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Nibali waves through Valverde to chase Rodriguez?
Won't there be some protests if Nibali gets it?
Nibali's goosed.
Christ Piti is going to get this ffs!
Come on J-Rod you ****er!
some finish!
What an awful awful race and by far the worst winner we've had for years.
What a crap thing to say. Winning such a punishing race through terrible conditions is quite an achievement. How can he be a worst winner?
great last few k's cat and mouse racing.
What an awful awful race and by far the worst winner we've had for years.
😯
Eh?
Tough conditions, epic last few kms.
why is there sound of dial up modem in the background ? 😕
Tom B - Member
What an awful awful race and by far the worst winner we've had for years.
Could you do better in those conditions? Or in fact, in any conditions? If not, shut up.
What an awful awful race and by far the worst winner we've had for years.
Idiot!!
Haha whether or not I can do better is irrelevant isn't it? I'm not a pro and wasn't in the race. Can you do any better?
Costa sucked the wheel of Nibali for almost all of the last lap, didn't instigate any of the moves and pipped the most aggressive rider on the line. That's road racing, but looking back through the years it's a while since we've had a winner with a lower profile. Can't imagine that he'll be showing of the rainbow jersey at the sharp end of too many big races.
As for it being an awful race, well it was. 15 minutes of excitement out of a 7 hour plus race is very very dull. If you think that it was good then you either watched the last half hour only or don't watch very much cycling!
Nibali had no chance against them spaniards. Good ride though. Don't know why Costa is an undeserving winner. He rode the last few kms brilliantly and timed it all to perfection. Good ride as far as I'm concerned.
That's road racing, but looking back through the years it's a while since we've had a winner with a lower profile. Can't imagine that he'll be showing of the rainbow jersey at the sharp end off too many big races.
That'll be Rui Costa who won the Tour de Suisse this year and last, finished 3rd at the Tour de Romandie this year and won two stages of the TDF. How much road racing do you watch?
my thoughts, pretty poor show by all the brits, if nibaly can fall and then still catch up and get a medal, what the hell is the british lads excuses, about time they got their ego,s out of the way and started acting like professional bike riders, its no good people saying i dont blame them for giving up, their pro riders, they dont get paid to just give up, i didnt see costa with any team mates around him, so froomes excuse was crap, my opinion, the brit lads have done them selves no favours at all, ffs there was a romanian still riding near the end, where was his team mates, he did it on his own.
It wasn't awfull and the best man on the day won, but the weather and length made it very difficult on that course. 7hr 25 probably to long it would always be a war of attrition with nothing kicking of untill the final lap.
my thoughts, pretty poor show by all the brits, if nibaly can fall and then still catch up and get a medal, what the hell is the british lads excuses, about time they got their ego,s out of the way and started acting like professional bike riders, its no good people saying i dont blame them for giving up, their pro riders, they dont get paid to just give up, i didnt see costa with any team mates around him, so froomes excuse was crap, my opinion, the brit lads have done them selves no favours at all, ffs there was a romanian still riding near the end, where was his team mates, he did it on his own.
Spot on there Stevie
it should be an interesting atmosphere at team GB dinner tonight.
Yeah pretty poor show from the brits. Froome's hardly rqced since the TdF and I imagine that his life must have been pretty chaotic. Not really sure what plan B was ever going to be....Thomas maybe? Not sure what he's been upto since breaking his hip at le tour. Kennaugh could maybe gave done something were he there.
I still don't think that Costa's palmares stands up to the likes of Cav Gilbert Hushovd Evans Bettini Friere etc but ho hum.
Ha ha Tom B: I didn't realise you were commenting from the viewpoint of an armchair cyclist, someone who spends their life watching cycling on the TV. Try getting out on a bike and you'll realise how hard it is.
The last four were all working as pro cyclists. Not a group of guys trying to make it entertaining. I watched all of it, not just the last half hour and I enjoyed it
It was pretty much what I expected from the world champs, it's never a classic race, but is entertaining to watch in any case. The weather chucked in another variable that perhaps some of the riders were unwilling or unable to put up with.
Why do you all expect so much from the Brits? Clearly Nibali had the legs today and Froome didn't. Wiggo doesn't ride in the rain. What Costa or some Romanian did is irrelevant - clearly they were also riding better than Froome. As for the rest of the British team, they'd done the job they went there to do and got dropped. For those still complaining about them abandoning after they were dropped, you should check just how many riders did actually finish the race - you'll find it's not a lot more than were in the main group at the start of the last lap, so you're complaining about them doing the same as all the other pro riders.
Tom B - so it's rubbish because one of the bigger names didn't win? Presumably Costa should have just sat back and accepted he wasn't worthy in that company.
Eh? Of course I'm an armchair fan...like I said, I'm not a pro and I'm hardly going to ride alongside and watch am I? I take it that you are involved in the pro peloton then or are you an armchair fan too?
Did 32 miles offroad in Wales yesterday on my bike fwiw.
I thought Costa deserved it, his tactics were spot on.
Now if you want an undeserved victory, look at last years Olympic road race.
What you mean a former doper buying the win from a very poor actor 😀
proper racing, Costa did Nibbles up like a kipper, well deserved win
Yeah proper win, Costas been there or there a outs all year.
if wiggo doesnt ride in the rain ,what the hell was he doing there, as for the brits doing their stint, what the hell was that, they all gave up, thats not what i call doing their stint for the team, take a long hard look at the italians, both the womans race and the mens, they burried them selves for the sake of the team, that seems to be the probelm, as soon as the italien riders put on a team shirt, they ride as a team and not a bunch of individuals, i cant think of any pro sport that when the going gets tough the team just gives up, lizzy armestead had no chance of winning yesterday but she kept going and finished the race, she puts the brit mens team to shame, thats the trouble with this country they make too many excuses for these highly paid sports men, you only have to look at the england football team, great individuals, but never seem to be able to play consistantly good as a team, too many ego,s lol, pro cycling is no different to any other pro sport, you just dont give up, how many times have you seen england rugby take a battering, they dont just walk off, they man up and get on with it, if the british cycling team cant man up and act as a team, then they shouldnt be wearing the british jersey. if i was teh manager of the britsh team i wouldnt be happy with any of the men, doestnt matter what they have won in the past or what title they have got, if they cant race as a team and work for each other, then dont wear the team jersey, simples, the rest is just crap excuses.
Its interesting that Sean Yates (whatever you think of him) says nobody at sky/British cycling knows nothing about cycling. While that's obviously not true about track and generally the grand tours I do think they lack nous at the one day events generally. Why do we try to control the race from the start? It plays into everybody else's hands and we aren't able to respond when it kicks off. It's almost as though if we aren't in absolute control we don't know what to do.
as soon as the italien riders put on a team shirt, they ride as a team and not a bunch of individuals
this is only a recent thing, there used to be a lot of in fighting, different factions in one team, even working against each other on the road
rocketddog, quote. this is only a recent thing, there used to be a lot of in fighting, different factions in one team, even working against each other on the road
well obviously they have a good manager then, maybe british cycling should be looking at new management,
the only thing the british mens team actualy did as a team was give up on mass, and sit in the team bus. as an ex pro rugby player, i was always taught you never give up, no matter what, giving up is an amateur trait, and thats exactly what the brits showed today, they acted like a bunch of amateur,s
I can see it both ways from the brit riders point of view...they were utter shite today and it is pretty galling that with a long way to go they had all packed. On the other hand once they were on the wrong end of the splits and given the conditions, they would have just been risking crashing/getting ill with very little reward.
Great ride by Costa. Showed the same class as he did on those tdf stage victories.
if wiggo doesnt ride in the rain ,what the hell was he doing there, as for the brits doing their stint, what the hell was that, they all gave up, thats not what i call doing their stint for the team, take a long hard look at the italians, both the womans race and the mens, they burried them selves for the sake of the team, that seems to be the probelm, as soon as the italien riders put on a team shirt, they ride as a team and not a bunch of individuals, i cant think of any pro sport that when the going gets tough the team just gives up, lizzy armestead had no chance of winning yesterday but she kept going and finished the race, she puts the brit mens team to shame, thats the trouble with this country they make too many excuses for these highly paid sports men, you only have to look at the england football team, great individuals, but never seem to be able to play consistantly good as a team, too many ego,s lol, pro cycling is no different to any other pro sport, you just dont give up, how many times have you seen england rugby take a battering, they dont just walk off, they man up and get on with it, if the british cycling team cant man up and act as a team, then they shouldnt be wearing the british jersey. if i was teh manager of the britsh team i wouldnt be happy with any of the men, doestnt matter what they have won in the past or what title they have got, if they cant race as a team and work for each other, then dont wear the team jersey, simples, the rest is just crap excuses.
Ever heard of punctuation? You may have written something worth reading but I just get a headache trying to wade through your post...
this is only a recent thing, there used to be a lot of in fighting, different factions in one team, even working against each other on the road
See Charlie Wegelius
I can't quite see how Valverde didn't win that
Costa must be a hell of a poker player - looked dead & buried with 15 minutes to go
well obviously they have a good manager then, maybe british cycling should be looking at new management,
yes, if there's one thing you can say about the current management at british cycling it's that they've been an unmitigated failure.
For ****'s sake get a grip.
Proper lol at some of the comments on here about the British team. It's not some amateur sportive challenge where you get a medal if you finish!
Great race though. Thought Rui Costa played a blinder. Hung in there all day, sat the back when he got back into the lead group and timed his jump to Purito perfectly.
Just watched the highlights. It looked like carnage. Possibly a battle for the brave? And I'm not sure there's really any truly brave riders in the British team.
Cav's pretty useful when the weather turns bad, but this was never going to be his race. Well done Rui, end of a good season. At least he might scrape more than a single stage win in the Vuelta next year 😉
butcher - Member
Just watched the highlights. It looked like carnage. Possibly a battle for the brave? And I'm not sure there's really any truly brave riders in the British team.
Geraint Thomas finished the TdF with a fractured pelvis after crashing on the first stage. That's pretty brave.
Great 'in car' view of the race. Carnage.
as an ex pro rugby player, i was always taught you never give up, no matter what, giving up is an amateur trait, and thats exactly what the brits showed today, they acted like a bunch of amateur,s
You being taught it doesnt make it right. It might be disappointing but why should they continue? Risk sickness and injury to make up the numbers, on a race with a short circuit where back markers get in the way (and get pulled out), when they are ultimately professionals earning handsome salaries to race for a professional team (not Team GB) in a season that hasnt finished yet. Carrying on might be "heroic", but its also pointless and arguably reckless.
By your measure most of the field were "amateurs"
- GB: the entire team DNF
- Italy (home nation): 5 of 9 DNF
- Switzerland: 6 of 9 DNF
- Australia: Simon Clarke was the only finisher
- Spain: 5 of 9 DNF, including Contador
- Netherlands: 6 of 9 DNF
- Slovakia: 5 of 6 DNF (Peter Sagan was the only finisher in 6th place)
(from inrng.com
I'm a fan of Nibali and some of the character he's shown this year (eg. desperately attacking Horner) but the car-drafting and magic sticky spanner was way beyond what should be tolerated, if it'd been anyone other than an Italian it would have led to a DQ.
Gutted for 'Purito', always liked him and he's the modern day Poulidor. Interesting trade vs nation loyalties, Valverde was supposed to chase every wheel that attacked 'Purito'. Did he let Costa go because he didnt have the legs (as he claims) or because they are team mates? How does he get on with 'Purito'? All part of the team vs the individual intrigue that adds to the enjoyment of cycle racing.
Its interesting that Sean Yates (whatever you think of him) says nobody at sky/British cycling knows nothing about cycling
Which is odd, as they're the #1 team in the World Tour rankings, were #1 last year and #2 the year before. Imagine how much better they'd be if they had a decent manager. Sean Yates wrote an inflammatory quote to get some attention for his book, I wouldn't read too much into it.