Apr 10, 2023 at 11:38 AM
Agreed ,but also everyone knows that the smooth line is the risky lineMatt Budofsky said:Watching John Degrnkolb after the finish was heartbreaking on so many levels
Paris-Roubaix
Apr 10, 2023 at 11:43 AM
@Jules
Also another step forward in equipment and nutrition
Also another step forward in equipment and nutrition
Another record falls as Mathieu van der Poel clocks fastest ever Paris-Roubaix
Apr 10, 2023 at 01:12 PM
Didn’t they say there was a big tailwind at least in the beginning? Is aero one way a sail the other? 😉 lol either way the race did not disappoint, what a crazy tradition.
Apr 12, 2023 at 05:10 PM
I think it poignant that former Roubaix champions Van Baarle and Sagan crashed out of the race, former champ Van Avermaet was 37th, 5:36 down, former champ Degenkolb was crashed out of the lead group by the winner. And the guy who beat Van de Poel in 2021 was forced to retire due to heart problems.Mark Taylor said:@Jules
Also another step forward in equipment and nutritionAnother record falls as Mathieu van der Poel clocks fastest ever Paris-Roubaix
Would love to know how their power numbers compare to previous years. FWIW, the 2022 P-R was 5:37:00 on the same course, 8:13 slower than the 2023. 8:10 behind MVdP was Olivier Le Gac in 57th place. Both Degenkolb and Van Avermaet bested their winning times.
Apr 30, 2023 at 07:15 PM
Late to reply but yeah. Everywhere, every hill, strava segment, every race is being run faster than ever in history.Mark Taylor said:@Jules
Also another step forward in equipment and nutritionAnother record falls as Mathieu van der Poel clocks fastest ever Paris-Roubaix
I'm sure it's because disk brakes are so much better.
May 01, 2023 at 09:47 PM
Fastest ever Paris Roubaix sure, but take into account that the first hours had a tailwind and there was no breakaway, which usually means a way faster pace.
(Sorry for being slightly more optimistic than most here about doping in today's pro cycling)
May 02, 2023 at 03:44 PM
Sure have been a lot of tailwinds since Covid...
Wink
May 02, 2023 at 06:59 PM
Opposed to what some of my posts suggest, I try and think I am optimistic.
That said, I am concerned when I see explanations that are literally the same than the EPO era, actually verbatim. This is some of what was floating in the press in the early 2000s: Faster bikes and gear. More aero. Improved training tools. Nutrition. --
That said, I am concerned when I see explanations that are literally the same than the EPO era, actually verbatim. This is some of what was floating in the press in the early 2000s: Faster bikes and gear. More aero. Improved training tools. Nutrition. --
May 02, 2023 at 08:56 PM
Could not agree more - with the second part. Marginal gains, better training etc. As we've pointed out ad naseum as a sport matures the gains (and deltas between athletes) should decrease and we're seeing the opposite.eloy said:Opposed to what some of my posts suggest, I try and think I am optimistic.
That said, I am concerned when I see explanations that are literally the same than the EPO era, actually verbatim. This is some of what was floating in the press in the early 2000s: Faster bikes and gear. More aero. Improved training tools. Nutrition. --
May 03, 2023 at 02:31 PM
I don't have any logically reasoning , but I find it hard to believe that Ben Healy is a doper , so how do we explain his results this spring
May 03, 2023 at 03:24 PM
Guinness.
May 03, 2023 at 07:16 PM
I could tell you but you won't like my answerMark Taylor said:I don't have any logically reasoning , but I find it hard to believe that Ben Healy is a doper , so how do we explain his results this spring
May 03, 2023 at 08:36 PM
Jules said:I could tell you speculate but you won't like my answerMark Taylor said:I don't have any logically reasoning , but I find it hard to believe that Ben Healy is a doper , so how do we explain his results this spring
May 03, 2023 at 11:29 PM
I said what I said.GregHoge said:Jules said:I could tell you speculate but you won't like my answerMark Taylor said:I don't have any logically reasoning , but I find it hard to believe that Ben Healy is a doper , so how do we explain his results this spring
May 03, 2023 at 11:30 PM
How do you know I wouldn’t
I’m intrigued
I’m intrigued
May 04, 2023 at 01:58 PM
Well neither of us *like* that there is probably a ton of doping going on, do we?Mark Taylor said:How do you know I wouldn’t
I’m intrigued
(I said "like" not "agree")
May 05, 2023 at 11:16 PM
It’s worth noting that while the speed of races has improved, the watts per kilogram over grand your climbs has not. So this isn’t proof that doping isn’t happening, but if the first three hours of Flanders or Roubaix are occurring at higher speeds (and therefore contributing to “fastest ever” - and don’t forget that both races had a tailwind in the first few hours) that doesn’t mean that doping has to be happening.
Nevertheless having been burned before I do worry about incredible performances of individual riders
Apr 04, 2024 at 01:45 AM
I just wanna point out, this is not a joke, or April's fools -- this appears to be real:
Paris-Roubaix: Chicane added to slow entry to Arenberg cobbled sector
https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/news/paris-roubaix-entrance-to-the-arenberg-forest-changed-to-increase-saftey
Paris-Roubaix: Chicane added to slow entry to Arenberg cobbled sector
https://www.globalcyclingnetwork.com/racing/news/paris-roubaix-entrance-to-the-arenberg-forest-changed-to-increase-saftey
Apr 04, 2024 at 01:51 AM
There will still be crashes, but probably less severe. It's the Arenburg, a road that should not be used with any vehicle ever.
Apr 04, 2024 at 12:06 PM
I understand the riders "union" wanted it , but now the sprint and carnage, will be for the entrance to the chicane .
Apr 04, 2024 at 12:14 PM
I think it’s a good thing to try. Can’t be much more unsafe than the way they hit Arenberg at 40 mph
Apr 04, 2024 at 12:21 PM
Poor positioning at the Arenberg has never been ideal, but with a straight run-in, it was possible to enter near the middle of the pack and, with a bit of luck and strong legs, exit in a similar position. Groups often reformed on the pavement that followed and there was no reason a rider who came out of the Arenberg in, say, 50th, would find it impossible to ever return to the front.
That will change with the chicane. The severity of the corners, in
particular the 180, means that every rider outside the top 20 or so is
going to slow to a crawl. It’s the whiplash effect. The latter half of
the field will likely stop entirely. Riders will put a foot down. They
will grab the fencing and swing around it, like a cyclocross race, and
try to use every available meter of road to gain position. But only so
many can be near the front. As Mathieu van der Poel is charging forward
across the cobbles, the majority of the field will still be waiting in
line, like traffic on a highway on-ramp.
Apr 04, 2024 at 03:10 PM
So they've moved the crash to the railway tracks. Slow clap.
Apr 04, 2024 at 03:39 PM
Looking at the satellite image, I wonder if they couldn't have routed the race onto that road paralleling the train track.
Apr 04, 2024 at 06:21 PM
Apr 04, 2024 at 06:30 PM
mugwump said:Looking at the satellite image, I wonder if they couldn't have routed the race onto that road paralleling the train track.
The big hole prevented this
Apr 04, 2024 at 11:27 PM
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aPB2CKXp0Iw
Apr 05, 2024 at 12:18 AM
So I was only a few minutes in when I posted the video above... now that I watched it completely...
I don't want to oversell or overhype it, it does follow the format that Mark kinda hates, at some point we even see Jackson grind coffee beans by a morning window.
And yet, this is one of the most beautiful and meaningful cycling films I've ever seen. Simple: Alison Jackson, winner of 2023's Paris Roubaix, goes on a bike ride from Paris to Roubaix. If you love cycling classics you owe yourself the 45 minutes to watch this.
I don't want to oversell or overhype it, it does follow the format that Mark kinda hates, at some point we even see Jackson grind coffee beans by a morning window.
And yet, this is one of the most beautiful and meaningful cycling films I've ever seen. Simple: Alison Jackson, winner of 2023's Paris Roubaix, goes on a bike ride from Paris to Roubaix. If you love cycling classics you owe yourself the 45 minutes to watch this.
Apr 08, 2024 at 02:19 PM
Cyclocross tyres are now narrower than road
Apr 08, 2024 at 02:38 PM