2022 PRO Thread

[BdaGhisallo]

It is striking how many teams are so visually indistinguishable from each other. I also found it very odd that ISN changed from the light Israeli blue on their strip that was very easy to spot in the peloon to a dark navy blue that caused them to look like every other team and fade into the peloton of blue.

[IchDien]

[pcort]

It is striking how many teams are not so visually indistinguishable from each other. I also found it very odd that ISN changed from the light Israeli blue on their strip that was very easy to spot in the peloon to a dark navy blue that caused them to look like every other team and fade into the peloton of blue.

I was a huge katusha fan when I first started watching road cycling purely because their giant K was the only recognizable feature in the peloton. Now in a world of blue's I long to see the Bardiani–CSF kit.

[LouisN]

IMO nowadays sponsors care more about social media, and "photoshop-ed" exposure and publicity than "on road, live" direct exposure...

Louis

[maquisard]

That is true, EF-Nippo realise this, as did Rapha.

Lachlan Morton's alt-Tour received probably as much coverage for EF and Cannondale* during the Tour de France as the race itself. Clever marketting.

*Although the BB creaking on Morton's bike during some of the videos probably didn't help Cannondale much. But everyone knows Cannondale BB are terrible I guess.

[Mr.Gib]

Just a heads up for WW's that haven't heard, but Dutch pro Amy Pieters suffered a serious head injury at a training camp about a week ago, had brain surgery, and is still in a coma. If you don't know anything about Pieters, look up her stats - she has had an amazing career. Fingers crossed for Amy. She was to be brought out of the coma days ago but that has not happened.Things do not look good at this point.

Reports indicate the team was practice sprinting on the road and Pieters came in contact with a rider in front of her and crashed hard into a stone gutter. The team had previously indicated they would not discuss the incident further to protect the privacy of those involved. Riders should not be crashing into each other at training camps. I get the sense that someone made a terrible mistake leading to the crash.

Perhaps there is better information in the Dutch press.

[micky]

At this point who's fault/blame/etc is secondary.
What matters is that she can hopefully recover from it.

[BenSiskri]

In unsurprising news, MvdP has ended his season, and therefore won't defend his CX World title. One hopes he's given the proper time to recover, and isn't rushed back for the spring on the road. Coming back for the Road Worlds & P-R is looking like not the smartest decision....

[stevec1975]

and WvA has confirmed he won't be doing the CX Worlds either, Pidcock should be the favourite based on being the best of the rest..

[Karvalo]

Probably favourite if the course is riding fast or slick, maybe not if it's heavy mud, then the bigger guys would have the edge.

Either way it's close enough to be wide open for whoever has a great day.

[pdlpsher1]

From Cyclingweekly

Israel Start-Up Nation is to become Israel-Premier Tech for the 2022 season, with Canadian company Premier Tech joining the squad, which contains four-time Tour de France winner Chris Froome, as co-title sponsors.

The deal was finally confirmed on Thursday, and followed Premier Tech stepping back from its previous sponsorship deal with Astana.

[Miller]

The deal was finally confirmed on Thursday, and followed Premier Tech stepping back from its previous sponsorship deal with Astana.

Timely move. Being associated with Kazakhstan is probably not a good look right now.

[maquisard]

Really like the Israel jersey

[Konsi]

I think the new Cofidis look is nice, too. Also still like the controversial AG2R outfit and think the new Bora jersey look good. Not a fan of Bikeexchange, Trek, or Movistar this time round

[ms6073]

Timely move. Being associated with Kazakhstan is probably not a good look right now.

I am curious whether or not there will be any fallout/negative impact on Astana because of the turmoil in Kazakhstan.