Pro-cycling thread

Managed to catch up with the Giro, until I did I have been avoiding the thread like the plague. Some thoughts:

Crazy crashing all over the place, can't remember such a brutal opening stage. Heinrich Haussler was battered, all the best to Pozzovivo.

Great sprint win from Viviani, thought he was toast but somehow he popped out to go around Greipel and Hofland, very impressive.

OGE look so well oiled, are they the new Highroad? They are so adept at grabbing stage wins, either in the TTT or the flatter stages. Wonder if they'll ever go hard after GC in a GT?

Tinkov-Saxo and to a lesser extent Astana seem to be spending a lot of time massed on the front of the peloton. Given the crashes there's always sense to staying at the front in the nervy opening stages, but Sky were doing the same with much less numbers. They just looked like they were working too hard given there were flat stages and their riders weren't in pink.

Astana working it today. Every other team shelling domestiques out the back. Astana looking strong. Hmmm.

Astana.

Hmmmmmm.

Exciting stage though!

I've been in and out as I've had work stuff to deal with. Is Gerrans in the front group? I saw Matthews fall off about 45 minutes ago I think.

I think given the alarm bells were rung not over a doping culture and evidence of doping at the team, rather a large gap between how the team said it was run and how it was run, uncovered by the audit, I think we can give Astana an easier time, Vino aside. The audit said they were full of shit rather than dope, and now they are being closely monitored. Probably one of the cleanest teams in the peloton right....

anyway I'll run from the thread to avoid the spoilers

Fuck, this is good.

Yup

oh dear, Oleg's DS fantasies are bearing bad fruit.

OG weight weenie Mikey Rasmussen tweeting Formolo should have dumped at least one of his water bottles on that last climb.

Go Formolo!

Oh, Clarke. That's a bit sad.

Although he's saying he knew he hadn't won...

No mate, look

Formoyolo <3

Clarke was emotional about being able to keep the jersey in the team

That tap on the shoulder and point, followed by dejected dropped shoulders and head in hands makes me doubt that story, but either way, good on him!

Fuck, I forgot about the giro today

ToC is still up for grabs 2night

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I hope the knobhead fixiedork who caused the stg2 crash gets prosecuted.

In the UK closed course races (and CX for that matter) are just that and AFAIK you're technically tresspassing pulling shit like that.

Alafaci already changed his statement about the kind of bike the knobhead was riding as we can clearly see him coasting while lifting the stripe and jumping from the pavement.
Usually invaders that cause crashes are not persecuted, but in this case his action was more like a kamikaze stunt rather than stupid selfiepeople that caused crashes during TdF in the first 3 stages in UK.

And plus, he fled the scene.

Amazing stage today. Don't know why TCG insist on backing Hesjedal.

Proven results and GT win vs a 2nd year pro maybe.

What's happened to Contador?!?

Has anyone actually tried that fucking caffeine shampoo? Every fucking ad break. What is it supposed to do to your hair anyway?

Anti-hairloss... but I was planning on using it instead of espresso in the morning. Poundland had it before the season started, but it has since sold out.

Yeah Richie on the Froome diet