I Belong To Glasgow: Pro Cycling 2023

[longeared]

Cian Uijtdebroeks was heavily hyped when he turned pro last year but has been well shielded by Bora easing him into the peloton and much of the Belgian media bandwidth focussing on de Lie instead. He's 9th on GC and regularly finishing with the second clump of leaders. He only turned 20 at the start of the month and this is his first World Tour stage race. Good to see another member of the class of 2003 also going well in the shape of Groupama FDJ's Lenny Martinez, who is about 15th.

[longeared]

Pfeiffer Georgi has won the Classic Brugge de Panne with a late solo attack while her team mate Megan Jastrab marked the chasers behind. That's a big, potentially career changing, win for her.

[Sits]

Very happy to see her get that. She’s been such a key super-leadout for Wiebes and now Kool.

Men’s Panne was wet and weird.

[ursus arctos]

Some very impressive crowds at E3 a hundred km from the finish

[longeared]

Never previously spotted the alpacas at the foot of the Paterberg, who didn't seem very impressed by the race. More fool them - it's terrific, Pogacar attacking on the climb and then doing so again twice on the Kwaremont (amusingly contradicting everything Adam Blythe had said on comms). Now there's a group of three out front - Pog, MVdP, WvA with Mohoric chasing behind.

[longeared]

Well that were a right treat, the best three men in the world breaking away together, nobody could split the group on the last climbs or the run in, Pog's late attack came to nowt and WvA beat MVdP in the sprint to the delight of the home crowd. One day we'll look back and say they don't make cycling like that any more.

[ursus arctos]

Great stuff. Pog is up for anything.

Matteo Jorgenson is good

[ursus arctos]

Not a bad day for Jumbo all round

[longeared]

Matteo Jorgenson is good

He is. I'm not sure what he's doing in the cobbled classics, maybe just riding them for experience should it come in handy down the line, but he's put together a really strong ride and beaten riders who you'd expect to be well ahead of him. Movistar had a good day as a whole (really), better than Soudal who disappeared again, or Intermarche where it feels Girmay hasn't really kicked on this spring, or other classics teams like Bora / Trek / Ag2r.

[Sits]

What a race and echoing comments above, perhaps we are living through cycling’s equivalent of Federer/Nadal/Antivaxer/Murray. Or Prost/Senna/Piquet/Mansell.

Thirded on Jorgensen; maybe Mas has had enough time. He can stick to the Vuelta.

Catalunya continues to entertain as well, with the two other best in the world. UAE seem extremely rudderless when Pog isn’t there.

[Sits]

Evenepoel was a bit rattled on stage 6 in Catalunya; grumpy at the start while Roglič waved to the crowd then pissed off when Roglič wouldn’t help him with his late attack. He needs something special for stage 7.

[Sits]

Revolting weather for both Ghent - Wevelgems with crashes aplenty especially the women’s. One or two nasty ones for the women so I hope nothing too severe. Nice podium in that race after a fine solo and some more chasing group haplessness.

[delicatemoth]

The Women's Tour has been cancelled - https://www.womenstour.co.uk/womens-...023-postponed/

A thread from a struggling rider below. "I can’t move anywhere without a pro contract as a rider due to Brexit/visa stuff so we never get the chance to give it a proper go."

https://twitter.com/char_broughton/status/1641717516396265474

[Sits]

That’s terrible, both the predicament of the rider and her peers and the fate of the Women’s Tour. All the more illogical when the shambolic Ride London Classic remains.

[longeared]

The Women's Tour going "on hiatus" (not to return, I suspect) is sad but unsurprising, trying to crowdfund part of the budgetary hole felt like an obvious last throw of the dice. It was a genuine gamechanger of a race when it appeared in 2014 but it later stagnated badly, it didn't expand in terms of geographical range - it never went north of Chesterfield or south of the Thames - and it felt like the same race every edition, the men's running has much more variety year on year. Penny to know what it was that Lizzy Banks said to the race organiser at last year's Rouleur Live as was alluded to on this month's Cycling Podcast Feminin, because it certainly didn't sound as if she was blowing smoke up his arse.

[Sits]

A poignant segment at the end of this week’s Cycling Podcast as Daniel and Lionel reflect on a year without Richard Moore.

[ursus arctos]

That was very hard to listen to.

I had to do it in three parts.

[Sits]

I wouldn’t be surprised if they did too.

[ursus arctos]

I'm quite sure that they took at least that many

[Sits]

I also think they sold themselves short in terms of the show’s quality over the ensuing year. In the circumstances they’ve done a great job and some of the rotating cast have been excellent, Larry Warbasse in particular.

And I thought Lionel’s Tour d’Ecosse was a lovely, if tough way to begin the wrench out of the Richard era and into their own.

[ursus arctos]

Very much so in all respects

[Sits]

Meanwhile Flanders is looking a tantalising prospect, women’s and men’s.

Sadly the Australian imprint of GCN+ isn’t allowed to show live coverage of the Flanders Classics, although I was pleased to find both sets of Dwars highlights on there the morning after.

On the men’s side, WvA is being described as hot favourite - and of course has Laporte’s support guaranteed - but I just have this nagging feeling he’s not going to land either of the big ones these next two weekends. Pog needs to think out his tactics to get past the big two. As an aside I think we will have two USians in the top ten in Jorgensen and Powless.

in the women’s I’m just excited to see what will happen with Kopecky and Vollering.

[longeared]

Warbasse was fascinating on how MSR is approached on last week's episode. I'd say that when he retires he's got an interesting "life as a journeyman pro" book in him.

I'd have MVdP for the Ronde, this race suits him down to the ground and we know he's in form, the only doubt you have with him is what team support he might have going into the latter phase of the race. The women should be SD Worx given how they're bossing the spring at present.

[Sits]

I'd have MVdP for the Ronde, this race suits him down to the ground and we know he's in form, the only doubt you have with him is what team support he might have going into the latter phase of the race.

Soren Kragh Andersen is looking promising for that support role and has been in good form. Seems to have been a good signing for Alpecin.

[Sits]

Bloody hell.

https://twitter.com/RondeVlaanderen/status/1642485531165564931?s=20