MegaSack DRAW - This year's winner is user - rgwb
We will be in touch
Cracking startlist for the opener Omloop Het Nieuwsblad Saturday!
can Pidcock or Van Aert put the QS machine (Lampaert, Declerq, Honore, Keisse, Asgreen, Senechal and Stybar!!!) to the sword ?
2022 Omloop Het Nieuwsblad
Sat February 26 196 km
2022 Kuurne-Brussels-Kuurne
Sun February 27 201km
2022 Strade Bianche
Sat March 05 176 km
2022 Milano-Torino
Wed March 16 198 km
2022 Milano Sanremo
Sat March 19 291 km
2022 E3 Saxo Bank Classic
Fri March 25 203 km
2022 Gent-Wevelgem
Sun March 27 243 km
2022 Tour of Flanders
Sun April 03 255km
2022 Scheldeprijs
Wed April 06 208 km
2022 Brabantse Pijl
Wed April 13 205km
2022 Amstel Gold Race
Sun April 17 250 km
2022 La Fleche Wallonne
Wed April 20 196km
2022 Brittany Classic-Ouest France
Sat April 23 229 km
2022 Liege–Bastogne–Liege
Sun April 24 250 km
2022 Clásica San Sebastián
Sat July 30 219km
2022 Paris-Roubaix
Sun October 02 258 km
NOw we're talking... can't wait for a bit of that !!!!
my favourite racing time of the year !
How come Paris Roubaix is October again? Likely to be a permanent fixture?
And thanks flannol- that's some serious sofa time I'm planning 😂
That list is my idea of TV heaven! Tro Bro Leon on 15 May also worth a watch.
Paris-Roubaix is 17/4
Amstel Gold is 10/4
Strade Bianche is 184km
my favourite racing time of the year !
That. Classics are such a great watch. At a wedding on Sat which is what GCN on Android is for
I'm getting plenty of beers in.
Paris-Roubaix is 17/4
Yes. No mention of the ladies race on GCN at the moment. Hopefully it will magically appear nearer the time.
Yeah I thought P-R had been put back a week due to French elections, is October a copy and paste error from last year's schedule?
Thanks for the list though, I tend just to go on pot luck with whatever is on Eurosport 😎
Can anyone decent Youtube channel/on-demand TV channel for catching up with reasonably detailed highlights of the spring classics? i.e. not just 5 minutes but half an hour or an hour.
I'm assuming I can't watch any of these live, not having Eurosport or anything?
@thenorthwind a GCN subscription is your best bet. (but then you'd also be able to watch them live, so...)
You can watch all of these and more with a GCN+ sub:
https://help.globalcyclingnetwork.com/hc/en-gb/articles/360015566600-United-Kingdom
£40 a year for the sub, £30 at the moment if you are a BC member:
https://www.britishcycling.org.uk/search/article/20210930-25--off-annual-subscription-of-GCN--0
I subscribed to Eurosport last year for £20 (half price). I went to cancel on the app and it automatically offered a renewal at £20 again.
Is there anything on GCN that is not on the Eurosport app? I have not found anything yet.
Thanks, but not really interested enough to pay for a subscription service. I know, content doesn't grow on trees, etc. etc...
A quick google brought these up, might be of use?
https://cycling.today/live-streaming/
http://www.cyclingfans.com/
Looks like they are covering a lot/all of them, and live too.
The GCN app was a pain in the arse for me trying to watch it on my TV. Couldn't cast from Android phone to LG TV, couldn't sign in to Discovery App on TV due to Discovery App on phone not talking to Discovery App on TV, etc. etc.
Somebody with more patience, luck or tech savvy than me might get on fine with it but for just collapsing on sofa and switching something on it wasn't worth the faff so I binned it.
I'd suggest YouTube, worst case you'll find a feed with either no commentary or Belgian commentary 😂
double post
The GCN app was a pain in the arse for me trying to watch it on my TV. Couldn’t cast from Android phone to LG TV, couldn’t sign in to Discovery App on TV due to Discovery App on phone not talking to Discovery App on TV, etc. etc.
Somebody with more patience, luck or tech savvy than me might get on fine with it but for just collapsing on sofa and switching something on it wasn’t worth the faff so I binned it.
I had the same problems with the GCN app through the smart TV, it was just constantly buffering and stopping, I contacted GCN and it's a problem they are aware of and have been looking at for a year now. It didn't fill me with confidence that it would get fixed soon, so I moved over to Discovery+ / Eurosport last week, taking advantage of the 50% off deal.
If I could just sign up to Discovery App via my TV without having to piss about with phone and/or laptop then they can have my money!
GCN is still a bit behind everyone when it comes to app support, which is a bit frustrating. I saw this on their site and thought it was pretty funny though.
I get that people don't want to pay for something, particularly when the money is going to some big cooperate. But my experience of those free streaming sites is that it is a false economy if you place a value on your time and viewing experience - dead streams, forever glitching, foreign or no commentary, ads, pop ups etc.
At £20-40 for an annual Eurosport, GCN+ subscription, it represents a fair product at a fair price.
I get that people don’t want to pay for something, particularly when the money is going to some big cooperate. But my experience of those free streaming sites is that it is a false economy if you place a value on your time and viewing experience – dead streams, forever glitching, foreign or no commentary, ads, pop ups etc.
I personally don't object to paying, but it turns out that for me the ultimate value is convenience, I want the fewest steps required to get some bikes on my TV screen, pronto. Sadly the apps don't seem to deliver this so I prefer taking my chances with Eurosport channel or Youtube 😎
If I could just sign up to Discovery App via my TV without having to piss about with phone and/or laptop then they can have my money!
I took out a Discovery+ sub and then installed the app on Amazon Prime and can watch everything on the big screen or on my iPad
Hmm. I've a Eurosport sub, but can't find/get the channel on my TV. What do I need to do?
Hmm. I’ve a Eurosport sub, but can’t find/get the channel on my TV. What do I need to do?
Me too. I recently discovered that with an Android phone you can use Smart View and link it to a smart tv via Wifi. Try the Mirroring app on the TV.
. I recently discovered that with an Android phone you can use Smart View and link it to a smart tv via Wifi. Try the Mirroring app on the TV.
It's enough to make me want to go back to Sky sometimes 😀
I also pay for the Eurosport app but rarely watch it because of the faff involved.
Will try to get my money's worth for the classics though.
Totally agree. Don't get me started on their website and scheduling....
Don’t get me started on their website and scheduling….
Try living in Belg and discovering they don't have the rights to stuff that's just down the road and everyone else gets to watch 🙁
But of course I could just get off my bum and go and watch it for real 🙂
slight diversion, watching UAE tour waiting for main event, Podj is going be tough to beat this year with João Almeida dragging him up the climbs.
it's all kicking off now!
so strong!!!! absolutely flying
zelfs zijn haar is spectaculair:
edited to remove massive spoiler - you can copy/paste the link to learn all you need to know
**
MvDP riding Milan San Remo, is it just to get some racing in his legs or is he in it to win it ?
titanic battle up the poggio !
and its won on the descent!
That was amazing descending
and its won on the descent!
Just! That was one nailbiting final couple of km!
The unofficial world road downhill championships has a winner !
I wonder what Sagan would've made of it
the bunny hop out of the gutter just so nonchalant 😀
UCi bans droppers in....3...2...1
the bunny hop out of the gutter just so nonchalant
well, yes. But he put his head down and sprinted himself *into* the gutter.
And was extremely fortunate he got out. No time to think, hence the nonchalance.
Limited criticism: he was there, and winning. Max rate rate, taking risks, and it paid off.
But he got out of a situation he put himself into while not even looking.
Just caught up on MSR. The Cipressa was savage and I thought that it would be Pgacar, Roglic and WVA fighting it out on the Poggia, without reckoning on the sneaky dropper post attack! Interesting that Mohoric chose to use a dropper over an aero bike and it paid off. Is MSR the only race with a descent that close to the finish that it can be decided with a dropper!?
But he put his head down and sprinted himself *into* the gutter.
I think he was looking to see if he had a gap.
MVdP 3rd, mancrush in overdrive as we head to Flanders!!
mancrush in overdrive as we head to Flanders!!
My mancrush did his usual, sat very close to the front the whole time, chased every move, ruined himself for the final sprint and eventually didn't even contest it (I've noticed in the past he's sort of 'all or nothing' in that respect).
I wonder if MvdP got inside WvA's head again though, although they were both very quick to credit one another for working in the chase, a bit different from the handbags after Ghent Wevelgem (?) a couple of years ago.
Catching up on some of the minor classics on Eurosport.
Commentators both asked the same question I was wondering after Sagan's mechanical - why can't the pros put their own chains back on??
I don't mean when it's jammed solid under the BB shell, I mean when it's obviously just hanging loose and rattling off the sides of the chainrings and the cranks are still spinning. Seen two other instances of riders waiting for team car when there is obviously nothing jammed or stuck.
why can’t the pros put their own chains back on??
It's cringey to watch isn't it?! They look like the average Sportive rider, standing on the left of the bike, bent double over it fiddling around ineffectually.
I wonder how much of it is mechanics / DS telling riders not to mess around with it; the car and a nice new bike will be with you imminently. Better to stand there and grab a quick drink then get rolling again than get your hands covered in crap. Maybe?
Yeah or maybe they just want to be sure they have a fresh bike, rather than taking time to get chain back on etc. then getting 500m further down the road and finding their Di2 is in crash recovery or something
Oof, Nokere Koerse! Uphill sprint finish on cobbles, lots of alarming sideways back wheel action 😬
some nice analysis from Dan
Lets see if they can beat me this weekend 🙂
I noticed the Eurosport commentators talking up Michael Matthews yet again. Why do they do this? Is it just because he can speak English? Are they friendly with him? Because, let's be honest, he had a cat's chance in hell of winning M-SR against thaT field, and, looking at his palmares, it's many years since he was at his best and he wasn't even that good then.
Or is it just me? 😀
Sprinters day out in the sun for Brugge-De Panne today.
com' on Mark don't crash this year !
Nice... i knew it was on but hadn't checked who was or wasn't racing yet.
Or is it just me?
Yes. Bling is still pretty handy despite not having had a win for ages - until a couple of days ago. But no, he wasn't going to win MSR. Tadej Pogacar was. Oh wait...
booo hissss no echelon madness it's just sunday club ride to the pub and back!!!
Horny tractors !!!!!
fascinating tactical battle !
boom!
Awesome
Awesome indeed. That was great to see
Women's Gent-Wevelghem just finishing now, this is a very attacking race.
It was epic. We were in a bar 200m from the line talking garbage with Belgians over lots of beers.
We went to Ypres this morning to watch the start, the drove back to Aalbeke then cycled to wevelgem to watch and drink beer with locals. As you'd expect, they're all massive Woute fans (for pronunciation not spelling)
But everyone really enjoyed it
My cranks are borked and even after 80nm this morning they are now falling off for the 3rd time this weekend. Lol. Trying to race my mate home expectibg the cranks to fall off as they were moving 20deg to side on every pedal stroke was comical.
crazy racing !!!!
come on tom!
monster
That was a proper battle in the last 3-4km... epic..
Tom was unlucky, but i think at best even if he'd got the gap closed to VDP and Benoot, the best he'd have managed was still 2nd... VDP just had the power at the right time.
Wout is unwell today and is doubtful for Sunday - horrible luck given what he has prioritised this season. A lot of illness disrupting the peloton it seems.
On the face of it a massive gift to everyone else capable of winning the race - although vdP being clear fav may not be such a helpful thing for him in how the race unfolds.
NP was 373 apparently!
Tour of Flanders on Sunday - first time for the Women's peloton in going up the Koppenberg as well. Annemiek van Vleuten is the defending champion.
Men's race seems quite an open one - no Peter Sagan, no Julian Alaphilippe, Wout van Aert is in doubt (missed the team recon ride due to illness). Tom Pidcock is on the start list though as is last year's winner Kasper Asgreen.
Pogacar outside chance? Solo long attack?
MVdP massive favourite but hasn't much team support. Can see Laporte or Benoit going and no one chasing. Pidcock has a strong team around him so has a good chance. I expect MVdP will go early and hope only 1 from each team can follow.
The old Quickstep wolfpack of years gone by have had a quiet spring by their standards. No doubt missing Declercq the tractor, who's just coming back and they have a lot of illness going around so I guess Asgreen will be freelancing. I'd like to see Turgis and Campenaerts do well this year and spare a thought for poor old Sep Vanmarke who can't ride as Israel whatever they are called, are out due to Covid cases. He's had so much bad luck at Flanders over the years.
The obvious prediction is that Jumbo seek to isolate MvDP and do him in a sprint, a la Asgreen. Hopefully, Pidcock's form is coming back and he'll be there to contest the final.
Mads P v MVdP for me. Would like MVdP to get it though.
Can't see Pogacar having the power to drop MVdP but I could imagine them both going clear together
Would love to see a spectacular MVDP win a la Amstel Gold. But think Pogacar will be in with a great shout (not a fan!).
Wout's got Covid! Wonder how rest of Jumbo are feeling? Benoot seemed pretty healthy on Wednesday.