2026 Races....Spoilers.

[Blazing Saddles]

What is Wout doing? He’s towing SKA across the gap.
And surprise, surprise they stop cooperating

 

[Blazing Saddles]

Wout just about wins a sprint. Fortunate.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

Quoting from the wrong thread I posted these on.....

Wout's back baby!

Also Christophe Laporte, who hasn't raced since a DNF in Amstel. He'd had a good row of top tens in the spring classics before that. No sure why he didn't finish, but he tore a quad in training later which kept him out of the Tour. Hope he can stay fit

And then...

What is Wout doing? He’s towing SKA across the gap.
And surprise, surprise they stop cooperating

Laporte is in his first race since April, they're not relying on him to finish from this group

Laporte lead Wout out and I don't think there was any real difficulty, he had that all the way

 

[red.rider]

I wonder if Wout can make it over these Cat 2 bergs to make it 2/2 today? Good job that he spent most of July at altitude in Livigno.

 

[No Ta Doctor]

I wonder if Wout can make it over these Cat 2 bergs to make it 2/2 today? Good job that he spent most of July at altitude in Livigno.
View attachment 816760

This is often confusing for non Danes. In Danish "cent" means ten. So per cent means per ten, not as other countries have it, per hundred. To get the actual international version times by ten. A danish metre is also ten times longer than an international metre, so just times the length by ten as well. These climbs are actually 9km at 38% and 7km at 29%. We don't normally let visiting cyclists on them, so they're not very well known.

 

[Brusgaard]

It sure feels like 38% the few times I have done it! Riding the opposite direction is very nice however.

 

[Legs]

This is often confusing for non Danes. In Danish "cent" means ten. So per cent means per ten, not as other countries have it, per hundred. To get the actual international version times by ten. A danish metre is also ten times longer than an international metre, so just times the length by ten as well. These climbs are actually 9km at 38% and 7km at 29%. We don't normally let visiting cyclists on them, so they're not very well known.

I knew about Danish miles, but was not familiar with the Danish metre (although I suspect you're having us on!)

 

[Webbo2]

Wout gets stage 2 after it being initially been awarded to Jensen Plowright.

 

[Dorset Boy]

Proper photo finish. Not even a tyre width in it.

 

[M.R.M]

Can Quinn Simmons win Donostia? Or is it too climby? He is always there and about even on the hardest stages. Wonder if this could be his big breakout?!

 

[No Ta Doctor]

Can Quinn Simmons win Donostia? Or is it too climby? He is always there and about even on the hardest stages. Wonder if this could be his big breakout?!

Well Remco, with what looked like some very good climbing legs, is riding it with a stacked RedBull team, so I'd say the result is pretty much nailed on

 

[M.R.M]

I agree. However this is the discussion thread and not the PTP picking thread. Remco is the safe bet (which I had already picked), but I do wonder if Simmons can pull it off. In a way, he was quite critical of the team for having a single minded focus on Pedersen for the Tour, so this would be an opportunity for him to go, "now more than ever" (He was very strong at the Tour, but obviously supporting Pedersen was the play).

 

[No Ta Doctor]

I agree. However this is the discussion thread and not the PTP picking thread. Remco is the safe bet (which I had already picked), but I do wonder if Simmons can pull it off. In a way, he was quite critical of the team for having a single minded focus on Pedersen for the Tour, so this would be an opportunity for him to go, "now more than ever" (He was very strong at the Tour, but obviously supporting Pedersen was the play).

Personally I think he's very strong, but possibly not the sharpest knife in the draw. Might not even be the sharpest spoon tbh. On a team with not Just Mads P but also Ayuso and Skjelmose chasing the GC there's going to be limited opportunities to do your own thing. That the team focussed on those three was clearly the right decision - Mads always delivers or busts a nut trying, and the other two both secured top ten rides. If it wasn't for Trek pulling for Mads P in the break with Lenny Martinez in it both the GC boys would be up a level - 5th for Skjelmose would be a superb result (6th is pretty good anyway). So running his mouth about it was daft and unproductive - though there's no denying he knuckled down and did his job once he'd said his bit. I also think he makes dodgy race decisions as well - he's got strength, but he seems to want to use that for every task, when a bit more nous would be better. I'm struggling to think of an example right now but I'm pretty sure I've seen him doing some pretty tactically inexplicable things

 

[No Ta Doctor]

This is often confusing for non Danes. In Danish "cent" means ten. So per cent means per ten, not as other countries have it, per hundred. To get the actual international version times by ten. A danish metre is also ten times longer than an international metre, so just times the length by ten as well. These climbs are actually 9km at 38% and 7km at 29%. We don't normally let visiting cyclists on them, so they're not very well known.

I can confirm tat the two categorised climbs featured today have been noted in international units. There's definitely not a 175% section in the first or a 160+% section in the second, though @Brusgaard (Bubblefarm!?) may claim it feels like it (if he's ridden that far South)

EDIT: I can also confirm that they're both classified as Cat 1, the second climb has been mislabeled.

 

[Blazing Saddles]

Big pile up on a wet corner. Happened close to the front, too.
Miserable conditions, damp and only about 15C.