Kissena Forum Archive

Jun 08, 2021 at 01:10 PM

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/ineos-grenadiers-extend-with-pinarello-for-four-years/

i thought someone would asked the disc brake question

Jun 12, 2021 at 12:01 AM

That Costa demotion was complete BS

Matt Budofsky

Jun 15, 2021 at 06:52 PM

https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/tejay-van-garderen-is-retiring-after-us-road-nationals/

Looks like Tejay is calling it a career. Chapeau to him for being brutally honest with himself- don't think many pro riders can be this self reflective.

https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-cycling-pro-road-championships-2021/individual-time-trial-women/results/

Jun 15, 2021 at 07:21 PM

Matt Budofsky said:

https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/tejay-van-garderen-is-retiring-after-us-road-nationals/

Looks like Tejay is calling it a career. Chapeau to him for being brutally honest with himself- don't think many pro riders can be this self reflective.

I didn't realize he was only 32.

Matt Budofsky

Jun 15, 2021 at 08:10 PM

mugwump said:
I didn't realize he was only 32.

Me either! Thought he was much older than that

eloy

Jun 17, 2021 at 04:09 PM

Chloe Dygert (USA) Canyon-SRAM Racing
Amber Neben (USA) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
Leah Thomas (USA) Movistar Team Women

Jun 17, 2021 at 06:12 PM

eloy said:

https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/usa-cycling-pro-road-championships-2021/individual-time-trial-women/results/
Chloe Dygert (USA) Canyon-SRAM Racing
Amber Neben (USA) Cogeas Mettler Look Pro Cycling Team
Leah Thomas (USA) Movistar Team Women

I can’t say I’m a fan but Chloe’s comeback is impressive

Jun 18, 2021 at 02:03 PM

I've become less and less of a fan of the Olympics.

Too much importance placed on the event. Too many people pretending their all-consuming solipsism is about doing right for their country.

And then there are the politics that have become the selection process. Like how Kristin Armstrong got the nod to ride the women's time trial at the 2016 Olympics. Her coach was one of the selectors; no conflict of interest there. She won, I guess people overlook how she got there, but if it's about 'the spirit of competition,' the means are as important as the ends.

And those politics lead to lawsuits. I understand the motivations and I want fairness, but even when the plaintiff is correct, it's hard to see them being able to perform at their best if the staff didn't have an interest in supporting them to begin with, and now has the added benefit of being forced to do so.

Let the games begin:

https://www.velonews.com/news/road/kristen-faulkner-files-legal-challenge-to-usa-cyclings-olympic-womens-road-selection/

Jun 18, 2021 at 02:50 PM

I wish there was a much more emphatic “agree” button.

Jun 18, 2021 at 02:54 PM

When I got to chat with Dede Barry (née Demet) her only real comments on the Olympics (she won silver in the road race) were about how absolutely filthy the politics around it were.

Jun 18, 2021 at 03:34 PM

Jules said:

When I got to chat with Dede Barry (née Demet) her only real comments on the Olympics (she won silver in the road race) were about how absolutely filthy the politics around it were.

And that's coming from someone who apparently easily rationalized her husband's doping.

Jun 18, 2021 at 11:48 PM

Yes , the olympics don’t mean shit really in the cycling world
but as a kid watching some guy win the steeplechase or the judo was pretty inspiring
I’m really enjoying watching the European “ soccer “ championships, because I get to see lots of players I don’t normally have the time to watch
the Olympic have so much to enjoy beyond will MVDP. Win (no,to hot),
enjoy the beauty of folk going round and round on the track ,
Team pursuit love that , but not going to watch on a a wet Wednesday

RobertMullen

Jun 19, 2021 at 01:36 PM

Agreed. I forget who said it, but someone noted that a sport should probably not be in the olympics if it isn’t the biggest event in their sport. Like for track and field, the olympics are everything.

The track Olympic trials are this week and even though it ca; be heartbreaking for a favorite, it seems like the least political way to choose the team. If you’re top three in your event, you’re in. They even model the trials after the actual Olympic schedule (ie same number of heats, semi finals, etc). Cycling would be tough because it’s not really a time-based sport so idk how they would choose who gets into the Olympic trials.

Jun 19, 2021 at 03:11 PM

One ride who I’m sure can’t wait for the olympics,GVA apparently he hates all that gold stuff , but his sponsors love it

Jun 19, 2021 at 03:27 PM

mugwump said:

Jules said:

When I got to chat with Dede Barry (née Demet) her only real comments on the Olympics (she won silver in the road race) were about how absolutely filthy the politics around it were.

And that's coming from someone who apparently easily rationalized her husband's doping.

Heh - yeah I didn’t even consider that angle. (I don’t know how easily or not she did)

I do think that something can be both understandable and wrong. If someone really did believe both “everyone was doing it” and “the gains are the same for everyone” I can understand why they’d buy that con job. That doesn’t mean that was their motivation, but there is a world where it’s an understandable and less malicious sin.

https://cyclingtips.com/2021/06/the-secret-pro-tour-de-france-sagan/

Jun 25, 2021 at 01:39 PM

Don't know why they didn't put this on the back wheel , that would distract the hell out of me

https://www.cyclingnews.com/news/why-are-jumbo-visma-using-blue-tyres-at-the-tour-de-france/

Matt Budofsky

Jun 26, 2021 at 06:15 PM

Secret pro isn’t mincing words with respect to Sagan. I’m curious if this is just a small group who feel this way or just the general feeling of most of the peloton.

Jun 27, 2021 at 12:38 AM

Kate Wagner Is on the cycling podcast this week
it is a must listen , her enthusiasm is inspiring

eloy

Jul 02, 2021 at 05:07 PM

https://www.cyclingnews.com/races/giro-d-italia-donne-2021/stage-1/results/

Ruth Winder is leading the Giro Donne!!

David Yang

Jul 03, 2021 at 02:37 AM

USA ladies always kicking ass in international sports.

Jul 14, 2021 at 05:57 PM

I think this is bad for our niche

https://www.pocketoutdoormedia.com/outside-acquires-pinkbike-cycling-tips-and-trailforks/

These titles and companies are all owned by the same company now.

PatrickGrehan

Jul 14, 2021 at 08:44 PM

I liked the fact that Velonews and CyclingTips were competing with each other. I figured it motivated them to be better and especially with CT gave us some occasional non-PC takes. I fear it will become homogenized

Jul 15, 2021 at 10:07 AM

more homogenized?
the other day every website had a feature about specialized lace up gravel shoe😩

Jul 15, 2021 at 04:50 PM

Mark Taylor said:

more homogenized?
the other day every website had a feature about specialized lace up gravel shoe😩

I think this has been going on for a long time.

Several years ago, it seemed that manufacturers figured out that they could corral staffers from cycling mags/websites at retreats, often in resorts where the pictures taken look great, give them stuff and get fawning coverage that was largely identical, since everyone had been to the same presentations and ridden together.

Those seem to have largely disappeared. But thanks to manufacturers sending out goodies to those websites months in advance and then "embargoing" the info, everyone knows when the embargo is up and sets the re-worded press releases to run the second after the embargo ends.

I think Outside, as the company is now known, is trying to both lock in subscribers and advertisers. CyclingTips does have subscribers and doesn't have a paywall at the moment, but I think that will change.

Likewise, I'd think they'll also start to differentiate their coverage more. Not sure how that will shake out exactly, but it means they won't see their interests as being the same. So CT won't have Tour de France coverage, or only cover Tour de France tech stuff. Though I'd think the debut of Specialized's latest will probably get blanket coverage.

Consolidation is going on in many industries these days. Looking at companies that see themselves as internet-based, it feels that they want to be seen as 'disruptors' and that growth is more important than profits. I worry this is a confidence game that works great until it doesn't. (think WeWork) Outside is growing fast and getting huge, but I don't think they can keep that up for a long time. I wonder what their investors think they're getting and what will happen if the promised profits don't materialize.

I think PinkBike was already playing with investor money, so I don't know if they ran out of promises, or if Outside's offer was too good to turn down.

Jul 15, 2021 at 07:03 PM

Just got an email from EF Pro Cycling. They've started a coaching business as well. Maybe Lachlan Morton is coaching. Maybe their staff is.

Minimum of $425/month.

https://www.teamefcoaching.com/plans-prices

Feels like a kind of resurrection of what the Cervelo Test Team was trying to do, but at much lower price points.