Competitive Cycling

[Nickslikk2112]

Ivan Romeo won today's O Gran Camino stage. Gets him back higher on GC. Jorgen Nordhagen takes over the GC, Adam Yates up to fourth, sets up a good couple of climbing days now.

[Nickslikk2112]

Cyclocrosser Célia Gery won the women's Brabantse Pijl today, Millie Couzens pluckies Brit in 6th. Yellow card for Anna van der Breggen

Anders Foldager won the men's Brabantse Pijl, pluckiest Brit Lukas Nerurkar in 16th

And in O Gran Camino Adam Yates won the stage and took over the race lead. Got yesterday wrong, Alessandro Pinarello took the lead, the race organisers incorrectly added up the bonus seconds.

[Nickslikk2112]

Yatesy wrapped up O Gran Camino, coming in third on the final stage was good enough for him.

[Nickslikk2112]

Good solo win for Paula Blasi in the Women's Amstel Gold Race.

Pity Kasia beat Demi to Second.

Pluckiest Puck in 19th

PLiuckiest Brit Pfeiffer Georgi in 31st.

[Nickslikk2112]

Skjelmose couldn't hold off Remco in the Men's race. Pity I wanted to see toys being thrown out of the pram.
Benoit Cosnefroy rounded out the podium.

Matteo Jorgenson looked in a bad way after being brought down by Kevin Vaucquelin.

Pluckiest Brit Ben Tulett for not starting.

[Thenop]

Nice finale indeed. Shame the Big Boys didn't want to compete today.
Bit of a worrying crash for Jorgenson there, hope he is sort of OK.

[Nickslikk2112]

Broken Collarbone for Jorgenson. Think he'd only just come back from injury.

Tommaso Dati an Italian riding for a Japanese team won the opening stage of the Tour of the Alps in Innsbruck today. INEOS had tried to set up Thymen Arensman for a solo win from 5km out, but he was reeled back in.

Thomas Pidcock looks like he's not suffering too badly from his Catalunya injuries as he managed a second place.

[Nickslikk2112]

Giulio Pellizzari won today's Tour of the Alps stage and took over the GC lead. Thymen Arensman in second and second overall.

Watching that made me want to be in the Alps.

[Thenop]

French wonderboy does it again. Even the Huy wall isn't safe for him. Not bad, for a 19 year old.

[Nickslikk2112]

Arse biscuits. Hyoe boy Sexass wins again. Not much better than plucky Brit Ben Tulett though.

But as a coautioaary tale, where's 2024 Fleshy Walloons winner Stevie Williams?

[dom]

I first started watching cycling in the late 70s with Hinault and then Fignon competing and winning Le Tour.

As a youngster I thought that that was the norm, that France would always have riders capable of winning major tours.

I've long learnt that is not the case (bloody hell nearly 40 years I've learnt that) but it's fantastic to finally have a rider that looks capable of matching their efforts.

Fingers and everything else crossed!

[Nickslikk2112]

Elsewhere today Tom Pidcock took the stage victory in the Tour of the Alps. He's thankful there are no sprinters in the race, he still has no chance in LBL. The race passed through Andalo where I learned to Ski in 1978. Didn't recognise it.

In the Women's Fleshy Walloons, Demi Vollering managed to hold off a charging Puck Pieterse to deny her a consecutive victory in the race. Thankfully Paula Blasi beat Kasia "I Love Myself" Nieuwiadoma to take the final podium spot.

Micron wants Sexass to stay at a French team, you'd think he had more pressing problems to deal with. Decathlon CMA-CGM want to switch to a Swiss racing Licence because crippling French employment taxes means they can't pay riders enough LOL.

[Nickslikk2112]

Lennart Jasch won today's stage of the Tour of the Alps. German former Speed Skater. Should have some good thighs on him. Another lovely looking day in the saddle for them - not that they get time to look.

Pidcock keeps getting dropped on the climbs, not what you want for LBL, but after ligament damage and stress fractures he's not doing too bad. Came back to compete for the minor sprint placings.

[dom]

Micron! That's good Nick, will use that if you don't mind 😁

[Nickslikk2112]

Micron! That's good Nick, will use that if you don't mind 😁

I nicked it from somebody else, think it was a bloke from the Netherlands. Smart people the Dutch.