# 2012 Olympic Road Race



## Creakyknees

Cyclingnews course preview here:

Preview: London 2012 Olympic Road Race Course | Cyclingnews.com

I don't think Cav will win. He didn't make it to the finish in Sydney, granted on a tougher course. What concerns me is the repeated references to narrow bumpy roads. Sounds like a recipe for chaos and attack after attack on Box Hill, with a large-ish group coming back together on the run back to London. 

Sagan.


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## hmeuleman

Sagan is alone. It's very tough. Just think that Greipel is going to winn. He was also good in the tour!


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## Local Hero

That article got me pumped up.


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## Dan Gerous

Doesn't Sagan have the Velits brothers?

I heard Box Hill is a big ring climb...

I think Cav can hang on, or catch back before the finish, he'll have Wiggins, Millar and a few other good teammates to pull him back for the sprint. But it's the Olympics, it's hard to predict, many will be much more aggressive than they usually would be and not many will want a sprint with Cav, especially after his display in Paris.


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## shoegazer

Boonen 
Greipel
Boss Hog


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## gusmahler

Dan Gerous said:


> Doesn't Sagan have the Velits brothers?


According to http://www.cyclingfever.com/editie.html?detp=view&_ap=startlijst&editie_idd=MjM0Nzc=, no.


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n

Boxhill climb ...
View attachment 261472


Profile ...
View attachment 261473


not much really ... for them ... they go round and back up again 9 times ...


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n

The loop ... Boxhill climb is on the bottom left
View attachment 261474


Profile ...
View attachment 261475


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## 55x11

Creakyknees said:


> Cyclingnews course preview here:
> 
> Preview: London 2012 Olympic Road Race Course | Cyclingnews.com
> 
> I don't think Cav will win. He didn't make it to the finish in Sydney, granted on a tougher course. What concerns me is the repeated references to narrow bumpy roads. Sounds like a recipe for chaos and attack after attack on Box Hill, with a large-ish group coming back together on the run back to London.
> 
> Sagan.


so in very simplistic terms, which teams are interested in breakaways and which teams are for bunch sprint?

Strongest breakaway teams include Belgium (Boonen, PhilGil), France (Chavanel), Italy (Nibali), Spain (Valverde, LL Sanchez). Plus maybe Denmark (Bak, Sorensen) and Netherlands ( with some good talent. Solo breakaways by the likes of Vino, Cancellara and maybe Boassen Hagen.

Bunch Sprint teams include Great Britain (Millar, Froome, Wiggins working for Cav), Germany (Martin, Grabsch for Greipel), Australia (Rogers, Evans, O'Grady and Gerrans for Goss). Sagan is on his own. I don't see Farrar, Hutarovich, Renshaw, Kittel or others as serious contenders for bunch sprint - I think it has to be Cav, Greipel, Sagan and Goss. Maybe add Boonen, but both Boonen and Sagan are better off from small breakaway.

Looking at the list, I think the bunch sprint teams will work together and reel any breakaway. It will come together at the end. It's Cav's to lose.


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## bikerjulio

zig-zag road near the start of the climb.










Narrow, but compared to a lot of the lanes I ride just to the west of this, this looks good.


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## 67caddy

It's a long way from Box Hill to the Mall. Cav will have at least three guys there who will be more than willing to drill it over the last 40k to bring it all back together. There are no race radios and no one is going to let a break get more than probably 6 minutes. I expect plenty of the other teams will assist with the work, until the final time up Box Hill. Then it will be all on the Brits. I think it will come down to a sprint and Cav will take it.


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## LostViking

When are the Road Race and Time Trial airing EST?


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## 55x11

67caddy said:


> It's a long way from Box Hill to the Mall. Cav will have at least three guys there who will be more than willing to drill it over the last 40k to bring it all back together. There are no race radios and no one is going to let a break get more than probably 6 minutes. I expect plenty of the other teams will assist with the work, until the final time up Box Hill. Then it will be all on the Brits. I think it will come down to a sprint and Cav will take it.


I agree with you but O'Grady thinks otherwise:

"It's definitely not a sprinters course," he said adamantly. "If anyone thinks it's going to come down to a bunch sprint, they're on the wrong page."

If there's a word to describe the parcours, O'Grady succinctly selects "hard". The veteran is expecting a classics-style affair to play out on the small, windy roads with no where to hide and recover.

"With five man teams it's going to be extremely difficult to control," O'Grady suggests. "I can see a group of maybe maximum two or three guys coming into the finish so it's definitely a hard man's race."


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## davidka

I see the chase/closedown of the break being too hard for Cav. If he falls off the back then the other sprinter's teams will drill it to keep him there. If that happens before the last circuit then he's gone. 40k won't be enough to pull him back even if he could hang on to Wiggins, Froome, and Millar that long. 

I can see Sagan winning (if it plays out this way he needs nobody), Goss or Boonen too. They are the best sprinters at the end of a less straightforward, harder race.


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## gusmahler

LostViking said:


> When are the Road Race and Time Trial airing EST?


Road race is Saturday at 7am EDT on NBC. 

Time Trial is Wednesday, August 1st at noon on NBC. (joined live in progress).

For those interested in track cycling (all on NBC unless otherwise noted):
Thu, August 2 at 2:45p
Sat, Aug 4 at 2:45a
Sat Aug 4 at 9:00a (NBC Sports Network)
Sat, Aug 4 at 4:00p
Sun, Aug 5 at 5:00a (NBC Sports Network)
Monday, Aug 5 at prime time
Tue, Aug 7 at 5:00a (NBC Sports network)
Tue Aug 7 at 1:30a 
Tue Aug 7 at 3:00p

BMX starts Aug 8 through Aug 10. Then mountain biking is on Aug 11 and 12. So there's a lot of cycling that will be on TV.


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## Tugboat

I see it coming down to a small but strong group of puncheurs. Based on Tour form the likes of EBH, LuLu Sanchez and Philippe Gilbert to contest the win. That said, if Sagan can make the selection he would be odds on favourite.

Cavendish... OTA.


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## Local Hero

le Spartacus ou le Tourminator


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## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n

bikerjulio said:


> zig-zag road near the start of the climb ... Narrow, but compared to a lot of the lanes I ride just to the west of this, this looks good.


It looks even better now ... the road was paved some weeks ago and it is 'silky' smooth now ...

btw you need to buy a ticket to get to the boxhill area ... so numbers are 'controlled' ... the 'authorities' like to do that ... do not expect similar scenes on climbs in the TdF ... real pity ... you know why ... Emma Pickles will tell you why ...

http://www.cyclingweekly.co.uk/news...l-declared-limited-access-for-olympic-rr.html


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## Chainstay

*Cav will be there*

I like reading all the Cav won't be there predictions. It's not that tough a climb. He won the warm up race last year, his condition is a lot better, his team is way stronger and the new surface makes the hill easier. He can hang on to Miller, Wiggo, Stannard and Vroom to get back to the break and there will be a some help from other teams not in the break.

I think the final sprint will be a big group coming together after a hard chase. It will be a tough sprint for Cav as he likely won't have a lead-out left and will be somewhat knackered. Meanwhile if other big teams have a guy in the break their sprinters and leadouts will get a ride to the finish. Watch for Goss, Boonen, EBH, Rojas or Viviani. 

Cav will probably win gold. He has great patience and decision making in these situations and has a pedigree of winning the big races.


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## jswilson64

Jack Bauer will work some miracle at the 24th hour...



(sorry, can't resist - I mean, it's almost like having a rider named Chuck Norris in the field)


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## SRV

55x11 said:


> I agree with you but O'Grady thinks otherwise:
> 
> "It's definitely not a sprinters course," he said adamantly. "If anyone thinks it's going to come down to a bunch sprint, they're on the wrong page."
> 
> If there's a word to describe the parcours, O'Grady succinctly selects "hard". The veteran is expecting a classics-style affair to play out on the small, windy roads with no where to hide and recover.
> 
> "With five man teams it's going to be extremely difficult to control," O'Grady suggests. "I can see a group of maybe maximum two or three guys coming into the finish so it's definitely a hard man's race."


And if it's a hard man's race, who else but Boonen? He skipped the Tour to prepare specifically for this race and let's not forget what a fantastic spring he had.


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## Dan Gerous

SRV said:


> And if it's a hard man's race, who else but Boonen? He skipped the Tour to prepare specifically for this race and let's not forget what a fantastic spring he had.


But Bonnen got hurt during the Tour of Poland no? No idea how serious it was but some have suggested he may not have had enough time to be at 100% for London...


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## 55x11

davidka said:


> I see the chase/closedown of the break being too hard for Cav. If he falls off the back then the other sprinter's teams will drill it to keep him there. If that happens before the last circuit then he's gone. 40k won't be enough to pull him back even if he could hang on to Wiggins, Froome, and Millar that long.
> 
> I can see Sagan winning (if it plays out this way he needs nobody), Goss or Boonen too. They are the best sprinters at the end of a less straightforward, harder race.


FYI, here's results of the Olympic test race from last year (identical course). Weaker field and marred by a crash with 5K to go, but nonetheless no breakaway survived and Cav did not fall off the pace, while a lot of others did.

http://www.cyclingnews.com/races/london-surrey-cycle-classic-1-2/results

1	Mark Cavendish (Great Britain)	3:18:11 
2	Sacha Modolo (Italy) 
3	Samuel Dumoulin (France) 
4	Stuart O'grady (Australia) 
5	Michal Golas (Poland) 
6	Borut Bozic (Slovenia) 
7	Alexander Kristoff (Norway) 
8	Matthew Goss (Australia) 
9	Ian Bibby (Great Britain) 
10	Andrew Tennant (Great Britain) 
11	Bartlomiej Matysiak (Poland) 
12	Dan Craven (Namibia) 
13	Jeremy Hunt (Great Britain) 
14	Michal Kwiatkowski (Poland) 
15	Jure Kocjan (Slovenia)	0:00:07 
16	Roger Hammond (Great Britain)	0:00:10 
17	Ian Stannard (Great Britain)	0:00:15 
18	Russell Downing (Great Britain)	0:00:25 
19	David Clarke (Great Britain)	0:00:42 
20	Marcin Bialoblocki (Poland) 
21	Marcel Kalz (Germany) 
22	Tom Thill (Luxembourg) 
23	Sergey Pomoshnikov (Russian Federation) 
24	Gorazd Stangelj (Slovenia) 
25	Evgeniy Bakhin (Russian Federation) 
26	Jason White (Great Britain) 
27	Samuel Bennett (Ireland) 
28	Yoann Offredo (France) 
29	Tom Last (Great Britain) 
30	David Mccann (Ireland) 
31	Yukiya Arashiro (Japan) 
32	Pit Schlechter (Luxembourg) 
33	Robert Kiserlovski (Croatia) 
34	Tony Gallopin (France) 
35	Kurt Asle Arvesen (Norway) 
36	Daniel Fleeman (Great Britain) 
37	Vladimir Miholjevic (Croatia) 
38	Deni Banicek (Croatia) 
39	Diego Ulissi (Italy) 
40	Simon Richardson (Great Britain) 
41	Liam Holohan (Great Britain) 
42	Jonathan Hivert (France) 
43	Evan Oliphant (Great Britain) 
44	Patrick Bercz (Germany) 
45	James Moss (Great Britain) 
46	Blel Kadri (France) 
47	Rafael Rodriguez Segarra (Spain) 
48	Joseph Perrett (Great Britain) 
49	Jonathan Mcevoy (Great Britain) 
50	Gael Le Bellec (France) 
51	Maciej Paterski (Poland) 
52	Christian Meier (Canada) 
53	Russell Hampton (Great Britain) 
54	Kristjan Koren (Slovenia) 
55	Richard Handley (Great Britain) 
56	Julian Dean (New Zealand) 
57	Edward Clancy (Great Britain) 
58	Oscar Gatto (Italy) 
59	Maciej Bodnar (Poland) 
60	Clinton Avery (New Zealand) 
61	Stephen Cummings (Great Britain) 
62	Lars Petter Nordhaug (Norway) 
63	Eros Capecchi (Italy) 
64	Bob Jungels (Luxembourg) 
65	Luca Paolini (Italy) 
66	Michael Cuming (Great Britain) 
67	Ty Magner (United States Of America) 
68	Ian Boswell (United States Of America) 
69	Tom David (New Zealand) 
70	Leigh Howard (Australia)	0:00:50 
71	Heinrich Haussler (Australia) 
72	Daniel Lloyd (Great Britain) 
73	Tom Boonen (Belgium)	0:01:33 
74	Kevin De Weert (Belgium) 
75	Jan Bakelants (Belgium) 
76	Jurgen Van De Walle (Belgium) 
77	Alexandre Blain (France) 
78	Michael Matthews (Australia)	0:01:43 
79	Peter Kennaugh (Great Britain) 
80	Alex Dowsett (Great Britain) 
81	Tom Murray (Great Britain)	0:02:02 
82	Kristian House (Great Britain) 
83	Andrew Fenn (Great Britain)	0:02:36 
84	David Veilleux (Canada)	0:03:10 
85	Dominique Rollin (Canada) 
86	Yukihiro Doi (Japan) 
87	Tyler Farrar (United States Of America)	0:03:23 
88	Gavin Mannion (United States Of America)	0:05:24 
89	Luka Grubic (Croatia)	0:06:05 
90	Stuart Wight (Canada) 
91	James Sampson (Great Britain) 
92	Marcel Six (Great Britain) 
93	Tom Kohn (Luxembourg) 
94	Roman Koltsov (Russian Federation) 
95	Ian Knight (Great Britain) 
96	Adil Jelloul (Morocco) 
97	Peter Hawkins (Ireland) 
98	Andrew Griffiths (Great Britain) 
99	Gregorlry Panizo (Brazil) 
100	Viktor Sudeikin (Russian Federation) 
101	Jason Christie (New Zealand) 
102	Fabian Schnaidt (Germany) 
103	Mouhssine Lahsaini (Morocco) 
104	Niko Eeckhout (Belgium) 
105	Stijn Joseph (Belgium) 
106	Jose-Eriberto Medeiros (Brazil) 
107	Matthew Jones (Great Britain) 
108	Jake Hales (Great Britain) 
109	Gideoni Monteiro (Brazil) 
110	Marcel Meisen (Germany) 
111	Ian Wilkinson (Great Britain) 
112	Richard Hepworth (Great Britain) 
113	Gediminas Bagdonas (Lithuania) 
114	Simon Gaywood (Great Britain) 
115	Peter Williams (Great Britain) 
116	Richard Cartland (Great Britain) 
117	Tanner Putt (United States Of America) 
118	Christopher Froome (Great Britain) 
119	Philip Lavery (Ireland) 
120	Takashi Miyazawa (Japan)	0:07:21 
121	Shinichi Fukushima (Japan)	0:10:46 
122	Jamie Riggs (Canada) 
123	Ross Creber (Great Britain) 
124	Tom Schanen (Luxembourg) 
125	Graham Briggs (Great Britain) 
126	Cleberson Weber (Brazil)	0:12:12 
127	Christopher Mcnamara (Great Britain)	0:14:30 
128	Martyn Irvine (Ireland)	0:16:14 
129	Felix English (Ireland) 
130	Theo Rheinhardt (Germany) 
DNF	Dale Appleby (Great Britain) 
DNF	Stephen Gallagher (Ireland) 
DNF	Yusuke Hatanaka (Japan) 
DNF	Abdeiati Saadoune (Morocco) 
DNF	Alexey Velikanov (Russian Federation) 
DNF	Steven Lampier (Great Britain) 
DNF	Tarik Chaoufi (Morocco) 
DNF	Mohamed Said El Ammoury (Morocco) 
DNS	Ole Martin Olmheim (Norway)


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## Dan Gerous

55x11 said:


> FYI, here's results of the Olympic test race from last year (identical course). Weaker field and marred by a crash with 5K to go, but nonetheless no breakaway survived and Cav did not fall off the pace, while a lot of others did.
> 
> London-Surrey Cycle Classic Results | Cyclingnews.com


But the test event was shorter and easier, they didn't do the Box Hill loop 9 times but only twice...

I think a lot depends on tactics, if the belgians, spaniards, italians and australians attack and attack on the 9 Box Hill loops, they may tire Cav before the end. I think he can pull it off but a lot depends on how the others race.


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## roddjbrown

Cav has trained specifically for this race all year, took it relatively easy in the tour and has quite probably the strongest team in Millar, Froome, Wiggins and Stannard (who already delivered him a world championship). I think he'll be favourite.

I think his only concern will be teammates saving themselves for the TT. In the worlds that was done and dusted so they could bury themselves. This time Froome and Wiggins must have an eye on a medal


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## davidka

55x11 said:


> FYI, here's results of the Olympic test race from last year (identical course). Weaker field and marred by a crash with 5K to go, but nonetheless no breakaway survived and Cav did not fall off the pace, while a lot of others did.
> 
> London-Surrey Cycle Classic Results | Cyclingnews.com


Like another poster said, short race (86 mi), weak field, 7 fewer trips over the hill. Because of the distance and number of runs on the hill the course was not identical, not even similar. He might hold on, he has won some tough races before but he usually gets dropped on hard courses. It's the Olympics so it'll be weird whatever the case.


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## roddjbrown

Latest odds (UK provider):

Mens Road Race 

M Cavendish (GBR) 5/6
P Sagan (SVK) 7/1
A Greipel (GER) 9/1
F Cancellara (SUI) 10/1
T Boonen (BEL) 20/1
E Boasson Hagen (NOR) 20/1
M Goss (AUS) 25/1
P Gilbert (BEL) 33/1

It appears the bookmakers think a bunch sprint is pretty likely


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## biobanker

I think that itll be a race within the Brits. I think that Froome will ask himself why, after towing Brad around in France, that he should ride for Cav in the Olympics.

I see Froome dumping Cav at a point that makes it difficult for Cav to recover from, so he can go for gold himself. I dont think that he will win, but I bet he thinks he can.

Cav, Boonen or Sagan for me!


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## vismitananda

I think the Spaniards will do it again this time. Would love to see Sammy take the gold again. ^_^


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## xjbaylor

vismitananda said:


> I think the Spaniards will do it again this time. Would love to see Sammy take the gold again. ^_^


Not likely as he is not competing as a result of his fall in Le Tour. Below is the Spanish team that will be competing. Spain still has a chance...Sammy doesn't unfortunately.

CASTROVIEJO NICOLAS Jonathan	
ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin	Spain	
SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon	Spain	
VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro	
VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisco José


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## vismitananda

xjbaylor said:


> Not likely as he is not competing as a result of his fall in Le Tour. Below is the Spanish team that will be competing. Spain still has a chance...Sammy doesn't unfortunately.
> 
> CASTROVIEJO NICOLAS Jonathan
> ROJAS GIL Jose Joaquin	Spain
> SANCHEZ GIL Luis Leon	Spain
> VALVERDE BELMONTE Alejandro
> VENTOSO ALBERDI Francisco José


Yeah I knew about this, even before TDF, he suffered from a very bad crash. 

I was only dreaming of Sammy defending his Olympic win. :thumbsup:

I wonder why Rodriquez is not on this list? :idea:


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## gusmahler

biobanker said:


> I think that itll be a race within the Brits. I think that Froome will ask himself why, after towing Brad around in France, that he should ride for Cav in the Olympics.
> 
> I see Froome dumping Cav at a point that makes it difficult for Cav to recover from, so he can go for gold himself. I dont think that he will win, but I bet he thinks he can.
> 
> Cav, Boonen or Sagan for me!


Wat? Froome can't win this race. If I know it and you know it, I'm pretty sure he knows it also.


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## Dan Gerous

vismitananda said:


> Yeah I knew about this, even before TDF, he suffered from a very bad crash.
> 
> I was only dreaming of Sammy defending his Olympic win. :thumbsup:
> 
> I wonder why Rodriquez is not on this list? :idea:


The course doesn't suit Rodriguez, climbs not steep enough and way too far from the line, he wouldn't be of much use IMO.


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## Creakyknees

roddjbrown said:


> It appears the bookmakers think a bunch sprint is pretty likely


I guess you're not a gambler... bookmakers do not set the odds in a case like this - instead the odds are a result of the relative numbers and size of all the bets by the sporting public. The bookies "offer" odds and the bettor either takes the bet or not. Over time, with computers, it levels out. 

So it's more accurate to say, the betting public thinks Cav has the best odds of winning.


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## roddjbrown

Creakyknees said:


> I guess you're not a gambler... bookmakers do not set the odds in a case like this - instead the odds are a result of the relative numbers and size of all the bets by the sporting public. The bookies "offer" odds and the bettor either takes the bet or not. Over time, with computers, it levels out.
> 
> So it's more accurate to say, the betting public thinks Cav has the best odds of winning.


LOL, you're quite right, I'm not a gambler. I do however do consultancy work for a significant betting exchange. Betting exchanges allow customers to set the odds. Bookmakers set initial odds and then move the odds as required to hedge their exposure. It's still based on what the bookmaker thinks is most likely. Of course if people have chucked millions on Cav to win then the odds movement will be significant but it's generally not more than around 5% movement from intial odds (unless it's Pakistani cricket spot betting).


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## xjbaylor

roddjbrown said:


> unless it's Pakistani cricket spot betting.


Pfft...everyone knows those games are rigged.


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## 55x11

davidka said:


> Like another poster said, short race (86 mi), weak field, 7 fewer trips over the hill. Because of the distance and number of runs on the hill the course was not identical, not even similar. He might hold on, he has won some tough races before but he usually gets dropped on hard courses. It's the Olympics so it'll be weird whatever the case.


I suspect the importance of Box hill is overplayed. 49km to the finish may be a more important factor than the Box Hill itself - if it was closer to finish line it would have played a bigger role. 
My main point is that Cav wasn't dropped on the hill, and that his team picked up the pace with 30K to go and reeled in breakaway that had 6.5 min advantage at some point. And they were able to defend against last minute attacks too - while others were getting dropped. If you look at times, there were riders shelled back, but it must have happened in the last 49km, not from the Box Hill. 

I think Box Hill will certainly allow for breakaway opportunities, but they will be reeled back in in the final 50K.


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## albert owen

I have a feeling for L.L.Sanchez who ended the Tour in great style. 
I want Cav to win, but I lack complete faith in him and his minders over this course against repeated attempts by riders as strong as Boonen, Sagan etc, to take the sting out of his finish.


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## davidka

55x11 said:


> I suspect the importance of Box hill is overplayed. 49km to the finish may be a more important factor than the Box Hill itself - if it was closer to finish line it would have played a bigger role.
> My main point is that Cav wasn't dropped on the hill, and that his team picked up the pace with 30K to go and reeled in breakaway that had 6.5 min advantage at some point. And they were able to defend against last minute attacks too - while others were getting dropped. If you look at times, there were riders shelled back, but it must have happened in the last 49km, not from the Box Hill.
> 
> I think Box Hill will certainly allow for breakaway opportunities, but they will be reeled back in in the final 50K.


It's 9 trips up the hill and narrow, difficult road after each. To me the critical factor is that everyone knows that Cav has difficulty with this. If he does get dropped before the last trip over the hill I think all the other teams will ride to keep him out of it. Even if all 4 of his mates fall back for him, it's them against everyone else. 

You are right, 49k is a lot of time to chase, but it's also a lot of time to run and I think everyone will for the chance to eliminate Cav.

Or his 4 team mates are unconquerable and bring him back, or he's strong and doesn't need to be brought back in the 1st place. If he makes it to the line with the front group it is his to lose.


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## 55x11

davidka said:


> It's 9 trips up the hill and narrow, difficult road after each. To me the critical factor is that everyone knows that Cav has difficulty with this. If he does get dropped before the last trip over the hill I think all the other teams will ride to keep him out of it. Even if all 4 of his mates fall back for him, it's them against everyone else.
> 
> You are right, 49k is a lot of time to chase, but it's also a lot of time to run and I think everyone will for the chance to eliminate Cav.
> 
> Or his 4 team mates are unconquerable and bring him back, or he's strong and doesn't need to be brought back in the 1st place. If he makes it to the line with the front group it is his to lose.


I don't see Cav as the weakest climber among all other sprinters. Especially not since he lost 8 lbs from 2011.

So if Cav does get "dropped", I suspect Greipel, Goss, Farrar and others will get "dropped" too with him, along with entire teams of sprinters. Strong men who don't want it to come to bunch sprint like Boonen, Sagan, Boassen Haggen may prevail (and how many riders want to be in a breakaway with Sagan?), but the back group will contain sprinters with super-teams - Germany, Australia, US, UK. So it will not be just 4 guys chasing with Cav. It will be a large group, basically most of the peloton, with some 20 or so top time trialists and strong riders motivated to bring the breakaway back.

49K is a looong time for breakaway to survive in this situation. Can the breakaway riders get a lot more than 5 min over Box Hill circuit, while preserving something for the final 50K run to the finish? I doubt it. There are already reports of alliance between sprinter teams to work together, and someone like Wiggins can probably gain 1 min per 10K working on the front on his own.

Add to this the fact that Olympics is in UK, that the road race is on the first real day of competition, that the win will get a huge attention, that Cav deserves a payback for his work at TdF, that he has been taking it fairly easy at TdF and targeted Olympics specifically for the past 12 months, and I think it's stupid to bet against bunch sprint on this course. But stranger things have happened.


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## vismitananda

Dan Gerous said:


> The course doesn't suit Rodriguez, climbs not steep enough and way too far from the line, he wouldn't be of much use IMO.


Oh I see, Joaquim is a very good Puncheur IMHO.


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## harlond

55x11 said:


> I don't see Cav as the weakest climber among all other sprinters. Especially not since he lost 8 lbs from 2011.
> 
> So if Cav does get "dropped", I suspect Greipel, Goss, Farrar and others will get "dropped" too with him, along with entire teams of sprinters.


In the Tour, Greipel stayed with the group over climbs on which Cav got dropped. Big as he is, you wouldn't think Greipel is a better climber than Cav, but recent experience suggests he is.

The German team is as strong or nearly as strong as the British team, I expect them to help keep the race together. I would have expected the Australian team to help there as well, but O'Grady's comments suggest that maybe they won't. God knows why, the US team may help, too.


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## MattSoutherden

The race tomorrow could be the most entertaining race of the season _if_ the other teams hold true to their promise to blow the thing to bits.

On the other hand, we heard that from everyone about how they were going to destroy Wiggo in the mountains in the Tour.

If there's a break of strong guys up the road after the Box Hill loop, then GB might need some help to bring it back. In the test event they had an 'England' team in the race that effectively gave them twice the team size. Will they want someone fresh to help Cav at the end or will they put everyone into the chase? Would other Sky riders on other teams help out? (Sky have pretty deep pockets) It's happened before in WC races.


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## nacnac3

Boassen Haggen is my sleeper pick. The man did WORK in the TdF and showed how strong he is.


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## ukbloke

roddjbrown said:


> M Cavendish (GBR) 5/6


Those odds are ridiculous. This is cycling and this is the Olympics. No way that Cavendish could guarantee to win such a race more than 50% of the time.



roddjbrown said:


> P Sagan (SVK) 7/1
> A Greipel (GER) 9/1
> F Cancellara (SUI) 10/1
> T Boonen (BEL) 20/1
> E Boasson Hagen (NOR) 20/1
> M Goss (AUS) 25/1
> P Gilbert (BEL) 33/1


Any of these would be well worth a flutter. I'd go with Sagan.

(But I still want Cavendish to win)


----------



## Ppopp

jswilson64 said:


> I mean, it's almost like having a rider named Chuck Norris in the field)


Why does Mark Cavenish hate the Period Table of the Elements? Because it doesn't recognize the element of surprise.

When Mark Cavendish takes a bottle from the team car, the sticky bidon helps the car keep up.


----------



## Chainstay

[No message]


----------



## gusmahler

jswilson64 said:


> jack bauer will work some miracle at the 24th hour...


dammit, there's no time to get water bottles from the car!


----------



## EuroSVT

So this is supposed to air at 7 a.m. EST, on NBC or NBC Sports? I can't get a read off of my program guide, just says "soccer, volleyball, etc"

Also, do you think they will cover the race, or will it be one of those deals where they flip to coverage on occasion? I want to watch a race!


----------



## Chainstay

harlond said:


> In the Tour, Greipel stayed with the group over climbs on which Cav got dropped. Big as he is, you wouldn't think Greipel is a better climber than Cav, but recent experience suggests he is.
> 
> The German team is as strong or nearly as strong as the British team, I expect them to help keep the race together. I would have expected the Australian team to help there as well, but O'Grady's comments suggest that maybe they won't. God knows why, the US team may help, too.


If you mean stage 13, Griepel had team mates helping close the gap after the climb. Sky left Cav behind and nobody else is going to work to bring him back. Knowing he had no support did Cav go all out on that climb?

I agree that other teams will feel a sprint is in their interest, even if they have to settle for a silver or bronze.


----------



## allison

EuroSVT said:


> So this is supposed to air at 7 a.m. EST, on NBC or NBC Sports? I can't get a read off of my program guide, just says "soccer, volleyball, etc"
> 
> Also, do you think they will cover the race, or will it be one of those deals where they flip to coverage on occasion? I want to watch a race!


I don't have a solid answer (sorry), but my guess is that it's going to be shown by geography (so I think it would be 5 am to 11am on NBC no matter where you are?).

For me for road race it is showing live at 1:50am, but coverage would be 5-11am (PT) on KNBC. But, I can't imagine they will actually show 6 hours of race coverage, so I would get it would be on occasion.


----------



## gusmahler

It's on NBC, not NBC Sports Network. And it's live. So it will be 7 am EDT, 6 am, CDT, 5 am MDT, and 4 am PDT.

nbcolympics.com claims that the only thing being shown for that time period is the road race. But I guess we'll see.


----------



## JSR

EuroSVT said:


> So this is supposed to air at 7 a.m. EST, on NBC or NBC Sports? I can't get a read off of my program guide, just says "soccer, volleyball, etc"
> 
> Also, do you think they will cover the race, or will it be one of those deals where they flip to coverage on occasion? I want to watch a race!


My program guide shows it on the main NBC broadcast channel (KNBC in LA) from 0530 to 1030 PDT.

As to how they'll cover it? I'll bet they'll find an American rider with cancer, or some other debilitating disease, on whom they'll spend an hour describing his will to succeed, coupled with frequent updates from the synchronized swimming aquadrome and a breathless "breaking news" segment about a suprrise first-round success by the American women's handball team.

JSR


----------



## gusmahler

EuroSVT said:


> So this is supposed to air at 7 a.m. EST, on NBC or NBC Sports? I can't get a read off of my program guide, just says "soccer, volleyball, etc"
> 
> Also, do you think they will cover the race, or will it be one of those deals where they flip to coverage on occasion? I want to watch a race!


While we don't know how NBC will be covering it, nbcolympics.com will be streaming the race live. I doubt they'll be doing special interest stories and they definitely won't be cutting to other sports.


----------



## pmuller

I see on NBC from 5AM to 11AM EST (NY)


----------



## gusmahler

With everyone quoting different times, I guess the race isn't on live. 

london2012.com says the race starts at 5 am EDT. 

Over on nbcolympics.com, the streaming starts at 4:50 am EDT.

But, for me in AZ, my local NBC network is airing it from 4 am to 10 am PDT. So I guess it's 3 hours tape delayed for west coasters.


----------



## 55x11

ukbloke said:


> Those odds are ridiculous. This is cycling and this is the Olympics. No way that Cavendish could guarantee to win such a race more than 50% of the time.
> 
> 
> 
> Any of these would be well worth a flutter. I'd go with Sagan.
> 
> (But I still want Cavendish to win)


It may be on the high side but I don't think it's so ridiculous. Assuming bunch sprint Cav should be expected to win more than 50% of the time. See his Champs Elysees win. He was easily 80%+ favorite for that one. His leadout will be more committed for Olympics, I think.

Then there is a question of bunch sprint vs. small breakaway success. Or bunch sprint without Cav. We discussed it ad nauseum already. I think unless Cav crashes out early, the changes for bunch sprint are about 80% or higher - his team is super-dedicated and has enough wattage to chase down anything they see as a threat.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

55x11 said:


> I think unless Cav crashes out early, the changes for bunch sprint are about 80% or higher - his team is super-dedicated and has enough wattage to chase down anything they see as a threat.


The scenario has been the same for last year's World Championships and the Champs Elysees: Cav is the overwhelming favorite, everyone knew his strategy beforehand, everyone did all they could to thwart it, and he still pulled it off.

He will be the favorite tomorrow. Eveyone will sit on his wheel. Cyclingnews quotes other riders as saying it's the world vs Cav. Nobody will have any other strategy than to react to him. I hope he pulls it off again.


----------



## Fogdweller

roddjbrown said:


> Cav has trained specifically for this race all year, took it relatively easy in the tour and has quite probably the strongest team in Millar, Froome, Wiggins and Stannard (who already delivered him a world championship). I think he'll be favourite.
> 
> I think his only concern will be teammates saving themselves for the TT. In the worlds that was done and dusted so they could bury themselves. This time Froome and Wiggins must have an eye on a medal


I totally agree with this. GB took massive turns at the front to insure a win for their guy. Goss might have a good chance with a pretty strong Aussie team in support but Bix Hill isn't long or steep enough to gap Cavendish on the last or second to last lap.


----------



## davidka

55x11 said:


> I don't see Cav as the weakest climber among all other sprinters. Especially not since he lost 8 lbs from 2011.
> 
> So if Cav does get "dropped", I suspect Greipel, Goss, Farrar and others will get "dropped" too with him, along with entire teams of sprinters. Strong men who don't want it to come to bunch sprint like Boonen, Sagan, Boassen Haggen may prevail (and how many riders want to be in a breakaway with Sagan?), but the back group will contain sprinters with super-teams - Germany, Australia, US, UK. So it will not be just 4 guys chasing with Cav. It will be a large group, basically most of the peloton, with some 20 or so top time trialists and strong riders motivated to bring the breakaway back.
> 
> 49K is a looong time for breakaway to survive in this situation. Can the breakaway riders get a lot more than 5 min over Box Hill circuit, while preserving something for the final 50K run to the finish? I doubt it. There are already reports of alliance between sprinter teams to work together, and someone like Wiggins can probably gain 1 min per 10K working on the front on his own.
> 
> Add to this the fact that Olympics is in UK, that the road race is on the first real day of competition, that the win will get a huge attention, that Cav deserves a payback for his work at TdF, that he has been taking it fairly easy at TdF and targeted Olympics specifically for the past 12 months, and I think it's stupid to bet against bunch sprint on this course. But stranger things have happened.


All possible. I'm not betting against a bunch sprint, just questioning who's going to be in that group. Cav can win, but only if he makes it over that hill with the group every time. If he gets dropped say, 3 loops before the 49k run back? I think he's dropped for good and of course, if the race is that hard other sprinters will be dropped too. I guess it depends which group is bigger and contains the most of the favorites.


----------



## gusmahler

A shame that the road race is considered an individual event. Unless a solo breakaway wins, the winner will have had tremendous support from his teammates, but they won't get a gold medal to show for it.


----------



## Wookiebiker

After watching the TDF and seeing a slimmed down Cav who's primary goal is the Olympics this year...I'm going with Cav for the win. Not only that most of the GB team is from SKY and with him helping Wiggins win the TDF...their payback is helping Cav win the Olympics.

Beyond that...I see it as:

1. Cav
2. Sagan
3. Boonen


----------



## il sogno

I wouldn't be surprised to see Cancellara jump off the front and take the victory.


----------



## il sogno

Then again it could go to someone like Greipel. 

I'm gonna be pulling for Farrar if it comes to a bunch sprint.


----------



## thechriswebb

Earlier on, I thought that this was going to be Boonen's race to lose. I don't think he will be back to 100% though. 

Odds on favorite is Cavendish and it is for good reason. He wants to win this race more than any race he has participated in. It is hard to bet against him. 

_If_ a breakaway does succeed though, I am going to go with LL Sanchez.


----------



## Mike T.

If Cav wins it will be pandemonium. I'll be glued to the TV and the computer at 5am EST. As a Brit in Canada I'll be rooting for Cav but our man Ryder, as a lone Canadian team member, doesn't have a chance.


----------



## Christopha

Matt Goss - I'm calling it now


----------



## The Moontrane

albert owen said:


> I have a feeling for L.L.Sanchez who ended the Tour in great style.
> I want Cav to win, but I lack complete faith in him and his minders over this course against repeated attempts by riders as strong as Boonen, Sagan etc, to take the sting out of his finish.


You, me, and thechriswebb see it similarly.

Maybe, after going on his second solo breakaway that I can recall, Valverde gets a big one.


----------



## EuroSVT

Yeah it's on now...glad I got up early


----------



## NextTime

Anyone successful at watching this on the computer via nbcolympics.com?

I "click"on cable provider, but before I can type my log on it goes back to welcome screen. Not having any luck.


----------



## Dr_John

If you're on a PC, try using IE. I couldn't get Firefox to work correctly and consistently.


----------



## EuroSVT

Damn...they just went to swimming on the NBC broadcast


----------



## RkFast

Four ****ing years later and they STILL havent worked out how to add commentary to the online streeam. 

NBC...**** you.


----------



## loubnc

Watching it right now online in Firefox. There was just a crash in the main group. Hard to know who was involved since there is no commentary.

Looks like the break has them by almost 6 minutes.


----------



## EuroSVT

Well if you didn't get the info, Duggan is in the break and yeah they've pulled just over 5:30


----------



## loubnc

Brits are on the front chasing.


----------



## enzo24

Arrrrrrgh breaststroke swimming! But at least its a real sport unlike that synchronized crap. 

I'm pulling for any breakaway. I don't like the way this course is set up. I do not want to see someone like Cav or Greipel win only after their team hauls back a breakaway. The race is called the INDIVIDUAL road race and I think the winner should have to be a strong and well-rounded individual rider, not a guy who can just hang on and sprint. They have the track for that. Think of the disadvantage a guy like Sagan has with NO teammates where Cav has four.


----------



## loubnc

Looks like Sky sent Rogers up the road to get things in controls again.


----------



## Marc

And the NBC website seems to have outright died...


----------



## tethernaut

The video on the iPad app isn't working, and the nbcolympics.com website comes up with a page to select your cable provider -- and the damn buttons on the page aren't functional. WFT???


----------



## Marc

Now the page is working fine in IE. Weird. I've been watching the football matches the alst few days, so it worked fine through that.



tethernaut said:


> The video on the iPad app isn't working, and the nbcolympics.com website comes up with a page to select your cable provider -- and the damn buttons on the page aren't functional. WFT???


Refresh the page. And try again. This is exactly why I tried and tested before the event I really wanted to watch.


----------



## Skewer

I'm picking Sagan. I wonder what celebration he has in store. Can't wait.


----------



## superjesus

Zomg! I can't recognize anybody in their national kits! There's no race info on the screen! And no Phil! Oh noes!


----------



## Marc

superjesus said:


> Zomg! I can't recognize anybody in their national kits! There's no race info on the screen! And no Phil! Oh noes!


Phil I can go without quite happily...buit would it have killed them to put a km # to go banner in the upper left, if not a break gap?


----------



## tetter

whats with the neon orange bike that some of these guys are riding? doesnt look like it has anything to do with national kits


----------



## Cinelli 82220

tetter said:


> whats with the neon orange bike that some of these guys are riding? doesnt look like it has anything to do with national kits


A couple look like Specialised--maybe Spec wants bikes that show up in photos.


----------



## jlandry

FYI You can live-stream this on Steephill.tv


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Team kits as a whole are pathetic, Italy in plain white, NZ in plain white? Swiss wearing old jerseys left over from Assos ads. 

USA and Belgium are the only ones with class.


----------



## Marc

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Team kits as a whole are pathetic, Italy in plain white, NZ in plain white? Swiss wearing old jerseys left over from Assos ads.
> 
> USA and Belgium are the only ones with class.


Wasn't it last summer olympics that all the bikes had to have frame manufacturer labels covered? I'm thinking the boredom of the national kits may be mandated by the country olympic committees. Games have arcane rules.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Someone in red and white kit seems to be working with the GB team, might be Bernie Eisel!


----------



## Marc

Catch is being made way early. Still 60km to go.


----------



## roddjbrown

Cav all the way now. Eisel's just become British


----------



## kirbdoggy

superjesus said:


> Zomg! I can't recognize anybody in their national kits! There's no race info on the screen!


Combined with the fact the commentators in Canada are watching their very first road race. Its not good. By the last lap up box hill they have regurgitated every Tour fact that their teleprompter could spit out.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Aww fffffff BBC Eurosport just swiched to Tennis :mad2:

With Gilbert off on a solo! :mad2::mad2::mad2:


----------



## Marc

Cinelli 82220 said:


> Aww fffffff BBC Eurosport just swiched to Tennis :mad2:
> 
> With Gilbert off on a solo! :mad2::mad2::mad2:


Gilbert on a solo, with 45" and 50km to go. Gilbert probably won't stay away.

NBC still streaming...through their flash player keeps hanging every 30 minutes.


----------



## Fireform

Spartacus.


----------



## Art853

Go Coughlin!


----------



## 88 rex

I only have the cyclingnews feed here at work, but looking at the names in the break, it looks pretty strong. Can they hold off the Sky train?

3 Americans in the break along with a whole slew of time trialers. Time to hit the gas!


----------



## roddjbrown

Germany weak. I get that they want to save their riders to gain the advantage on Cav but if there's no sprint you have no chance to beat him. Do some work


----------



## 88 rex

32 riders in the break! No way Sky/GB should be able to pull that back by themselves.

Spartacus, Tejay, LL Sanchez, Nibali, Gilbert.....etc.


----------



## sir duke

Watching the Steephill stream, commentary in Arabic. The guy's voice is putting me to sleep. looks like Tejay is enjoying a moment of glory off the front.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Germany is working at front with GB, trying to get Greipel into sprint position.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

David Millar is riding his Cervelo, not the GB team bike.

The Arabic commentary is awful, especially with no graphics to show what is going on. Time to let ASO or RAI run the next Olympic road race.


----------



## Fireform

Too many big guns on the break and no sprinters. Spartacus is just timing his attack.


----------



## mtnroadie

Anybody else see Froome's weird looking stem? What is that?


----------



## 88 rex

The Swiss ain't going to let it happen.


----------



## Sumguy1

2nd link under Sporza working at Steephill


----------



## killarbb

nasty wreck


----------



## erj549

Cancellara down hard!


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Tnks sumguy!

Cancellara is riding but doesn't look good, sore arm.


----------



## TerminatorX91

The camera work is... WTF just happened?


----------



## 88 rex

what?!?!?


----------



## Cinelli 82220

TerminatorX91 said:


> The camera work is... WTF just happened?


He missed a corner and went down into a railing. Last seen at medic's car. 

Crowds are huge! Unbelievable.


----------



## roddjbrown

Spartacus down!


----------



## erj549

Looks like Spartacus might have re-injured his clavicle. He can't put pressure through his right arm.


----------



## joe43

Possible for Team GB to bring it back from a 56 second gap at 10km to go?


----------



## erj549

joe43 said:


> Possible for Team GB to bring it back from a 56 second gap at 10km to go?


Nope.


----------



## 88 rex

Could the US sneak a spot on the podium?!?


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Sky rider off the front, but it's URAN! With Vino!


----------



## Johnnybegood7

6.6km to go,56s gap
It's over for cavendish


----------



## Sumguy1

Vino? WTF?


----------



## Fireform

Alas, it was shaping up perfectly for Cancellara bit he took that corner too hot.


----------



## Johnnybegood7

2km to go,looks good for vino


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Vino and Uran way off the front and no GB chase, they may have burned out from pulling all day. 
Froome is off the back. Its over for GB.


----------



## Salsa_Lover

Vino or Uran for Gold !


----------



## erj549

Fireform said:


> Alas, it was shaping up perfectly for Cancellara bit he took that corner too hot.


I think he probably had it in the bag based on the group he was in. Really sad to see. Hopefully nothing's broken and he can redeem the TT.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Vino!


----------



## pmuller

Vino!


----------



## usernametaken

Well ridden.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Vino!

Well that was a total shocker...GB shut out.


----------



## roddjbrown

Vino mugged Uran right off. Quality


----------



## erj549

Nice job Vino. very happy for him. Great way to end a career.


----------



## Salsa_Lover

Vino gets it, incredible


----------



## Johnnybegood7

2 sky on the podium but no brits


----------



## mtnroadie

*Vino!!!!! MOLODETS!!!!*

I could not have dreamed of a better finish, way to go Vino! What a way to end your career!


----------



## sir duke

Well, was it tiredness, complacency or plain poor tactics that tripped up team GB? Kind of sticks in the gullet to see a former cheat like Vino win, but, if Millar gets to ride for GB then so must Vino. Poor Spartacus, crashes out when looking so good.


----------



## 88 rex

wow!!!


----------



## thechriswebb

Jesus. I almost picked him. What a grand finale for a career.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Cancellara just finished but is obviously hurt.


----------



## roddjbrown

sir duke said:


> Well, was it tiredness, complacency or plain poor tactics that tripped up team GB? Kind of sticks in the gullet to see a former cheat like Vino win, but, if Millar gets to ride for GB then so must Vino. Poor Spartacus, crashes out when looking so good.


They spent all day at the front as Germany forgot they might have to do something rather than armchair ride to a bunch sprint.

My predictions were shot, I had the Ozzies down for that


----------



## Cinelli 82220

......


----------



## trhoppe

Cancellara seems to be minus 1 intact collarbone/clavicle. Sucks for him big time!


----------



## Cinelli 82220

sir duke said:


> Well, was it tiredness, complacency or plain poor tactics that tripped up team GB?


You can only ride at the front for so long. They were way too confident and were racing against fresher legs.

One minute they were all at the front, then they were gone, just like that. There's going to be a lot of armchair quarterbacking over this!!


----------



## sir duke

The race isn't over yet......if you know what i mean.


----------



## cq20

Team GB had no Plan B e.g. stick Stanard in the break and the German team didn't work. Would have rather seen someone other than Vino win but he took his chance and rode well.


----------



## loubnc

That was hard to watch Spartacus break down like that.


----------



## loubnc

Stop...just stop.:nono:


----------



## JasonB176

Got to root for the older rider! Vino, almost 39, beats the rest - makes my day!


----------



## sir duke

roddjbrown said:


> They spent all day at the front as Germany forgot they might have to do something rather than armchair ride to a bunch sprint.
> 
> My predictions were shot, I had the Ozzies down for that


One German had a dig at about 40k to go but yep, no-one willing to share the work. Result, Froome blows up, too big an ask for the others, tactics don't come into it if you are shagged out after a grand tour. Hope Wiggo can come back for the TT.


----------



## aclinjury

well team GB got upset big time, I'd say epic upset here


----------



## Henry Porter

sir duke said:


> The race isn't over yet......if you know what i mean.


Silently nods...


----------



## sir duke

loubnc said:


> Stop...just stop.:nono:



Save your censure for those who break the rules.


----------



## roddjbrown

I wouldnt call it an upset. Put a great break together and leave just one team doing work and that will happen every time.


----------



## Marc

trhoppe said:


> Cancellara seems to be minus 1 intact collarbone/clavicle. Sucks for him big time!


I sense an armchair TT for him in the future.


----------



## 88 rex

GB was a little too confident, IMO. Lots of big names up the road, and lots of big names making the jump across the gap.


----------



## lemonlime

sir duke said:


> The race isn't over yet......if you know what i mean.


Lulz, and good point.

Maybe the Brits will get on the podium afterall.


----------



## NextTime

Two thoughts:

First, where was Germany and Australia? Team GB couldn't do it alone.

Second, did the Columbian give the race away? Where the heck was looking when he kinda sorta peeled away - the barrier???


----------



## Tugboat

I LOLZ at Team GB and their inflexible tactics. All that pressure on delivering Cav to the win, no radios to tell them what to do so they don't even spare one rider to cover the breaks. What a pack of amateurs.
:lol:


----------



## cq20

88 rex said:


> GB was a little too confident, IMO. Lots of big names up the road, and lots of big names making the jump across the gap.


I don't think they were too confident but they only had one game plan. If anything it was some of the others like Germany, Australia etc who had too much confidence in GB and sat back "knowing" that the breakaway would be caught.

Anyway, good race, poor TV coverage (blame the Olympic Broadcast Services; the BBC et al are just unhappy customers) and I think it's great to see a breakaway survive.


----------



## Marc

NextTime said:


> Two thoughts:
> 
> First, where was Germany and Australia? Team GB couldn't do it alone.
> 
> Second, did the Columbian give the race away? Where the heck was looking when he kinda sorta peeled away - the barrier???


They sat behind the Cav train expecting to freewheel to the line and just sprint it out. I think the lack of radios prevented it from just being another sprint-finish win for Cav. At least I believe there were no radios.


----------



## sir duke

lemonlime said:


> Lulz, and good point.
> 
> Maybe the Brits will get on the podium afterall.



Nah, that wouldn't be any kind of consolation. Don't forget, if Cav had won, he'd be peeing in the bottle too and boy, that had better be pristine..
Anyway enough of this kind of speculation. Compelling race. Think we'll see Cav with Sky next season?


----------



## Cinelli 82220

NextTime said:


> First, where was Germany and Australia? Team GB couldn't do it alone


It's a good point, everyone wanted to sit on GB and get towed along. It was only near the end that Germany and Eisel started helping. The break kept getting further and further away and nobody wanted to do anything about it. 



> Second, did the Columbian give the race away? Where the heck was looking when he kinda sorta peeled away - the barrier???


Uran is a pure climber, he had no hope against Vino.


----------



## TerminatorX91

Phinney finished 4th.


----------



## 88 rex

TerminatorX91 said:


> Phinney finished 4th.


That's awesome! Good on him.


----------



## roddjbrown

Tugboat said:


> I LOLZ at Team GB and their inflexible tactics. All that pressure on delivering Cav to the win, no radios to tell them what to do so they don't even spare one rider to cover the breaks. What a pack of amateurs.
> :lol:


Amateurs...with the world champ, tdf champ and tdf champ runner up... Sure...

The mistake was expecting nations to ride like pro teams


----------



## roddjbrown

cq20 said:


> Anyway, good race, poor TV coverage (blame the Olympic Broadcast Services; the BBC et al are just unhappy customers) and I think it's great to see a breakaway survive.


Is that the case? I feel bad for the abuse I've been shouting at the tv now.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

roddjbrown said:


> Amateurs...with the world champ, tdf champ and tdf champ runner up... Sure...
> 
> The mistake was expecting nations to ride like pro teams


4 of 5 riders on GB team ride for Sky.

Edit: on re-reading the thread I see your point.


----------



## sir duke

Tugboat said:


> I LOLZ at Team GB and their inflexible tactics. All that pressure on delivering Cav to the win, no radios to tell them what to do so they don't even spare one rider to cover the breaks. What a pack of amateurs.
> :lol:


I bet you'd swap paypackets with Cav et al in a heartbeat. You won anything lately?
I'm all for constructive criticism and informed comment, so where do you fit in? You blame Cav for the pressure? What's a man to do? Come back when you start making sense.


----------



## royalty

I think that Uran will get a big bag of money from Vino, with the talking, the little nod, the looking back to the wrong side and all in the final kilometres.


----------



## Marc

royalty said:


> I think that Uran will get a big bag of money from Vino, with the talking, the little nod, the looking back to the wrong side and all in the final kilometres.


I think Uran wasn't just looking for Vino...he was wondering why the hell he hadn't been caught by the chase yet, and was wondering where the hell the peloton was.


----------



## weltyed

Phinney with the wooden medal!

Is he doin track as well?


----------



## Cinelli 82220

royalty said:


> I think that Uran will get a big bag of money from Vino, with the talking, the little nod, the looking back to the wrong side and all in the final kilometres.


Do you really think that Uran could beat Vino in a sprint?


----------



## EuroSVT

Wished I could have watched the race. I saw those tiny roads and *knew* it was going to either get really interesting, or quite boring. My NBC coverage cut out as soon as the intitial break got to Box Hill, went to swimming, came back after the break had descended Box Hill. I was done at that point. Went for a short ride instead...came back, flipped on the tube just in time to see Spartacus kiss the wall. What was going on? Seems he had looked back several times before the corner...was there something up prior to the crash?


----------



## loubnc

sir duke said:


> Save your censure for those who break the rules.


OK, since humor is obviously lacking around here, I'll spell it out for you then=sarcasm


----------



## sir duke

Marc said:


> I think Uran wasn't just looking for Vino...he was wondering why the hell he hadn't been caught by the chase yet, and was wondering where the hell the peloton was.



Being away in a two man sprint isn't the time for wondering. He didn't put Vino under enough pressure. Seems he was happy to settle for silver, too happy.


----------



## Marc

EuroSVT said:


> Wished I could have watched the race. I saw those tiny roads and *knew* it was going to either get really interesting, or quite boring. My NBC coverage cut out as soon as the intitial break got to Box Hill, went to swimming, came back after the break had descended Box Hill. I was done at that point. Went for a short ride instead...came back, flipped on the tube just in time to see Spartacus kiss the wall. What was going on? Seems he had looked back several times before the corner...was there something up prior to the crash?


Cancellara hit the deck and snapped a collar bone.


----------



## Marc

sir duke said:


> Being away in a two man sprint isn't the time for wondering. He didn't put Vino under enough pressure. Seems he was happy to settle for silver, too happy.


Were you expecting a Sagan temper tantrum?

He won silver at the olympics...something no one predicted. He is supposed to be pissed off? I mean *everyone* thought this was a shoe in for Cav.


----------



## zedXmick

What a great race.....loved watching the 5 man team format....155 miles.....congrats to Vino....what a way to finish your career!!


----------



## Cinelli 82220

Wow it is obvious who regularly watches pro cycling and who doesn't.


----------



## TerminatorX91

weltyed said:


> Phinney with the wooden medal!
> 
> Is he doin track as well?


ITT. 

I think phinney's medal chances went up a notch when Cancellara wrecked.


----------



## loubnc

Good for Vino. Perfect way to end his career. Old guy does good.:thumbsup:

The mods might as well move this thread to the doping forum though. Unfortunately, I have a feeling this one is going to deteriorate quickly, deservedly or not.


----------



## EuroSVT

Marc said:


> Cancellara hit the deck and snapped a collar bone.


I saw that. What I was asking about I suppose is...someone was riding ahead of Fabian then he peeled off to his left, leaving FC as lead rider. If I saw correctly, FC loked back over his left shoulder several times right before that corner. Just wondering if something was said, mechanical...or maybe I read to far into what I was watching.


----------



## sir duke

Marc said:


> Were you expecting a Sagan temper tantrum?
> 
> He won silver at the olympics...something no one predicted. He is supposed to be pissed off? I mean *everyone* thought this was a shoe in for Cav.


If he goes balls out at the end and loses he has no right to feel anything but delight at his own efforts. As a teenager on school sports day I won the 100metres, long jump and triple jump in the space of a couple of hours. I came second in the final 200m event. I had a huge smile on my face as I went to see my parents who were watching. My father just looked at me and said: "You gave up." And he was right. At Olympic level you can't settle for second best if you have more to give, that's just cheating yourself. I'm not convinced Uran gave it his all. YMMV.


----------



## KenS

EuroSVT said:


> Wished I could have watched the race. I saw those tiny roads and *knew* it was going to either get really interesting, or quite boring. My NBC coverage cut out as soon as the intitial break got to Box Hill, went to swimming, came back after the break had descended Box Hill. I was done at that point. Went for a short ride instead...came back, flipped on the tube just in time to see Spartacus kiss the wall. What was going on? Seems he had looked back several times before the corner...was there something up prior to the crash?


The curve looked to me like it had an odd dog leg hitch that Cancellera was not expecting.

Cancellera looked pretty devastated when the stage was over. I hope his expression was more about realizing that he could have won the stage and not that he is out of the TT.


----------



## TerminatorX91

I was just thinking about Phinney again... He finished one place better in the road race than his father did in '84 (5th). 

Hopefully he can medal in the ITT like his father did in the TTT (bronze) or better yet win gold like his mother did in the first women's Olympic RR also in '84.


----------



## roddjbrown

Cinelli 82220 said:


> 4 of 5 riders on GB team ride for Sky.


What? Really?!

My point was I think they rode that expecting nations to ride like pro teams, i.e. working to get your sprinter into position, and any breakaway containing real contenders getting caught by the peloton thanks to that mutual work. Sky/GB let way too strong a break go and then nobody else got in the wind. I think the fact that Sky has relatively little one day classic experience was a problem, you can't ride the Olympics like one stage of a grand tour.


----------



## nOOky

I didn't pick Vino for the win, but I'm really glad he got it, he's a great rider and always races his heart out.


----------



## Keski

I was out riding this morning. I just got home and checked the results. I laughed out loud. Literally. 

Good for Vino to go out on top.Go back home and become the worlds next dictator. You deserve it.


----------



## KenS

roddjbrown said:


> My point was I think they rode that expecting nations to ride like pro teams, i.e. working to get your sprinter into position, and any breakaway containing real contenders getting caught by the peloton thanks to that mutual work. Sky/GB let way too strong a break go and then nobody else got in the wind. I think the fact that Sky has relatively little one day classic experience was a problem, you can't ride the Olympics like one stage of a grand tour.


Do you think the lack of radios was a contributing factor in that the sprinter teams didn't appreciate the firepower in the breakaway?


----------



## roddjbrown

KenS said:


> Do you think the lack of radios was a contributing factor in that the sprinter teams didn't appreciate the firepower in the breakaway?


 Possibly but I can't believe anyone would be that naive - the remaining peloton was pretty small. I can't believe that experienced guys wouldn't first notice world class guys like Gilbert, Spartacus etc. go and secondly not notice none of them were still in the peloton. That was an all star breakaway. 

As a Brit I'm disappointed, especially for Cav, but as a race that was great to watch. Box Hill was relatively dull but the superstar 32 man breakaway was quality. Not so sure I personally was rooting for Vino for historical reasons but it was good viewing


----------



## spade2you

nOOky said:


> I didn't pick Vino for the win, but I'm really glad he got it, he's a great rider and always races his heart out.


Nothing like Vino to spoil all the riders' fun.  As quiet as he was during the TdF, I wouldn't have picked him this year. Perhaps I jinxed GB for thinking they had it in the bank. I'm awful at picking riders to win races.


----------



## reidr

You guys are over analyzing the race. Vinokourov won because Kazakhstan produces the best potassium. All other countries have inferior potassium. Plain and simple.


----------



## EuroSVT

Wasn't it cool seeing Dugan in the early break like that? Very reminiscent of his U.S. Championship ride. I was hoping against hope, lol.

And wow, not being narrow minded at all, but Iran had 3 riders in this. I did a double take on that. They didn't do all that great, but still.


----------



## albert owen

That was a great road race, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Folks here in Britain thought that Cav was a near certainty, I was never confident............"You've got to be in it to win it" - so the saying goes. Team GB didn't get Cav "in it" because they weren't strong enough. 
Sadly for Cav, because he is a one trick pony he will always have to live with the consequences of his limitations. Being the greatest sprinter of all time isn't too bad though, is it?

Well done to Vino - he is a real warrior and whatever his past (he's not the only former banned comeback kid), he is always up for the battle and is always good value.

What If?....... If Cancellara hadn't crashed he might well have won, but crash he did and it was his own fault.


----------



## cheddarlove

I'm so glad Vino won! Awesome race. I was so glad they didn't have radios. Maybe they should knock the Grand Tour races down to 7 guys and no radios. I'd love to see the tactics for that!


----------



## Ridin'Sorra

albert owen said:


> Being the greatest sprinter of all time isn't too bad though, is it?


The Lion King says that it isn't as bad a Brits say it is...


----------



## OldEndicottHiway

sir duke said:


> Being away in a two man sprint isn't the time for wondering. He didn't put Vino under enough pressure. Seems he was happy to settle for silver, too happy.



I also thought it odd how he went sooooo far off his line, almost like he "gave up."

I'm thinking he just misjudged the finish distance and was expecting Vino to pull through, not jump and pull away.


----------



## OldEndicottHiway

Feeling bad for Phinney in fourth.

That one's going to haunt him.


----------



## aclinjury

It was a great race.

The breakaway was ferocious.

I was pretty bum to see Spartacus crash. I was hoping to see him TT away the final 10 km for the win.

But Vino was unexpected. Congrats to him. Almost 40 y/o and beating guys in their 20s in relatively peak forms. I'm pretty sure any 40 y/o guy out there will appreciate this effort.

I like that there was no team radios. I think not having radios make riders ride more aggressively and make it for a good high pace race. They should dump radios in the pro tours too. I'll bet we'd see more attacks.


----------



## PRB

KenS said:


> Do you think the lack of radios was a contributing factor in that the sprinter teams didn't appreciate the firepower in the breakaway?


I think that the lack of radios was a huge factor. Most of those guys out there today have never ridden without them and they aren't used to forming their own tactics; they get their orders from the DS and today they had to decide those tactics for themselves.


----------



## TerminatorX91

OldEndicottHiway said:


> Feeling bad for Phinney in fourth.
> 
> That one's going to haunt him.


I don't know... He's very young with so much ahead of him. He still has the ITT to look forward to.


----------



## thechriswebb

Cab: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08wOPt-2PeE

:thumbsup:


----------



## JasonB176

aclinjury said:


> It was a great race.
> 
> The breakaway was ferocious.
> 
> I was pretty bum to see Spartacus crash. I was hoping to see him TT away the final 10 km for the win.
> 
> But Vino was unexpected. Congrats to him. Almost 40 y/o and beating guys in their 20s in relatively peak forms. I'm pretty sure any 40 y/o guy out there will appreciate this effort.
> 
> I like that there was no team radios. I think not having radios make riders ride more aggressively and make it for a good high pace race. They should dump radios in the pro tours too. I'll bet we'd see more attacks.


As a 40 year old guy, yes, it was awesome to see! I completely agree about race radios. I think racing would be far more entertaining without them.


----------



## OldEndicottHiway

TerminatorX91 said:


> I don't know... He's very young with so much ahead of him. He still has the ITT to look forward to.



I saw him interviewed post-race. He said, "4th is a good placing, but it's also the _worst _placing." Very dejected fellow having come oooooh so close. 

He talked as though 10th place would've been an easier pill to swallow.

Even with the best preparation, backing, talent and hard work, you only get so many shots in life (or racing) for everything to come together just right. 

Tough lumps, kiddo.


----------



## bradsmith

Really impressed with the coverage in Canada on TSN of the race. The commentary was a little blah at times, but hey, they covered it live. And not just live, they covered the whole thing from starting gun until the finish. Coverage started at 1:45am Pacific time. Hope they continue this for the women's road race and future events!


----------



## EuroSVT

+1 on the no race radio thing.


----------



## FlandersFields

Well, over here in Belgium everybody is pretty clear. Olympic values in cycling? My ass. Bought with oil cash. It's not the doping history, it's the fact that this is an obvious bribe.

Any cycling fan knows Uran is faster in a sprint than Vino (watch the small convo they have before the sprint.) Third win bought (2xLBL) by Vino and VERY bad publicity for the sport.

A scandal, no less.


----------



## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n

It was an excellant race ...

Managed to stationed myself at this corner on the outside of the turn and could see riders coming, banking into the turn and pedalling out of it again :thumbsup:

View attachment 261683


You have a break away lead of about 5 and half mins on the first loop of nine, then after a while it was down to 4 and half, then there was a second breakaway, then the gap from the peloton to the leaders was down to about 2 and half. Then the two breakaways merged and Gilbert brokeaway from the breakaway with the peloton a further 1 min back.

Then it was home to watch the end. :thumbsup: to Vino ...

It was not just that ... together with me watching the race were other spectators who were equally enthusiastic about cycling. We cheered the leaders as they pass taking note of who they were, then the peloton, then the strugglers. And we even noted the names of some of the strugglers and when they came round again, chanted their names, eggin them on hoping they would not stray too far back. Dan from Namibia, Ali from Iran and Georgi from, yes you guessed it, Georgia. They all each got swept up before the whole 9 laps were up unfortunately.

It is what cycling is all about and it is just as good to be on the pedals as it is to watch it from the sidelines or from the 'box'.

Pity team GB was not able to wheel the breakaways in, but that is racing. You do your best to win using what is best suited to you, and you make that decision as it presents itself and you take it. What a buzz!!!


----------



## FlandersFields

c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n said:


> It was an excellant race ...
> 
> Managed to stationed myself at this corner on the outside of the turn and could see riders coming, banking into the turn and pedalling out of it again :thumbsup:
> 
> View attachment 261683
> 
> 
> You have a break away lead of about 5 and half mins on the first loop of nine, then after a while it was down to 4 and half, then there was a second breakaway, then the gap from the peloton to the leaders was down to about 2 and half. Then the two breakaways merged and Gilbert brokeaway from the breakaway with the peloton a further 1 min back.
> 
> Then it was home to watch the end. :thumbsup: to Vino ...
> 
> It was not just that ... together with me watching the race were other spectators who were equally enthusiastic about cycling. We cheered the leaders as they pass taking note of who they were, then the peloton, then the strugglers. And we even noted the names of some of the strugglers and when they came round again, chanted their names, eggin them on hoping they would not stray too far back. Dan from Namibia, Ali from Iran and Georgi from, yes you guessed it, Georgia. They all each got swept up before the whole 9 laps were up unfortunately.
> 
> It is what cycling is all about and it is just as good to be on the pedals as it is to watch it from the sidelines or from the 'box'.
> 
> Pity team GB was not able to wheel the breakaways in, but that is racing. You do your best to win using what is best suited to you, and you make that decision as it presents itself and you take it. What a buzz!!!


Happy for you you were there...

You just witnessed a very black page in the history of cycling.


----------



## TerminatorX91

OldEndicottHiway said:


> I saw him interviewed post-race. He said, "4th is a good placing, but it's also the _worst _placing." Very dejected fellow having come oooooh so close.
> 
> He talked as though 10th place would've been an easier pill to swallow.
> 
> Even with the best preparation, backing, talent and hard work, you only get so many shots in life (or racing) for everything to come together just right.
> 
> Tough lumps, kiddo.


He clearly took it hard.


----------



## erj549

FlandersFields said:


> Happy for you you were there...
> 
> You just witnessed a very black page in the history of cycling.


Why's that again?


----------



## roddjbrown

FlandersFields said:


> Happy for you you were there...
> 
> You just witnessed a very black page in the history of cycling.


:yikes: this is VERY dramatic! I didn't know that Belgium was so knowledgeable on Kazakh oil money and that true cycling fans know that climbing specialists always beat a general classification rider in a sprint! All those years watching cycling wasted!


----------



## FlandersFields

erj549 said:


> Why's that again?


Because an olympic medal was bought today. Rewatch the sprint.
It's not his first time, use Google Translate on this one. It was 'proven' later on.

'Vinokourov kocht zege Luik-Bastenken-Luik 2010' - Wielernieuws op WielerFlits.nl


----------



## cheddarlove

PRB said:


> I think that the lack of radios was a huge factor. Most of those guys out there today have never ridden without them and they aren't used to forming their own tactics; they get their orders from the DS and today they had to decide those tactics for themselves.


I totally agree with this. Most of them only know how to race with someone yelling in their ear.


----------



## cntryislandboy

just finished watching the race on DVR, race was good. as some have already commented it was a little hard to see who was who without the team kits. so i haven't seen this brought up yet unless i missed yet, someone did make the comment about last summper olympics having the manufacture label covered up. but i noticed that the team usa riders weren't all riding the same bike. is this a sponser issue or because it's the olympics it's a rider prefrence thing. my guess is sponser but i'm not the smartist cycling info guy around.


----------



## cda 455

PRB said:


> I think that the lack of radios was a huge factor. Most of those guys out there today have never ridden without them and they aren't used to forming their own tactics; they get their orders from the DS and today _*they had to decide those tactics for themselve*_s.



Wow; What a concept.


----------



## cda 455

FlandersFields said:


> Because an olympic medal was bought today. Rewatch the sprint.
> It's not his first time, use Google Translate on this one. It was 'proven' later on.
> 
> 'Vinokourov kocht zege Luik-Bastenken-Luik 2010' - Wielernieuws op WielerFlits.nl



Ah, I remember that accusation!


----------



## OldEndicottHiway

bradsmith said:


> Really impressed with the coverage in Canada on TSN of the race. The commentary was a little blah at times, but hey, they covered it live. And not just live, they covered the whole thing from starting gun until the finish. Coverage started at 1:45am Pacific time. *Hope they continue this for the women's road race and future events!*



I'm wondering if the women's RR will be covered at all, beyond a few "also-ran" snippets and nods in between coverage of the javelin toss and ping pong..

I'm having trouble locating info as to air date of the women's RR.


----------



## Cinelli 82220

roddjbrown said:


> true cycling fans know that climbing specialists always beat a general classification rider in a sprint!


Agreed--I'm trying to find evidence of Uran's apparent sprinting prowess but no luck so far.


----------



## Marc

OldEndicottHiway said:


> I'm wondering if the women's RR will be covered at all, beyond a few "also-ran" snippets and nods in between coverage of the javelin toss and ping pong..
> 
> I'm having trouble locating info as to air date of the women's RR.


Women's RR will be streamed starting 0600CDT tomorrow OEH, 0600 being neutralized race start time. NBC will probably be carrying it from start to finish online. On TV, I doubt their will be more than snippets played.

For more info: 2012 London Olympics Road Race Live Video, Course, TV, Start List, Results Photos


----------



## bgad

Phinney could have been on the podium but when Urran made his move and Vino covered it Phinney was at the front of the pack and he initially started to go after them but then he hesitated and stayed behind.I guess that he was betting that the break would pull them back for a final sprint... they didn't!


----------



## mtnroadie

Nothing like the sound of butt-hurt Brits to go with my tea and crumpets. You guys got Cav’s world championship, Paris stage win, TDF win and TDF runner up. Don’t worry….be happy, don’t be stingy and leave a little for the old crooked fishes.

After Kevin Van Hoovels… (http://forums.roadbikereview.com/general-cycling-discussion/mtbr-cries-like-baby-286128.html) Belgium should keep its mouth shut for the next month or so. We have enough crying from that Belgian to last a lifetime.

Having said that I was totally rooting for Gilbert to take it, that is before the awesomeness that is Vino took the stage. If indeed the victory was bought and doped, it was worth every penny, made my day that’s for sure!

Bribery is the only way to get things done in the USSR, this should not be held against Vino or his handlers, it is a to be expected modus operandi.:wink5: As for oil money being corrupt need I remind you of BP? Moreover who is SKY owned, funded and run by … Murdoch, I challenge you to find a more corrupt and loathsome sack of doodoo.

The sourpuss look on Phiney’s face was priceless! Another spoiled “my daddy was a pro cyclist” Schelck in the making?


----------



## nOOky

I'm quite sure if Vino was doping, he was the only one. I'm glad Cav didn't get it, I think the course suited a stronger overall rider and not just a sprinter.


----------



## tobes88

Marc said:


> They sat behind the Cav train expecting to freewheel to the line and just sprint it out. I think the lack of radios prevented it from just being another sprint-finish win for Cav. At least I believe there were no radios.



O'Grady initiated the first break, organised it, rode 200km's off the front with it and came 5th. Clearly this was part of a bigger plan for the Aussies, but that is why they didn't need to chase.

In fact, Cav blamed them for thwarting GB - they clearly weren't backing Goss to beat Cav and Greipel.


----------



## Ventruck

Vino4ever










No race radios takes you back to the jungle, and Vino can conquer the jungle.


----------



## gordy748

Fogdweller said:


> Goss might have a good chance with a pretty strong Aussie team in support but Bix Hill isn't long or steep enough to gap Cavendish on the last or second to last lap.


How I laughed reading this and a bunch of others about how easy Box Hill is. Box Hill is easy to dawdle up, but a nightmare to climb when you're on the limit. It's just a little too long to take flat out like the Flemish bergs, so you have a choice of slowing slightly or going too far into the red zone.

With 9 pops up the hill, that's a lot of red lining to empty the tank, which is clearly what happened.

As an aside, it's a lesson to all not to tell everyone what your tactics are going to be. The break included Cancellara, Leon Sanchez, Valverde, van Garderen, Phinney and Nibali, let alone the rest. That is a lot of firepower to let get away because you're sticking to your script..


----------



## gordy748

FlandersFields said:


> Happy for you you were there...
> 
> You just witnessed a very black page in the history of cycling.


It's sad to see "fans" of the sport resort to hearsay as evidence that people doped, bribed or otherwise manipulated results. You should read up on the difference between hearsay and evidence.

Vino doped, he got caught, he came back and ever since hasn't been quite as all-powering as he was. But he's a very canny racer who deserved the win today.


----------



## ti-triodes

Wow, look at all the Vino apologists coming out of the woodwork.




How many eye rolls can you post before this thing explodes?


----------



## thechriswebb

gordy748 said:


> As an aside, it's a lesson to all not to tell everyone what your tactics are going to be. The break included Cancellara, Leon Sanchez, Valverde, van Garderen, Phinney and Nibali, let alone the rest. That is a lot of firepower to let get away because you're sticking to your script..



This is true, though I don't think they had to tell what their tactics were going to be. Almost every major country put somebody in that very good breakaway and Britain looked around frustratingly at everybody saying "you aren't racing right; you are supposed to be helping us chase down your teammates that you skillfully placed into the winning breakaway move so that we can have a bunch sprint and probably beat you."


----------



## sir duke

ti-triodes said:


> Wow, look at all the Vino apologists coming out of the woodwork.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> How many eye rolls can you post before this thing explodes?


Yup, sad bastids. You can post up to 40 rolleyes, Robdamanii kindly informed me.


----------



## Maximus_XXIV

PRB said:


> I think that the lack of radios was a huge factor. Most of those guys out there today have never ridden without them and they aren't used to forming their own tactics; they get their orders from the DS and today they had to decide those tactics for themselves.


There are other races run throughout the year without radios.


----------



## Ridin'Sorra

If Vino was dirty we'll know in a few days. Any rider rather be clean after getting a gold medal.

And no, Uran had no chance against Vino. Actually, it's really an achievement for Uran to just be there.


----------



## cda 455

sir duke said:


> Yup, sad bastids. _*You can post up to 40 rolleyes, Robdamanii kindly informed me.*_



:lol: :lol:


----------



## vismitananda

Well, people let's just be proud of Vino on what he did, and to all of the cyclist who competed in the road race. I know he learned a lot after his ban. 

I saw the race live, and it was a very nice gift before he leave the pro peloton.


----------



## cda 455

vismitananda said:


> Well, people let's just be proud of Vino on what he did, and to all of the cyclist who competed in the road race. I know he learned a lot after his ban.
> 
> I saw the race live, and it was a _*very nice gift*_ before he leave the pro peloton.



Just remember, money talks  .


----------



## vismitananda

cda 455 said:


> Just remember, money talks  .


Yep, I acknowledge that 

I really do hope he won't end up like Rebellin.


----------



## PRB

Maximus_XXIV said:


> There are other races run throughout the year without radios.


True, but they are so rare that most riders today have no idea how to formulate tactics on the fly. They've spent their careers being told what to do rather than working it out on their own. Vino is more cunning than most and the lack of radios helped him today.



Ridin'Sorra said:


> And no, Uran had no chance against Vino.


Bingo. I can't imagine any scenario in which Uran would beat Vino in a sprint, other than Vino having a pedal fall off or some other mechanical.


----------



## cda 455

vismitananda said:


> I really do hope he won't end up like Rebellin.



Yeah, good point.


----------



## il sogno

PRB said:


> Bingo. I can't imagine any scenario in which Uran would beat Vino in a sprint, other than Vino having a pedal fall off or some other mechanical.


^^^^ This.


----------



## roddjbrown

mtnroadie said:


> Bribery is the only way to get things done in the USSR, this should not be held against Vino or his handlers, it is a to be expected modus operandi.:wink5: As for oil money being corrupt need I remind you of BP? Moreover who is SKY owned, funded and run by … Murdoch, I challenge you to find a more corrupt and loathsome sack of doodoo.


:mad2: sarcasm is absolutely wasted in this thread.


----------



## c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n

'Bribery' happens in every country, just in different ways.


----------



## Ridin'Sorra

PRB said:


> Bingo. I can't imagine any scenario in which Uran would beat Vino in a sprint, other than Vino having a pedal fall off or some other mechanical.


Uphill finish at a Hors Categorie, maybe?

It didn't look that steep in London.

Double win for Uran if he's getting a "gift" from Vino, as it's a girft for finishing in a position in which he had finished anyways.

OTOH... I don't think Uran would have let go an Olympic Gold medal even if he could. He's Colombian, winning in cycling is a BIG deal, become a freaking national hero, getting free coffee and some of the most delicious booty on Earth for a lifetime.

Moreover... it wouldn't be the first time Colombian druglords shoot dead an athlete for failing at sports.


----------



## bottecchia_eja

gordy748 said:


> It's sad to see "fans" of the sport resort to hearsay as evidence that people doped, bribed or otherwise manipulated results. You should read up on the difference between hearsay and evidence.
> 
> Vino doped, he got caught, he came back and ever since hasn't been quite as all-powering as he was. But he's a very canny racer who deserved the win today.


Hearsay IS evidence my friend, just not admissible unless there is an exception.

I agree with your comments about Vino.


----------



## bottecchia_eja

albert owen said:


> That was a great road race, I thoroughly enjoyed it. Folks here in Britain thought that Cav was a near certainty, I was never confident............"You've got to be in it to win it" - so the saying goes. Team GB didn't get Cav "in it" because they weren't strong enough.
> Sadly for Cav, because he is a one trick pony he will always have to live with the consequences of his limitations. Being the greatest sprinter of all time isn't too bad though, is it?
> 
> Well done to Vino - he is a real warrior and whatever his past (he's not the only former banned comeback kid), he is always up for the battle and is always good value.
> 
> What If?....... If Cancellara hadn't crashed he might well have won, but crash he did and it was his own fault.


Well said sir.


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## mtnroadie

roddjbrown said:


> :mad2: sarcasm is absolutely wasted in this thread.


I got the sarcasm, actually I wasn’t directly replying to your statement, if anything I agree with you and think we are driving at the same thing.


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## mtnroadie

c_h_i_n_a_m_a_n said:


> 'Bribery' happens in every country, just in different ways.


For sure! I wouldn’t be surprised if in a few years we found out there was a fair amount of “favors” granted by Sky/Murdoch emprie to the TDF organizers for a Wiggo friendly course.


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## EuroSVT

Armstrong put her 13 upside down...awesome!


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## Marc

Tis a soggy day for a ride. Compared to yesterday, surprising to see no breaks yet.


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## Marc

Not just rain. Thunder.

Do carbon bikes asplode when exposed to lightning?


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## paredown

^^This^^

And the pundits were predicting that the course would facilitate gaps, and they would be hard to chase down because of narrow roads, bad sight lines and corners...


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## Marc

paredown said:


> ^^This^^
> 
> And the pundits were predicting that the course would facilitate gaps, and they would be hard to chase down because of narrow roads, bad sight lines and corners...


Well finally getting some attacks. SO maybe we were/are just impatient.


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## Marc

Is there really a part of London called "Dorking"??


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## vismitananda

Marc said:


> Is there really a part of London called "Dorking"??


I also did notice that place too. 

I was quite smirking, after seeing it.  No offense.


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## bikerjulio

Dorking is a fine little town in Surrey, quite outside of London.


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## BacDoc

bikerjulio said:


> Dorking is a fine little town in Surrey, quite outside of London.


Are the resident people called "Dorks"?

Sorry but I had to ask.


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## BacDoc

Not that there's anything wrong with that. Some of my best friends are dorks.


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## sir duke

Marc said:


> Is there really a part of London called "Dorking"??


News just in, Google got maps. I believe Dorking is twinned with Dumbass, Texas.


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## EuroSVT

Marc said:


> Is there really a part of London called "Dorking"??


Reminds me of that unmentionable name from a small Austrian village, that rymes with Dorking


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## paredown

That was a fine finish for the women--Marianne Voss rocks my world. Poor Russian gall--in there with two rockets.

Absolutely wonderful to see the spectators lining the course, especially on Box Hill--and on the Mall--even on a lovely English "summer" day.


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## sir duke

paredown said:


> That was a fine finish for the women--Marianne Voss rocks my world. Poor Russian gall--in there with two rockets.
> 
> Absolutely wonderful to see the spectators lining the course, especially on Box Hill--and on the Mall--even on a lovely English "summer" day.


Well done to Lizzie Armitstead. More to team GB than Cav, Wiggo and Froome. What became of Armstrong?? Must be the name, not the best name to have if you're a cyclist right now. Who said superstition ain't the way.


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## OldEndicottHiway

Wow.

Looks like a whopping five people here watched (or gave a poop about) the women's RR. 

They don't even get their own thread. 

It's on now here on the west coast. I'm just super-happy NBC is actually airing it, and so many spectators turned out. Bad rain, riding through lakes. Awesome!


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## Marc

OldEndicottHiway said:


> Wow.
> 
> Looks like a whopping five people here watched (or gave a poop about) the women's RR.
> 
> It's on now here on the west coast. I'm just super-happy NBC is actually airing it, and so many spectators turned out. Bad rain, riding through lakes. Awesome!


I'm surprised they did air it on TV. Especially given that I think gymnastics is on...and for Summer Olympics on NBC, the only sports guaranteed airtime are gymnastics and swimming/diving.

Ugly day for a race.


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## EuroSVT

I didn't get up to watch it intentionally, but glad that I saw it. Once the attacks started, just such a great race. The conditions which at one point had them ride through a flooded road, the ladies have heart. Saw a few take a spill and literally bounce right back up.

What I was wondering about, at least prior to them hitting Box Hill was the average speed. Seemed that anyone in the middle to rear of the peloton was often just free wheeling.


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## kookieCANADA

OldEndicottHiway said:


> Wow.
> 
> Looks like a whopping five people here watched (or gave a poop about) the women's RR.
> 
> They don't even get their own thread.
> 
> It's on now here on the west coast. I'm just super-happy NBC is actually airing it, and so many spectators turned out. Bad rain, riding through lakes. Awesome!


Ditto on NBC covering it...I thought the Women's RR was pretty exciting 

I wateched the men's for a bit yesterday but then went riding. Glad I went riding after watching on Steephill.tv the final 3kms...pretty boring with the 2 riders and one of them just happy to finish second.


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## OldEndicottHiway

The Dutch get points for those constant attacks. Sheesh. Ow.


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## EuroSVT

OldEndicottHiway said:


> They don't even get their own thread.


Looks like that was my bad, was prior to coffee so...I just tagged onto this thread. But most definitely, well deserving of their own thread! :thumbsup:


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## OldEndicottHiway

EuroSVT said:


> I didn't get up to watch it intentionally, but glad that I saw it. *Once the attacks started, just such a great race.* The conditions which at one point had them ride through a flooded road, the ladies have heart. Saw a few take a spill and literally bounce right back up.
> 
> What I was wondering about, at least prior to them hitting Box Hill was the average speed. Seemed that anyone in the middle to rear of the peloton was often just free wheeling.



It's what I remember most about women's races. 

They're "twitchy" in that they attack often, and play constant rabbit (and mind) games.


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## RRRoubaix

Great race! Was glad it was unpredictable- as was the men's race. (If this is due to the lack of radios, I hope they stop racing w/ them asap!!)
I was constantly frustrated w/ Schlanger and Sherwin though; "it looks like a Dutch rider on the attack" (when it was clear it was Vos- she's the only one w/ that insignia on the front of her helmet).


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## EuroSVT

Just an opinion, but from what I saw of the women's race today, and the men's race yesterday...seems like shorter stages with no race radio could spark some excitement back into pro cycling. Granted I am a newb at following it. Just thought it was was really cool to see riders communicating on the road, and reacting to attacks based upon what they were seeing.

If I had one criticism of the London road race, it would be how narrow the route was much of the time. If the road was just a little wider, think it would have given "teams" a chance to do more work, maybe make something happen.


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## qatarbhoy

The women's race was more exciting than the men's IMO. I'm delighted for both Vino and Vos, two worthy winners. Vino takes his second chance after his ban and earns a fine send-off to end his career after that horrible Tour crash; Vos gets her reward in gold after 5 years of Worlds road racing second places despite being (almost certainly) the best woman rider.


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## CleavesF

I like the fact that most riders picked their own bicycles to ride. Even some from the same countries had different brands of bikes. Ditto for the women's. 

Kinda cool to see "sponsors" disappear in some case. Obviously some are still riding their required brands.


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## abadyam

Ridin'Sorra said:


> If Vino was dirty we'll know in a few days. Any rider rather be clean after getting a gold medal.
> 
> And no, Uran had no chance against Vino. Actually, it's really an achievement for Uran to just be there.


Uran isn't a sprinter at all but not suprised to see him up there, pretty solid rider and hopefully more to come, although the other up and coming Colombians seem more promising.


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## Mike T.

Ridin'Sorra said:


> If Vino was dirty we'll know in a few days.


Oh for sure. JUST like they nabbed David Millar right after the world championships TT in Hamilton Ontario Canada 2003.


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## drewPjohnson

Didn't Uran have some success on the track in Colombia before going pro?


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## gusmahler

CleavesF said:


> I like the fact that most riders picked their own bicycles to ride. Even some from the same countries had different brands of bikes. Ditto for the women's.


That's not "picking their own bicycles." They are contracted to ride Cervelo, Specialized, etc., and rode it for the Olympics.


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## NJBiker72

gusmahler said:


> That's not "picking their own bicycles." They are contracted to ride Cervelo, Specialized, etc., and rode it for the Olympics.


I think it would have been much more telling if they chose a bike different from usual. But i don't think that happened at all.


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## davidka

PRB said:


> True, but they are so rare that most riders today have no idea how to formulate tactics on the fly. They've spent their careers being told what to do rather than working it out on their own. Vino is more cunning than most and the lack of radios helped him today.


Where does this idea come from? These guys don't use radios until they're well into their pro careers, which they achieved by winning races (many on similar courses to the monuments) without radios. The guys on the other end of the radios are all former pros who raced without them.

Sitting on in the break is what helped him win today, as well as the mouthwash made of baby tears that he gargled in the morning. He's just a hard man on the bike.


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## Mosovich

*Colors..*

Colors were different but that's it.. Team GB was the only one with "country" bikes and that's because they develope their own.. Uran races for Sky and was on a Pinarello, just a "team" color.. Vino was on a Specialized who pulled the ultimate marketing deal by having all their riders use bright red bikes and helmets.. Very smart.. I bet they will sell the hell out of those!!


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## PRB

davidka said:


> Where does this idea come from? These guys don't use radios until they're well into their pro careers, which they achieved by winning races (many on similar courses to the monuments) without radios. The guys on the other end of the radios are all former pros who raced without them.
> 
> Sitting on in the break is what helped him win today, as well as the mouthwash made of baby tears that he gargled in the morning. He's just a hard man on the bike.


I have no idea how prolific radio use is at the lower levels and I suppose that varies by country. Regardless, the tactics and competition at those lower levels are nowhere near the same as in the pro ranks. It is my opinion that the pros today are nowhere near as tactically astute on the fly as those of the pre-radio days but I'm sure many will disagree. 

I definitely agree that Vino is a hard man and that was the main reason he won, yet even he said that the lack of radios helped him.


> Vinokourov, however, is one of the old school riders who do not need their sports director to tell them how to race, when to attack or when to ease off.
> "Ear pieces are not of much use. I see the race from the inside," Vinokourov, who was suspended for two years for blood doping in 2007, told a news conference.
> The Kazakh managed to slip into a leading group of 32 riders by the end of the last of nine climbs to Box Hill, and with no sports director to alert Britain or Germany, who were also looking to set up a massive sprint for Andre Greipel, their reaction time was too slow.
> "The fact they had no radios caused problem to the British and German teams," he said.


Olympics-Cycling-Radio silence helps Vinokourov to gold | Reuters


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## nealrab

*Let's keep it simple...*

...and just say it's good for the sport to say goodbye to Vino forever...too bad it's 4 years too late...I had hoped the 2011 Tour would be it. The ITT win was perhaps the most laughable moment in cycling history, and now we have to live with this Olympic "win." At least we won't have to see Vino in gold shoes and helmet. Maybe only his Kazakh crown...please just go away you imposter. A total disgrace to any true cycling aficionado or competitor. Money aside, still a dark day for cycling. Maybe Tony Martin or Bradley can wash out the bad taste on Wed...or the Brits and Aussies in the track events...it'll definitely take some doing, that's for sure.


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## bottecchia_eja

OldEndicottHiway said:


> Wow.
> 
> Looks like a whopping five people here watched (or gave a poop about) the women's RR.
> 
> They don't even get their own thread.
> 
> It's on now here on the west coast. I'm just super-happy NBC is actually airing it, and so many spectators turned out. Bad rain, riding through lakes. Awesome!


I was out on the road (on my bike) when they showed it.

Sorry I missed it.


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## T K

Mosovich said:


> Colors were different but that's it.. Team GB was the only one with "country" bikes and that's because they develope their own.. Uran races for Sky and was on a Pinarello, just a "team" color.. Vino was on a Specialized who pulled the ultimate marketing deal by having all their riders use bright red bikes and helmets.. Very smart.. I bet they will sell the hell out of those!!


But 2 on GB were on different bikes. Millar looked to be on his Cervelo and sombody was on a Pinarello.
And Specialized proved once again to be complete tasteless *****s. Putting everyone from any country on those but ugly glow in the dark red look at me I'm a Specialized bike bikes. Lame. 
And I don't feel sorry for Taylor or any of those others who just sat on their dicks looking at each other while Vino and Uran went up the road. If you chase, sure you might lose. If you don't chase, you will definately lose.


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## Bill Bikie

bgad said:


> Phinney could have been on the podium but when Urran made his move and Vino covered it Phinney was at the front of the pack and he initially started to go after them but then he hesitated and stayed behind.I guess that he was betting that the break would pull them back for a final sprint... they didn't!


Phinney was dispondant after the race. He knew he had the one chance and he didn't respond. He didn't know who Vino was!?


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## il sogno

FlandersFields said:


> Because an olympic medal was bought today. Rewatch the sprint.
> It's not his first time, use Google Translate on this one. It was 'proven' later on.
> 
> 'Vinokourov kocht zege Luik-Bastenken-Luik 2010' - Wielernieuws op WielerFlits.nl


That's from _two years _ago. Got anything that proves your accusation for the win from _two days_ ago?


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## il sogno

Mosovich said:


> Colors were different but that's it.. Team GB was the only one with "country" bikes and that's because they develope their own.. Uran races for Sky and was on a Pinarello, just a "team" color.. Vino was on a Specialized who pulled the ultimate marketing deal by having all their riders use bright red bikes and helmets.. Very smart.. I bet they will sell the hell out of those!!


David Millar was on his Cervelo.


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## davidka

Bill Bikie said:


> Phinney was dispondant after the race. He knew he had the one chance and he didn't respond. He didn't know who Vino was!?


Phinney most certainly did respond. He got no help from anyone else and knew how it would turn out if he committed too much to the chase- a lot farther back than 4th. He did everything right and he knows it (there are interviews with him online now). He was just disappointed that the chance to win got away.


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## Bill Bikie

*Any post race comments from Yates and the team*

Maybe GB should've sent Millar out of the peleton. At least another option. Any post race comments from Yates and the team.:mad2: Actually I'm sure there were plenty, and where could I acess them?


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## theextremist04

nealrab said:


> ...and just say it's good for the sport to say goodbye to Vino forever...too bad it's 4 years too late...I had hoped the 2011 Tour would be it. The ITT win was perhaps the most laughable moment in cycling history, and now we have to live with this Olympic "win." At least we won't have to see Vino in gold shoes and helmet. Maybe only his Kazakh crown...please just go away you imposter. A total disgrace to any true cycling aficionado or competitor. Money aside, still a dark day for cycling. Maybe Tony Martin or Bradley can wash out the bad taste on Wed...or the Brits and Aussies in the track events...it'll definitely take some doing, that's for sure.


I totally disagree. I thought it was cool to see Vino win...he did his two years, and he won the race on tactics. Good way to end your professional cycling career. There are plenty of other guys who have been suspended for doping and I doubt you'd have nearly as much animosity towards them.


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## harlond

_Vinokourov, however, is one of the old school riders who do not need their sports director to tell them how to race, when to attack or when to ease off.
"Ear pieces are not of much use. I see the race from the inside," Vinokourov, who was suspended for two years for blood doping in 2007, told a news conference.
The Kazakh managed to slip into a leading group of 32 riders by the end of the last of nine climbs to Box Hill, and with no sports director to alert Britain or Germany, who were also looking to set up a massive sprint for Andre Greipel, their reaction time was too slow.
"The fact they had no radios caused problem to the British and German teams," he said. _

If Vino says no radios made the difference, he's in a better position to know than me. BUT there were 31 other guys in that group, so it's not like Vino was the only guy who knew he needed to get in the break. And there were previous attempts by guys in the break to get away, they just didn't stick. Nor do I believe the reaction time of the GB and German teams was too slow--the Brits were on the front all day and it looked like they just didn't have enough left (and with 32 guys up the road, there wasn't much help).

Vino's a smart rider, no doubt, but I'm not totally buying the radio thing.


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## jhamlin38

I don't think radios hurt or helped make the race more exciting. GB and Germany (and perhaps Australia) failed miserably by not working together to pull back the break. They should have realized that 5 man team over a long distance, isn't enough to control the break.
THAT 30 man break was not going to get caught. Cancellara had 3 guys in the break, Teejay and Phinney, and two Dutch riders with 3 or 4 spaniards just were not getting caught.
My observations were that I was certain Cancellara was going to either win or silver, and I was bummed when he went down. I think he's a generational talent. One of the most impressive performances was Teejay killing it, time and time again, animating the race more than anyone. As did Nibali.
Taylor said he could barely hang on. When Vino and Uran attacked, it looks like he took two pedal strokes, and was cooked. That was his chance. Phinney needs several more years to be able to really compete. 
Lastly, the last time I cursed a winner was Vino's LBL win. But Vino has been outstanding for years, and it was not suprising. He won in true Vino style, like it or not. 
lastly, where was Sagan? and Tyler Farrar could be finished. He seems like an awesome guy. I will always route for him. But I think he is done sprinting. He needs a result, soon...

As for the Women. Mazel to Vos. Big win. The US women were the biggest/best animators of the race, along with the dutch. the stephens/amstrong fall probably did them in. Bummer. The womens race was excellent. 

I love the Olympic road races as much as any classic on the calender.


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## aclinjury

jhamlin38 said:


> lastly, where was Sagan?


I was wondering the same thing. He must not enough legs to go with the breakaway initially.


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## Ridin'Sorra

aclinjury said:


> I was wondering the same thing. He must not enough legs to go with the breakaway initially.


He finished in 30-something place.

I don't think he would have any other Czech rider with him and the Italians were to work for Nibali.

That or maybe he got in the GB train to try to fight it with the sprinters or do a breakaway once the main break was caught.

At any rate, it didn't work.


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## aclinjury

Ridin'Sorra said:


> He finished in 30-something place.
> 
> I don't think he would have any other Czech rider with him and the Italians were to work for Nibali.
> 
> That or maybe he got in the GB train to try to fight it with the sprinters or do a breakaway once the main break was caught.
> 
> At any rate, it didn't work.


Or maybe he was sitting & waiting behind Cav, trying to ride the GB train, hoping that the GB train would catch the breakaway. But once GB's plan failed, Sagan's chances went down the toilet too. And without radio, Sagan probably didn't know how upahead the break was, so he continued to sat on the GB train (which was correct).


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