2015 'PRO' cycling discussion

[ave]

Matthews will win a lot in the future, I suspect.

[Ahillock]

^ +1.

[KWalker]

I really wish one of the nerd sites would take some time to look into rider's success rates after the crackdown on cortisone and painkiller TUEs. From what I have read they were most commonly abused by the French and Belgian riders and used often around a peak. Riders would get lean super fast and be able to turn monster gears. From just my memory the riders that got worse after that crackdown:

Voeckler, Rolland, Haussler, Gilbert, Hoogerland, Flecha, A. Schleck, Leukemans, S. Sanchez, Vanendert, VdB, Chavanel, EBH, Boonen.

[MarkGiardini]

Matthews will be a world champion one day, I am sure of it (to go with his U23 title).
Nice guy off the bike too.

[KWalker]

he's my dark horse for 2015 world's

[Kjetil]

Disagree M-SR was boring: it has a crescendo aspect, building to the final climb. Saying you should cut to the Poggio is like saying just cut to the end of the final movement of a Beethoven symphony. The symphony's finale can only be appreciated if you listen to the rest.

This. I always make sure to tune in well before the capi. The crescendo from there on in is immense.

No TV at Tro-Bro Léon?

[Samuel Sanchez Gonzalez]

No TV at Tro-Bro Léon?

It was live on Eurosport 2 in France. Don't know if someone uploaded it on youtube.

[Kjetil]

Thanks. Here's to hope!

[Norregard]

I've ridden parts of the Amstel Gold Race at least 10 times over the past years. It's beautiful and challenging to ride it yourself, but watching the race itself has always been a bit boring. 2011 (Schleck attacking on the Keutenberg) and 2013 (Kreuziger) are the only exceptions I can think of. Ever since changing the finish line to the Cauberg, it has been a case of waiting and attacking on the last climb.

[nathanong87]

tough crowd. 99% of cycling races can be summed up if u watch the last 15kms.

[Antoine]

on board with J.Roy at Tro bro Leon :
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6zsLRXh9Ks

[H0RSE]

tough crowd. 99% of cycling races can be summed up if u watch the last 15kms.

Human condition is one of traversing the entire circle only to realise a small section of it.
To see the best of the race the first 200Ks can just be considered the warm up for the last 15Ks.

The only thing about cycling is the limited skill involved. You have to wait to the very end to see a result of any skill. And intermediate results don't ever get taken seriously.

[bruno2000]

chapeau to Kwiatkowski - he outsprinted the bunch being out in the open like a boss

what was pretty noticeable was the lack of control from the peloton. amongst the escapes, that Fulsgang/Avermaet move could've made it, I can't understand why GVA wasn't allowed to try to win the race. there's a saying that comes from football (soccer) that missed chances often retaliate. the bunch seems strong and even, therefore Gilbert's and Matthews' attack was bound to be chased down. it seems like solo attacks aren't the way to go this season, which is fine as it only adds to the drama.

and if someone doesn't find this spring exciting, maybe getting doctor's prescription for prozac is a solution

Don't get me wrong.
Each winter I'm longing for the spring classics to start.
But I am, like most of us here, very passionate about cycling.
I give you an example: I record every spring classic to watch a second time a few days later and to wacht it again a few months later and to watch it in winter during training indoor on rollers. The same with the big Climbing stages in Giro and Tour.
So I'm very excited each season about spring classics.

But I believe for the occasional vieuwer it's getting very boring.
Not only the spring classics, also the big climbing stages in the 3 weeks Grand Tours.
You actually only have to watch the final 3Km of a climb-finish to see some action.

(well except if the weather gets to play its role: cobble-stone stage in the 2015 Tour, Climbing stages with snow in the Giro,...)

Problem will be that big financial sponsors will notice cycling isn't that exciting and spectacular anymore for most of the people and they might loose interest.

Look at Formula One. Each year they are changing rules to try to make the sport more exciting .

[nickl]

yea my legs are still burning from seeing phil and matthews on the cauberg. Kudos for matthews... he was in the hurt locker for sure. suffer score over 9000

According to CyclingTips (http://cyclingtips.com.au/2015/04/the-2 ... tof-ramon/) Matthews was 20 minutes late for the podium because he was about to vomit (or another report says vomiting) in the team bus.

[glepore]

F1? Fail. Moto GP on the other hand... . The classics have never had a big tv audience among the general population. This spring is far from boring. It is the nature of bike racing that the action happens in the closing minutes. It is an endurance sport.