Cycling corner

[El_Topo]

Well it’s no news that cycling is my favorite sport apart from football, and the one I practise (moutain biking variant, road only for practising) now that I’m old and too fat to go after a ball.
As the mythic Tour de france starts today I’ve created this thread just for us to speak about cycling and everything related with.

About the tour, my bet goes for Contador the best ryder IMO at the moment and the one to beat, but cycling is the most colective of the individual sports, well in the end it’s a collective sport, you can not win the Tour the France or any other great race without a good team, and that will be weak point for Contador, other contenders have best prepared teams, Armstrong, the Schleck brothers and others.
Cycling it’s a brutal sport where you need not just physical streng but also good tactics and to be ready to suffer, it’s a sport where legends are easy to made.
The tour the France of course it’s the top race for any ryder, three long weeks of suffering, but I also like to follow the springtime classics, the world champs, the Vuelta and the Giro.
Even not having many famous names cycling it’s a sport with a long tradition in Portugal, and was the one sport that made the Lisbon teams (Sporting and benfica) the biggest and best known teams all over Portugal, thank’s to duels both teams made duing the Volta a Portugal in the past.

The second day of the tour ended with several crashes in the end during the final sprint, but that’s just the beggining we will have to wait for the mountains for the great show and the 54 km time trial. Tomorrow we will a stage in Begium in the cobblestone pavement and surprises may start happening just tomorrow, riding those cobbles ain’t easy at all.

As I told before this is the thread for all that enjoy all types of cycling and want to say something about

[The_Stranger]

I hope there is a cyclist in the Tour de France is not doped.

But the other part is this problem in many sports.

[El_Topo]

Yes it’s a problem of course now even with mechanical doping :o, but cycling at this point it’s the one sport, with more controls, of course doping normally it’s one step ahead ryders with CERA were just caught one or two years after it’s use, and a longer time for EPO, but if every sport was so controled as cycling is now we will have more surprises in this issue that’s for sure.

Most lengendary ride from the one I’ve seen Pantani at the Alpe D’Huez when he won the Tour just amazing going uphill at an average of 30km/h

[The_Stranger]

Doping is a big problem that must be combated.

For example, in baseball. Doping was not allowed long time, but there were no controls. And it was an open secret that had the most power hitters doped.
In particular, the mid-90s this was a problem.
For example, for the home run record.
Babe Ruth had defended it the last 70 years.
But then there were several players who surpassed him: Sammy Sosa, Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire. And in all there were rumors of doping. Mark McGwire was even to the taking.
Thus one of the greatest American sports records has been drawn in the dirt.
A loss of image for the entire sport.

I am not a specialist in cycling. I must admit I know nothing of it.
But I think the problem of doping in cycling is even greater.
And each time Tour de France winner will be placed under any suspicion of doping.

In Germany, the Tour de France earlier had many fans.
But then there was this scandal with Jan Ullrich.
And every year the audience numbers are declining.
No one believes in clean athletes.

[ENNIOO]

Nice thread, just come back from a cycle myself on a re designed road bike of mine…switched to a compact crank for my poor legs.

[El_Topo]

A Single Speed ENNIO ?

[ENNIOO]

No not strong enough for a single speed around where I live…to many hills :o . The double before was a 53/39 Campag…switched to a Stronglight 48/34. Much better for the hills for me. Do you have a single speed El Topo ?

[El_Topo]

Nope ;D
I’ve tried once and missed my shifts (at least on the uphills :o), one friend that use to ride with us only have single speeds (now sometimes monocycles), the bastard went to one of those 24 hours moutain bike race with is Kona single speed but he’s crazy and as a lot of free time.
In any case most of the time when I’m practising on flat tracks or roads most of the time I’ll go single speed (rarely changed shifts depends on the type of training I’m doing) but I only use moutain bikes, even with road tires when I’m going to the road, so I got always a triple on the front transmission only the cassete on the back it’s a road one.

[El_Topo]

Great victory for S. Chavanel on today stage, on a very dangerous stage, the pave will appear only tomorrow not today as I thought, this was like a Liege Bastogne Liege, which in a grand prix race it’s a dangerous thing to do very dangerous. There’s an old saying you can not win the tour in this early stages, but you can lose it.
The organizares are trying to make a small race within the race, but the problem is that grand prix racers or three weeks race racers are not use to compete on one day classics (very diferent race aproach and a very diferent peloton behavier) so the falls happen more often in this narrow roads of Belgium and northern France. I wont be surprise that tomorrow will happen something like a strike with the recers going in training style. This bunch in the pave it’s too dangerous and with rain on it, even more.

[El_Topo]

Great stage at the tour the France

First day in the Alps with real uphill ountains, and the first big surprise, and something that i confess i would never expected to see, Armstrong way behind he lost 10 minutes on the first ryder to finish the stage Andy Shleck.
This is going to be a great tour, Shleck, Contador, Basso, Evans, Menchov, Van Den Broeck, Leipheimer, Rogers all with little time between them.
Somehow Contador does not seem so strong this year (or maybe he’s just waiting for the Pyrenees ( the hardest stages this year with a two time Tourmalez stage :o), Basso it’s in a terrific shape, Evans is at the front and no bad luck for him so far, but Andy Shleck is real real strong (but he’s not that good in TT and there’s one with 50km). like I said great tour this year

[El_Topo]

Well another Tour that ended and Contador as I predicted won the race, but this time it a good fight from Andy Schelck who only lost for 39 seconds.
Because of a chain slip :o he may most probably lost the Tour the France, but those things happen and he’s the only one to blame.
It was agreat race this year with two contenders on the race, and I thing they will be giving some great shows in the future.
A show apart was the Manx man Cavedish, the guy it’s trully unbelievable in the sprints what display of power with five stage victories.

[El_Topo]

And like the sports world is not only football

Here’s some cycling news. Mt favourite Spring Classic Paris Roubaix (I’ll do this track race someday, just don’t know when) was won this year by Belgium rider Johan Vansummeren from team Garmin great victory from the Belgium rider who has good phisycal characteristics for this peculiar race.
As usual (at 45km/h on the coobles) there were a lot aof crashes that put some of the favourites like boonen and Haussler out. Super fav Cancellara was victim of one those I wont take turns in the front (from Ballam and Hushovd) and could’t get the lone Belgium at front after his late attack, Hushov and Ballam must know that to win they must get there in the front in the first place, they would probably loose to Cancellara but then maybe not, they will never know now.
Anyway congrats to Vansummerem for his great victory.

[scherpschutter]

[quote=“El Topo, post:12, topic:2411”]And like the sports world is not only football

Here’s some cycling news. Mt favourite Spring Classic Paris Roubaix (I’ll do this track race someday, just don’t know when) was won this year by Belgium rider Johan Vansummeren from team Garmin great victory from the Belgium rider who has good phisycal characteristics for this peculiar race.[/quote]

I had never heard of this guy
Guess who’s the talk of the town overhere in Belgium…
Tomorrow we’ll know everythng about his father, his mother, his girlfriend, his hometown, his dog, his goldfish etc. etc.

[El_Topo]

[quote=“scherpschutter, post:13, topic:2411”]I had never heard of this guy
Guess who’s the talk of the town overhere in Belgium…
Tomorrow we’ll know everythng about his father, his mother, his girlfriend, his hometown, his dog, his goldfish etc. etc.[/quote]

he propose to is girlfriend after the race instead of a ring offered the winner’s throphy ;D.
He’s not a top dog Sherp more a gregario (a good one by the way) a foot soldier, there to help the big names of the team, briging water pushing hard when its needed, covering the leader from the wind etc. But this kind of classics is not like a Grand Tour, there’s not many tactics and into a certain extend, it’s every men for itself basically, at least after the cobles start, so every unknown can have its day speacialy if the big names are marking each other.
But don’t get me wrong to win a hard race like Paris Roubaix you got to be good, you don’t beat mens like Cancellara or Hushov just by chance, so the men deserves is 15m, I was betting on Boonen but the guy just had no luck again.

[El_Topo]

Well my favourite sport event of the year Le grand boucle or the Tour the France started today.
And started with a great stage classica style, a flat stage that ends with a short but strong climb, won of course by a classica expert Belgium Philippe Gilbert, who will become the new Paolo Bettini or even better who knows,I’ll bet that yes future world champion for sure.
The stage had everything, and that old saying You can’t win the tour in the first week, but you can sure lose it, was never so true, favourite rider Alberto Contador was involved in a general fall 20km from the finish line and due to some bad placing in the peloton lost more than 1 minute one to most of the GC favourites, that’s why you have to be the best and in top shape at the TF, even if you don’t wan’t to win the stage you have to be there on the front of the race, if you’re a favourite to the GC to avoid those falls at the back or middle of the peloton.
Anyway a great start let’s see who will win this one, it seems is going to be a very open race this year.

[El_Topo]

Been riding all day, and will be in all my free time for the next days, going to make one the Tour stages in the Alps (for non profissionals of course ) so need to be in top shape really fast.

YEEESSSSSSS

[scherpschutter]

Gilbert in green again, but nobody seems to care overhere, since the country is falling apart

Two types of nationalists are fighting each other, in newspapers, on television, on internet forums etc. : Flemish nationalists and Belgian nationalists (also called unitarists). I enjoy the show (but it’s a serious thing, don’t be fooled)

[El_Topo]

[quote=“scherpschutter, post:17, topic:2411”]Gilbert in green again, but nobody seems to care overhere, since the country is falling apart

Two types of nationalists are fighting each other, in newspapers, on television, on internet forums etc. : Flemish nationalists and Belgian nationalists (also called unitarists). I enjoy the show (but it’s a serious thing, don’t be fooled)[/quote]

Gilbert is doing a great tour, and its so cool see him riding with the Belgium national road champion jersey, I mean Belgium the country with so many champions in this magnificent and heroic sport.
On the other hand we are quite happy with a Portuguese rider Rui Costa (not that one) winning a stage today

[scherpschutter]

[quote=“El Topo, post:18, topic:2411”]Gilbert is doing a great tour, and its so cool see him riding with the Belgium national road champion jersey, I mean Belgium the country with so many champions in this magnificent and heroic sport.
On the other hand we are quite happy with a Portuguese rider Rui Costa (not that one) winning a stage today[/quote]

Rui and especially Costa must be very common names in Portugal, I presume.
If you’re into cycling, I guess you know Jan Janssens, Tour winner of '68. There are thousands of people called Jan or Janssens (Jansen, Janssen, Jansens etc.) in Holland, so if you’re looking for a Jan Jansen and have no further info, it might take you an eternity to find the right one. It would be like looking for Jean Duval in Paris.

(The suffix -sen of course means ‘son of’ : Jansen - son of Jan, Pietersen - son of Piet(er), Willemsen - son of Willem etc.)

[El_Topo]

Yes Costa is a common name in Portugal I would also had it, if my grandfather wouldn’t had change is last name to his mother single last name (for complicated reasons concern with contraband lol). By the way Costa also means in Portuguese back (from our back) and coast or shore