TFM's Awesome Cycling Thread

Discussion in 'Sports' started by Think for myself, Feb 4, 2012.

  1. Think for myself

    Think for myself Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    2 in a row. Sagan wins the world title again, narrowly beating out the Manx Missle.

    This guy is on fire!

    https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...mpionships-2016-mens-road-race-mark-cavendish

    t the end of one of the toughest world championships in many years, through the desert north of Doha, Mark Cavendish ended up just over a bike length away from the second world road title of his career, taking the silver medal behind Peter Sagan, who became one of a select few male professionals to win a second successive title.

    Cavendish was balked twice as the strong men – among the 18 survivors of desert heat, high winds and sandstorms – fought out the sprint. First he opted to remain on Sagan’s wheel as his lead-out man Adam Blythe – an excellent 12th in the end – began his effort to the left, visibly seeking out Cavendish but to no avail.

    Sagan’s was, indeed, the wheel to follow but, as the Slovak nipped through a gap between the Italian Giacomo Nizzolo and the barriers, Cavendish seemed to realise in an instant that option might not work and moved right. That meant he had to find his way through the other riders and, while he clearly had more than enough speed to do so, he had to stall momentarily in order to move round the Australian Mike Matthews. At terminal velocity in a sprint finish he was simply left with too much to do to overhaul Sagan, who said afterwards that he was fortunate that Nizzolo was courteous enough not to shut the door on him by moving right.

    “I’m a little bit disappointed. I feel I’ve lost gold, not won silver,” Cavendish said, having ridden with the after-effects of a training crash on Thursday which had been heavy enough for him to be taken to hospital for checks on a finger. “I was [on Sagan’s wheel], all of a sudden the road was blocked. I tried to find a way through – with less than 100m to go I had to stop pedalling and come round Matthews. By then it was just too late.”

    Cavendish and Sagan were both outnumbered in the 28-rider group that survived to the final kilometres after the race split to smithereens with around 180km to go but they made the best of the tactical situation with the big disappointment reserved for the nations that had dominated the group: Belgium, who had six riders in the lead group but ended up with only Tom Boonen’s bronze to show for it, and Norway and Italy, who had three men apiece but left Doha empty-handed.
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    The crucial moments came as the peloton had just completed the initial 80km north out of Doha and prepared to turn south. There was a brief, intense battle for position before a first right turn in the desert into a crosswind, where Great Britain and Belgium forced an initial split in the space of a minute, with some 40 riders going clear as the two teams hit over 60km an hour, while occupying just enough road space to deny the bulk of the field any shelter. With most riders close to their limit, all it then took was one of the Belgians placed further back down the line to let a gap open and the damage was done.

    There were immediate casualties: the Britons Luke Rowe and Geraint Thomas both punctured at key moments, with no service cars available, while sprinters, such as the Colombian Fernando Gaviria and Australia’s Caleb Ewan, fell victim to crashes, punctures or poor positioning. The pattern of the race was set with over 160km to go, such was the ferocity of the 25km cross winds, and a selection of 28 eventually emerged, dominated by the Belgians, who had the Olympic champion Greg Van Avermaet and four others in support of Boon
     
  2. Think for myself

    Think for myself Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    In 2008 an unknown investment banker gets a bike and rides it in Central Park.

    In 2009 she is 15th in the world.

    Now she holds the women's hour record.

    There are other women who may have won more races or medals, such as Kristin Armstrong, but Evie Stevens lived every amateur cyclists dream. The story I heard is she first raced on a triple, thoroughly destroying the competition.

    Retiring, and good luck to her.


    http://www.wsj.com/articles/last-lap-for-u-s-bike-idol-evelyn-stevens-1470930921

    Evelyn Stevens has lived the dream of every weekend warrior cyclist who’s ever wondered: What would happen if I quit my day job and rode my bike full time?

    Most of us mortals would wind up pedaling straight back into the office. But Stevens, 33, climbed straight to the top of her sport.

    Not very long ago, Stevens was an associate at an investment fund in New York City, tucked at a desk, grinding long hours on Wall Street. She bought a bike to stay fit. She started riding, and jumped into a race clinic in Central Park in June 2008.

    She got hooked. Stevens soon started winning races, and quickly became recognized as a force in the region. It turned out that Stevens, a tennis player in college, had unlocked a previously hidden physiology for cycling—the power and endurance capacity of a high-level pro. Her ascension was startling. In 2009, she finished 15th in the World Championships road race in Switzerland.

    That was that. Stevens took the leap to compete full-time as a professional.

    Along the way, she became one of the best women’s cyclists in the world, winning races domestically and internationally, and wearing the stars and stripes as a national champion in the time trial and as an Olympian in 2012 and 2016. She also earned a reputation as a hard worker who was willing to sacrifice herself on behalf of teammates on the road. Here in Rio, she finished 12th in Sunday’s road race, and 10th in Wednesday’s individual time trial.

    But now she has decided she will step off the bike, at least competitively. At the end of this season, Evelyn Stevens will say goodbye to professional racing.

    “It’s been awesome,” Stevens told me Wednesday. She recalled her early days on Wall Street. “Thinking back to that cubicle in Lehman Brothers…”

    “I got to travel the world. I raced with some of the best women out there, got to do the Olympic time trial, the road race twice, won some races, lost some races, crashed terribly…it’s been more than I ever could have expected.”

    “Really, I’m ready for the next challenge. Eventually you have to end being a professional cyclist. You can’t do it forever. So I feel like I’m going to end it on a high note, while I’m still good, still on top of my game.”

    At the moment, Stevens is ranked in the Top 10 of the women’s world tour. This winter, she set the women’s hour record for the fastest distance traveled in 60 minutes (47.98 kilometers, or a shade under 30 miles). In July, she won three stages at the Giro Rosa, the most acclaimed stage race in women’s cycling.

    Stevens decided a while ago that this season would be her last, but confided the news only to her inner circle. One of her mentors, Connie Carpenter—the U.S. cycling legend and 1984 gold medal winner—wondered if the run of victories at the Giro might prompt Stevens to reconsider.

    “You know you want to make sure!” Carpenter said, laughing. “But there’s a whole wide world waiting for her.”
    More on Evelyn Stevens

    A World-Record Ride by Stevens (Feb. 29)
    Evelyn the Astonishing (April 27, 2011)
    Cycling’s One-in-a-Million Story (Aug. 10, 2010)

    Stevens said if anything, those three Giro wins convinced her that her timing was right. “I felt like I was on fire at the Giro,” she said. “It was such a good feeling to win again—to know that ability was still in me was really important.”

    Stevens still has to finish out her season—she rides for the powerhouse Boels-Dolmans team and will continue to compete into the fall. She intends to ride in the team time trial at the World Championships in Doha, Qatar, in October. But when the season concludes, that will be it.

    “I kind of want to go back into that working world again,” Stevens said.

    The life of a professional cyclist is taxing at any level. There are the stringent demands of training, the constant travel and separation from family, and the unavoidable anxiety surrounding the inherent risks of the sport. “When Evie’s racing, I don’t sleep,” said Stevens’ husband, Brett Baker.

    At the same time, Stevens has become one of women’s cycling’s most recognizable ambassadors, not only because of her success and relatable story, but also her upbeat attitude. There have been moments in grueling races where it appeared Stevens was literally smiling through the pain.

    “She’s a fun loving person,” said her former teammate, retired German pro Ina-Yoko Teutenberg, an all-timer who put Stevens on her “Dream Team” list of riders for the publication Cyclingnews. “Even when she’s focused, she always has a smi
     
  3. Johnny Brady

    Johnny Brady New Member

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    My cycling "glory years" were when I was an amateur club rider in the 1970's (me below), I went in for a mix of Timetrials, Reliabilty Trials and cycle-camping trips.
    For examp my fastest time for a 10-mile time trial was 25 mins 17 secs which was about average.
    My most notable Reliability Trial was a 100-miler in the dead of winter, cold and grey but at least it didn't rain or snow.
    Longest cycle-camping trip I did was from Leicester (England) to Paris (France) and back, a total of 800 miles over 8 days.

    [​IMG]
     
  4. waltky

    waltky Well-Known Member

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    A new record for the furthest distance cycled in one hour set by 105 year-old...
    :omg:
    French cyclist Robert Marchand sets new record aged 105
    Wed, 04 Jan 2017 - Robert Marchand sets a new hour record at the national velodrome but regrets not going faster.
     
  5. Jason Bourne

    Jason Bourne Well-Known Member Past Donor

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    Just finished riding from Appleton, WI to Superior, WI in 22 hours on my Trek police model mountain bike. My legs are killing me, I'm sunburned but the physical rush is great. And I'm 66 years old.

    Who needs cars when there are bicycles!

    Cheers,
    Jason Bourne
     
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