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    #26
    Bike vs Baboon

    Woo - what a win for Simon Yates! Great ride to stay with the head of the race up the hill, and sprinting so well he even got a time gap on Lopez to take third place on GC.

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      #27
      Bike vs Baboon

      Brilliant win for him; I think we've seen two potential superstars emerge in the last couple of days.

      Didn't Haytor look well? Cracking finish, despite the climb not being *that* difficult on paper; the kind of stage that really helps cement a Tour's reputation internationally. Dead chuffed that Devon got to host it!

      I arrived early, on my bike (first time riding off the rollers since a fairly big chute a week or two ago, my wrist remains sprained and braking/shifting causes pain). Rode up the hill to double check where I wanted to base myself. Met a couple of guys from the village at the top, who were planning to watch it pass then cut across to the finish at Haytor; reluctantly passed up joining them since (1) the crash had cost me a few weeks' training (2) I hadn't eaten anything since waking, and wasn't going to make a rushed 40k transit on water alone.

      Went back down to the steepest hairpin. Knew I'd chosen well when press photographers started joining me. Kids arrived and spraypainted the road, ineptly.

      Then the break arrived, after about 80 police motorbikes. I could make out Martin Velits and Kris House, which was an impressive 40% hit rate. Minutes later the pack arrived; I *barely* twigged Wiggins (despite the leaders' jersey, and 4th wheel of Sky leading the pack en masse), Martin, and Quintana. Could not see Cav, nor even the specially-jerseyed Bennett.

      So, like, even on the brief 14% of that hill, fuck me they fly by. They came directly through the village last year, on a slight downhill; all anyone remembers there was a blur.

      Surprisingly little pomp, cop bikes aside; I wasn't expecting the Tour entourage, but even the Tour of Ireland had more promo vehicles etc. (perhaps that's why it went bust...)

      But a really, really good stage, in a really, increasingly really good event. The number of *non*-hardcore bikies out on the hill, the number of people I know whose offices were turning out onto Exeter's streets to see them pass, the enormous fucking crowd that met it at the finish on Haytor... magnificent all around. And what a treat that a UK development rider should score such a *spectacular* fucking win in the circumstances...

      Ignore TdF victories; it's the kind of day you get the sense a sport is coming of age in a country.

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        #28
        Bike vs Baboon

        For those who haven't seen it, this is just lovely.

        Camera on the DS, as the *tiny* An Post/ChainReactions/Seán Kelly team take what is by orders of magnitude their biggest win. Pure, beautiful human emotion...
        Last edited by Snake Plissken; 17-09-2018, 21:01.

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          #29
          Bike vs Baboon

          Toro Toro wrote: Brilliant win for him; I think we've seen two potential superstars emerge in the last couple of days.
          It was evident back in February in Minsk that Yates was something pretty special.

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            #30
            Bike vs Baboon

            Toro Toro wrote: For those who haven't seen it, this is just lovely. Camera on the DS, as the *tiny* An Post/ChainReactions/Seán Kelly team take what is by orders of magnitude their biggest win. Pure, beautiful human emotion...
            Gawd yes, that's wonderful.

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              #31
              Bike vs Baboon

              He's lucky his airbag didn't go off smacking his steering wheel like that.

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                #32
                Bike vs Baboon

                That was great, thanks Toro. When we saw it at Dereham (Norfolk) last year my wife managed to get this shot of the head of the peloton (It's Luke Rowe in front, Wiggins third back with the yellow glasses). I'm lucky if I point the thing the right way round half the time...



                Agree that this year feels like a coming of age of the ToB. Despite ignoring the eastern side of the country (well, I suppose we have to sit some years out) it's been an excellent mixed tour. Good hilly stages, some flat ones, a summit finish and an ITT. We've seen actual small/elite groups forming on the hills to determine the time gaps, plus the TT: in the old days of the ToB the winner could easily be someone from whichever breakaway the peloton couldn't be bothered collectively to chase...

                This year it feels a bit like the Tour de Pologne, which of course is a 70 year old tour on the World Tour circuit - so I mean that as high praise!

                The timing is also pretty good. For Quintana, for example, the TdF will be pretty much out of his legs by now and he needs something to help him gear up for the Worlds next week and this has had pretty good variety for him.

                So maybe riders of his calibre will start to consider this race in future, if it continues to offer the interest is has this week - Haytor did indeed look splendid. Was also pleased that the helicopter picked out some artwork that a local primary school had done on their field - that's the sort of thing you get on a 'proper tour'. And the crowds were great too.

                Plus we get to see young GB & Ireland talent coming through against some World Tour opposition - Yates and Bennett being the star turns there. I bet the difference in funding between an post and team GB is immense (the latter getting money from the lottery and Sky).

                Yates is in the GB U23 team for the Worlds, but Bennett is in the elite team for Ireland, along with with Roche, Martin and national champion Matt Brammeier.

                Kristian House hasn't let me down, either, getting into loads of breakaways. Crowds have been excellent - and happy to see Wiggins in gold along with British and Irish stage winners. All in all, it's been a great watch and really encouraging for the future. Let's hope British Cycling keep it up.

                Comment


                  #33
                  Bike vs Baboon

                  Well, that was another one of those Cavendish wins we've seen this year that makes you go 'hmmm', don't you think? Like the TdF stage 13 with the split peloton, or the British championship where he got into the three man break.

                  This one was a little different again - no train, an uphill finish on a bumpy/cobbled run-in. He had to go early, 400m out, and it looked like he would be caught, but then he moved across to close down Viviani and put a second kick on just before the line.

                  If 2014 is to be the year that Kittel and Argos Shimano's train dominate the bunch sprints, then just maybe Cavendish will get a bit lighter, try to keep up with the likes of Sagan, Gerrans and Gilbert over the bumps, and win a few big prizes that way.

                  After all, he's already won every jersey a top sprinter would want - what else could he aim for?

                  Comment


                    #34
                    Bike vs Baboon

                    kevchenko wrote: in the old days of the ToB the winner could easily be someone from whichever breakaway the peloton couldn't be bothered collectively to chase...

                    This year it feels a bit like the Tour de Pologne, which of course is a 70 year old tour on the World Tour circuit - so I mean that as high praise!
                    Yes, *exactly* this. It's stopped being one of those races that has ProTour teams but get decided by the day none of them is arsed.

                    Cracking photo, btw!

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                      #35
                      Bike vs Baboon

                      Interesting re Cav; my thought is that what'll happen instead is OPQS getting him a proper train. It's one thing being Alexander and weeping because there are no worlds left to conquer; it's quite another being chased off your turf by f**king Argos...

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                        #36
                        Bike vs Baboon

                        Good point, and the signing of Renshaw certainly suggests as much. Maybe he'll try to put the smackdown on Kittel for the green jersey and Paris win, and pick up some different prizes along the way.

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                          #37
                          Bike vs Baboon

                          I know we have the main cycling thread but I needed to read the last few posts.on here again. Firstly, Toro was of course spot on about Cav.

                          But, secondly, woo.

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                            #38
                            Originally posted by Toro Toro View Post
                            Brilliant win for him; I think we've seen two potential superstars emerge in the last couple of days.

                            But a really, really good stage, in a really, increasingly really good event. The number of *non*-hardcore bikies out on the hill, the number of people I know whose offices were turning out onto Exeter's streets to see them pass, the enormous fucking crowd that met it at the finish on Haytor... magnificent all around. And what a treat that a UK development rider should score such a *spectacular* fucking win in the circumstances...

                            Ignore TdF victories; it's the kind of day you get the sense a sport is coming of age in a country.
                            Thought this post (and Kevin's around it) was interesting in light of the Vuelta win and the ToB's recent profile. I presume the other potential superstar was Sam Bennett?

                            Comment


                              #39
                              That's how I read it.

                              And three stage wins in a single Giro ain't bad.

                              Comment


                                #40
                                Yeah, that's what I was thinking.

                                Comment


                                  #41
                                  Yes, Bennett and Yates were definitely the two names to jump out from the 2013 ToB. Toro gets the credit for calling it though - I was just blathering on about the prestige of the race (and actually although we get a strong field here I'm disappointed in British Cycling's management of it the past couple of years - I think the Tour de Yorkshire has stolen a march on it to be honest).

                                  Bennett is an excellent sprinter but has come of age at a similar time to a wave including Groenewegen, Ewan and Gaviria. But the GC riders now in their mid-20s - with the exception of Bardet - haven't stepped up to the top level in quite the same way. Now this could be because they haven't nailed down team leadership but on the other hand perhaps they haven't justified it either.

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