2019 PRO thread

[tymon_tm]

I rode this week (a bit) with an Ineos Pro, an Endura pro and the Aussie national champ (didn’t know who he was so luckily didn’t make the “who does he think he is wearing full kit” comment out loud). As a VERY average cyclist it’s incredible to get that kind of access to top flight professionals which I don’t think any other sport has. My point is that idiots like the above will soon prevent this kind of access.

ultimately it comes down to popularity. I don't think you'd be able to hang out with the likes of Froome or Bertie "just like that". but in case of this "2nd tier" of pros it's safe to assume they're all more relaxed and open towards fans - after all they don't get chased down the alley by teenage chicks, because even cycling fans wouldn't recognize them without a helmet and glasses on.

of course it's different with races, they attract more and more people and idiots amongst them are inevitable. I bet some more strict safety measures will eventually become a must, but still if you're lucky enough to spot a pro on the road or in a cafe (not to mention if he stays at your joint ) you'll still be able to interact with him/her like with a normal human being. let's keep out fingers crossed cyclists will never make as much as football or tennis players do, because that would most definitely put an end to it as well

[pastronef]

I rode this week (a bit) with an Ineos Pro, an Endura pro and the Aussie national champ (didn’t know who he was so luckily didn’t make the “who does he think he is wearing full kit” comment out loud). As a VERY average cyclist it’s incredible to get that kind of access to top flight professionals which I don’t think any other sport has. My point is that idiots like the above will soon prevent this kind of access.

Mallorca? so that's Ben Swift

[Pierre86]

I rode this week (a bit) with an Ineos Pro, an Endura pro and the Aussie national champ (didn’t know who he was so luckily didn’t make the “who does he think he is wearing full kit” comment out loud). As a VERY average cyclist it’s incredible to get that kind of access to top flight professionals which I don’t think any other sport has. My point is that idiots like the above will soon prevent this kind of access.

Aussie is Michael Freiberg, best mates with Luke durbridge (and brother in law) and has been doing some bulk K's lately over that way

[Leviathan]

Yup he seemed like a really nice guy, but we didnt talk much as Im panting like a dog on heat just trying to hold their wheel on the climbs in their rest day.
Ben Swift is over here a lot, I believe.

[maquisard]

I was once passed by two guys in full Astana kit and bikes and was almost going to shout something to the effect of "full kit wankers" at them before I realised they were actually Astana riders. I managed to followed them down a descent and set a new KOM stuck to their wheels!

[Dan Gerous]

Yates's mouth is stronger than his legs this year!

[LeDuke]

Roglic looks like he’s out on a Sunday group ride.

Just put Lopez and Sivakov to the sword.

Weird to hear the commentators talking about him not having the legs; I’m guessing he’s just riding within himself and saving his powder for later.

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[Noctiluxx]

Yates lost too much time on the diaper change.

[ichobi]

Gc is all over the place. I like this unpredictability! Landa made some gain and Zakarin if he can remain consistent, would be at least someone they cant just ignore anymore.

[CrankAddictsRich]

I agree... the fact that the GC went with that big break away a few days ago has really shaken things up in terms of who is going up the road, who's sitting in, who is a threat and who is not. As the break forms each day it is a real fight to see who is in the group, where they stand on GC, has someone threatening snuck in... it makes the team holding the GC have to fight more and potentially lose manpower early in the stage. I find it interesting, that Jumbo Visma let the jersey go to save themselves from working, but now it seems like they still have to work pretty hard because they let that break have so much time that there are multiple threats. and its harder to keep track of who is who...

I think the potential for a real GC threat to sneak into a big break or infiltrate is there.... with TV and radios, the teams will know pretty quickly, but if someone isn't paying attention they could be caught out and we could see something similar to th Vuelta stage 2 years back when Contador and Quintana attacked Sky.

[ichobi]

It looks like there is no single dominant gc team this year in term of train strength. We saw Nibali getting his men out to pull and Jumbo Visma looked to be sandbagging a little bit. Dumoulin being out of the race has also remove Sunweb train altogether. There is more and more incentive for break to go away since it is getting harder and more tiring to control. The gc guys are also not really cooperative making breakaway win a good possibility.

If todays stage were a Tour stage, with that 2mins gap hovering, Sky would have shut it down on the clock before the last climb even begin.

[KWalker]

Nibali needs to quit complaining. He's not actually the closest real GC threat to Roglic and isn't really doing much other than some token attacks, which aren't strong enough.

Interesting to see Hugh Carthy and Joe D top 20. EF didn't bring the strongest team to this race, but it's not really the strongest race at the moment either.

[bilwit]

Roglic looks like he’s out on a Sunday group ride.

Just put Lopez and Sivakov to the sword.

Weird to hear the commentators talking about him not having the legs; I’m guessing he’s just riding within himself and saving his powder for later.

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sandbagging it... coincidentally Slovenian cycling now under close watch elsewhere, makes one think

[robeambro]

The funny thing is that Roglic and Nibali have been playing it safe until now, but now they can't hide anymore. On paper the various Zakarin/Mollema/Majka/Landa/etc may be one step below them, but now they will ALL be on the hunt to gain seconds on Roglic & Nibali, neither of them has a very strong team to impose a Sky-like pace and kill any break attempt, so they will have to either respond to attacks, or attack themselves.

[sfo423]

all show; no go

Yates lost too much time on the diaper change.