@Mark Taylor Phil Gaimon too. When he was a rider in the WT, he was always shouting out sponsors and what not, and then he carried the big hitters (cliff, cannondale, poc, mavic) over to his youtube channel when he first started out

Matt Budofsky said:

@Mark Taylor Phil Gaimon too. When he was a rider in the WT, he was always shouting out sponsors and what not, and then he carried the big hitters (cliff, cannondale, poc, mavic) over to his youtube channel when he first started out

Eh. Phil was and is a reluctant media operator. I'd also add that making rape jokes in his first book isn't a sign of "skill" in that department.

Sagan got it early, Nys got it late. Powers came with it (he was a DJ after all) and Cippo took to it like a natural.

Overall I still get the impression that 99% of the peloton view the interviews as a chore they have to do in order to be allowed to ride bikes for a living.

It seems to be only EF that are into the whole media bulls**t. Possibly because they are American - where having a brand is valued. The rest of the teams are European, who prefer to just let the legs do the talking.

I say the above somewhat tongue-in-cheek .... but I am 100% certain that QuickStep would NOT swap sponsorship from the current 60+ wins per season for Vaughters media friendly nonsense.

^lol I think you're right Ian, but it's not a binary choice. Sure if you're one of the two teams winning everything you probably wouldn't trade it but you're talking about 1% of the peloton. And frankly, media training is cheap! You'd think it would be something every rider does in the off season, just like stretching & core work.

People talk a lot about being a "complete rider" and work towards that diligently but why is nobody talking about being a "professional athlete" as if it involved any kind of media savvy at all? It's wierd.

Selling cycling isn't really about winning races to have an effective/ valuable brand. Sky won a bunch and people fuckin hate them lol. Teams have to work with what they have and figure out how to appeal to an audience. I think something EF does really well is making stars out of the guys who are not world beaters. Like Lachlan is obv a very talented cyclist, but he't no Alaphilippe. But I feel like I'm more invested/ interested in Howes and Lachlan than i am in Asgreen or Almeida. Also when Alex Howes rides his bike from Colorado to Kansas and the video gets 100k+ views, no one is suggesting in the comments "he must be doping" like on every other cycling victory. 

RobertMullen said:

 when Alex Howes rides his bike from Colorado to Kansas and the video gets 100k+ views, no one is suggesting in the comments "he must be doping" like on every other cycling victory. 

Very good point

@RobertMullen
Because of your media sources ,I think its obvious that your more invested in English language speakers , Asgreen could well be a mega star in Denmark (probably not)

BTW ,The vuelta is bonkers 

Mark Taylor said:

@RobertMullen
Because of your media sources ,I think its obvious that your more invested in English language speakers , Asgreen could well be a mega star in Denmark (probably not)

Totally!

Today's stage (Stage 11)  was a disappointment.

Marc Soler, started the day as teh third Movistar rider on GC and not far off the lead.  He spent much of the day in the break, attacked the break on the final mountain, looked to be set up make up over two minutes.  Then he slowed down under the flamme rouge to figure out how to win the stage.  

That seems to have cost him a minute on GC.  

If Movistar could get him or Valverde into a break again, they'd be able to force Jumbo to chase.  And Roglic might lose his yellow guard early and have to chase on his own.

That Movistar documentary show made it seem that Soler isn't too bright.  But then, neither does team management.  

Agree somewhat ,the pace was high in the main group and Soler was rocking all over the bike with 2k to go , he moved up to 6th 

Yah, Soler was the rider that rode the hardest all stage, he was probably, you know, tired. 

BTW Soler did not spend all day on the break, he monster bridged late on one of the climbs.

I suppose Soler could have made a deal w Gaudu “keep riding, you keep stage” but there are 10 seconds on the line. 

Perhaps now, with Mas and Soler as GC danger, MOV is better to position to deal with the Angliru

How will Carapaz and Carthy fare against each other and Roglic on Tuesday’s TT? Here is a glimpse in the 2019 giro’s San Marino TT. The courses are similar in length and both ended on a climb. 

today was fire 🔥 

I guess the domestique thing is cliche, but sure looked like Sepp could have dropped everyone at one point.

also wondering if the domestique “look back at my leader, cause i’m stronger” is like a somewhat recent development. Love Sepp and all domestiques, but find that move kinda mean.

eloy said:

Yah, Soler was the rider that rode the hardest all stage, he was probably, you know, tired. 

BTW Soler did not spend all day on the break, he monster bridged late on one of the climbs.

I suppose Soler could have made a deal w Gaudu “keep riding, you keep stage” but there are 10 seconds on the line. 

Perhaps now, with Mas and Soler as GC danger, MOV is better to position to deal with the Angliru

Of course he's tired.  Everyone is tired after almost five hours of racing.  Was he more so than Gaudu, don't know.  But considering that he put in all the effort to get to that point, chugging along, making a deal to gift Gaudu the stage in return for an extra 60-90 seconds could have made a difference to the team in later stages.  Not like "saving" his effort at that point would be enough to stave off whatever happens on the next stage.

agree JP, it all seemed somewhat wasted too as he faded today.

Yeah agree with eloy
kuss looked like he was on a club run 

@Mark Taylor Kuss did indeed look like he was on a club run. Exactly the same as (one of my favourite riders) Frank VdB used to look.

@ian ellis
did you see Carthys post race interview?
he has some kind of “Alo Alo” accent

Oh my God, I am loving that Carthy just compared the Mortirolo climb to a "motorway bridge" - apparently Angliru didn't feel too bad. 
https://www.velonews.com/events/vuelta-a-espana/hugh-carthy-sets-sights-on-vuelta-a-espana-final-podium-after-conquering-the-angliru/

@PatrickGrehan

@RichFreeman , somewhere in another discussion, wrote something along the lines of Carthy's regional affect is pretty deadpan.  Hard to imagine what he might seem excited over.

"Life in the peloton" podcast is a great insight into Carthy's character 

why did Froome get docked UCI points today?

Because he’s shit now😂

Jules said:

why did Froome get docked UCI points today?

I have wondered about this as well. Here is the scoop:


https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/chris-froome-on-minus-uci-ranking-points-after-missing-sign-on-at-vuelta-a-espana/

"HAVE YOUR LICENSE OUT. NO, THIS IS THE LINE FOR CAT 4. ARE YOU A CAT 4? THEN YES, STAY ON THIS LINE. DAY-OF RACERS YOU HAVE TO TALK TO CHARLIE."

David Yang said:

"HAVE YOUR LICENSE OUT. NO, THIS IS THE LINE FOR CAT 4. ARE YOU A CAT 4? THEN YES, STAY ON THIS LINE. DAY-OF RACERS YOU HAVE TO TALK TO CHARLIE."

THIS RACE IS ON FIRAH!!! go watch.

The moto is doing some great work on the front today.

The pace is mental. Jakobsen time cut?