# Paris-Nice 2018 ***spoilers***



## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

Quite a few big names missing this year - Tirreno-Adriatico seems to have overtaken PN as the most important early season (European) stage race - but the course has been designed for maximum racing excitement and it should be a very open contest with a good number of genuine contenders for the overall victory.

Live coverage is just about to start on Eurosport - Juan-Antonio is doing his stage preview at the moment...


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

Costa and tvg cought in that little crash


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

tvg abandons


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## Pro Tour Punditry (4 Mar 2018)

TVG really is a hopeless nobber


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## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

TVG ought to have been a contender for this, but putting himself out of the running early on is at least true to form.

Rolland, Roelandts and Perichon have a one minute gap on the peloton with 30km to go. Looks like being a bunch finish - albeit a reduced bunch, assuming the final climb is tough enough to rule out the pure sprinters.


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## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

In other news, Porte is already out of Tirreno-Adriatico before it has even started. Some people really are bad luck magnets.


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

Why is porte out ??


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## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

Chest infection.


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## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

Boo-hoo-hanni not even trying to contest this one. Feckless idiot.


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

hes a fekin nob ed


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

feck a few down there


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## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

Were they close enough to the finish to get the same time? If not, Zakarin is already fecked.


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

it was inside 3k


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## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

That was _very _close. Looks like Haussler edged it over Demare.

Impressive late surge by Wellens and Laporte too.


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## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

No, Demare gets it!


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

demare, feck that was close


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## Pro Tour Punditry (4 Mar 2018)

I had an e/w bet on Vuillermoz at 100/1...

I also had a bet on Demare to win, but it would have been better if Vuillermoz had held on


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## smutchin (4 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> That was _very _close. Looks like Haussler edged it over Demare.



Izagirre was the Bahrain rider, not Haussler. I was misled by the confusing/confused commentary. And the Cofidis rider was Laporte.


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## TissoT (4 Mar 2018)

Should be in for a good week of racing .....


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## TissoT (4 Mar 2018)

I guess bouhanni was hanging around at the back ... because no one will ride with the miserable fecker


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

perhaps he hasn't got enough team mates to blame for everything that he does wrong himself


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## TissoT (4 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> perhaps he hasn't got enough team mates to blame for everything that he does wrong himself


He's a big girls blouse..... Needs to grow up.


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## roadrash (4 Mar 2018)

TissoT said:


> He's a big girls blouse..... Needs to grow up.



I refer you to post # 11


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## TissoT (4 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> I refer you to post # 11


Oh so true


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## mjr (5 Mar 2018)

Gold helmets should be restricted to Olympic gold winners. It's farking confusing.

Is that a new logo for the race this year? Does that suggest new TdF art again?


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## mjr (5 Mar 2018)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-nice-2018/stage-2/ flatter than flat, slight uphill finish, at least bothering to start heading south properly.


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## smutchin (5 Mar 2018)

Vierzon! I know a song about going to Vierzon...

View: https://youtu.be/guaEg2U89p8


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## rich p (5 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> Vierzon! I know a song about going to Vierzon...
> 
> View: https://youtu.be/guaEg2U89p8



Brilliant! What did she have against Antwerp?


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## mjr (5 Mar 2018)

64k to go, break of the day being held about 30s out, probably going to be reeled in before the second sprint bonuses at 14k to go. Thomas De Gendt was in the break. Not sure we're going to learn much for 45 minutes except that Arnaud Demare hugs anyone that doesn't move quickly enough after a win. Oh look sparrows! Even the moto camera attention is wandering...


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## Pro Tour Punditry (5 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> Vierzon! I know a song about going to Vierzon...
> 
> View: https://youtu.be/guaEg2U89p8



And people wonder why French music has not taken over the world...


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## roadrash (5 Mar 2018)

cracking win for groenewegen , is that 123 for @Marmion in the punditry competition


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## Pro Tour Punditry (5 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> cracking win for groenewegen , is that 123 for @Marmion in the punditry competition


It is


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## roadrash (5 Mar 2018)

tell me you had a bet on that....


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## smutchin (5 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> cracking win for groenewegen , is that 123 for @Marmion in the punditry competition



Yep. Good job, Marmers - your turn to be the smug git.

Thought Demare was looking good for a second win but he faded badly. Going early was his only option against the proper sprinters on that finish though.


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## Milzy (5 Mar 2018)

How did I miss this? Any re runs on Eurosport tonight?


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## Pro Tour Punditry (5 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> tell me you had a bet on that....


Nope, can't think I've ever seen option of 1st, 2nd, 3rd - I had Greipel 



smutchin said:


> Yep. Good job, Marmers - your turn to be the smug git.
> 
> Thought Demare was looking good for a second win but he faded badly. Going early was his only option against the proper sprinters on that finish though.


That'll teach you to change your mind...


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## TissoT (5 Mar 2018)

Milzy said:


> How did I miss this? Any re runs on Eurosport tonight?


7pm tonight a chance to catch up


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## Milzy (5 Mar 2018)

TissoT said:


> 7pm tonight a chance to catch up


You are a legend of cc


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## smutchin (5 Mar 2018)

Marmion said:


> That'll teach you to change your mind...



More like that'll teach me to trust what I read on the internet - saw something that suggested the slightly uphill finish was not good for him... Meh.


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## Andrew Br (5 Mar 2018)

Marmion said:


> And people wonder why French music has not taken over the world...



Belgian actually .........


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## BalkanExpress (5 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> perhaps he hasn't got enough team mates to blame for everything that he does wrong himself




Well he can’t blame his tubs, they are well stick down.


View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ETk2Q12KErM


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## gavroche (5 Mar 2018)

Marmion said:


> And people wonder why French music has not taken over the world...


That's because French music is more about the lyrics than actual music. On the other hand, some French music is world famous with : " My way " " Let it be me" "Beyond the sea" "What now my love" "Seasons in the sun" " If you go away" "The good life" "Yesterday when I was young". All of these songs were original French songs.


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## ColinJ (5 Mar 2018)

Milzy said:


> How did I miss this? Any re runs on Eurosport tonight?


You can usually find replays in the On Demand section, a few hours after a race finishes, and they usually stay up for a week or more. (Sometimes they have multiple links to the same race and they don't necessarily link to the right sports, or the start of coverage (!) so hunt around if you don't immediately find what you are looking for.)

I missed the 'scheduled broadcast' this evening so I just watched it On Demand instead. (Why do they 'broadcast' on the internet? They are streaming the coverage so why not just let us choose when to watch it i.e. make it _all _On Demand!)


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## mjr (6 Mar 2018)

ColinJ said:


> (Why do they 'broadcast' on the internet? They are streaming the coverage so why not just let us choose when to watch it i.e. make it _all _On Demand!)


I suspect it enables use of a content distribution network, so there's only one stream per distribution area or possibly even only one stream leaving their server, rather than having roughly one stream per viewer, which would max out far more quickly.


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## ColinJ (6 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> I suspect it enables use of a content distribution network, so there's only one stream per distribution area or possibly even only one stream leaving their server, rather than having roughly one stream per viewer, which would max out far more quickly.


I was thinking about it later and thought it might be something like that. 

I have often wondered how the likes of Netflix and YouTube can stream random HD video content to millions of people simultaneously. They must have some incredible hardware powering them!


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## Pro Tour Punditry (6 Mar 2018)

Kristoff looks like frosty the snowman


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## roadrash (6 Mar 2018)

well that's the break caught early, open for attacks now, or all wait for a sprint


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## roadrash (6 Mar 2018)

poels gonna have to pull his pluck out now to make it back


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## roadrash (6 Mar 2018)

that should see sanchez in yellow ,where is poels


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## Slick (6 Mar 2018)

Who would have picked that for a top 3?


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## smutchin (6 Mar 2018)

Funnily enough, I did have Dirty Sanchez on my shortlist but decided against. Picked a Direct Energie rider as well, but not the right one.


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## roadrash (6 Mar 2018)

^^^^^^^^now not so smuggit^^^^^^^


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## Slick (6 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> ^^^^^^^^now not so smuggit^^^^^^^


Did anyone get anything? 

Where to start for TT tomorrow.


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## smutchin (6 Mar 2018)

Slick said:


> Did anyone get anything?



I think a few people picked Demare, who came 4th.

Marmers probably had a bet on Hivert, but I suspect he covers his bases by placing a bet on at least half the peloton.


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## roadrash (6 Mar 2018)

I picked 4th and 5th


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## Pro Tour Punditry (6 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> I think a few people picked Demare, who came 4th.
> 
> Marmers probably had a bet on Hivert, but I suspect he covers his bases by placing a bet on at least half the peloton.


No, was on Calmejane and got excited when I saw DE rider in winning picture as I had to leave house to catch a train


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## brommers (7 Mar 2018)

A much more interesting stage. Sanchez is in great form at the moment and has a decent TT in him.


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## roadrash (7 Mar 2018)

storming ride from poels


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## mjr (7 Mar 2018)

Snoozing viewing, though!


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## brommers (8 Mar 2018)

Good effort from Yates


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## roadrash (8 Mar 2018)

pollit getting annoyed at being forced into doing all the work


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## Crackle (8 Mar 2018)

Worked though. Didn't think that break would stay away.


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## roadrash (8 Mar 2018)

it did work , that crash looked horrible


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## Bollo (9 Mar 2018)

roadrash said:


> it did work , that crash looked horrible


Just caught up on the morning highlights on ES. There wasn't much else said about the crash so I'm assuming the riders were ok.


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## roadrash (9 Mar 2018)

well that's poels out


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## roadrash (9 Mar 2018)

rudy molard first world tour win


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## roadrash (9 Mar 2018)

poels out with a broken collar bone and chest trauma....
http://www.cyclingnews.com/news/poels-crashes-out-of-paris-nice/


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## Crackle (9 Mar 2018)

Poels out is a big blow to the Giro team.


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## smutchin (9 Mar 2018)

Ouch


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## brommers (10 Mar 2018)

Tweet from Wout Poels
"Kissing the floor is never a good idea especially during a race! Thanks for all the kind messages. Unfortunately broken collarbone, hopefully soon back on the bike again!"


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## smutchin (10 Mar 2018)

Great result for Yates. Looks like he’s got this one in the bag. He’s showing superb form at the moment. 

Giro contender?


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## mjr (15 Mar 2018)

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-nice-2018/stage-8/results/ reports Soler saying that he is a big fan of Contador. Should we be concerned or alarmed?


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## rich p (16 Mar 2018)

mjr said:


> http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/paris-nice-2018/stage-8/results/ reports Soler saying that he is a big fan of Contador. Should we be concerned or alarmed?


Neither?


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## smutchin (16 Mar 2018)

No more so than if any up-and-coming young British rider were to say they're a big fan of Wiggins.


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## rich p (16 Mar 2018)

smutchin said:


> No more so than if any up-and-coming young British rider were to say they're a big fan of Wiggins.


Shhhhhh!!!!


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