[Other Sport] Cycling geeks

[Hamilton]

Can there be a finer way to spend such an anniversary than:-
Riding like an idiot to Peacehaven.
Climbing over gates.
Stopping at every level crossing.
Caught at every temporary traffic light.
Repeatedly and randomly turning right for no apparent reason.

I could go on


Come on chaps you knew this was coming.
I'm surprised I held on for so long, I kid because I love

#wouldn'thappeninGreaterSussex

When we eventually get the funding denied us in the East then we can do something about our rickety infrastructure.

Clearly, all the money put into the West to drag it up above third world standards has meant that all country gates have now been removed.

#equalfundingfortheEastandareferendumtopulloutofsussextheUKandtheEUforbettercyclingfacilities

I blame Pogue for everything.

And we were all Group riding in the first 15 miles - just at different speeds

 

[Motogull]

Thanks for the reminder [MENTION=22214]banjo[/MENTION]; I have a 19th coming up. Better do something I suppose. And I was in RTW on Saturday, bored as funk in Zombie state sleepwalking through silly shops.

 

[Stat Brother]

And we were all Group riding in the first 15 miles - just at different speeds

On different sides of the road.


Happy days, I'm already looking forward to the next time.

 

[Hamilton]

On different sides of the road.


Happy days, I'm already looking forward to the next time.

Ah yes. Good point.

 

[banjo]

Thanks for the reminder [MENTION=22214]banjo[/MENTION]; I have a 19th coming up. Better do something I suppose. And I was in RTW on Saturday, bored as funk in Zombie state sleepwalking through silly shops.

Haha!! We were both moping around bored. I managed to get us both into the pub by 4.30 so not so bad..

 

[1066familyman]

10 miles in I'd realised My error, shouted out some French words and came straight back home.

That's a sad example of how Strava addiction gets us. Bit like mobile phone dependency.

I rode on Sunday with armchairclubber knowing before I set out that my Bryton would run out of charge before I got back home. Luckily I've been doing the commute without recording it recently and it's very very rare I record rides with the mini 1066s', so I'm quite at ease with not logging everything, but I do admit to feeling a tad disappointed not to be able to record the flyer I had coming back along the seafront and up the final hill thanks to the very brisk tail wind yesterday.

I intend to do more rides in future without recording it, just to get back to basics, enjoy the ride and switch off to all thought of numbers.

 

[banjo]

That's a sad example of how Strava addiction gets us. Bit like mobile phone dependency.

I rode on Sunday with armchairclubber knowing before I set out that my Bryton would run out of charge before I got back home. Luckily I've been doing the commute without recording it recently and it's very very rare I record rides with the mini 1066s', so I'm quite at ease with not logging everything, but I do admit to feeling a tad disappointed not to be able to record the flyer I had coming back along the seafront and up the final hill thanks to the very brisk tail wind yesterday.

I intend to do more rides in future without recording it, just to get back to basics, enjoy the ride and switch off to all thought of numbers.

I know what you mean, I was enjoying my ride but as soon as I realised it wasn't being recorded I lost all interest and headed home. God I'm a Strava addict. There I've outed myself.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Cycling just showed once again it is run by a bunch of morons.

Feel sorry for Richie Porte, Sky and ultimately the sport.

To have a rule which penalises sportsmanship is nothing short of moronic.

In most sports the image below would be considered something to promote the sport itself in a positive light given all the negative press it gets. But no, instead of seeing it as a positive the idiots at the top enforce a stupid law that turns it into a negative.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

Cycling just showed once again it is run by a bunch of morons.

Feel sorry for Richie Porte, Sky and ultimately the sport.

To have a rule which penalises sportsmanship is nothing short of moronic.

In most sports the image below would be considered something to promote the sport itself in a positive light given all the negative press it gets. But no, instead of seeing it as a positive the idiots at the top enforce a stupid law that turns it into a negative.

View attachment 65436

Yep, stupid.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

Will all the peleton except Clarke and Porte swap wheels today as a show of support? This would send the UCI quite a strong message, would it not, whilst equalising the lost time?

 

[Stat Brother]

Sorry I don't understand the problem.

Sure it was a heat of the moment issue, and good sportsmanship, but Porte gained an unfair advantage from a 'rival'.
An extension of that would be all the Aussie riders blocking the peloton while Porte rode off into the distance.

On a benign day why was it left to GreenEdge to change the wheel and not one of his 8 teammates or 2 cars?

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Sorry I don't understand the problem.

Sure it was a heat of the moment issue, and good sportsmanship, but Porte gained an unfair advantage from a 'rival'.
An extension of that would be all the Aussie riders blocking the peloton while Porte rode off into the distance.

On a benign day why was it left to GreenEdge to change the wheel and not one of his 8 teammates or 2 cars?

And when riders are given drinks and gels by other riders not on their team thats not giving them an advantage? When other teams cars draft other teams riders back to the peleton?

Plenty of examples of other teams aiding other teams riders that the stupid governing bodies look the other way over.

 

[Stat Brother]

And when riders are given drinks and gels by other riders not on their team thats not giving them an advantage? When other teams cars draft other teams riders back to the peleton?

Plenty of examples of other teams aiding other teams riders that the stupid governing bodies look the other way over.

Food and drink is sportsmanship.
Drafting does eventually get riders into trouble, when the pi$$ is finally taken.

Changing a wheel and giving a push start is a pretty fundamental competitive advantage, given to a rider stood at the side of the road.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Food and drink is sportsmanship.
Drafting does eventually get riders into trouble, when the pi$$ is finally taken.

Changing a wheel and giving a push start is a pretty fundamental competitive advantage, given to a rider stood at the side of the road.

Giving food and drink is a massive advantage on some stages if it stops the other rider hitting the red zone.

 

[Stat Brother]

Giving food and drink is a massive advantage on some stages if it stops the other rider hitting the red zone.

Yes, Porte was fined for doing just that too his teammate Froome going up Alp d'Huez.

How would Contador and Porte reacted if Aru had been bailed out by Edoardo Zardini and the commissaries had applauded the good sportsmanship?

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

Yes, Porte was fined for doing just that too his teammate Froome going up Alp d'Huez.

How would Contador and Porte reacted if Aru had been bailed out by Edoardo Zardini and the commissaries had applauded the good sportsmanship?

You mean the same Contador who let a former teammate in Tiralongo win a stage back in 2011 at the Giro when he could have blown straight past him?

This is what their twitter feed said under the shot of Clarke helping Porte at the time.

Giro d'Italia ✔@giroditalia
This is cycling.
This is the best sport in the world.
#Giro
2:47 AM - 20 May 2015

 

[Pantani]

Yes, Porte was fined for doing just that too his teammate Froome going up Alp d'Huez.

How would Contador and Porte reacted if Aru had been bailed out by Edoardo Zardini and the commissaries had applauded the good sportsmanship?

They would have shrugged their shoulders and been happy that they would still be able to win the Giro on merit? If Porte ends up less than two minutes off the lead at the end of this Giro, it will be a travesty. As Brailsford said, the word not the spirit of the law has been observed here. In a sport were the sticky bottle is against the rules, magic spanner is against the rules, drafting cars is against the rules, not riding 'on the course' is against the rules, yet are never punished but this has! Madness in my opinion.

 

[Stat Brother]

They would have shrugged their shoulders and been happy that they would still be able to win the Giro on merit? If Porte ends up less than two minutes off the lead at the end of this Giro, it will be a travesty. As Brailsford said, the word not the spirit of the law has been observed here. In a sport were the sticky bottle is against the rules, magic spanner is against the rules, drafting cars is against the rules, not riding 'on the course' is against the rules, yet are never punished but this has! Madness in my opinion.

I doubt it would have been punished 50kms from the line.
We know it's ok for a teammate to give up a wheel.
We know it's ok for the mechanic to give a push start.
It might just have been ok if it was a top 20'er.

I just don't see how this could have been anything other than penalised when everything is taken into account.

Anyway off to Goodwood now.
I feel quite dirty defending the UCI and Raheem Sterling on the same Big Board.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Yes, Porte was fined for doing just that too his teammate Froome going up Alp d'Huez.

How would Contador and Porte reacted if Aru had been bailed out by Edoardo Zardini and the commissaries had applauded the good sportsmanship?

Froome only got 20 secs for that. That was a blatant breaking of the rules and hypothetically saved Froome a lot more than 20 secs.

2mins seems massively excessive to me. I agree with you that the act was against the rules and deserves some form of sanction, but in the 'spirit' of cycling and sportsmanship, a 2min penalty just seems an overreaction.

Cycling is tainted with so much cheating, that this just seemed a good news story and headline back page news. Instead, the rest of the public must be amazed a governing body that couldn't deal with or act against drug cheats for decades is somehow able to act swiftly and harshly on the simple changing of a wheel.

I would have thought a slapped wrist, a fine, and perhaps 10 or 20 secs penalty would have been seen as fair enough. 2 mins is just ridiculous.

 

[Indurain's Lungs]

Sorry I don't understand the problem.

Sure it was a heat of the moment issue, and good sportsmanship, but Porte gained an unfair advantage from a 'rival'.
An extension of that would be all the Aussie riders blocking the peloton while Porte rode off into the distance.

On a benign day why was it left to GreenEdge to change the wheel and not one of his 8 teammates or 2 cars?

Froome only got 20 secs for that. That was a blatant breaking of the rules and hypothetically saved Froome a lot more than 20 secs.

2mins seems massively excessive to me. I agree with you that the act was against the rules and deserves some form of sanction, but in the 'spirit' of cycling and sportsmanship, a 2min penalty just seems an overreaction.

Cycling is tainted with so much cheating, that this just seemed a good news story and headline back page news. Instead, the rest of the public must be amazed a governing body that couldn't deal with or act against drug cheats for decades is somehow able to act swiftly and harshly on the simple changing of a wheel.

I would have thought a slapped wrist, a fine, and perhaps 10 or 20 secs penalty would have been seen as fair enough. 2 mins is just ridiculous.

Bold is right, you could have both "punished" and embraced the good PR.

There is a slippery slope argument as this is on the same spectrum as people who buy races from each other. However, as there are so many things that go unpunished there should have been a smaller time penalty (20 seconds or so) and a clear indication that this would be fully sanctioned in the future - riders would then be clear on where they stand.

Everyone is blaming the UCI and the Giro but they have done the right thing in making the race commisaires "arms length" from them. The tinkering in Armstrong's positive tests has shown that the UCI shouldn't get involved in individual situations and only issue general rules and regulations.