Primo doing the Giro-Tour double. Seems like a good hedge bet in picking a GT that Pogacar won’t be at.
PSA: Soliding racing at the citadel for both men and women. And the Na-monster course clearly doesn’t care who you are - a lot of people with 1s and 2s pinned on body surfing down off-cambers. Lot of drama. Great to see Puck back - women’s field was fully stacked. I don’t think there was a single hitter missing.
Piddles the last one yet to declare his CX season or lack of one. This winter going for maximum drama in everything, I guess. I don’t think the delay would be equipment-related as he gets to keep Pinarello for off-road purposes. To be fair, I guess he would want to sort out his schedule with his new Q36.5 staff before announcing things.
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I assume the signing of pidcock means Q36.5 gets some more invites… maybe their racing calendar is still TBD based on that?
Piddles has no chance taking on any of the current GT contenders so for Q 36.5 it’s a good move to have someone like him across so many disciplines. He does seem like a tough one to manage, hopefully he becomes a little more of a team player.
His Pinarello deal but be a fat stack. With Schurter retiring at the end of ‘25 I’d have thought they’d be looking at Piddles—especially since that’s the team bike.
Perhaps this is premature, but is anyone thinking of going to Europe to spectate Paris-Roubaix?
As mentioned upthread, we bought fully-refundable fare, so there’s a chance I won’t make it at all. So far, there’s no indication that we will bail, and as the proposed departure date is less than 4 months away, I’m beginning to look at hotels. If I do go, it’ll be for Paris Roubaix weekend (and possibly Amstel, though more likely that we would be in Germany the following weekend). For ease of operation, I would most likely stay in Lille (seems like a depressing industrial town) or Kortrijk (at least has a lot of cycling options). I would be on my own until Tuesday, when my wife would arrive at CDG.
I wish my commitment would be firmer, but we unfortunately are booking refundable accommodations.
Thinking about it? For sure. Actually doing it is the tougher yes.
For me, yeah, I’d love to get over there to spectate and ride (though I feel like I’d be more likely to centre things around De Ronde than Roubaix), but that’s probably a post-retirement thing, and hence quite a ways off for me.
I’d love to, but would have a hard time pre-retirement as well. Particularly since I already get some flack for organizing “vacations” around bike things.
“Oh look, honey, it says here there’s a bike race tomorrow finishing here in Roubaix…I guess it finishes in this old velodrome”
Dummy. She knows that word.
Open air antique marche’
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I went last year and stayed in Oudenaarde. The Flanders Race Museum is there, and I was able to catch both races along with the women’s events. It was about an hour drive to Roubaix and the Arenburg Forest where I watched the race come thru. You can rent bikes at the museum or at the Flandrien Hotel in Brakel about 20 min away. Which also has a nice display of bikes. Lots of great routes and all the Bergs are close by.
It was definitely one of my favorite places.
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A Good Dude Club favorite Derek Gee is targeting GC at the Giro next year. Hopefully IPT and @marcag pull out all of the aero tricks to help him out along the way.
Ixnay on the elovay omdray
Whoa - its been awhile. I got a new pc to ride a platform a friend designed for videos I film (similar to fulgaz) and… I had no idea how to find this part of slow twitch (also got pretty off season lazy). Hopefully a good book mark and i’m back! Despite a really sweet platform for using the kickr bike I’ve actually done the 3 coldest rides I’ve done in years with my sister whose cycling interest has skyrocketed. Mid to upper 30s - 2 rides were silly windy and 1 was foggy and drizzly. Suffice to say (if the new pc evidence wasn’t enough) - i’m an idiot. read through a few posts - the how do we oldies (57 here) cope with limiting the losses and not reaching beyond what we can adapt from stuff always piques my interest.
To echappist traveling for racing. That is not for me - I’m part of a solid (wife and kids in) Baltimore (jack) crew headed to the Pyrenees next year and we are choosing the week after the tour. BUT - we’ll hit all the stuff they hit cuz that is just uber cool. The side of Soulour they take and the back roads of Borderes to Saint Savin and Argeles - Gaz are amazing. then the gut punch of hautacam. I sure wish they expand the ITT a little (11k?), but day 3 Tourmalet, Aspin, Peyresourde, and Superbagneres is huge. Lemond v Hinault '85 and Lemond v Fignon '89 - GREAT stuff.
ok - back to heading out for a trail run (the winters are about stuff that makes me slower short term but HOPEFULLY adds to functionality long term) and presents errands.
Looking forward to Wout’s cross exploits and US roadies coming out hot in early season!
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Welcome back. Technology can be confusing for us senior citizens.
Vuelta route looks muy bueno for Pogacar. Have to believe Venga is thinking the same.
NICE!!! 
If you got out for ride, you better come back
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Fun races in the slop this AM. That stupid F’in hill.
Nice wins in both, front packers but not the Usual Suspects.
well that didn’t take long this morning;
He never ceases to amaze me.
My lord they are fast:
and the first matchup clash is off between the 2 titans