Very OT - Exciting professional cycling season underway
Last year willirwin1778 shared that alum Michael Woods won stage 9 at the Tour de France. The race was streaming on Peacock so I checked it out, got hooked and watched the rest of the tour. And then the Vuelta a Espana. I found it to be a great way to wake up and get ready for my day. And it got me back on my bike!
Anyway, I thought that many of you may still have Peacock subscriptions and might be interested to know that this cycling season is shaping up to be a very exciting one. The 2024 Tour de France is shaping up to be a four team battle between Jumbo-Lease A Bike (Jonas Vingegaard), UAE (Tadej Pogacar), Soudal-Quickstep (Remco Evenpoel) and Bora-Hansgrohe (Primos Roglic). It should also have previous winners Egan Bernal and Gerraint Thomas. Vingegaard should be the favorite and is probably the best climber. He and Pogacar have won the last four years. Pogacar in 2020 & 2021, Vingegaard in 2022 & 2023. All four of the main contenders have won previous grand tours. The final stage of this year's tour will be a time trial for the first time since Greg LeMond won by 8 seconds in 89.
Both Max and Peacock stream races regularly so you can see the different riders working their way towards the tour. Pogacar just obliterated the field in a great ride in the Strade Bianche yesterday (Max). Evenpoel and Roglic just started Paris-Nice (Peacock) today and it'll be going 7 or 8 days. Vingegaard will be in the Terrano-Adreatice (sp?) starting next weekend. Then there'll be Milan-San Remo the following week. It's cool because various contenders will be at competing in different events but not all at the same time. Pogacar will also be doing the Giro d'Italia on Max.
This page has a list of the spring classics (the one day races but not the stage ones): https://escapecollective.com/mens-2024-classics-preview-the-stars-and-storylines-were-watching/
I haven’t watched cycling since Lance Armstrong had the ball to come clean about his doping.
What you did there.....I see it.....
Remember watching that Greg LeMond win. It was thrilling.
I got back on my old road bike after Covid closed gyms and pools. After 3-4 months and several unacceptably close encounters with distracted drivers (after nearly getting hit from behind I could see the drivers holding up and checking out their phones - they may have never even seen me) I bought an off road bike and never switched back.
Be careful out there!!!!
Very true! Road riding has become too dangerous and I also have switched to trails. Only time I will ride on the roads is 1) with at least one other person 2) in areas with bike lanes or take secondary roads. Riding on trails is a lot more fun and challenging but sucks having to drive 30 minutes to trails.
Ha, I shared that info about Michigan alum Michael Woods winning his stage and then promptly got blasted by some board readers for being a spoiler to those recording and waiting to watch tape delayed in the evening.
Maybe a good chance to remind people to label a spoiler, especially if it involves a Michigan alum in a non-major overseas sport.
Bikes might be coming out of storage early this year guys. Go pump those lungs and heart!
I am a Tadej guy myself. Go Pogi!
I never actually put my bike away this winter as I was riding up until the 31st of December. By January 31st, the snow here in northern Kent County melted enough for me to get back on the bike trail and I haven't stopped riding since. With the early spring weather this year, I should be over 400 miles for 2024 within the next few days. I did 2100 miles in '22 and 3240 miles in '23; I'm thinking 3500-4000 miles is a possibility for 2024
As for where I ride, no roads other than absolutely necessary. 99% of my riding is paved trails. I'm fortunate enough to live just a quarter mile from an 85 mile trail that's now completely paved from GR to Cadillac.
Love the dedication Rob!
I pretty much exclusively Zwift on my trainer (Wahoo Kickr) during the winter months. Not as impressive as braving the elements, but allows me to keep up my 50 miles per week goal. I think I’ve only missed it twice going back to last July.
Ride on!
More of a mountain biker myself, but yay for bikes. It's surprises me every year how many people follow the tour de france, including non-bikers.
I am a roadie mostly. I let my Peacock subscription lapse but still have Max and I didn't realize they were covering some of the races so thanks for the head's up. I will be rooting mostly for Tadej/UAE or the Trek/Lidl teams and of course Mike Woods (although I do like Remco and it will be interesting to see Roglic on Bora).
I googled Michael Woods to see his Michigan connection and found out he was on a team I sponsored in 2014
Team Director was Frankie Andreu - some may remember him as a domestique for both Greg LeMond and Lance Armstrong. Frankie lives in Dearborn. His wife Betsy is a UofM grad and has a spine of steel. She took Lance on and never backed down. She put up with a lot of crap but in the end was right
Since I do a fair amount of sports medicine for cyclists and runners , I know a few people who know Betsy and she's an incredible person. When Lance started attacking her is when I knew he was lying. Plus, we gotta side with fellow Michigan grads.
Definitely going to be an exciting grand tour season, it's been a while since the GC contenders have been so widely dispersed.
For those looking to catch up on the state of pro cycling, I recommend the Netflix documentary Tour de France: Unchained
Season 1 released last year before the TDF, and covered the 2022 race. Season 2 should be coming out soon, and cover last years event.
I really enjoyed the show, as it helped me get to know more teams and cyclists behind the scenes. Lots of drama (the good kind) in cycling at the moment due to the top 4-6 competitors in the sport being quite young and all capable of winning at the highest level. Until this year, 3 of them were on the same team(!), but as the OP stated, that is no longer the case.
And yes, I know Van Aert isn’t necessarily a GC guy, but is still one of the best in the world. And probably my favorite.
Van Aert is more versatile, but as a rider with style, I love MVdP way more. I just love the one-day classics riders a la Sagan.
It’s a great era of cycling, definitely. You have a terrific (if one-sided) big man rivalry between MVDP and WVA, you have Ving, you have Remco. And you have Tadej, who can race and win against all of them.
Tadej winning Flanders last year was just astonishing, even for him. He podiumed on a flat WC course last year. Until he cracked his aggression against Vingegaard at the tdf last year was must-watch.
Any one of these guys could be the star of the sport on their own. To have them all at once is an embarrassment of riches. The only thing the sport is lacking right now is a charismatic sprinter.
Gonna get some good spice from equipment debates too with the recent hookless stuff and maybe to a lesser extent hood toe-in.
I was a massive fan of cycling starting just before LeMond became a legend...but I fell off due to all the doping scandals, especially with Lance...
Only recently started watching it again the last couple of years (hoping that the ICF has instituted enough testing now to ensure fair results)
for those with a new found appreciation for cycling, you should check out Tour de France: Unchained. Same production team that did the Drive to Survive F1 series, but the best thing is that there are so many other stories to follow other than the GC leaders
Trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmJKcVc3-U0
Since basketball is a bust this season, cycling is the next big sporting event on the calendar for me. I watch the Tour de France every year (love the athleticism, the scenery and the NBC announcers) but will probably watch the Giro D'Italia for the first time this year. Agree that this will be a special year, and hope there will be more OT posts on this blog about it!
Tirreno-Adriatico
Road cycling is even more exciting these days with more than a few established and up-and-coming Americans. Looking forward to see if Sepp Kuss will be given free reign at a stage or two in the TDF. I draw a lot of inspiration from the great coverage provided for the TDF even though I log most of my miles on trails. I think that even non cyclists would enjoy the way Peacock covers “Le Tour.” Good mix of personalities, history lessons, awesome scenery, well explained but not dumbed down, etc. Heck, kind of pumped thinking about the racing this year that I might end up doing something dumb like seeking out a Marji Gesick 100 transfer entry.
Where I live--far western Wayne County, it's all dirt roads into Washtenaw. I have a gravel bike and love it. I have a 19.5 mile loop I ride and only encounter 10-12 cars on average.
And I'm an Ineos guy. Bernal's having an encouraging start to the season. I don't think he can beat the Big 4, but I'm hoping he can podium. Looking for Pidcock to make some strides in this year's Tour.
Any of these guys do the Olympics? How does it affect the schedule especially being in France this year?
Yes, a lot of these guys do the Olympics, and the schedule is built around it. Fair number of guys will peak specifically at that race.
A few things:
1. So the absolute last stage is a time trial and not the celebratory ride into Paris? Or is the penultimate stage the trial?
2. I kinda watched some TdF growing up. Then I interned in frankfurt the summer of 2002 and the TV had few channels. One re-ran the tour every night. I got hooked. Now it's sort of a comfort food situation for me. I am very familiar and strangely comforted by the entire broadcast. The announcers, the format, the visuals, way the broadcast tracks the different groups, how far ahead/behind the different jerseys are, etc. I record it and will zip through to the "good parts".
3. I was really pulling for Neilsen Powless to keep the polka dots last year. That initial drama really sucked me in.
I don't think I'll ever pay attention to cycling the rest of the calendar.
It'll be the absolute last stage like in 89, but it won't be to Paris, it'll be to Nice due to the Olympics. Considering all the possible contenders, it could be an amazing finish.
Tadej is marvelous. I want to resent guys who win to much but he just races everything and races well.
Alas, he’s not winning the Tour this year; he’ll race it, but he’s racing the Giro this year and winning the Tour with a Giro in the legs is basically impossible. He’ll go for stage wins. Remco will compete at the Tour for the first time, but Jumbo’s annihilation of the field at the Vuelta last year suggests that he’s an underdog to Vingegaard.
It’s a pity, because the Tour has been incredible for a couple of years now, and the field will be star-studded, but it kinda looks like it will be a Ving parade with lots of stage-win fireworks behind him.
OTOH the spring classics should be a blast. Don’t miss MSR, which is the peculiar combination of the most boring idea for a monument and also the one for which there is the most wide-open question regarding who can win. And it’s *hard* to win MSR; just ask Peter Sagan, a rider seemingly perfectly built to win it. Ask Philippe Gilbert, for whom it is the one monument that got away.
it kinda looks like it will be a Ving parade with lots of stage-win fireworks behind him.
One of the best things about stage races is that it doesn't take much for a seemingly-inevitable parade to go off the rails. The days where you see one of the greats crack are incredible.
Tirreno-Adriatico.....but yeah, thanks for the rockin' cycling post. I love watching the Spring Classics and the Grand Tours.
Hopefully, we'll have more cycling posts going forward.....
I think for many people the best part about watching road race cycling is the scenery. I enjoy watching it just for the interesting backdrops you see as the riders go through the European countryside. Very relaxing.
Absolutely. That and the history stuff they talk about during the stages -- the churches, castles, fortresses, even the architecture in the more urban areas. I love that stuff.
Of course, it's also the idea that the riders are doing something that is beyond anything I could even think of doing, that also makes it for me.
Thank you! Cycling is a great sport.
OT to this OT - If you live near a velodrome, I strongly suggest you give it a try. I did it once and it was one of the best experiences in my life. Fixed-wheel, no brakes, roller coaster ride. Amazing. All those differences thrown at you at once really unblocks your perception of reality. I still remember the coach yelling for me to speed up because "you are not good enough to go that slow."