2023 Pro thread

[Karvalo]

Does anyone know when the rules on bike changes were relaxed? I was under the impression that bike changes in road stages were only per permitted for mechanical reasons.

I dont think that's ever been a thing. Not sure how you could police it if it was. I think I vaguely remember watching Pantani crest a mountain on a solo break and switch to a different bike (geo, gearing?) for the descent.

[Miller]

Go Cav! No fkn way!!!

[maquisard]

Brilliant, delighted for him!

Was great to see Thomas doing the lead out for Astana in the final few km to keep Cavendish in position. Classy move!

[Miller]

God, there's a lot of love for Cav in the peloton. Nasty crash in the final metres behind that win.

[maquisard]

That sprint give me hope for that final victory at the TdF.

[Karvalo]

That was a gap from the HTC days!

[tymon_tm]

these two last days sort of make up of the rest of the Giro - todays sprint, with Thomas doing a feature lead out, "helping a brother out", was nothing short of a cycling fairy tale. how freakin cool is watching how the whole peloton cheers for him. and these 4-5 bike lenghts for Cav prove he's on top of his game. cant wait for july!

[Flasher]

That was a gap from the HTC days!

Amazing to see the gap from the overhead, what a win

Mentally he'll be in a great place for a Tour stage win, just hope that he can do it

[bikewithnoname]

Great finish from Cav especially as many were saying he wouldn't make it over the Dolomites

[darkmother]

I was a bit surprised by the 1x choice. I thought-and I may be wrong- that Sram 12s offered a similar low gear with a 2x drive train. If my assumption is correct, 2x would have less chain angle in the lowest gears, and possibly be more efficient. The chain line on Roglic's bike in the lowest gear looked quite extreme.

[ichobi]

He probably needs that extra cadence. Apparently the 33-33 lowest gear option for sram road 2x wasnt enough to get that cadence. And it works for him clearly.


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[TobinHatesYou]

He probably needs that extra cadence. Apparently the 33-33 lowest gear option for sram road 2x wasnt enough to get that cadence. And it works for him clearly.


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There's a version of the Red AXS RD that supports 10-36. My assumption is they figured weight savings was worth it going with no FD, XPLR RD, Force XPLR 10-44 and 42t chainring vs FD, Red RD, Force 10-36 and Red 46/33.

[Stendhal]

He probably needs that extra cadence. Apparently the 33-33 lowest gear option for sram road 2x wasnt enough to get that cadence. And it works for him clearly.


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There's a version of the Red AXS RD that supports 10-36. My assumption is they figured weight savings was worth it going with no FD, XPLR RD, Force XPLR 10-44 and 42t chainring vs FD, Red RD, Force 10-36 and Red 46/33.

Bingo, including because the relatively lightweight Red 1x chainring comes in many sizes. That's compatible with an XPLR RD -- I know because I had my wife's bike rebuilt that way. Another SRAM innovation-- massive compatibility. Sorry for the haters, I'm a huge SRAM fan.

[ultimobici]

Does anyone know when the rules on bike changes were relaxed? I was under the impression that bike changes in road stages were only per permitted for mechanical reasons.

I dont think that's ever been a thing. Not sure how you could police it if it was. I think I vaguely remember watching Pantani crest a mountain on a solo break and switch to a different bike (geo, gearing?) for the descent.

Must have been relaxed prior to the modern era. Remembered the story of Anquetil’s mechanic cutting the a gear cable to avoid a penalty.


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[Stendhal]

Here's a question for better cycling historians than me. Has there ever been a Grand Tour won by a cyclist who did not wear the leader's jersey until the final stage, as was the case for Roglic? Hesjedal and Dumoulin won Giri (?) on the final time trials, but had been in pink in earlier stages. Same for Lemond at the 1989 TDF (substitute yellow for pink).

Aha, I found one: Cadel Evans took the lead at the 2011 Tour only after stage 20; he hadn't worn the yellow jersey earlier.

How about a tour winner who never wore the leader's jersey? Froome, Pereiro and Schleck were awarded first places after the fact for the French and Spanish tours, but had worn the leader's jersey earlier. There's at least one case of this for sure: Scarponi for the 2011 Giro.

Son of a gun, there was actual racing on the final stage of the 1947 Tour, the first after WWII, and Jean Robic won the Tour that day after never having led after a stage, the first time that happened. Same for Jan Jansen in 1968.