van der Poel wins a tough one!
12-29-19, 08:35 AM
#26
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12-29-19, 11:12 AM
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12-29-19, 11:27 AM
#28
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Also, have you ever been to France? It's a mountainous country. (As is Spain and also, to a lesser extent, Italy) The concept of a "Tour de France" with a route that did not have significant mountains would negate the original intent of the race. The Tour is supposed to sample all around France. Planning 19 stages that didn't have mountains (ie., skipping the Alpes, the Pyrenees, AND the Massif Central) would pretty much negate the original intent.
I'm by no means suggesting taking climbing out of the TdF altogether, but lets be real ...for the overall win, the emphasis is put on the best climber with the beast team. Will that be the best cyclist in the field? I think the answer to that is a resounding no. So my question is, why is it in the Grand Tours, the sport of pro cycling feels the overall winner should be a climber?
One that specializes solely in climbing is NOT necessarily the best overall cyclist in my opinion. I'd really like to see more rolling and flat stages with increased distances, and also stages that puts emphasis on bike handling skills.
12-29-19, 11:32 AM
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12-29-19, 03:14 PM
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Why, do you like them? 
Specialization is a big part of why really long stages aren't popular with racers anymore. They had to decide which races they'd rather train for, and overwhelmingly they chose the one-day classics and stage races you see on TV today.
Specialization is a big part of why really long stages aren't popular with racers anymore. They had to decide which races they'd rather train for, and overwhelmingly they chose the one-day classics and stage races you see on TV today.
12-29-19, 08:23 PM
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Banned.
Dirty Kanza is just starting to get popular with the pro road racing crowd.
12-29-19, 08:36 PM
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Plenty of TdF stages are longer than DK, but gravel does count for a bit extra.
01-01-20, 12:46 AM
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I admit that I only recently began to follow the pro cx circuit. It's great fun to watch and van der Poel is a breakout star.
Anybody out there been following for years? Is it normal for somebody to dominate a season the way van der Poel has? He's won nearly every race he's entered. Most recent. https://www.cxmagazine.com/results-2019-cyclocross-bredene-elite-women-elite-men
Anybody out there been following for years? Is it normal for somebody to dominate a season the way van der Poel has? He's won nearly every race he's entered. Most recent. https://www.cxmagazine.com/results-2019-cyclocross-bredene-elite-women-elite-men
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01-02-20, 07:45 PM
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Also, have you ever been to France? It's a mountainous country. (As is Spain and also, to a lesser extent, Italy) The concept of a "Tour de France" with a route that did not have significant mountains would negate the original intent of the race. The Tour is supposed to sample all around France. Planning 19 stages that didn't have mountains (ie., skipping the Alpes, the Pyrenees, AND the Massif Central) would pretty much negate the original intent.
02-21-20, 12:40 PM
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02-27-20, 11:52 AM
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https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/van...blad-with-flu/
Bummer. (There is no reason to believe this is covid-19)
Bummer. (There is no reason to believe this is covid-19)
