Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Showing posts with label France. Show all posts
Wednesday, 3 July 2019
Friday, 12 April 2019
Preparing For Paris - Roubaix
It is quite a long time since I've spoken about Classics but Paris - Roubaix is a very special race.
I love to hear every year the same refrain about the new powerful and innovative suspensions that bikes constructor have prepared for the race.
It makes me laugh so much.
Specialized Roubaix bikes have amused me enough. This year I want to talk about the new Pinarello Dogma FS. "The carbon frame features electronic front and rear suspension system. A battery pack is located in the seat tube of the bike and powers the two suspension units, enabling them to adapt to the road surfaces as they change."
We have now read the presentation of this new fantastic technology and we are nodding at this great idea.
Now, I invite you to watch the picture above.
What the hell are we talking about?
Do you believe that a battery pack under your ass can make you feel more comfortable while riding a humpback cobblestones sector? Please, be serious.
That's the reason why I love Paris - Roubaix, you can't bluff.
In recent year I decided to boycott brands that create silly bikes ahead of Paris - Roubaix.
These brands desecrate this incredible race just to have a bit more of visibility.
The preparation of Paris - Roubaix is something spiritual.
During the recognition you just try to be part of the sector, to become a cobble, to adjust the pressure of your tires so as not to hurt the cobbles too much.
This is the only preparation you need and your bike should be as basic as possible, because in order to merge yourself with the simplicity of a stone, you have to be simple as well.
See you on Sunday.
Friday, 14 December 2018
Rider of the Year 2018
Congrats Peter! You have been elected Cycling Impression's rider of the year!
Someone says that winning a Paris - Roubaix is worth a Word title, but in this case it seems more than just a hyperbole.
Despite Valverde's great victory in Innsbruck, Sagan impressed everybody with his solo attack 50 kilometers away from Roubaix and gained the last encomium of the year.
I think this happened also due to the fact that Paris - Roubaix is the last legendary race. It brings us back to the legendary old cycling, made of gravel roads, punctures and hazard.
Nevertheless, Sagan would be remembered as the last winner of THE Paris - Roubaix because I don't know if we will call the race with its legendary name in the future.
I am talking about the shameful request, made by the Amis de Paris Roubaix, to fill the gaps between the cobbles of the Arenberg Forest with mortar.
They say that, otherwise, the sector is too hard to clean.
I hope they are kidding! We are talking about one of the last legendary cycling places in a cycling world that is moving to new nice places like Oman or Dubai but where history still has to be written.
My final question is: these people, asking to add mortar between the cobbles in the Arenberg Forest, are Friends of Paris Roubaix or Friends of the Sofa?
Friday, 7 December 2018
Monday, 1 October 2018
Innsbruck 2018 Men Elite Road Race
El Imbatido
I think it is hard to spend few words on what Velverde did in Innsbruck, it has been something cathartic.
He sprinted from the worst position, bringing on his shoulders the responsibility of the strongest, and in the end he won. Pure emotion.
Here you can find my grades to the teams and their tactics from 1 (very bad) to 10 (very good):
SPAIN: 10
Finally they raced as a true team moving together in the same direction.
They ended up with an historical victory with their most representative rider.
Denmark: 9.5
They were not the favorite, they used the perfect strategies with their riders.
They attacked since the beginning and almost won the race with Valgren's perfect attack.
France: 8.5
They controlled the race and prepared brought their two best riders in the best position on the final climb. There could have just been a bit more communication in the team about Alaphilippe feelings.
Canada: 8
They took a great bronze medal with a fantastic race of their captain Woods.
Holland: 6.5
This is the best season of Dumoulin but unfortunately he missed all its goals. Nevertheless, we can't blame him.
He saved the performance of its team that could have started attacking earlier in the race.
Belgium: 5
I expected more from the nation of cycling by definition. Wellens disappeared and Van Avermaet saved the race with an attack made more with pride than with legs.
Italy: 4
They raced in a decent way, trying to move the race and being reactive on the attacks during the first part of the race.
They committed a terrible suicide when they decide to push before the final climb, helping France and Spain and demolishing their entire team but Moscon.
Great Britain: 3.5
They controlled the race all day and disappeared in the final.
Colombia: 3
I'm still wondering if they were in the Peloton.
Monday, 10 September 2018
Innsbruck Preview
The circuit of the 2018 Cycling World Championships is one of the most interesting among the recent editions.
It seems to be a circuit for climbers and we could have a GC contender wearing the rainbow jersey since Cadel Evans.
Nevertheless, with the approach of the race, the reaction of the riders is hard to believe.
Italy, with its captain Nibali, was in the short list of the possible winners but after the Tour the France crash of its captain and the horrible year of its lieutenant Aru, It has been relegated to a secondary role.
Great Britain, presenting the winner of the two grand tours so far, was in the short list as well. Nevertheless, Team Sky announced that their two champions are too tired to race the World Championships. Are you kidding me?!
The team still have two great contenders with the Yates brothers but I found hard to believe that the two strongest riders won't compete for the rainbow Jersey.
Colombia seems to be the favorite, with so many great climbers they are definitely the strongest team in Austria.
The problem will be to ride as a team; the rivalry among the Colombian champions is really hard and La Vuelta 2018 is enhancing it.
France and Holland are just below Colombia, in my opinion, they are two solid teams with a lot of tradition and can count on strong climbers.
They have less strong climbers than Columbia but their teams seem to be more organized.
Talking about Belgium, I don't think this will be the year of Belgium or of the Classics kids because the circuit looks really strong but the fact that Italy will race without a captain will not make the race as hard as planned.
In conclusion, I really wonder if this will finally be the deserved World Championships of Valverde. Spain has always had the problem of never being a team but, without Rodriguez, this time, Don Aleandro could have the chance of his life.
The team of Cycling Impressions will be in Austria providing you a lot of great contents, stay tuned!!
Thursday, 9 August 2018
Cycling Songs: Adesso Pedala - Marco Pantani
In order to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the legendary double of Il Pirata, I want to share this song to remember him as the polyhedric champion he was!
Enjoy your holidays with the soundtrack of your summer:
Enjoy your holidays with the soundtrack of your summer:
Friday, 20 July 2018
Le Tour de Merde
"Ce ci n'est pas une pipe", said Magritte.
I say: "This is not a cycling race".
I don't think this grotesque parade with such a shitty organization deserves any further comment.
Monday, 2 July 2018
The Worst Race in the World
It is hard to understand the decision of the organizers to exclude Froom from le Tour de France.
I know that Froome was born in Africa and French people don't want immigrants but this it too much.
I don't even want to believe that this is due to his Salbutamol case.
It is important to clarify that Froome did not use doping, He was just found an excess of a permitted medicine in his blood and everything has still to be proved.
Froome made history at the Giro d'Italia and he was never found doped during the race, what are we talking about?
Loads of French riders have taken part to the Tour the France with worse doping cases pending on them.
The truth is that French organizers are scared of Froome. Nevertheless, for the love of cycling I've found a solution that will satisfy everybody!
The Tour de France should become the new French National Championship.
In this way, there will be just French riders with 21 French stage winners and the final classification will be won by a French too. The end of the Tour de France will be the new French national day and everybody will be happy.
Who cares about the rest of the world? We are French after all!
Friday, 15 September 2017
Rider of the Vuelta a España 2017
This is not a fairy tale, you did it! You have been elected rider of the Vuelta 2017, the last race of your outstanding career!!
Contador's victory of our special classification has been a sort of plebiscite, he has taken 58% of the votes (the second, Froome, 17%, just to give you an idea) and has been elected rider of the Vuelta 2017.
I can just thank this incredible champion and I think we will miss him so much.
I hope he will continue his work with his team of young talents, teaching them to attack and never give up and maybe, in the future, we will have another Contador. Maybe...
Tuesday, 25 July 2017
Monday, 24 July 2017
Tour de France 2017 Finale
One of the most boring Tour de France I can remember, due also to the tracery of the organizers, finally came to an end.
The jurors tried to do everything to provide as much French victories as possible, disqualifying and penalizing foreign riders, but, in the end, as always, Froome won.
There is not a big winner of this Tour, Froome appeared to be more vulnerable than the previous editions but none of his opponents has been able to beat him, due also to his incredible team that controlled every single stage.
From this Tour de France comes out a big martyr, the strongest rider on the road, a man that could have easily won this edition of the Tour de France but he was in the wrong team. All our thoughts are for you Mikel Landa.
Here you can find my grades to the teams, from 1 (very bad) to 10 (very good), you, dear Impressionists, will choose the rider of the Tour de France in the upcoming survey.
Team Sky - 9
They have won their 5th Tour in the last six years this says all. Nevertheless they are a dictatorial regime, there is no space left for unplanned exploits by other members of the team.
AG2R La Mondiale - 8
They tried in any way to win this Tour de France but, unfortunately, for Bardet, even a single kilometer against the clock is too much.
Movistar Team - 5
They lost Valverde during the first stage, the alternative to a Quintana still recovering from a really hard Giro.
Trek-Segafredo - 6
Contador has the heart of a lion but not the legs. They go home with a stage win, at the beginning of the Tour de France they had bigger plans.
BMC Racing Team - 5
They lost their best rider, they didn't have a second plan, they failed.
Astana Pro Team - 1
Is this a team? The strategy was to leave Aru alone as soon as possible? Still wondering...
UAE Team Emirates - 5
A top ten could not be enough for the team.
FDJ - 5.5
They sacrified half of the team with a rider. They won a stage.
Orica-Scott - 7
The white jersey was the main goal, they did it. They could have won a stage.
Dimension Data - 6.5
They lost their main sprinter, they had a second plan, they won a stage.
Quick-Step Floors - 8
They dominated every single sprint they took part. They were helped by a Tour de France with tons of flat stages.
Bora-Hansgrohe - 7.5
They lost their most representative rider after a questionable decision by the jurors. They won another stage.
Team Katusha-Alpecin - 5
They failed all their objectives.
Lotto Soudal - 5
They failed all their objectives.
Team Sunweb - 10
They won, they amused the crowd, they deserved two fantastic jerseys. Team of the year.
Cofidis, Solutions Crédits - 3.5
I discover they were at the Tour when Bouhanni punched another rider. They disappeared again after that episode.
Team LottoNL-Jumbo - 8
Two great stage win, one of them on le Champs Elysdées, what else do you need?
Direct Energie - 7.5
A memorable stage win.
Cannondale-Drapac Pro Cycling Team - 9
Stage win and an unexpected second place in the general classification! What a Tour de France!!
Bahrain Merida Pro Cycling Team - 4
They failed all their mysterious objectives.
Wanty-Groupe Gobert - 5
Big breakaways but that's all.
Fortuneo - Oscaro - 5
Breakaways, that's all. I expected more.
Sunday, 11 June 2017
Critérium du Dauphiné
One of the most famous pre-Tour races is over, but I don't think we could collect real info about the riders that will battle for the yellow jersey.
Porte fought hard during the last stage to win the race but he did it just due to his position in the General Classification and because a champion in such a position can't do in a different way.
Nevertheless I don't think this is enough to make statements and predictions about the upcoming Tour de France.
In my opinion, at the end of this Critérium du Dauphiné there are three notable events:
1) The great victory of Fuglsang and Team Astana that after really hard days are trying to rebuilt a dramatic (not in terms of results) season. The team fought harder than ever and, in the end, won.
It is really hard to comment a victory like this, so we can just enjoy it and think about it.
2) The birth of two young talent: a sprinter and a climber. Bauhaus and Bouwman took both their first World Tour win and seems to have promised us great shows in the future.
The victory of Bauhaus is the top of a maturation process that passed through a great Giro d'Italia. Will Bauhaus be the next German great sprinter?
3) Valverde is immortal and is one of the best riders of all times. He is one of the few rider (Sagan is another for example) than when takes part to a race you can be sure it will be an exciting one and you won't forget he is in the race. He is 37 and he is never complaining, this is a great example for so many riders that claim to be the best. and pretend so much.
See you soon to see what happened in the Swiss corner of the pre-Tour preparation.
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
Le Vélodrome de Roubaix (Paris - Roubaix)
It is always hard to put emotions into words, it is impossible to describe what's the feeling of being in the Vélodrome for the arrival of such a unique race.
"L'enfer du Nord", "la dure des dures", etc. So many nicknames for a race are the symptom of the uniqueness of this crazy race.
Sunday I arrived when the Vélodrome was still empty. It seemed asleep, collecting energies for the hard day ahead of it.
It is important to consider that in Roubaix a brand new modern velodrome has been built, so that the old Vélodrome is not used anymore and it is abandoned during the rest of the year.
The Vélodrome comes back to life just one day a year and it is one of the most emotional event you can attend in your life.
Hour after hour the old Vélodrome de Roubaix starts to fill up, slowly coming back to life after a year of lethargy.
When the race arrives at the Arenberg forest, the Vélodrome is the beating heart of the city of Roubaix and of the cycling world; when the first rider drops in, the Vélodrome has to face its annual heart attack, the last 600 meters are a breathless epilogue of its day of the year. It is something inexplicable, you find yourself in a sort of cycling-centred parallel universe.
Once crowned the winner of the year, the Vélodrome, after having warmly embraced the last rider of the race, slowly goes back to its annual hibernation, preparing himself for its next resurgence.
The Vélodrome this year decided it was time to give Van Avermaet his first Monument but, while you are reading this fleeting Impression, it is already thinking about the new emperor to crown. Who will be? Continue...
Wednesday, 14 December 2016
Monday, 29 August 2016
Welcome Back!
Welcome back folks!
Hope you enjoyed your holidays riding a bike or watching cycling.
The Olympics races have been really emotional.
Nibali's crash was tremendous and remembered me a similar one he did in the final kilometers of the cycling World Championships in Florence, Italy.
Sagan has tried to write a new page of history but unfortunately luck wasn't on his side.
Cancellara has won a gold medal in the year of the retirement following the example of Vinokourov in London.
Nevertheless the most emotional medal has been the one of Viviani, I think that the entire cycling community cried with him on that track.
Now it is time to vote the rider of the month...
Hope you enjoyed your holidays riding a bike or watching cycling.
The Olympics races have been really emotional.
Nibali's crash was tremendous and remembered me a similar one he did in the final kilometers of the cycling World Championships in Florence, Italy.
Sagan has tried to write a new page of history but unfortunately luck wasn't on his side.
Cancellara has won a gold medal in the year of the retirement following the example of Vinokourov in London.
Nevertheless the most emotional medal has been the one of Viviani, I think that the entire cycling community cried with him on that track.
Now it is time to vote the rider of the month...
Monday, 1 August 2016
Monday, 25 July 2016
Tour de France Ratings
I'm using the rating scale from 0 (very bad) to 10 (excellent).
Froome, Sagan: 10
Cavendish: 9,5
Dumoulin, Bardet, Yates: 8
Van Avermaet, Pantano: 7,5
Zakarin, Valverde, Majka: 7
Matthews, De Gendt, Izagirre, Rodriguez: 6,5
Kittel, Greipel, Porte, Cummings: 6
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Quintana, Barguil, Kristoff, Alaphilippe: 5
Aru, Nibali, Rolland, Cancellara: 4,5
Coquard, Voeckler: 4
Prudhomme, Security, Motorbikes: 0
Thursday, 14 July 2016
SHAME ON THE TOUR DE FRANCE
The organizers and Prudhomme failed to provide the safety a similar kind of race requires.
Tour de France desperately needs to be revisited in many aspects, today we had the final dramatic proof.
Tuesday, 12 July 2016
Considerations After a Week of Tour de France
- Sagan is proving he is the best rider at the moment and one of the best riders of all times.
- Froome's attack on descent proved all his class and gave a great lesson of heart and tactics to his opponents.
- Team Dimension Data is absolutely bossing the Tour with an incredible Mark Cavendish and a great strategy.
- The organizers haven't learnt how to draw the stages of a Grand Tour yet.
- Nibali, what are you doing? Astana, what is your strategy?
- Quintana, do you remember that last year when you attacked during the last week it was too late?
- The battle seems more close this year but I'am not so sure it will be the same in a week.
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