2018 PRO thread

[spartan]

no Aquablue. damn really wanted to see a 1x 3T Strada dealt with high mountains in a grand tour.

[KWalker]

new Enve stem looks like it's going to be heavy.

[itsacarr]

Agreed on the Bardiani - I mean I know it doesn't get much more Italian than this team but it would be nice to see a missed invite based alone on their Giro positives

Would have enjoyed Aquablue as well.

[bilwit]

He clearly doesn't win because of his tactics (which are not bad!), but because of his power/weight.

That's what's so awesome about it, it's an open challenge to everyone in the peleton to see who's stronger and the answer every time is no one -- granted, the field isn't exactly stacked with prime GC riders but there are still many impressive pure climbers there

[ooo]

Aquablue riders will be changing bikes with different size front chainrings instead of using front derailleur?

[maquisard]

#Progress the 3T way

[wingguy]

Aquablue riders will be changing bikes with different size front chainrings instead of using front derailleur?

To be fair the range they'll be riding with is more than enough for all but the extreme steep mountain days. Using a 44t ring with the 9/32 cassette gives a damn near identical range to a 54/39 with an 11/28. If they use the 9-36 it's exactly the same low gear as a 39 ring and 32 cog. Plenty of GC riders still don't go that low for the alps and pyrenees. Obviously you still need to adapt to some bigger ratio jumps which I don't really like the sound of, but plenty of people seem to think it's fine.

If Aquablue are back at the Vuelta this year with its >25% summit finishes in northern Spain it could get tricky though. Also curious to see whose TT bikes they'll be rebadging this year.

[Willier]

Cunego' s plan was to retire at the end of a Giro...

[Nefarious86]

Ex Pros

https://youtu.be/0I-YsVzh6rY

Sent from my SM-N950F using Tapatalk

[ave]

44x9!! Okay, thinking out of the box is sometimes useful, but I don't want this to get popular.

[mentok]

Obviously you still need to adapt to some bigger ratio jumps which I don't really like the sound of, but plenty of people seem to think it's fine.

yeah, you absolutely get used to it. I ride a 50 up front and an 11-42 rear and I miss the 12t sometimes, but that's about it. I put ~300km a week into that bike and I'm totally in sync with it.

Honestly more concerned for them about possible chain drops - I run NW but no clutch and I still get the occasional drop.

[TonyM]

I would have love to see the Aquablue because of the 3T 1x

[TonyM]

Why did Porte not try to get the GC jersey on the last stage? For example in going on an intermediate sprint? Gentleman agreement with Mitchelton-Scott/ Impey?

[nickl]

Why did Porte not try to get the GC jersey on the last stage? For example in going on an intermediate sprint? Gentleman agreement with Mitchelton-Scott/ Impey?

Did you see the stage? The break soaked up almost all the bonuses, and Porte is never going to beat Ewan or Impey in a sprint for the 3rd place time bonus in an intermediate sprint (and you can be sure Mitchelton would have been all over it if he'd tried).

[TonyM]

Why did Porte not try to get the GC jersey on the last stage? For example in going on an intermediate sprint? Gentleman agreement with Mitchelton-Scott/ Impey?

Did you see the stage? The break soaked up almost all the bonuses, and Porte is never going to beat Ewan or Impey in a sprint for the 3rd place time bonus in an intermediate sprint (and you can be sure Mitchelton would have been all over it if he'd tried).

No I just read a short report before sleeping (very different time zone than Australia...) mentioning that Porte did not go for the time bonuses and I wondered why BMC would not have tried to get a break away with Porte or something else to get him one tiny time bonus...

I will watch the stage today for sure...