Weight Weenies

Surprising Pro boat ancher (close in weight to my Ritchey Breakaway, which I ride often)

He's also lighter than you and makes more power?

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prendrefeu wrote:Also, a bit old, but glad to see a Chinese rider shine on a European stage:

They just gave him the aggressive rider jersey for some free pubblicity after an escape where he was the first to be dropped.
Cheng Ji is much better than him imho (yeah I know he just dns today but as value for a team he's superior).

What about Zabriskie for the GC... I mean he was 2nd a few times, wasn't he?

And Anger is even stronger than EPO. Berty is going to ride this tour, as if it was the ver very last thing he does in his life. He is gonna be more time in the red zone than any other rider has been in the history of cycling, he is gonna ride with such a crap team as Saxo-Bank, and is going to kick the ass of those guys riding in Rapha kits and Pinarello crap frames... My god, it's gonna be more epic that Gino Bartali agains Fausto Coppi...

And you question if he is targeting the tour... I mean... hehehehehehe. It was funny, I guess you did it on purpose. Very good. Enjoy the tour of california, it's a very prestigious race.

micky wrote:They just gave him the aggressive rider jersey for some free pubblicity after an escape where he was the first to be dropped.
Cheng Ji is much better than him imho (yeah I know he just dns today but as value for a team he's superior).

I didn't watch that stage, but thanks for the insight! Cheng Ji is a stronger rider, I agree.

Re: ToC
I must say from the standpoint of the Southern California scene there isn't too much buzz about this year's race. In part this is because the stages that are in our area are sort of 'out there' and mid week. The Escondido stage will get more buzz with the San Diego area fans/racers/enthusiasts, and certainly the Northern California stages will have a strong showing of the fans, especially with the Mt. Diablo summit finish. For SoCal though, the overall excitement for this year's ToC has been muted (at best) compared to prior years. Just my personal perception of it.

I can understand the organizers trying to modify the route a bit for many reasons. Going South to North helps to minimize the chance of running into weather issues, even if it's just a week difference.

The Tour of California isn't a very prestigious race just yet. That's fine. At least we have a race! Those of you in Europe often take for granted how valuable it is to have a televised Pro Tour race in your area or within close range.

BTW, Xu Gang is 5 time Chinese national champ. His international racing experience is much less than Ji Cheng though.

micky wrote:

prendrefeu wrote:Also, a bit old, but glad to see a Chinese rider shine on a European stage:

They just gave him the aggressive rider jersey for some free pubblicity after an escape where he was the first to be dropped.
Cheng Ji is much better than him imho (yeah I know he just dns today but as value for a team he's superior).

big fan of the ToC here for the television timing alone - nothing quite like watching sprint finishes while you're eating breakfast. I haven't made it to the end of a stage of the giro yet. I keep nodding off between 12 and 1 and then i'll wake up on the couch at 3am curled up with my sleeping dogs and there's womens tennis or something on Eurosport and it's time to go to bed :\ Got some serious conditioning to do before the tour starts...

euan wrote:With a rider who had left Sky

That was in the second season.

After he had done nothing at Sky.


So a bit pointless mentioning it really.

well, you can watch baseball and indy car racing, right?

Liggero, you can also watch snooker, right?

Let's not make assumptions about other people. Some people like those other sports, some do not. We're talking about cycling here - on a cycling related forum no less - so let's not drag in stereotypes of other sporting interests and apply them to people on this forum. I do not speak for any fans of NASCAR nor Baseball, as I personally have no interest in them, but I do recognize that some people have interest and I respect their interests.

Remarking that Contador has had a quiet 2013 to date does not equal writing him off for the TdF.

As others have noted, the Tour of California is not the greatest bike race in the world, but it IS a stage race in a country that doesn't have many. I'm glad it is still here, and hope it gets better each year.

How about Mick Rogers for ToC? He's won there before, clearly in good nick (well, after last year anyway), and no announcement for Saxo makes it entirely feasible.

Tinea Pedis wrote:

euan wrote:With a rider who had left Sky

That was in the second season.

After he had done nothing at Sky.


So a bit pointless mentioning it really.

His first season with Orica though. I was mentioning more on a slight about Sky and their focus on the classics after letting Gerrans go.

djconnel wrote:Surprising Pro boat ancher (close in weight to my Ritchey Breakaway, which I ride often)

A real anchor

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