Viewing 15 posts - 81 through 95 (of 95 total)
  • New respect for roadies…
  • ahwiles
    Free Member

    or, Froome is a wet flannel, spoiled by riding on 1:10 ‘climbs’…

    ransos
    Free Member

    So you pic of a race that even the organisers said went too far as an example? That is a 27% hill ridden 3 times in the wet.

    And I’ve done sportives with 25% gradients. So what’s your point?

    unovolo
    Free Member

    Just done a 100k sportive in Jersey , steepest climb was 29% ,I got off and walked admittedly I was riding my brothers old POS with Butterfly shifters and 7speed cassette, it was good fun but whoever planned the route decided to have the bulk of the climbs in the last 3rd of the course…..gits.

    Still I enjoy the occasional sportive and its good to test yourself as I know there’s no chance I’m going to set the fastest time.

    Haze
    Full Member

    Nothing wrong with sportives, so long as they’re not stupidly expensive and you don’t act like an idiot. Which most folk don’t in my experience…

    monkeyfudger
    Free Member

    If it was a race everyone would set off at the same time. By all means go balls out and “race” for a good time but it’s like comparing times on Strava, good fun but meaningless.

    (Monkeyfudger – Strava user who’s done a couple of races and a sportive…)

    mogrim
    Full Member

    By all means go balls out and “race” for a good time but it’s like comparing times on Strava, good fun but meaningless.

    Yeah, but realistically unless you’re actually going for a podium finish you could say that about most “proper” (amateur) races, too.

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    Mogrim – folk in races are at least learning about racing

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    Saw David Arroyo and others walk up the Muro de Aia in the 2010 Basque Tour. 33% in some places.

    Some crazily narrow views on what is a race or sportive on here. As I said above, put a bunch of good cat 3 aerodrome racers in the first pen of Quebrantahuesos and ask them afterwards if it was a race or not. Of course you can bimble round dressed as a smurf and queue at all the feed stations and finish in ten hours. Or you can go for the win (and believe me it is a win) but you’ll need to recruit some fast guys to take the wind and keep you in food and water.
    Maybe it’s different in the UK.

    Edit : here is the man himself

    mtbmatt
    Free Member

    Maybe it’s different in the UK.

    It has been mentioned several times above, yes it is different in the UK.
    France, Italy and Spain too if you say so (I haven’t done Quebrantahuesis, but want to) have sportive style events that are classed as races.

    Ladders
    Free Member

    Do you get points for ‘winning’ a sportive now then?

    mogrim
    Full Member

    France, Italy and Spain too if you say so (I haven’t done Quebrantahuesis, but want to) have sportive style events that are classed as races.

    I did the QH this year (my third time, highly recommended), and it’s definitely a race for the front runners. (So much so one got kicked out for doping 🙄 ) But legally it’s pretty similar to a UK sportive (at least going by what I read here) – it’s not a race.

    The big differences seem to be the local support and the closed roads.

    aracer
    Free Member

    What are they learning that you can’t learn in a sportive?

    mogrim
    Full Member

    Do you get points for ‘winning’ a sportive now then?

    Something like the Quebrantahuesos is well publicised, the results + photos are in the main cycling mags, so yes. Not points, but definitely excellent publicity for an amateur rider who wants a chance at going pro. I imagine L’Etape etc would be fairly similar.

    bob_summers
    Full Member

    The winners of QH are generally at the other end of their careers! A guy on our Saturday chaingang still has the course record, after a fairly unspectacular career ended by a crash in the tour of Colombia. He’s certainly earned a bit of coin off the back of it, it’s a big deal here now the masters series have been axed.

    The guy who was booted for doping (Vázquez) was allowed to enter despite his history, as were others with shady pasts, but on the understanding he wouldn’t go for the win. Which he did, so the moto police had to intervene after unsuccessfully negotiating for him to ease off. Didn’t say how they stopped him. Maybe a truncheon through the spokes!

    cynic-al
    Free Member

    aracer – Member
    cynic-al » Mogrim – folk in races are at least learning about racing
    What are they learning that you can’t learn in a sportive?

    Seriously?

Viewing 15 posts - 81 through 95 (of 95 total)

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