Cycling:another great day at the office for British riders

[Sigmund Fraud]

No question its Paris-Roubaix. For me then it would be Flanders, L-B-L, MSR, Amstel, Fleche Wallone and Lombardy...but thats open to interpretation, if you're Italian then you'd probably say P-R then MSR etc.

You can't beat the insanity of Roubaix though.

 

[stavros]

Due to lack of Eurosport I never get to see them (note to Eurosport; please go to Freeview), but the legends of the cobbles are nonetheless recounted by Phil and Paul in the TdF every summer.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Eurosport is £7 a month on top up tv for freeview - every bike race of the season is bittorrentable, esp P-R which is available in about 6 languages.

 

[stavros]

I may look at that when I'm settled (at Uni currently), but no fucking way is Murdoch getting anything. Cheers for the info.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

The word on the street is that Mark 'SuperCav' Cavendish WILL be in the T-Mobile tour de france start lineup!!!

 

[stavros]

Wowzers, three Brits starting. That'd be great. Wiggins kicked arse in the Dauphine Prologue, so him and Millar might give the TdF Prologue a good go. Is it too much to hope Cav might get in amongst the sprinters and challenge McEwan and Hushovd in one or two? Is Petachi doing it this year? Can Cav climb at all, or does he have vertigo, a la Cipo?

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Welshman Geraint Thomas is also assured a place for Unibet.

Cav showed he can climb and still win a sprint in the Volta Catalunya. I doubt he'll last longer than a week but T-Mobiles lineup is a gamble at stage wins not the GC.

But the competition wil be very hot in the last 300 metres to Canterbury. SuperCav is up against Boonen, McEwan, Petacchi, Friere, Hushovd and a host of other specialist sprinters. A win would be a fairytale but stranger things have happened.

 

[stavros]

I forgot about Boonen. Would you bet on him for the Green this year?

 

[twistedAM]

Eurosport is £7 a month on top up tv for freeview - every bike race of the season is bittorrentable, esp P-R which is available in about 6 languages.

I looked at topup tv a while back and i think it's more than that now.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

I forgot about Boonen. Would you bet on him for the Green this year?

No, I would bet on McEwan

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Win no.6 for SuperCav. He now has equalled Robbie McEwans record of 6 wins in his first pro season...and its still only June

Cavendish and Roger Hammond likely to be named in T-mobiles TdF lineup today.

 

[stavros]

Fuck me, 4 Brits in the TdF. How cool is that, especially with it starting here? Boardman and Sciandri was the best I could ever remember before that.

 

[ScallyWag II]

Another win for Cav in the Encona Tour of Benelux today

 

[ScallyWag II]

Even better...he started with the points jersey today (his first in a protour?) and kept it easily after finishing second. McEwan and Hushvold are in the race still so he's doing alright! Roger Hammond is doing a decent job leading him in the sprints.

Annnnd David Millar is lying in 4th, 19 seconds back I think, coupla days to go with a 29km TT to finish, we could have GB overall and points winners, although the current Spanish TT champion is a couple of seconds ahead of Millar in the overall, so thats not going to be easy...but 'citing

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

He won the points jersey outright in the Vuelta Catalunya earlier in the summer - also against a class field. Yeah he is having an incredible debut season, can't really see anyone beating him in the tour of Britain either!

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

I don't care if the BBC website says its his eigth win of the season,. it actually his 9th and a new record for a first year pro, Mark 'Supercav' Cavendish bags the prologue in the Tour of Britain:-

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/other_sports/cycling/6986326.stm

His time of two minutes 27.61 seconds over the 2.5km course was 0.8 secs quicker than Russian Nikolai Trusov

or decoded for the real world, he finished 0.8 seconds ahead of Nikolai Trusov of Tinkoff Credit systems, whos up to the gills on drugs.

Well done Mr Cavendish

 

[ScallyWag II]

He got his 10th today! Won the first stage of the TOB and now has a 14 second lead over Trusov. Brilliant

 

[tommers]

I was at the prologue yesterday. To say that cavendish was a popular winner would be a slight understatement. I felt sorry for the rest of the riders...

"and here is xxx xxxxxx, having a good ride but not as good as MARK CAVENDISH. He's ploughing along OK but not as effortlessly as MARK CAVENDISH. He doesn't really have the same grace as MARK CAVENDISH and altho he is a rising star of modern cycling, his star is not rising as quickly as MARK CAVENDISH'S. And yes, his time is RUBBISH! Nowhere near as good as MARK CAVENDISH'S, which is actually a very good time indeed. MARK CAVENDISH!"

 

[mtbskalover]

got back from going out to see the stage today,

big crowds, 2 deep near the top of the 1st big climb of the day. cycling certainly isnt dead! thougt it did feel very uncomortable with all these carbon bits around me, dodgy bright coloured lycra, leg warmers, and overshoes....

10 or so group break away, then the rest of the peleton 50 secs or so back. then woosh gone, a few trade team cars, and time to head home.

 

[mtbskalover]

oh, photos to come this eve.

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

cool, looking forward to it

 

[mtbskalover]

as promised here are some better photos i took today,

a little game for you Sig, can you name the riders??



the crowds forming on the corner of t'climb


a young t-mobile fan waits with his mum


looking up to the top of the climb


information/commentators car


crowds cheer and applaud the upcoming breakaway group

 

[mtbskalover]

rider photos here:

rider trying to bridge the gap to the breakaway


the peleton


zoomed/cropped in


tinkoff riders (correct team name?)


peleton buzzing past, uphill

 

[mtbskalover]

peleton a little further back


csc team car


KOM top again, club riders pulling arm warmers own before riding home, other specatators walking back to cars

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

rider photos here:



tinkoff riders (correct team name?)

looks like Alexander Serov - maybe its the dilated pupils and rolling eyes


peleton buzzing past, uphill

Gordon McCauley?

great work skalover

 

[ScallyWag II]

Nice pics!

Good results for GB riders today in the TOB...

actually starting with a second place yesterday for Cav...just held off the closing bunch after breaking free with a Tinkof rider who went clear to win a tough stage into Kendal

today's stage...won by Paul Manning (Team GB) GB!

Overall... a rider from a French team, can't remember who
KOM...Ben Swift (Barloworld) GB!
Sprints...Mr. Cav GB!
Points...Cav again GB!

/and as a derail, I noticed that BBC 2 are covering the world champs if anyone is interested /derail/

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Cavendish roars home for pro victory no.1 of the 2008 season! And its only April the 2nd!.

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza.be/wielrennen/070802_driedaagse_verslag_rit2#

choose the 'laatste kilometer' link and watch Mark fuckin' rinse 'em all

 

[Melinda]

Cavendish roars home for pro victory no.1 of the 2008 season! And its only April the 2nd!.

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza.be/wielrennen/070802_driedaagse_verslag_rit2#

choose the 'laatste kilometer' link and watch Mark fuckin' rinse 'em all

Cocky fuck!! He had his arms up!! Beautiful!

Now that is class!

 

[Sigmund Fraud]

Cav wins again today!!!

http://www.sporza.be/cm/sporza.be/wielrennen/080403_driedaagse_verslag_rit3#

 

[g force]

Err I think you'll find his name is SuperCav