Ops didn't quite ride like a number 1 should on sunday, third last was the best i could manage!
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Dig in and keep trying to smash it. It doesn't get easier but you may find yourself in the next few races moving up.
The obvious advice at local level sometimes gets lost but I'll say it again: stay up the front. Always stay up the front. Take a note of the size of the field at the start and try to let no more than 1/3rd of the field be in front of you in the first 20 minutes.
The worst case scenario over there is a few guys go off the front and they're half of the strong guys in the field. When the other strong guys want to chase it's puke time. Hang on and give it some sh1t and ride it like it's your last race in Belgium.
Very nice bike, btw. If that number said Het Volk I would have offered you cash for that!
So who is this Gerry Ryan bloke and why is the commentator that I'm listening too getting all pissy about him being in charge of the Mitchelton–Scott team?
He's a big business man from Melbourne. Owns the green edge team, michelton wines, jayco caravans, walking with dinosaurs, just spent something like $50m upgrading a theme park (Gumbuya Park, which has a giant pheasant at the entrance. We like big **** here) about 80km east of Melbourne, and owns a race horse that won the Melbourne cup. Huge benefactor to Australian cycling, was even president of cycling Australia for a few years.
Dunno why they are whinging about him.
Btw, that theme park is at a place called tynong north. There's a road that basically runs along the boundary of the park that's infamous for having a serial killer dump bodies there.
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I'd forgotten that someone blew up its ****. Hilarious.
Isn't he also the major investor in Bike Exchange?
Nobody should be whinging about him
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DNF today fellas. Tangled up in a biggish crash on lap one, about 6 or 7 or more guys fell next to and into me, ended up running off into the grass and slowing to maybe 10kph, somehow stayed upright. Chased back ok, but quickly tailed off after another close call on this shitty cobble section (my own lack of skills exiting the section with a **** line and running wide onto the footpath). Race done in 12km #waste-of-a-****ing-day
Will ride more cobbles this week in between races. I've been avoiding them till now
On to the next one
Here are some photos, i'm not in any of them because ....... **** cobble skillz
Stay on the smooth bits!
Race was in bits by lap 5 or 6
Rambo wasn't there today.
Will ride more cobbles this week in between races. I've been avoiding them till now
On to the next one
Here are some photos, i'm not in any of them because ....... **** cobble skillz
Stay on the smooth bits!
Race was in bits by lap 5 or 6
Rambo wasn't there today.
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Movistar had me shaking my head even more. Quintana broke his wheels and no one from his team waited? Day 1 and he down on even Froome and Porte already.
I remember the original Campagnolo Shamals being bombproof - this is the second time that Movistar have had issues following minor incidents where their Campagnolo wheels failed them. Valverde lost a ton of time because of a back wheel fail a few years ago and Quintana apparently touched the kerb and had to change bikes.
How about Rick Zabel’s elbow to stick Froome in the weeds? I’m sure he’s gonna say he was getting squeezed out by someone else (which to be fair he was). Not a good day for Sky after Thomas was squeezed by another rider and ended up stuffing little Bernal in the ditch.
I thought they were supposed to be try to save the oceans, not inspect drainage ditches.
I thought they were supposed to be try to save the oceans, not inspect drainage ditches.
That’s racing for ya. You wins some, loose plenty and some, well, it’s just all **** but it sounds like you’re having a good time though!
England isn’t noted for cobbles but a fair few of the older towns still have cobbled streets and we had some fun on them. The only things that helped me were forcing myself to relax and drop it into a smaller cog and just smoothly mash a bigger gear. Death grip on the bars is the worse thing you can do as is trying to spin gears or pedal in circles. Let the bike do what it wants as long as it’s going generally in the right direction. If you’re turning into a cobbled section, get the apex into the corner later so you’re coming into the cobbles straighter and more upright.
You could always just ask the locals who the fast lads are and follow them. See how they do the cobbles.
England isn’t noted for cobbles but a fair few of the older towns still have cobbled streets and we had some fun on them. The only things that helped me were forcing myself to relax and drop it into a smaller cog and just smoothly mash a bigger gear. Death grip on the bars is the worse thing you can do as is trying to spin gears or pedal in circles. Let the bike do what it wants as long as it’s going generally in the right direction. If you’re turning into a cobbled section, get the apex into the corner later so you’re coming into the cobbles straighter and more upright.
You could always just ask the locals who the fast lads are and follow them. See how they do the cobbles.
DNF today fellas. Tangled up in a biggish crash on lap one, about 6 or 7 or more guys fell next to and into me, ended up running off into the grass and slowing to maybe 10kph, somehow stayed upright. Chased back ok, but quickly tailed off after another close call on this shitty cobble section (my own lack of skills exiting the section with a **** line and running wide onto the footpath). Race done in 12km #waste-of-a-****ing-day
Will ride more cobbles this week in between races. I've been avoiding them till now
On to the next one
Here are some photos, i'm not in any of them because ....... **** cobble skillz
Stay on the smooth bits!
View attachment 3095 View attachment 3096 View attachment 3097 View attachment 3099 View attachment 3100
Race was in bits by lap 5 or 6
View attachment 3094
Rambo wasn't there today.
Asked myself the same thing about Quintana, but Movistar didn't have any other riders in front except for Landa and Valverde.
That Froome stack reminded me of racing u16. Crazy fearless kids racing up the outside of the bunch before a corner for no real good reason, all elbows and knees and pisspoor bike handling skills, then dropping it off the side of the road when the bunch moves wide for the corner and face planting.
I don't give a shshit that they say 'oh fromme is a great descender' or whatever. The bloke is a gimp and shithouse bike handler in general. Seriously, the dill laid it down going UPHILL in the vuelta last year.
That Froome stack reminded me of racing u16. Crazy fearless kids racing up the outside of the bunch before a corner for no real good reason, all elbows and knees and pisspoor bike handling skills, then dropping it off the side of the road when the bunch moves wide for the corner and face planting.
I don't give a shshit that they say 'oh fromme is a great descender' or whatever. The bloke is a gimp and shithouse bike handler in general. Seriously, the dill laid it down going UPHILL in the vuelta last year.
I thought he stacked it going uphill in the Giro. That said it’s not unheard of especially in the wet - I’ve done it. Maybe you should try climbing faster. Menchov’s had the best uphill stack I’ve ever seen. Guy must have been on 2 liters of EPO that day and came to grief at about 21 mph on a wide bend. It was damned near 6% grade too.
Froome can descend OK. You don’t ride off the front in the Tour and ride everyone off your wheels in the Pyrenees like he did 2 years ago if you’re ****.
Froome can descend OK. You don’t ride off the front in the Tour and ride everyone off your wheels in the Pyrenees like he did 2 years ago if you’re ****.
Menchov was a spaz too. Stacked in a giro to on a straight bit of road. Froome better descender, but their general skills are ****.
As for your lame comment about climbing faster, I might be a fat **** now, but you don't know me. I'm pretty sure you've never had any national pro road champions yo-yoing on the wheel during a hilly race one and two weeks out from the Melb to warnambool and Sun Tour respectively. As a 16yo.
As for your lame comment about climbing faster, I might be a fat **** now, but you don't know me. I'm pretty sure you've never had any national pro road champions yo-yoing on the wheel during a hilly race one and two weeks out from the Melb to warnambool and Sun Tour respectively. As a 16yo.
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeand...en-jimmy-page-castle-is-his-home-led-zeppelin
Pagey, being a wizard, should put a curse on his cunnox next door neighbour Robbie Williams
Pagey, being a wizard, should put a curse on his cunnox next door neighbour Robbie Williams
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