2024 Pro thread

[de zwarten]

Exactly. The Tour had one sprint stage finish on a race track last year. The roads were very wide with no road furniture, and very smooth tarmac.

It was the stage with the most carnage for the sprinters, of course.

The las 2K before the straight line on the Nogaro circuit (stage 4) held no less than 4 180 degree curves that could be taken at high speed but only with a perfect line and no room to adjust. Arriving into those curves at 60K/hr, with 5 riders next to eachother fighting for that perfect line was the perfect recipe for chaos.

[stevec1975]

Is there any race where Roglic does not crash? (He did it again today in the Dauphine) - he is a liability!

[Karvalo]

The emphasis should always be on good course design for safety, not using a special rule to try and make dangerous finishes more safe.

I agree with this. However we already have an ideally safe environment for bike races, with smoth surface, no furniture, perfectly banked curves, no sudden braking, etc. It's called a velodrome. Yet crashes happen all the time. Utlimately it's on the riders.

Agree, you just have to look back at any Abdoujaparov compilation from the '90s to see what can happen on wide open boulevards.

It really seems like there's a sweet spot of technicality that's enough to string the peloton out a little and keep riders switched on. Good barrier design is a must. Avoiding replays of those Spanish races with unmarked, unmarshalled bollards sticking up out of the road inside the last 10k is non-negotiable. But roundabouts, traffic calming, pedestrian islands etc is inevitable these days, and if they're dealt with properly might arguably lower the risk of mass 60kph+ pileups.

[spud]

Is there any race where Roglic does not crash? (He did it again today in the Dauphine) - he is a liability!

ughh, he certainly seems to have a knack for it. Still remember his crash with Fred Wright in a small group sprint that was 100% PR's fault, and SO easily avoidable.

[TiCass]

New handlebar on Wout's R5?

[pastronef]

DEREK GEE you beauty! stage win at Dauphiné

[maquisard]

Very impressed by Derek Gee, he didn't give up and had enough for the final sprint.

An overdue win!

[BenSiskri]

Is there any race where Roglic does not crash? (He did it again today in the Dauphine) - he is a liability!

He's the proof that there's more to being a good cyclist than just w/kg, VO2, watts, etc..........If you can't consistently stay on your bike, you're not a good cyclist.

[robbosmans]

Magnus Sheffield is another example of insane talent but lackluster handling skills

[MichaelK]

Is there any race where Roglic does not crash? (He did it again today in the Dauphine) - he is a liability!

He's the proof that there's more to being a good cyclist than just w/kg, VO2, watts, etc..........If you can't consistently stay on your bike, you're not a good cyclist.

Are you kidding me?! Say that to his face and tell him he's not a good cyclist with 4 GT wins, 5 Classics and 1 Monument. I suppose we could say the same thing about G right? Hell even JV had a couple of spills in '22 TdF.

[tymon_tm]

some interesting TT results at Dauphine - we can probably add Jorgenson, Lazkano and Powless to the list of potential suprise podium finishers at this Tour.

Is there any race where Roglic does not crash? (He did it again today in the Dauphine) - he is a liability!

He's the proof that there's more to being a good cyclist than just w/kg, VO2, watts, etc..........If you can't consistently stay on your bike, you're not a good cyclist.

just lol

[spokenwords]

Powless coming off some knee issues. I figured he would target the Dauphine in order to get selected for the TdF. He was super strong at US Nats and seems to be proving himself each day. He will go for it all in the next stages.
Tarlings TT bike is a beautiful piece of kit.
That seemed like the perfect course for Remco and Roglic which the results reflect however Primo lost a good chunk of time.
If Jonas is as good as I think he is right now though, his only threat will be bad luck.

[maquisard]

Absolute disaster at the Dauphine...

Pogacar might be winning the TdF by default.

[tymon_tm]

https://cyclinguptodate.com/cycling/neu ... and-roglic

[spokenwords]

https://www.stickybottle.com/latest-new ... ash-video/
spectator video shows just how slick the road was with riders sliding for quite a distance.