Olympic RR **spoilers**

[iLB]

Still, at least cav did win something this weekend
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Utw-6yGOow&feature=sha


Post tour crit in Ninove, Belgium. 40K euros for the win
Edit: Gopro is on McEwens bike

 

[Svendo]

It all sounds a lot of bollox to me. They couldn't even get the number of times they did the box hill loop correct on the graphic! Or what number loop they were on. If only Dave Millar was in the break, he woulda kept everyone up to date by text.

I wondered about that, but isn't it because they did climb box hill nine times, but the final time they turned off to return to London before completing the loop, thus 8 loops and then final climb of box hill?

 

[Noodley]

I wondered about that, but isn't it because they did climb box hill nine times, but the final time they turned off to return to London before completing the loop, thus 8 loops and then final climb of box hill?

Possibly, but they were showing 3/8 loops for about 3 loops!

 

[Chuffy]

Still, at least cav did win something this weekend
View: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Utw-6yGOow&feature=sha


Post tour crit in Ninove, Belgium. 40K euros for the win to turn up.
Edit: Gopro is on McEwens bike

These things are fixed in advance. If you're the guy who gets to win, how do you fake a convincing finish line celebration? I'd be too embarrassed.

 

[marinyork]

Apparently the lack of information was down to spectators daring to use their mobile phones http://t.co/L0xYGoc1

As was quite flippantly said elsewhere on the internet apart from tweets there seems to have been people absolutely hammering the network streaming live coverage when they were there! In a similarly irreverent manner mobile phone companies do indeed not get round to switching on new base stations for a while - it's true. o2 coverage gets hammered in a lot of busy public places. The timings seemed to be problematic well beyond the loop though.

 

[lukesdad]

I think the breaks will go early, the countries without sprinters will want to split it up. With only 5 in ateam nobody will want to use their men up, so it's hard to see who will do the chasing. Germans or Aussies maybe ? But they won't be confident against Cav. So it'll be down to 4 Brits of which 2 have their eye on the tt.

This.....

 

[lukesdad]

The Belgians swiss and French may well want to make it a a race of attrition similar to a spring classic. I would't be surprised to see a very select group off the front on the last couple of circuits of box hill.
The way to counter a break I would have thought would be for the Brits to put a man to sit on any break

and this.....just in case you hadn't noticed

 

[smutchin]

Oi, Brailsford, there's a man here you need to speak to...

 

[lukesdad]

Oi, Brailsford, there's a man here you need to speak to...

lol

 

[srw]

and this.....just in case you hadn't noticed

Which is exactly why it won't happen. We saw exactly the tactics GB will use during the TdF - allow a few hotheads to go into a break, control the speed of the peloton from the front with a five-man group, bring back the break with a few miles to go and then launch into the very well-drilled leadout train.

No-one with a sniff of a chance to win will be allowed more than a handful of minutes ahead of the main bunch.

And this! I got the tactics spot-on - it's a shame they didn't work.

I know nothing at all about pro bike racing tactics.

 

[Smokin Joe]

And this! I got the tactics spot-on - it's a shame they didn't work.

I know nothing at all about pro bike racing tactics.

The difference in the tour was that you could allow the "hotheads" to bugger off up the road and get 30 minutes in front because they were two hours down on GC. The only ones you had to chase were the handful of contenders for the overall.

One day races are something else, every break is a threat.

 

[lukesdad]

Oi Noods, I thought you were Brailsford !

 

[toby123]

Did all this affect the result? I'm a bit unclear on this.

BTW, the hill was done 9 times, but the loop wasn't fully done 9 times because they branched off towards Leatherhead after the 9th ascent and didn't complete that loop (because they weren't going back the way they came, i.e. via Dorking).

 

[lukesdad]

And this! I got the tactics spot-on - it's a shame they didn't work.

I know nothing at all about pro bike racing tactics.

but they didn't close the breaks down did they ?

 

[Red Light]

After the comments about the other teams not being bothered about winning as long as Cav didn't win, should the other teams be disqualified for "not using one's best efforts to win" as has happened in the badminton?