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Fantastic race on a great course - well apart from the descent where I tend to agree with CB that it was too unforgiving, sure they often have to race tough descents, but the penalty for failure isn't usually so high. Shame about the crashes - Nibbles isn't my favourite rider, though he'd have been a worthy winner, but who knows what would have happened if the front 3 had stayed away.
I'm also slightly baffled by the tactics with Cummings on the front so much burning him out, when he might have been able to do something later if he'd saved himself. Though to be fair he probably wouldn't have made any difference, and realistically he wouldn't have lived with the final front group (not if Yates couldn't).
Good finish that, and GVA a worthy winner. Great move to drag himself and Fuglsang clear. See a few questioning if it really would have been too hard a course for Sagan now.
Now on to the ladies. Can Armitstead put the past week behind her and grab a medal...?
I've not seen any report on whether Nibali or Henao were injured in that crash. Not nice to see a race decided by crashes but then it is part of bike racing.
Stunning race, fantastic shame for so many crashing out.
Does anyone have any news on how the fallers are fairing today, hopefully nothing too serious. Wishing all a speedy recovery.
Can Armitstead put the past week behind her and grab a medal...?
This made me think, if you are caning the juice and still can't win does this make you a bigger loser?
Agree with all the other comments on the course providing a lot of possible scenarios and a really good finish
See a few questioning if it really would have been too hard a course for Sagan now.
I think he'll be very much kicking himself, especially given the winner and how it played out. If the MTB course really suits him more than the RR then Nino and co really had better watch out 😉
Rusty Mac - Member
Stunning race, fantastic shame for so many crashing out.
Does anyone have any news on how the fallers are fairing today, hopefully nothing too serious. Wishing all a speedy recovery.
G - fine
Porte & Nibali- collarbone
Henao - pelvis
Not sure how confirmed this is.
Porte & Nibali- collarbone
Nibali broke [b]both[/b] collarbones according to CyclingNews. I'm not really a Nibali fan but he really didn't deserve that and he was racing brilliantly up to that point.
Harsh luck for the fallers. Nibali had that won IMO.
We done the TV coverage yet? Very little in the way of time gaps or who was where on the road in final 50k or so.
TV coverage was pretty poor, I don't understand how events like this can't take the methods used for successful events like the tour etc and implement them to make the most of the show.
Never was it truer that they only count the winners at the finishing post.
Don't pass that first and whatever you have done is wasted no matter how much spin you put on it. And you have to stay on your bike (unless you're Chris Froome where it's optional 🙂 ).
Even the commentators were complaining about the lack of information such as time gaps. I suspect it's down to the games organisers not having contracts with companies like Dimension Data or ASO probably because of existing contracts with whoever does the timing for other sports in the games. (Not a cynic me, no)
On the plus side though the actual footage was great with little picture break up or anything - which seems to be harder to do than you'd think if most races other than the tour are anything to go by.
Shame for the fallers, but they were always going to take risks on the descent to open a gap or close a gap. It's part of the race, making those decisions in a split second - it's just those big kerbs gave no run offs and i wonder if injuries were caused by hitting them rather than the ground. But it's not that they were a surprise or they hadn't seen them on previous circuits, so have to be factored in just as you'd factor in a wet road on another day.
Of course you don't want to see injuries, and also with the Henao / Nibali incident, did one bring the other down (I suspect so - unlikely to both crash simultaneously in the same spot but independantly) - in which case one guy got robbed, and if it had been Majka +1, maybe they'd have held on.
I fancied G to get back on after the crash and be a contender again..... ah well. Ifs, buts and maybes.
Can't see EA contending today - too hilly I think. But if she's sufficently angry, maybe.
Just watched replay, was a thrilling for race. Majka was a picture of effort of that last few k, proper heroes rude on his own. As for the crashing - notice how the road had all been freshly tarmaced, but they don't use kerbs like in Europe - the new tarmac is built up high on the old Road surface. That means that there's a crumbly edge and a big drop off into the gutter. No second chances for anyone that runs a cm wide.
Harsh luck for the fallers. Nibali had that won IMO.
Nibali was working super hard and was looking hungrier than anyone and it is very possible he'd be left to work on the flat run in, or at least the other two would be taking some soft turns... Majka is the guy I really feel for. He did almost everything right but just didn't have anyone to share the work on the flat with. Cruel irony of working and finding yourself at the head of the race only for the events that put you in that position damage your chances of holding on
[quote=whitestone ]Even the commentators were complaining about the lack of information such as time gaps. I suspect it's down to the games organisers not having contracts with companies like Dimension Data or ASO probably because of existing contracts with whoever does the timing for other sports in the games. (Not a cynic me, no)
They should have logged on to cyclingnews live feed, which did at least have some information (it was the only way I found out who was in the original front group). I don't think we're particularly spoilt in other races, it's presumably not that hard to do well, just that as always with the Olympics they seem to get in the people who normally cover other sports and have never provided coverage for a bike race before (I suspect the cameramen and whoever was managing the uplinks had as they were clearly very good at their jobs, though the director selecting which camera to show us was also clearly a novice).
I notice Geraint Thomas became a Welsh rider after his fall... 🙂
@aracer - one of the helicopters that follows the race is a relay for the TV signals from the cameras on the motorbikes. There was a comment about them being surprised at so little breakup of the pictures due to the tree cover.
What the **** is with the stupid TT ruling that you must also do the road race? Seems as dumb as the old mtb days where everyone ended up doing trials even if they were DH specialists
There is no such rule AFAIK, it's simply that the total number of riders is limited - [s]Emma[/s] somebody could just ride the TT, but then their team would be a rider short in the road race. I think it's also total riders across all cycling, so in theory a track rider could ride the TT and still have a full road race team of other riders (I think Van Moorsel might have been the last rider - at least high profile one - to do that, but she probably rode the road race too).
edit: checking results, Van Moorsel won the pursuit, road race and time trial in Sydney
LOL at CB riding off on the orange bike after his preview - you'd think he'd never ridden a bike before!
The first rider to abandon was Dutch rider Tom Dumoulin, who broke his wrist in the final week of the Tour de France. A favorite for a medal in Wednesday’s time trial, Dumoulin — like all time-trial riders — was required to start the road race to compete in the time trial, but abandoned inside the first 14km.
So EA has already had a bike change (puncture apparently) and is trying to get back on, meanwhile EP is putting the pressure on at the front thus making EA's job a lot more difficult...
EP probably doesn't have a clue about what's happened to EA
EP probably doesn't have a clue about what's happened to EA
She won't.
Nikki Harris has realised but she needs to either drop back and pace EA back on or get up to Emma and tell her. Instead she's just sort of sitting there waiting.
No radio comms in the Olympics so EP won't know
All back together except for that lone breakaway.
Apart from some brief flurries, the peloton are barely ticking along. Maybe this crosswind will liven things up a bit.
Is the BBC covering this on Freeview or is it just online?
Cobbled section to come, this could be interesting when the peloton hits it...
Is the BBC covering this on Freeview or is it just online?
Red button.
red button aint up here in scotland!
It was scheduled to come on BBC1 - not sure when - watching MTB XC WC first. Hopefully timings work to swap to the end of the RR after, then swap back for the mens MTB.
Safe to say, this probably isn't working out well for GB...
And EP brings back the break by herself.
No she doesn't!!
Got within 12 seconds then they've let it go out again!
WTF is NH doing dragging the peleton back to EP?
I don't think she was, at least not actively but there's a lot of weird tactics in this so far from various countries.
What channel is this on please? My red button doesn't seem to be working tonight!
Didn't see those cobbles yesterday.
Did they lay them specifically for the race?
iPlayer, thanks but, I don't have that! Just an ordinary TV.
How are you on here ?
@cha****ng - They were on the mens course as well. From the commentary it seems like they are a pedestrian or some light traffic area of some sort. The tarmac sections to the side are for the TT course.
Gruppo compatto.