2025 European Championships ***SPOILERS***

[mjr]

Ayuso says he did all he could and doesn't understand Seixas and Scaroni saying their teammates were chasing behind and refusing to work.

 

[mrushton]

Really? He's turning it a bit meh for me.

I love watching him. I get his dominance can be frustrating but he just exudes joy but maybe because he can win in his way. He has certainly ushered in a way of racing. The idea of a long break used to be the stuff of dreams or a crazy stunt.

 

[DeadCalm]

Absolutely honestly, I don't find it interesting at all. I love some tactics, a bit of prisoner's dilemma, working out how best to attack, what to do in different situations etc. None of that applies when the answer to everything is "attack solo from 60+ km out because you're stronger than even a small group of top riders".

For a long while I thought the issue was "second placism", where riders thought they were beaten already and stopped collaborating in the chase, as they tried to work out how to win silver. But I think he's able to put out around the average of a small group in the flat (some will be a touch quicker, some a touch slower) and take seconds from them in every climb.

There's literally no solution to beat him as soon as there's a few hills involved, unless he's on a bad day or suffers a mechanical, which never seems to happen, so I'm no longer watching a bike race (except for silver), I'm watching a bloke going out on a bike ride.

Genuine question. Would you feel the same if he were Danish?

 

[mjr]

Pogi says his attack wasn't planned and he reacted to the Belgians blowing up his teammates.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

Genuine question. Would you feel the same if he were Danish?

Genuine answer: probably not.

If you've got something invested in him then it's all fine, you can enjoy the dominance, it's objectively awesome. But I'm used to watching cycling where the guys I like don't get to win all the time - even the really good ones, and right now they're the best I've ever had the fortune to be a fan of.

The years of famine as a Brit following cycling (Millar wins a polkadot, adopt Roche because he speaks English, how long can Boardman hold the yellow after the TT?) developed a taste for the interesting things going on, not just the winning. I've never actually been particularly nationalistic about cycling (for my sins I actually liked Indurain, who wasn't exactly excitement personified, then despite the battles with Millar there was Lucho Herrera, I prefered Fignon's ponytail to Lemond's brash Americanness - and then of course there was Pantani).

But there's definitely something about being in a small country that's suddenly doing really well at the sport you've followed all your life, and everyone is talking about it as if it were an Olympic Curling gold.... (I.E. they're talking about it it and watching it, despite maybe not understanding all that about it). There's a sense of community to it. On top of that, with Jonas in particular I was enraged at how badly he was treated by foreign (non-Danish) press. Whittle in particular took an intense dislike to him for whatever reason and it was bilious. So I got a bit protective - he is, after all, just a shy lad from the taciturn area of NW Jutland, where they're rationed to 350 words per year and most of them are terms for pork. He was never "cold" as was alleged, just phlegmatic and low on verbiage, with a wry and dry sense of humour. That actually started to show for outsiders in the Vuelta this year, but he's always had it in his locker.

TL; DR - No, but.

 

[mididoctors]

Everyone will complain when he's gone and everyonr attacks in the last 2km

 

[No Ta Doctor]

Pogi says his attack wasn't planned and he reacted to the Belgians blowing up his teammates.

Attacking Pog early and blowing up his teammates is the equivalent to scoring first against Germany in the first five minutes of a World Cup knockout match. There's only one way it's going to end.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

Everyone will complain when he's gone and everyonr attacks in the last 2km

It's quite amazing that we've gone from an era of Roglic winning GTs on bonus seconds from attacks in the last 100m to Pog winning everything by attacking from so far out it's in a different time zone

 

[Adam4868]

Absolutely honestly, I don't find it interesting at all. I love some tactics, a bit of prisoner's dilemma, working out how best to attack, what to do in different situations etc. None of that applies when the answer to everything is "attack solo from 60+ km out because you're stronger than even a small group of top riders".

For a long while I thought the issue was "second placism", where riders thought they were beaten already and stopped collaborating in the chase, as they tried to work out how to win silver. But I think he's able to put out around the average of a small group in the flat (some will be a touch quicker, some a touch slower) and take seconds from them in every climb.

There's literally no solution to beat him as soon as there's a few hills involved, unless he's on a bad day or suffers a mechanical, which never seems to happen, so I'm no longer watching a bike race (except for silver), I'm watching a bloke going out on a bike ride.

In this sort of race he's far and above the best,nobody is able to match him on his kick,he murders his rivals in those ....love watching a master at work.Some find it boring I don't.
Same with Remco in TTs but nobody is really complaining about him,without Pog in this race today could of been a pretty bland race until 10k to go maybe ?
Plenty of young riders coming through and who will be chomping at the bit to take his crown,I just enjoy it whilst it lasts.Lets not forget he made San Remo and Roubaix this year and never even won them
Must be frustrating if he's not your thing...but I've no time for the boring bit that people see.
He class for me 😍

 

[wakemalcolm]

It's quite amazing that we've gone from an era of Roglic winning GTs on bonus seconds from attacks in the last 100m to Pog winning everything by attacking from so far out it's in a different time zone

I think that's harsh on Primož. Only 2020 of his Vuelta wins was arguably won on bonus seconds (& I'd counter that he could have found another way to win had it been necessary) and his Giro win was insured by his bonus seconds. If he'd not dropped his chain in the final TT he'd have had a comfortable victory.
Sadly he now reminds me of Dame Kelly Holmes after her Olympic year. Her heart wasn't really in it but she had to keep going for another year to take the appearance money that her Olympic golds afforded her.

 

[Adam4868]

Anyway Doc Arsenal are top of the League...you should be stoked.
All good things come to an end as I'm sure you know...enjoy it whilst it lasts 😁

 

[Cathryn]

Well done to the Dutch team for its tactics. I hope Anna vdB wasn't too sad about the outcome. And chapeau to Kasia for her efforts.

But for me, Elise Chabbey was the best – without much of a team, she managed 4th again today (after 4th in the WC in Ruanda too), and despite today she leading the chase almost of the time on the last laps.

In interviews, she also strikes me as one of the most thoughtful, considerate, articulate riders - which I like, even though I know such characteristics aren't essential for top sportsmen/women..

She’s a doctor! So pretty clever!

 

[rich p]

Stinks. The silver medallist should get it, like with classification jerseys.

2nd place could wear it but who would really want to, knowing you weren't entitled to it.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

In this sort of race he's far and above the best,nobody is able to match him on his kick,he murders his rivals in those ....love watching a master at work.Some find it boring I don't.
Same with Remco in TTs but nobody is really complaining about him,without Pog in this race today could of been a pretty bland race until 10k to go maybe ?
Plenty of young riders coming through and who will be chomping at the bit to take his crown,I just enjoy it whilst it lasts.Lets not forget he made San Remo and Roubaix this year and never even won them
Must be frustrating if he's not your thing...but I've no time for the boring bit that people see.
He class for me 😍

If he's your cup of tea then knock yourself out!

TTs are obviously different, as there's no real tactics involved other than "how do I best put my power out?". They're not particularly exciting at the best of times, and watching riders attempt excellence is pretty much the point of them. Also, Remco's won six of them this season, while Pog is now on 17 victories, including two monuments (a third awaits next week), the worlds, the Euros, Strade Bianche, La Fleche Wallonne, the Dauphiné, The Tour and a bunch of stages. He even gifted a race in Canada the other week. It's obviously a phenomenal achievement but there was little excitement for me.

The best race of the year so far was probably MSR - where to his credit he tried to find a solution to a real tactical problem for him and launched that rarest of MSR things, an early attack on Cipressa. The fact that he had to think tactically instead of just burying the opposition made it a great race, and I honestly wouldn't have minded in the slightest if he'd won (like almost everyone, I was hoping that Ganna attack from behind was going to pay off!)

 

[rich p]

On a trivial note, the commentators on Disco + today were awful. Jose Been was dire, waffling on about irrelevant stuff without ever mentioning the race current positions. I tuned in halfway through and had to work out who was who. Jon Mould was repetitive and guilty of 'stating the bleedin' obvious' ad nauseam.
Slightly less trivially, I'm torn about Pog. Lately the outcome has become a bit too obvious, too early... 100kms to go. On the other hand, he's a once in a lifetime genius and I was alive (just...) to witness it.
Chapeau to Remco for doing the hard graft to chase Pog , with little or no help. Thank goodness he can TT and at least get a win!