Yes and yes @photos:Tim de Waele/Corbis and CyclingWeekly
Before we move on to the last Monument of the season, let’s reflect on what happened in Richmond. My deeply held fears of the American organizers making a mess of things were unrealized. The two cobbled climbs were spectacles and the resulting road races were pretty damn fine.
Personally, I don’t think the Worlds should ever end up in a bunch sprint. Sprinters should have their chance but the race should be so tough that even a flat course ends up in a fractured gasp for the line. The women’s finish was not a field sprint. Lizzy Armitstead led from the bottom of the last hill and made sure no one got past her for very long. Anna VDB was there but she was not going to win this one. Armitstead was probably the strongest/fastest in her field and kept it together to prove that.
Peter Sagan won from kilometers out, gaining time with each corner. He might not have been the strongest or fastest but he was most definitely the smartest. He sat in the field the whole race and then jumped everyone with a move that won the day.
Neither winner had a strong team for support. When it comes down to the final kilometers, it’s all legs, brains and heart.
It will be a pleasure seeing the rainbow stripes on these two for the next year.
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@mouse
You bring up an interesting point; I also prefer riding my carbon lovefests, and I really only ride deep-section carbon tubulars because I prefer how they ride. My steel frame has downtube shifters and rides like a dream and I'd love a modern steel bike because I like how steel rides, but if I'm doing any serious riding on the bikes I currently own, I prefer one of my carbon bikes. I believe your bikes are chinese-made, and my two favorites are too; and they survived the cobbles of Paris-Roubaix and the gravel of the Heck of the North just fine.
Holding the traditions of the sport in reverence and embracing modern advances are not contradictory; instead it is precisely what makes this sport so unique and special. We are simultaneously fiercely traditional and pathologically seeking the next innovation. No other sport is like that, and to hold one above the other is an enterprise subject to flow in the currents of our individual mood and taste.
From what can be considered our mission statement on The Keepers:
Anyway, I appreciate the feedback and its a totally fair viewpoint but in the end, I love this community more than I could ever express but if everyone here felt the way you do and you all wandered off, I would still be sitting here writing a few times a week because I love writing about Cycling. In the end, it's as simple as that.
I love this community and the spirit it has. But communities are built off the individual voices in chorus. If you don't like the way it is developing, then chime in and try to help shape it; if you choose to be silent, then don't be shocked if it turns out to be something you don't feel a part of.
He'll be back. They all come back.
@mouse
Preachy? Lighten up
@Oli
We all lived through Cammogate after all...
@frank
What goes around comes around. It's only a phase - even flares made a comeback.
@the Engine
Damn straight.
I came upon this site about six months ago, and am very happy that I did.. The people who post here have a vast pool of knowledge and experiences, and are generous in their sharing of them. What a pleasant thing to stumble on.
The people who post here also have a large variety of interests. Some like the history of (and current state of) our Sport, to include riders, teams, races, and courses. Personally, I love this. Others are equipment junkies, and will happily spend hours discoursing on the relative merits of Shimano and Campagnolo gear. This I find less interesting (this is a personal choice and a matter of taste; no judgment intended). I love anything @frank writes about the experience of being a cyclist - the thoughts that cross through your head before, during and after your ride.
The good news, at the risk of stating the obvious, is that when the conversation goes in a direction that I don't really care for, I don't have to read it. I'll just check back in in a day or two to see what else has been posted. And while I understand the desire to get the UCI to allow black bib shorts, I also think that Peter and Lizzie make the white shorts look damn good.
The people who post here, from what I can tell, seem to understand that they are the inheritors of a wonderful tradition in our Sport, and to accept the accompanying responsibility to uphold that tradition for its transmission to the next generation. Our Sport is truly fascinating. Its manifest destiny (in my opinion) is to grow in popularity and understanding (at least, in the English speaking world from which I hail). Communities like this are a big part of making that happen. I can only hope that, over time, my contribution to the community is a positive one.
pic from here
@frank
Thanks @frank. A thoughtful and kind response.
And, @Oli, you're probably right. I'll lurk and chime in when the urge hits.
Thanks @ThePressure. Imagine you're the sort of fellow that would plant the last kick to the ribs of a man on the ground, you know. Just to make sure.
@AshburnMike
Beautifully put!