I’m getting too old and cranky for all this race schedule changing. I know they already did this last year and presumably I had the same gripings then, but Lombardia is supposed to close out the season and I’m downright angry that Paris-Tours is closing out the books now; it only seems right that one of the most beautiful races should close out the season, not some sprinter’s classic that even The Prophet didn’t bother to win.
Speaking of the end of the year, this season has blown by; it seems only a moment ago that the cobbled classics were in full flight and the whole of the season was stretching out before us. That confirms it: Time is an asshole. On the other hand, time always provides another season so I guess that’s a redeeming quality.
Ok, the caffeine is kicking in and I’m now capable of an emotion other than resentment, so lets get more positive. There’s a beautiful race coming this weekend so get stoked! We have a newly crowned World Champion whose choice of bib shorts color to scrutinize. This is important work, people, and no one else is going to do it. His team has a strong track record for pairing leader and championship jerseys to team-issue bibs, with the glaring exception of Der Panzerwagan’s white (and bloody) skinsuit. My money is on team-issue.
Remember we have some major prizes on offer; @il muro di manayunk has a solid lead, but if he’s out of the points and Der @Steampunk has a good showing, anything can happen. (That might not be true, it might be mathematically impossible but I don’t feel like doing the math.) So prognosticate on the start list and get your picks in by midnight on Saturday Pacific Time (or when the clock goes to zero). Cheers, and good luck.
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@frank
Maybe, but that is still one hot looking bike.
Really happy for Martin, love the way he rides. Wish he would have done it last week when I picked him but what can you do?
@frank
Come on now, you just KNOW soooo many of weaker spirit and less panache would have called it a day and packed it in. I do seriously applaud him for not quitting and for honouring the stripes, even if he did cramp so bad he could not move with 10 k to go and being in contention right up to that point and continuning on and finishing many minutes down.
@DCR
You got that right. I was super happy Martin won - and well deserved it was too - but the bunch gave it to him with their "you chase, no, you chase, uh uh,, not me" attitude. Martin has form in this kind of thing and once he was gone he was gone. Very much reminded me of Nibbles winning state 2 of the tour. You've got to go for it and take a gamble. Think about it, had Martin not inexplicably wiped out on that corner in LBL, he could be looking back on a season with two monument wins. Here's hoping JV treats him right going forward . . .
@Buck Rogers
Paging former Strack favourites: Schleck? Schleck? A. Schleck? Did Andy even finish a sentence this year?
Although, I do take @frank's point. The bigger story is he cracked and cramped. Responsibility of the rainbows persuaded him to finish. It's hardly a sign of panache, but it is a sign of character that he felt obligated to finish the race.
@wiscot
Yes, you got that right with the bunch all expecting someone else to take up the chase. This seems to happan A LOT whenever Malmerde is in the bunch that someone attacks out of. Now I REALLY dislike him but it is not so much his fault as no one wants to chase down a late attack and tow Malmerde to the line, kind of like with Sparty, b/c they knonw that he is a storng finisher. That is why, in my opinion, Malmerde and Sparty have soooo many podiums but not as many wins as one might think they should (although they each, and esp Sparty, have plenty of wins in their careers).
Take home lesson: If you find yourself in a bunch of 6 to 10 riders that contains either Cancellara or Valverde within 5 k of the finish, ATTACK!!!
@Steampunk HEY Now, STEAMY. None of this fence sitting shit!
Although, in retrospect, panache was not really the word that I was looking for (waves my hand in my face like a Jedi or something).
@Buck Rogers agreed, I think you can add Sagan to that list, even though lately he hasn't been making the final selection. No-one wants to tow him to the line, so no-one will try to shut down a late attack from a group he's in.
Wow! There is a whole lot of grumpy going on in this thread.
@Steampunk
We might see a resurgence in Frank's Dirty Schleck Love. The elder Schleck came in a full 9 minutes ahead of the new world champion, 24th at 42 seconds (when I initially scanned the results my brain took that on previous form and put him at 42 minutes).