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The oddest one was Denmark.
It seemed to take forever for them to reach France. I can't be bothered to check but guess it was about a week.
All three GTs do leave their host country though.
The 2018 Giro started in Israel and next years Vuelta starts in Lisbon which I wouldn't mind being out there for.
There seems a rather Napoleonic desire to take the Tour de France all over Europe. I'm wondering which year they will have to ride eastwards all the way to Moscow, before a dispirited remnant return slowly to France.
I will be off on a short run soon with the aim of getting back in time to sit down and watch my favourite one day race, Paris Roubais.
Always a hard one to predict with luck playing a significant part. MVDP looks unbeatable so far this season but Mads Pedersen and Jasper Philipsen in good form. Tom Pidcock is a last minute entry having crashed out of the tour of the Basque country. Laurence Pithie would be my outside punt though
I watched the women's race yesterday and if conditions are similar, then it could be a fast race but some cross and headwinds will play their part too.
It wil be interesting to see what affect if any the new chicane before the entry to the Arenberg Forest will have. I fear it will only move the action to the previous cobbled sector as the attacks go to gain a better position for the chicane.
When MVDP made his break from so far out logic would suggest that the group could/ should/ cannot fail to reel him in as he tires - but the speeds are so phenomenal that they just cannot.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
Spellbinding.
Enthralling stuff as ever. The attack was amazing and to pull out such a large time gap in a relatively short period over 2 or 3 sectors of cobbles was quite remarkable.
MVDP obviously has the edge physically and just like any race that Pog too enters, the psychological advantage is so great, everyone else is riding now for a podium place.
Visma lease a bike woes weren't helped by today's outing either. This half of the season is practically a write-off already.
I used to regularly watch the Tour on either the Tourmalet or Alpe d'Huez. Lots of memories but one is of the speed of it all. Today they were ridng at, say, 30 mph. You need to ride a bike to grasp just how fast that is - and how damn hard, if a MVDP sprints to get even 25 yards on you, it is to bridge the gap.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
And if you do bust a gut and catch up with him - he will just glance at you, pull away again and leave you destroyed.
You just cannot grasp this watching the chess pieces on TV.
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Occasionally (and I mean occasionally!) I trigger a 30mph speed warning sign on my way to work. Well you just have to if you are in the mood..Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze
To average that for 250km over cobbles is well, unthinkable.
I need a decent downhill to get up to 30mph :D
It's admirable what he did, but it's a team event and I do wonder what some of these other teams are up to. Other than Trek, they were more or less irrelevant yesterday.
Come to Wales, I only have to 20mph to trigger the speed warnings, good for the ego if nothing else.Quote:
Originally Posted by PeteS
I was watching a brief video of some of the highlights of Paris-Roubaix, with subtitles generated automatically from the commentary. It was quite amusing to see the subtitling software's attempts at the winner's name: my favourite was "Thunderpool".Quote:
Originally Posted by Graham Breeze
On another matter relating to this race, I was wondering what the riders wear on their hands to protect them from the effects of vibration when riding at those speeds over the cobbles?