That's GC riding, right? Same as in the mountains, you'd be crazy to close every gap yourself if you've got teammates to use. But when that true GC group formed, your gravel top 3 were your W/Kg top 3.

[Requiem84]

Yeah almost getting dropped and needing both Laporte and Jorgensson to close gap(s) for him didn't make him 'best' that day.

He did ride a good stage, sure.

JV had already flatted, chased back and was still on a teammates bike at that point. When he was back on his own bike and the favourites group of 3 had formed, he was in it. That's GC riding, right? Same as in the mountains, you'd be crazy to close every gap yourself if you've got teammates to use. But when that true GC group formed, your gravel top 3 were your W/Kg top 3.

The way I remembered it Vinegaard couldn't hold the wheel of Pogacar and Evenepoel when they really went for it and neede Jorgenson and Laporte to bring him back.

As for the other bike, yeah it wasn't like he was riding Van Hooydoncks bike this time around .

[spud]

^ I don't remember Evenpoel being there. As I remember it, TP went, got a gap on VG, Jorgenson closed it down with VG in his wheel. Once he got there, he would not cooperate with TP in a two up break, which was the right call. If any other contender had been there, they would have gotten the same "free" ride back to TP on MJ's wheel. They weren't there. At least that's how I remember it, but my memory isn't quite what it used to be.

[Karvalo]

Well let's see

https://youtu.be/41fKsWdu9Fw?si=8K8tj9s40F6XThtj&t=241