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2020 Pro Cycling Thread: Spreading Corona with La Caravane du Tour


G650

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Tha F did this Seth Kuss guy come from?  I've watched hundreds of hours of cycling over the past couple of years, and I don't recall ever hearing his name.  All of the sudden, Bob Roll is talking about him being one of the best climbers in the world?  Kind of exciting if we can finally have an American to pull for after the void that has been the past 10, or so, years.  

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3 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Tha F did this Seth Kuss guy come from?  I've watched hundreds of hours of cycling over the past couple of years, and I don't recall ever hearing his name.  All of the sudden, Bob Roll is talking about him being one of the best climbers in the world?  Kind of exciting if we can finally have an American to pull for after the void that has been the past 10, or so, years.  

Sepp has been known in the Colorado scene for years now. He was a badass MTB racer in college and has won the Tour of Utah and a stage of the Vuelta last year.  He’s on a great team and focusing on learning how to ride and win grand tours from the experienced guys. It will be fun to watch him and see if he remains a domestique as a climbing specialist or if he will be able to progress as a GC guy. 

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1 hour ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Makes sense.  Vuelta was the grand that was on the channel DirectTV didn't carry.  Hopefully he'll at least get a chance to win a stage in the TDF.

Hopefully he’ll get a chance to do something in the TDF,  but he only got the green light to go for the stage today because his team leader, and GC leader of the race (Roglic) didn’t start the final stage because of a nasty crash yesterday.  Their Tour squad is pretty stacked - Roglic, Tom Dumolin, Steven Kruijswijk,  Wout Van Aert, Robert Gesink, and George Bennett. If something happens that keeps Roglic or Dumolin out of GC contention, Kuss may get a chance to race for a stage win. It will be cool to follow his progress. 

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6 hours ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Tha F did this Seth Kuss guy come from?  I've watched hundreds of hours of cycling over the past couple of years, and I don't recall ever hearing his name.  All of the sudden, Bob Roll is talking about him being one of the best climbers in the world?  Kind of exciting if we can finally have an American to pull for after the void that has been the past 10, or so, years.  

How the fuck did you manage to watch hundred of hours of cycling if you have Direct TV

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6 minutes ago, G650 said:

TJV has a ski jumper and cross country skier lol.

 

I am not sure Kruiswijk will be healed for the Tour but I really hope so because these guys are kicking the Sky bots (Ineos bots?) dicks in right now.

I hope so, too. It was pretty dammed gratifying watching TJV have two riders in the top 10 on GC after Roglic abandoned, and Ineos not have a rider in the final top 10. Hoping for a competitive and exciting TDF. 

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33 minutes ago, G650 said:

How the fuck did you manage to watch hundred of hours of cycling if you have Direct TV

Nbcsn for some; YouTube for others.  Since I had my DTV set to record anything cycling, I'd occasionally get some random reshowing weeks or months after the event.

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5 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Glad we can all agree on Sky/Ineos.

I lived in Wales for close to five years in my 20’s, and the time spent living, working, and traveling all over that side of the world made an impact on me that has lasted into my 50’s. I’m a Geraint Thomas fan, but I’ve never been a fan of that team.  Not sure who I’m actively rooting for yet, but it ain’t INEOS. 

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I’d be cool with a Pinot win. I was pulling for him today to stay close enough to get the GC victory, but Motor Martinez was too strong.  Considering the shit show that 2020 has been so far, it would be cool to see the home country get its first overall some Hinault. At this point, I’m just thrilled that races are happening and I get to watch them. Didn’t get to see Il Lombardia, though. 

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13 hours ago, Whitewater Horn said:

Didn’t get to see Il Lombardia, though. 

Oh man. My favorite race ever, in my favorite place ever.

Because of all the scheduling weirdness, I actually rode the Ghisallo and Sormano one year to the day earlier than this years race funny enough.

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4 hours ago, G650 said:

Oh man. My favorite race ever, in my favorite place ever.

Because of all the scheduling weirdness, I actually rode the Ghisallo and Sormano one year to the day earlier than this years race funny enough.

I love that area north of Milan, especially around Como and Lugano. I never got a chance to ride during trips to Italy, but I rode plenty of notable and memorable places in France and Belgium. I wish I would have had more awareness at that age of the incredible opportunity I had living in Europe to go ride more of the monuments of cycling and epic climbs of the Grand Tours, but I was young and mostly flying by the seat of my pants. Also, most of my other American colleagues had no clue about the world of cycling. 

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On 8/16/2020 at 9:53 AM, Whitewater Horn said:

What a finish to the Dauphiné! It was no surprise that Roglic chose to abandon while in the lead, but it reopened the last day to 8 or 9 others will a legit shot at the GC.  Also cool to see JV get the stage win even though they lost the GC. Fun racing with spectacular scenery. 

Guess I'm the only one that roots against Sky AND France.  

I was somehow a day behind.  Just watched the final stage.  Awesome.  Well done Kuss.

Who would be TJV's general if Roglic isn't ready?

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40 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Guess I'm the only one that roots against Sky AND France.  

I was somehow a day behind.  Just watched the final stage.  Awesome.  Well done Kuss.

Who would be TJV's general if Roglic isn't ready?

It would be between Tom Dumolin and Steven Kruijswijk, with Dumolin being more likely. Kruijswijk is on the mend, so if Roglic isn’t 100% or thereabouts, Dumolin would be their best shot as GC threat IMO. 

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Guess I'm the only one that roots against the French.  

Quick ? about Roglic on Stage 1.  He was motioning for riders to slow down.  Was it more of a suggestion or a demand?  I know the line is fine between the two.  The fact that he's a pre-race favorite makes me think he was worried that others might take advantage of the situation and put him on his back foot.  Just wondering.

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8 minutes ago, Knoxtnhorn said:

Guess I'm the only one that roots against the French.  

Quick ? about Roglic on Stage 1.  He was motioning for riders to slow down.  Was it more of a suggestion or a demand?  I know the line is fine between the two.  The fact that he's a pre-race favorite makes me think he was worried that others might take advantage of the situation and put him on his back foot.  Just wondering.

That was probably more a plea than a demand - it’s not like Roglic has the sway of a patron.  It was the first rain on those roads in long time and    the riders were all feeling how treacherous the conditions had become after a number crashes. Astana says they were trying to get on the front to stay out of trouble, but riders from other teams didn’t see that way. 
 

Just curious about why you root against the French. Did you have a bad experience there? Is it a soccer thing? I don’t want to make assumptions about your reason for that, but there’s this lame, played out thing to hate on the French that I just don’t get. When I lived in the UK, I spent a lot of time in France and had the time of my life. I didn’t experience the negative stereotypes that people told me about France, but I always approached travel as a curious and open minded guest, and trying to have great experiences. I made it a point to know enough of the language to get around, know the currency, and be mindful of local customs, etc. Being a good guest buys a lot of goodwill. I saw plenty of Americans all over Europe who approached travel in those countries in a different way, and their experiences probably mirrored their approach. Anyway, I don’t begrudge anyone their opinion. I just noticed that’s the second time you’ve mentioned wondering if you’re the only one rooting against the French.  Even if you have genuine dislike for them, they haven’t had a winner since Hinault. It would be great morale for the country in a shit year to get a GC winner. There are others I’m personally rooting for, but Pinot and Alaphilippe are likable guys that I would applaud if they wore yellow into Paris. 

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I don't hate the French as a people or country.  Matter of fact, after today, I'm ready to visit Nice.  Perhaps it's my TV or lack of focus, but I spent half of today's broadcast staring at the scenery. 

I guess saying that I root against them was a tad strong as far as wording goes.  In the 20 or so years in which I've watched professional cycling, I've just never found a person or French team that I'd back.  Nothing really against France.  I usually just root for the Americans, Aussies, and Colombians with a Schleck or Sagan here and there. 

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And to be fair, the French haven’t produced a legit GC contender that made you want to root for in a long time. 
 

If you get the chance, definitely visit Nice when it’s safe enjoy travel without so many precautions. The aerial tv coverage is stunning, but you just can’t accurately get the scope of the awe inspiring scenery until you’ve stood on the beach, breathing in the smell of the Med and looking up at the mountains, or looked down from above on the city and the Côte d’Azur. 

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55 minutes ago, G650 said:

Now that Lou Lou is in yellow, I'm assuming France will go ahead and close the country for Covid "concerns"

No shit, lol. I’m sure there are some ASO folks scouring the revised rules to see how quickly they can pull the plug and declare a winner if a French rider is in yellow. They touched on that briefly during the broadcast this morning, and I think they said it has to go for either nine or ten stages before a winner could be declared in the event of a safety shutdown. If Alaphillipe has a repeat performance of last year, I won’t be surprised to wake up to the headline “Merci d’etre venu. Vive la France. Vive le Tour. Au revoir.”

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31 minutes ago, G650 said:

Hope someone goes full Luis Ocana from the GC hopefuls.

Totally. I don’t think the GC contenders can let tomorrow happen without making a move to stay in a strong position. Hopefully everyone keeps the dirty side down today, we get safe sprint, and then tomorrow watch the fireworks after the descent of the last Cat 3 before the climb into Merlette. 

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