2021 PRO thread

[UpFromOne]

Two completely unrelated thoughts:

1. The advent of electric vehicles in general will keep "bicycles" as a kid's toy. E-bikes will continue to rise up in the market,
to become just one more form of motorized vehicle. And in so doing, non-human motors will continue to be king of the road.
Not intending to be pessimistic or noninclusive, but any form of motor is an existential threat to bicycles.
Even these little mopeds, whether of vintage or of late, are a factor affecting bicycle sales and uses.
I just don't see the latest pandemic bump in sales, at least for the U.S., as permanent.

2. Ashton Lambie. Not just yesterday at Worlds, but everything he has accomplished for cycling. He's got the "right stuff."

[Konsi]

As a side note Backstedt is one of the best expert co-commentators out there. It's so much nicer to listen to him giving actual expert assessment of the race, compared to the team around Sean Kelly, where he essentially revels in his good old days and everyone else is essentially competing on finding race situations (places...) that relate to SK to kiss his a**s.

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I very much agree. Kelly commenting is the only reason why I might look for another channel than GCN to watch the race. I am not Irish, and I don't really care who might have won a race in a village before I was born, if the commentators cannot name who is in the breakaway. Dan Lloyd or José Been are much better in my view.

[Stendhal]

VERY off topic other than for Tom Dumoulin flashbacks, but funny.

https://road.cc/content/news/aussie-pol ... ump-287249

[spud]

Two completely unrelated thoughts:

1. The advent of electric vehicles in general will keep "bicycles" as a kid's toy. E-bikes will continue to rise up in the market,
to become just one more form of motorized vehicle. And in so doing, non-human motors will continue to be king of the road.
Not intending to be pessimistic or noninclusive, but any form of motor is an existential threat to bicycles.
Even these little mopeds, whether of vintage or of late, are a factor affecting bicycle sales and uses.
I just don't see the latest pandemic bump in sales, at least for the U.S., as permanent.

2. Ashton Lambie. Not just yesterday at Worlds, but everything he has accomplished for cycling. He's got the "right stuff."

I actually feel a little sorry for Lambie - all these things he's accomplishing at the age of 31. What a road career he could have had with some proper cycling mentorship early in his life.

[TobinHatesYou]

I actually feel a little sorry for Lambie - all these things he's accomplishing at the age of 31. What a road career he could have had with some proper cycling mentorship early in his life.

He started racing road over a decade ago…he didn’t like the scene, which is why he went off to do gravel.

[BenSiskri]

It's not for everyone. It can be pretty monotonous; training, racing, training camps, racing, etc

Fortunately, the road isn't the only place a cyclist can make a career.....

[UpFromOne]

UCI taking over gravel is like the NFL trying to run a college mudbowl.
They just can't keep well enough alone.

[JMeinholdt]

I actually feel a little sorry for Lambie - all these things he's accomplishing at the age of 31. What a road career he could have had with some proper cycling mentorship early in his life.

He started racing road over a decade ago…he didn’t like the scene, which is why he went off to do gravel.

While I've never ridden with Ashton personally, I ride with a lot of people who have (he spent a lot of his early cycling days around where I live). Most of those I've talked to mention that he has no interest in road or TT racing and really only has an interest in track cycling. He could likely adapt to be a strong TT rider, especially on short prologue style courses, but doesn't appear to have the desire to do so.

[BdaGhisallo]

What's going on at Team DSM? Now Benoot is looking to break his contract and head for the hills. He's the sixth rider to try that in recent times. Let's see if he's the sixth rider to succeed at doing that. I can't imagine, though, that the management there would want to keep a rider against his will if they're so unhappy that they're looking to break a contract they signed only a few months back.

Anyone know what the detail is with Benoot?

[Dan Gerous]

DSM is known to be run like a dictatorship, exageratly over-controlling riders down to their private lives. The list of riders breaking their contracts to leave earlier is much bigger than 6 riders, at this point I'm more curious why anyone still sign to go there as it's been like that for years now. Desperation I guess, probably riders who's only other options are retire or sign with a continental team or something.

[jasjas]

What's going on at Team DSM? Now Benoot is looking to break his contract and head for the hills. He's the sixth rider to try that in recent times. Let's see if he's the sixth rider to succeed at doing that. I can't imagine, though, that the management there would want to keep a rider against his will if they're so unhappy that they're looking to break a contract they signed only a few months back.

Anyone know what the detail is with Benoot?

Pfeiffer Georgi (21yo) won the womens UK champs in Lincoln in what was an absolutley thrilling race... riding for DSM, so whatever they are doing with the mens, they must be doing something right with the womens team atm, i raced (i use that word cautiously) against her dad moons ago and he was equally as devastating

[BdaGhisallo]

DSM is known to be run like a dictatorship, exageratly over-controlling riders down to their private lives. The list of riders breaking their contracts to leave earlier is much bigger than 6 riders, at this point I'm more curious why anyone still sign to go there as it's been like that for years now. Desperation I guess, probably riders who's only other options are retire or sign with a continental team or something.

That's what I was wondering. The first few riders to do this had been there for a while or since they were in the U23s - Dumoulin & Hirschi springs to mind. But the situation there must be very well known in the peloton by now so Benoot would have gone in there with eyes wide open.

And for him to know that but still find it too much....

[Dan Gerous]

There may be other issues as well on top of that depending of the riders, but the rumored root of the massive exodus that goes all the way to the Marcel Kittel years is apparently the team management controlling their lives way to much, beyond acceptable, but few stories get out as they seem to always have non-disclosure aggrements signed in their deals to be released.

I know that in Tom Dumoulin's case, he was more or less the only rider on the team producing results in the period before he left, and he said he had so much pressure to get results, he felt the whole team's weight on his shoulder and couldn't or wouldn't take it anymore, hence going to Jumbo-Visma where there are lots of riders winning races all season long.

For Hirschi, money was another factor. For Benoot money is probably not an issue as he signed when he was already an established name and has not won much since to justify trying to get a lot more, but maybe they do put a lot of pressure on him and the less he delivers, the more pressure he gets?

[LeDuke]

Movistar are bringing in Leonardo Piepoli.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/movist ... n-come-in/

[maquisard]

José Ibarguren as well, doping dream team!