The USA Pro Cycling Challenge Thread
08-24-11, 03:14 PM
#101
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08-24-11, 03:18 PM
#103
Very. This is quite crappy.
08-24-11, 03:55 PM
#105
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08-24-11, 05:58 PM
#107
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From TeeJay and George's interviews, it sounded like a couple, presumably non-GC contenders, opened a gap, then George chased on and helped. Teejay and Tommy D found a way to bridge the gap later. Not sure why Levi, Cadel, Christian, etc weren't able to make it across too, whether it was the technical descent, or if the other guys were just drilling it.
08-24-11, 06:24 PM
#108
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They got some real TV transmission problems with this, and despite all the hype, it's being also buried into the 11pm spot on Versus. I really hope it works out, but I think they also have sponsorship problems that's going to make it hard to maintain this type of field year in and year out.
08-24-11, 07:04 PM
#109
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I'm not surprised that Levi lost time on the descent. I've never considered him a good descender, and in the wet descending skills play a bigger role than when it's bone dry.
However, everyone knows that Levi is good in the time trial, so the race is definitely not over for him. I will say that many of the top GC guys are also good time trialers, so it should be a pretty interesting battle.
However, everyone knows that Levi is good in the time trial, so the race is definitely not over for him. I will say that many of the top GC guys are also good time trialers, so it should be a pretty interesting battle.
08-24-11, 08:08 PM
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Stupid crappy transmission. Ok so the plane had ice on it, I guess they never thought that would happen at 12000+ ft where it's flying? It annoys me that they spend so much money on promoting this yet they don't have a contingency plan for this in the "queen stage", as they call it.
Interesting to see the Top 5 GC are all US riders.
The Callegarin crash was nasty. Concussion, losing teeth, facial lacerations (possibly needing plastic reconstruction), two broken hands (one needing surgery)... poor guy. I saw a shot of a smashed up wheel during the coverage but not the actual crash.
Interesting to see the Top 5 GC are all US riders.
The Callegarin crash was nasty. Concussion, losing teeth, facial lacerations (possibly needing plastic reconstruction), two broken hands (one needing surgery)... poor guy. I saw a shot of a smashed up wheel during the coverage but not the actual crash.
08-25-11, 04:45 AM
#111
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I'll have my chair placed along the TT course by 0800 this morning and will have some photos by the end of the day. It's going to be a good one. At least at this rate, Cadel and Levi will be burning it up.
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08-25-11, 08:18 AM
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ITT is going to be awesome. I've driven there often and it's a bit of an optical illusion where the road is steeper than it looks. I think there will be a couple implosions today as riders misjudge their effort.
Looking at the rest of the route, I really wish they would have worked in some summit finishes. A ride up Mt Evans for the finish would be unreal.
Looking at the rest of the route, I really wish they would have worked in some summit finishes. A ride up Mt Evans for the finish would be unreal.
08-25-11, 08:47 AM
#113
They got some real TV transmission problems with this, and despite all the hype, it's being also buried into the 11pm spot on Versus. I really hope it works out, but I think they also have sponsorship problems that's going to make it hard to maintain this type of field year in and year out.
08-25-11, 09:31 AM
#114
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Really excited to see what Tejay can do in the TT to day. Also excited to see what bikes they bust out for it. This week has been awesome between the this race and the Vuelta.
08-25-11, 09:45 AM
#115
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I hate those cattleguards .. did anyone see which one they hit? Usually there is a gap to sneak around them for this reason... or bunny-hop them if you're going fast enough...
08-25-11, 09:53 AM
#116
My friends who live in your area took me down the poudre canyon from rist earlier this year. Flying over cattle guards at 40 mph is not my idea of fun. I started slowing down after the first one and was dropped quite fast.
08-25-11, 11:12 AM
#117
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I wonder if the one that Callegarin hit had the route around? Anyway, they should have covered it for the race.
08-25-11, 12:03 PM
#119
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08-25-11, 01:19 PM
#121
New drinking game...take a shot every time you hear "We apologize for the picture" or something similar.
08-25-11, 04:42 PM
#122
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From what you could see today, the time trial was certainly exciting! Picture issues were still there. But you saw enough to get what you needed. Awesome rides by CV and Levi. TJ was a bit to upset for my liking. I'm not a big fan of whiners and he looked a little too upset today.
08-25-11, 06:34 PM
#123
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CVV would have likely taken 2nd or 3rd place in the 2008 TDF if not for an unlucky crash on a descent in the last mountain stage of the race. He still ended up in 5th place. 4th if you count the 3rd place finisher disqualification. Since then he has had high expectations placed on him as one with the potential to be in the top three of the TDF but nothing has come of his career since then but extreme bad luck and lots of crashes and broken bones. He almost quit cycling and for two years or so he had such bad luck he never finished any race he entered without crashing out. The last year is the first time in a while that he has even made it though the season with only minor injuries.
08-25-11, 06:51 PM
#124
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It's 10 miles, not five, although the first half isn't very steep.
I don't see anybody beating Levi unless he has bad luck. Cadel, Van Garderen, Danielson, and Sutherland are the best placed to beat him right now, and he dropped every one of them today. All he has to do now is ride like he did on the final stage in Utah, and he's in an even better spot than that now. As far as I can remember, I haven't seen anybody drop Levi all year, and I've seen him drop Cadel, the Schlecks, Cunego, Vandevelde, and probably a few others.
Can wait to watch the Vail TT in person. I just realized that six of the top seven from the 1.25 mile uphill TT in Utah last week finished in the top 10 on today's stage, those being Henao, Sevilla, Leipheimer, Danielson, Van Garderen, and Vandevelde. It'll be interesting to see how the guys who weren't in Utah work into the results.
I don't see anybody beating Levi unless he has bad luck. Cadel, Van Garderen, Danielson, and Sutherland are the best placed to beat him right now, and he dropped every one of them today. All he has to do now is ride like he did on the final stage in Utah, and he's in an even better spot than that now. As far as I can remember, I haven't seen anybody drop Levi all year, and I've seen him drop Cadel, the Schlecks, Cunego, Vandevelde, and probably a few others.
Can wait to watch the Vail TT in person. I just realized that six of the top seven from the 1.25 mile uphill TT in Utah last week finished in the top 10 on today's stage, those being Henao, Sevilla, Leipheimer, Danielson, Van Garderen, and Vandevelde. It'll be interesting to see how the guys who weren't in Utah work into the results.
I think you are correct. I was thinking about 5 miles because I saw the stage information listed on the Tour Tracker website list the race as being 10.xx km but based on the race times it must have been about 10 miles. These media guys are always confusing kilometers and miles. The feeling I get from the guys trying to watch on the Tour Tracker is that there are tons of errors and bad video. I usually find this to be the case but I guess it's better than nothing as long as we don't put to much faith in it's accuracy.
I was a litttle surprised by Henao's poor showing in this stage. I knew that he was not good at the ITT but I thought that in this circumstance he would do better.
08-25-11, 07:01 PM
#125
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If this race is to have a future, the coverage has got to get better. As it is now, it is nearly unwatchable for TV viewers. You would think that after a couple of days into it, they would have gotten it together.
And what a shame, the scenery is simply beautiful and the crowds are huge and really into it. Cmon Versus, get it together!
And what a shame, the scenery is simply beautiful and the crowds are huge and really into it. Cmon Versus, get it together!
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