Rolling Pro Cycling Thread

"The worst thing I've ever encountered in my life."@Harrytanfield94 summing up the brutal Angliru 🏔👀#LaVuelta20 pic.twitter.com/KQfUYHX7Hd

— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) November 1, 2020

For the first time ever, the town in france where my dad has a holiday house has a tour stage start, and there’s a tiny back road from the front door to the top of the first climb of the day... and it’s unlikely I’ll be allowed out of Australia.

Ouch!

That is a right pisser.

i predict...no i don't. but i sure hope you get there, Ed!

Its a pig of a stage as well. right before the second rest day 192km uphill from the gun, uncategorised but narrow and twisty so people will be able to get away, it's one of two roads from the off, one of which goes by a place with the best wood grilled lamb chops you are ever likely to eat. After that they get a valley that is all false flat, 4 categorised climbs and a fast descent into Andorra.

Yikes! It's still early days though, if you're unlikely to leave bcz of covid? a lot can change, still. Rooting for you to be there, Ed! And it's a great stage.

Italy’s most renowned cycling commentator has long struggled with Geoghegan Hart’s name. “‘Googanga’ he called me on Italian TV. That was just him trying to pronounce my surname. I started hearing it at races and Italians shouting it excitedly, with a real emphasis on the last ‘A.’ Now it’s the Italian way you say my name.”

vuelta's not over lads

"Well Hugh, was that the best TT you've ever ridden?" - @friebos

"Probably up there, close to an evening 10 back at home..." - Hugh Carthy 😅#LaVuelta20 pic.twitter.com/K7hoVkg6UT

— ITV Cycling (@itvcycling) November 3, 2020

namur was amazing. would like a shot of that course myself

It was fantastic, had an absolute blast watching that.

Watched men last night, will watch women tonight. The first left downhill turn that men were dismounting on looked cleanable, but if the top 5 are dm’ing, i cannot imagine how tough that must really be. They make it look so easy. I think even mvdp dm’ed it a few laps, cant remember.

women's race was fun to watch. boy, laps 2/3 shook things out. as a yank watching honsinger, i was amazed by her pass of one of my faves, del carmen, it was so authoritative.

women's race today (at herentals) was amazing too. the women's racing seems a bit more competitive, with a few more people capable of winning

also jfc your bike must need a top to bottom overhaul after riding for an hour on this stuff

I like watching women better at least in last 5 years. First, more generally competitive and possibly surprising, but also I think because I understand what I’m watching more.

doco embedded in this article recommended. no english subs unfortunately but easy to follow and get the gist, and large stretches in english
https://nos.nl/artikel/2362227-zadelpijn-zat-dumoulin-dwars-tijdens-tour-overal-pijn-dit-kan-zo-niet-langer.html

https://www.procyclingstats.com/tools/favorite-500-ranking

Huh i woulda guessed 1 3 9 4 7

Mine would be 5 7 17 1 er, 9?

Whats yrs?

I still ❤️ 3.

valverde
armstrong
pantani
cipo
voeckler

j/k ;)

nibali def first and then maybe WvA, alan phillips, gilbert, cancellara

doco embedded in this article recommended. no english subs unfortunately but easy to follow and get the gist, and large stretches in english
https://nos.nl/artikel/2362227-zadelpijn-zat-dumoulin-dwars-tijdens-tour-overal-pijn-dit-kan-zo-niet-langer.html

― ||||||||, Thursday, December 31, 2020 8:12 PM (yesterday) bookmarkflaglink

there's a section in this after the TT, with tommy windmills talking to his DS about what's just unfolded. here's a rough translation from a dutch (? flemish?) speaker:

About himself:
He was as good as when he won gold on the worlds in Bergen and hadn't got a clue where he could shave off 30 seconds to be at Pogacar's time.

About Pogacar: ample cursing and complaining that he looks like a mineworker sitting on his bike (implying that he hasn't even got the aerodynamics right?).

So basically a lot of disbelief at how strong pogacar was.

That’s interesting. There’s no way you premiere that kinda shit and the others don’t cock a snook.

Re: “mineworker,” unsure if the implication is no aerodynamics, or no souplesse, or some combo thereof. I guess uphill TT isnt really a souplesse kind of operation, lol. it needs more like, a stompin’ shitkicking— and pogacar delivered that.

'Mineworker' in Dutch most likely implicates bad aerodynamics, yeah.

Great cross yesterday, with MvdP, WvA, Pidcock and Iserbyt still together after 5 of 8 rounds. One blitz attack and VDP was gone. Could tell from his post-match it wasn't easy though. VDP is riding again today, and tomorrow. You've got to love the cyclo madness.

I'm treating this as the go to de facto cycling chat thread now deal with it

anyway, I've been trying out zwift recently and I'm dumbfounded by some of the numbers I've been seeing from some club mates. e.g. one of them who is always in the group below me on club rides, rode half the amount of KMs I did last year etc but is pushing 220W for 20 mins easy peasy on zwift at 149bpm whereas I've just come off a club training ride where I was struggling to push over 160W and was sat in zone 5 HR for half the ride with a full minute above 190. is this likely because I'm using a (presumably poorly setup) wheel-on dumb trainer and he's probably on a kickr? or am I just dick_und_langsam(TM) (don't answer that)

my average (!) heart rate for the hour was 175 fs with a max of 194 (lmao I thought my max was 192)

What are you getting your power readings from? I bought a smart trainer in the early days of the lockdown last spring and that gives accurate power readings (or at least, they are pretty much what I would have expected them to be). I used to use an old-fashioned turbo trainer (probably like the one you're using) without Zwift - just following routines based on heart rate zones as I didn't have any power data.

power is just based off zwift's simulated power curve for my trainer : /

I've bought a kickr core which is on its way to me so hopefully that will improve things

Yeah, I think that's where the problem lies - those estimates are probably not very accurate. Or maybe you're just really unfit. You'll find out sooner or later.

aye probably the latter :/

cycling hours at 175BPM average should soon sort that out

club mate must be on the secret training too which is both cheating and against the club charter. the compliance committee will be getting informed

I beta’d zwift in 14 i think, it’s game-ified bullshit. But i’m an old. I wont even kudo a strava zwift sesh of longtime friends/former teammates on principle. Theyre cool, ive not announced this stupid position of mine, im fine with zwift as a training tool, but it is sub-peloton as a thing _for me_. And i use power meters all the time.

And Im such a nerd i use golden cheetah

fp

j/k I basically thought the same myself until I tried it recently. the gamification makes it kinda oddly moreish, you know, like MSG or its cousin crack. beats the monotony of trainerroad or youtube interval sessions imo. and seems like you'd be able to see some meaningful training gains from using it. time will tell I guess

i no longer race so i shouldn't give a fuck, but it's so unstructured. and i hated not having a feeling of the buildup. there's not enough information to know when to spend, when to shelter, or to see who was still going easy and was gonna rip you to shreds.

blieve me, i know i am the minority view.

don't disagree with any of that really. I basically just want to emerge in spring and kick fsck out all my mates who usually kick fsck out of me

Lol you are forcing me to realize it is a v clear strong net positive for all but the very few riders who already have highly effort-optimized and time-optimized programs. Which is to say elite or elite+ riders. Of whom (wait, who??) I am v v def not one. And I never was one, regardless any of my secret delusions.

This has been difficult, necessary therapy for me, a process dork, |||||||||.

Zwift forth, and kick ass!

*Hunt3r actually contemplates getting Zwift again and trying to have actual fun in computer gaming*

I've never been a road cyclist, have been into bikecamping & touring, and general city peddling about, but now I'm building my first "road" bike. I want to have some sort of goal for the year. 2K miles? 4K miles? Not sure yet.

4K miles quite a lot for a first year but probably a decent stretch goal. more importantly, what bike are you getting ?!

update on my zwift situation: tweaked the resistance on the cycleops fluid 2 and was able to hold higher power numbers so that's good. also kickr came and the power numbers on that are consistent with the fluid2 so reckon the fluid2's power curve actually not bad once you get it dialled in. none of the fancy schmancy ERG mode, simulated gradients etc though and the kickr is a LOT quieter

in actual pro cycling news, I see wireless dura ace has been spotted out in the wild again 👀

i used a kurt with a speedo interface back in 2010 to estimate power, and it was goodish in that the "steady state" power curve wasn't too affected by heat level of unit.

for fluid resistance, variation in the heat level of the unit can be a huge barrier to accuracy. still, the main issue for consistent numbers is consistent tire pressure and consistent compression tension of the roller unit. Confirm tire pressure and the number of compression turns at the start of each ride.even if your absolute numbers end up being garbage, you are usually consistent vs your previous and future rides, and can measure efforts and progress.

i'm sure you already know this. WHen i was beta tester with trainer road back then, i spent a lot of time in emails with those two, tryna dial shit in.

i haven't even watched to whole race yet (only had time for two mens laps), but conditions and course design at overijse were like my platonic ideal of cx. Hilly? check. Greasy? totally. twisty? yup. weird asphalt/cobble/stone sections? mm hmm. and i hate riding sand ever, so its lack was fine.

between van aert and mvdp i think of mvdp as the more dynamic style rider of the two, and van aert the more stable and big steady-power, so i would have guessed mvdp, but there you go.

2021 pro cycling teams as bathroom junk 🧵⬇️

— tom owen (@tomowencc) February 2, 2021

^^ thread to get accustomed to the new '21 jerseys lads. Today sees the start of the five day Étoile de Bessèges tour. Belgian tv broadcasting all of them live, sadly "the home of cycling" Eurosport isn't there (you can always go to TIZ Cycling I suppose). Lots of big names on the starting list.

Really enjoyed the scenes last Sunday, where MvdP beat WvA to claim his fourth world title in cyclo.

Nice pairings, esp. for the Israel StartUp Nation, DSM, and Movistar jerseys :)
Quite like the Astana jersey

Re: personal experiences/activities discussed upthread, maybe start a ILX rolling cycling thread?

Fine with me. There's a dedicated board though!

D'oh, thanks!

Okay catching up late here but good lord.

Here is Van der Poel’s “1 million watt attack” to win #StradeBianche pic.twitter.com/WoVrLHVdfM

— Cyclist (@cyclist) March 6, 2021

Yeah, masterful performance, thoroughly enjoyed that. It's insane how he's still getting stronger. I'll eat my hat if he doesn't become WC on the road within three years. And I actually have a hat!

Bernal sneakily is in crazy good form as well, judging by last Saturday.

that final group at Strade Bianche was crazy, and yet VDP just rode away from them like it was the easiest thing in the world

heads up for UK peeps, Eurosport online is £20 for the year until 21/3, they have ad-free streams for pretty much every cycling race, some of which start ahead of the official broadcast. more importantly you can switch the commentary to French, Italian etc or just ambient sound whenever you want i.e. when Carlton is on.

That was grand. It’s what great puncheurs do. Alaphillipe, Woods, Gilbert, they do that.

But after seeing the last 10km of ‘19 Amstel it seems... normal. Because that is still the best finish effort ever ever imo. it’s fucking impossible.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J6rA9zou0PU