Politt instigates what looks like it may well be the winning move on sector 3 and takes Gilbert with him. Impressive given that he spent the previous 20k looking like he could be dropped at any moment.
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This is all rather summing up Peter Sagan's spring.Comment
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So, Philippe Gilbert being past his best, then.Comment
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And making my observation on Gilbert look monumentally sillyComment
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What's wrong with him? I don't watch as much cycling as the rest of you but have never seen him come up empty like that in such a race.Originally posted by longeared View PostComment
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He missed a chunk of racing in February through illness, but he seems to have completely mislaid his mojo this spring. He didn't even attempt to sprint against Vanmarcke for fourth. The team might not be best pleased with that. There's been some murmurings that he's saving himself for Liege with its new look finish, but that's a real risk given the form he's been showing.
Elsewhere, anyone remember the story last year of the organisers having to open the gates of the velodrome so Edvaldas Siskevicius could complete the course? Well Delko fielded him again today. He finished ninth.Comment
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Victor Campenaerts broke the hour record by more than 500 metres in Aguascalientes yesterday, becoming the first human to break the 55 kilometre barrier. He che elebrated the achievement by inviting anyone near Antwerp to come to his uncle's cafe for a free beer. The cafe ran out of adult beverages and had to borrow stock from competitors.
There is a video of the entire thing on YouTube. An hour record attempt poses a serious challenge for a television commentator.Comment
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TBH that's a gig I'd fancy a go at. Waffle on about the history of the hour record, check split time vs previous attempts, give the rider's back-story, check split time vs previous attempts, talk about his palmares, check split time vs previous attempts, er, oh no, I'm 15 minutes in and out of ideas.
Anyway, we all love a good How The Race Was Won video, so here's Paris-Roubaix 2019,
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lbc115DGV7w
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I imagine that you would have avoided calling him "Victor Soudal" on several occasions.
Multi-lingual might be the way to go here. Fifteen minutes of material in each of English, French, Dutch and Spanish and you're done.Comment
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Hour record commentaries are a time when Kirby might come in handy as he could just aimlessly witter away for the duration.Comment
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Giro jerseys for 2019.
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No road furniture, incompetent police or errant motor bikes, though. Can he do an hour on the quality of the drinking water (rhetorical question)?Originally posted by longeared View PostComment
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At first thought, Aguascalientes seems a surprising choice. 2000 meters up offers the benefit of much cleaner air and less resistance, but surely that doesn't compensate for being unable to breathe?Comment
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Of course, talking about that, plus other records broken at elevation, 1968 Olympics, Bob Beamon, the slow pace of play in the '86 world cup, etc, etc, could easily pad out another 3 or 4 minutes of Kevin's commentary.Comment
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The velodrome is known for being particularly fast and has hosted a number of other records, so I imagine that influenced the choice. He may also have been swayed by the fact that Merckx set his record in Mexico (though at an outdoor track in Mexico City).
i was wondering if a 250m track provided any advantages over a 333m circuit (like the one in Colorado Springs)Comment
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Some waffling about the true length being the black line would be worth adding then. In the Manchester velodrome the red line is 256 metres and the blue line is 265 metres. Not sure about the banking in Mexico and the difference it would make there - Campenaerts was very good at sticking to the black line.
And now let's have a look at his split time...Comment
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Very impressive win by Van der Poel from Alaphillipe, Matthews and Wellens. The man can ride a bike.Comment
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Watched the closing stages of that and, yeah, that was impressive. Which begs the question as to why he's going to piss away the next year doing mountain biking...Comment
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Because he wants to win Olympic gold in two disciplinesComment
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Absolutely epic win from Van der PoelComment
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WHAT DID I JUST WATCHComment
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With 3km to go I was thinking 'Well, not bad, but it's not the women's race'. I'm in absolute shock.
One very, very big reason I love cycling is that, with very few exceptions, I always cheer the winner across the line. But this, this was just... WOW
(In said women's race, Kasia Niewiadoma just held off Van Vleuten in a very exciting finish)Comment
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I was away today, so I'm gutted I managed to miss both races. Kasia is one of my favourite cyclists and I really wanted to see how Van der Poel would get on.
The Dutch really are re-emerging as a dominant force in both track and road cycling.Comment
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The relative speeds are insane.
https://twitter.com/LudovicVoet/status/1119993006403325952
And it was a popular result
https://twitter.com/reynjt/status/1120055670529757184
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