Bang a ‘gong: Pro Cycling 2022

[Sits]

I tried that, probably got another 5%.

[Sits]

Big improvement for 2022 from Bora Hansgrohe:

[longeared]

New Years Day is also new kit day, so some early offerings from

FDJ Nouvelle-Aquitane Futuroscope



Quick-Step Alpha Vinyl (which is more or less the same kit as last year, innit)

[Sits]

Well, with white sleeves.

[Levin]

I'm sure most of you have seen this

https://twitter.com/TheRaceRadio/status/1477284499431903234?t=e0Z-YZqqPCS_dxIYuLL1Ng&s=19

This is amazing, and much more permanent than I'd expect for a cycle term.

[ursus arctos]

Interesting to me that it also includes facilities for the speed skating team, who have rather different needs

[Billy Casper]

What is the OTF peloton view on Jumbo-Visma?

Sky/Ineos have always seemed to be looked down on for their Death Star approach to cycling (amongst many other things too of course).

[Sits]

I’m too inexperienced to judge but the riders seem likeable enough on the whole (I’m also biased as I’ve never met a Dutch person I didn’t like). That HQ does suggest they’re at the Ineos level, and I guess the Rabobank history has similar innuendo attached as Sky. The current sponsors are certainly more endearing than Ineos.

[longeared]

Bit surprised a team released a video like that - hope the venue has equally good security.

[Sits]

Ineos wearing their new kits:

[Sits]

UAE clearly not wearing theirs. Is it the same as ‘21?

[Levin]

I really like this from Tom Pidcock

I'd be interested to read more about how you recalibrate from expecting to win at youth to fighting for places at elite level. And the differences he see in WVA &MVP from slightly closer than us.

[Kevin S]

Marveling at the drone-flying skills on show in that video too. Through the bus was impressive enough, but through a bike frame...? Nice.

[ursus arctos]

Van Aert joins Van der Poel in not racing the Cyclocross Worlds in Arkansas.

Rainbow bands for Pidcock on the horizon?

[Sits]

Promising looking route for Paris-Nice: https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/202...l-deze-finale/

[longeared]

New Cofidis kit day!

[Levin]

Oh that's very nice.

If you're at a loose end and near Crawley this weekend, you could do worse than go see Pidcock retain his national champion jersey in CX. It's the weekend for most of the cyclocross nats.

Edit: Pidcock won't be at the Nats, he's doing a Ineos training camp in the lead up to the WC.

[Felicity, I guess so]

Nice simple Cofidis kit.

[Levin]

Former fortified locations seem to make for good cyclocross. Namur is the big one but Hulst was spectacular and used the ramps to really good effect.

Flamanville in Normandy (another former castle) was today and the women's race is worth watching.

THe Hungarian champ Jersey looks bette than the Italian one.

[longeared]

The European road season has got underway this afternoon with the Classica Comunitat Valenciana. Finished in a predictable sprint, with a couple of crashes on the run in to the line, a rider slid out on a sequence of roundabouts with 3.5k left and then another crash in the finish straight. An EOLO-Kometa rider won the race, the commentators thought it was their leader Vincenzo Albanese, the team's saying it was actually Giovanni Lonardi, whoever he is. Summer's coming.

[Levin]

Oh come on. At least let the CX Worlds take place first. I have really become a CX guy. It's just so engaging and varied and the Women & Men double headers are great.

I've not watched the Men's World Cup race from Hoogerheide yet but the Women's race was really good. Brand Vas, Vos and Pieters all showing their faces.

The Flandriencross races the day before were good as well.

I've also been watching races from earlier in the season, the bug has really got me.

One thing I spotted that has more general applicability. There was a rider at the Flandriencross whose kit matched their bike better than most teams. The thing that I really noticed was that most of the kit was a dark blue (boring) but he was wearing orange socks. The orange socks matched perfectly with an orange fade on the bike frame, even stopping on the frame at about the same height his socks did.

I think kit reveals should include bike paintjob reveals.

[ad hoc]

Jonathan Liew dares to break the code of silence around Israeli sportswashing https://www.theguardian.com/sport/bl...why-not-israel

[delicatemoth]

Egan Bernal has apparently broken his femur and kneecap- https://co.marca.com/claro/ciclismo/...d228b45e7.html (link is in Spanish)

[Sits]

Looks really nasty; chest, spine and femur injuries according to what I’ve seen so far. Poor guy, heard him on the Cycling Podcast last week and he sounded positive and good about his back.

[Antepli Ejderha]

Jonathan Liew dares to break the code of silence around Israeli sportswashing https://www.theguardian.com/sport/bl...why-not-israel

He's excellent on this.