The Thread about Nothing....



From the team website:

With the use of artificial intelligence, designers were able to incorporate the inspiration from individual works and styles of the Dutch Masters. The algorithm analysed fifty paintings of Rembrandt, Vermeer, and Van Gogh to highlight small renowned pieces. The most outspoken pieces were composed into a design palette, creating The Masterpiece for riders like Primož Roglič, Wout van Aert, and Marianne Vos.

Two observations:
1. If that's the best the AI can come up with, it is definitely not intelligent.

2. I'm no art expert, but I'm pretty sure Rembrandt, Vermeer and Van Gogh never produced anything vaguely resembling that mish mash.
 
COLLLINGWOOOOOOOOD!!!!

Jamie Elliott is an assassin.

Essendon, never change.

That roar you may have heard was me going apeshit watching the game in my shed.
 
I was expecting bigger things.
Like what? Sprint victory on the top of the Grannon :p

So happy to see the Col du Grannon back in the Tour. Back in the early 90’s, I went over to France for a couple of weeks in the Alps (Briancon and Bourg D’Osains) and the lads already had most of the rides planned that took in all of the usual suspects - Izoard, Laurtret/Galibier, Alpe d’Huez, Croix de Fer/Glandon but I wanted to do the Grannon just because of the destruction it did to the GC in 86. That was the last time for a few years I got to pick the route on a trip away. Without doubt the hardest climb over 10 minutes that I’ve ridden. A couple of my friends had ridden Ventoux the year prior and were in better shape climbing the Grannon and both said the Grannon was by far the harder of the two climbs just to ride up.

This climb should be in the race every few years.

As Pogacar found out, it’s the last climb in France you want to have a **** day on. Beyond epic though. The views back down the bottom half of the Lauteret to Briancon are ace but sadly you can’t see much from the barren parking lot at the top. It’s all peaks and no view of the valley from there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: 531Aussie
Looks like there is a significant depression in the ground, front wheel goes in, gets dragged sideways and it's all over red rover.
 
Some commentators are saying there is an huge disparity in experience within the field, with some riders not ever having ridden at world Tour level.

On a related matter, what's everyone's thoughts on the Nicole Frain stack?
 
My take is she wasn't watching where she was going, and her reaction /reflex times are ****. A stack like that, you'd hear the crash and the squeal of brakes. She didn't even look like she'd braked. Her mate still stacked, but at least braked and took evasive action. To pile into the middle of the group at full speed is astounding.
 
She was watching ... at least, she had her head up and chose a path past a couple of riders who had slowed. Maybe she didn't get her hand onto the brake soon enough? Or at all.
 
Yep, if you look at the footage from the overhead shot, she just bored straight in there full pelt. She was lucky not to injure herself seriously or the rider she hit for that matter.