Cycling's Protour

[Heid the Ba']

I suppose the mantle of "cycling bore" passes from my old persona to my new one; so, for those that don't know there is now a new season long cycling championship, the UCI Protour. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/features/?id=2005/protour_points)

It is geared to favour those who race all season, and incorporates the old World Cup one day races, the Grand Tours and a bunch of one week tours and other races.

Currently headed by sprinters this will change in the coming weeks now the Spring Classics are under way. Yesterday's Ronde van Vlaanderen (http://www.rvv.be/eng/deronde/index.html) was a cracking race and this weekends Paris - Roubaix should be just as good.

There is something going on in Spain this week for the mountain munchkins but the real racing at the moment is over the Flandrian cobbles.

[Candy]

Country classification
This is the easiest ranking to get your head around. To determine a nation's ranking on the ProTour, simply add up the five best riders on the ProTour overall individual classification when the rankings are released. Not surprsingly, with Spaniards and Italians dominant in the early ProTour races, they're well ahead of the rest (174 and 155 points respectively); Germany (127 points), the USA (70) and Australia (40) round out the top five.
Not to be a dumas, but who are the 5 best bikers?

[Nicolas]

Country classification
This is the easiest ranking to get your head around. To determine a nation's ranking on the ProTour, simply add up the five best riders on the ProTour overall individual classification when the rankings are released. Not surprsingly, with Spaniards and Italians dominant in the early ProTour races, they're well ahead of the rest (174 and 155 points respectively); Germany (127 points), the USA (70) and Australia (40) round out the top five.
Not to be a dumas, but who are the 5 best bikers?

Belgians :wink: :D

[Candy]

Belgians :wink: :D
http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/verschiedene/d080.gif

[Fram]

Belgians :wink: :D
http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/verschiedene/d080.gif

Great smilie. If you have the chance to see anything of this sunday's race (Paris-Roubaix), watch and be amazed... 250 km, of which some 50 on cobblestones (bad cobblestones).

And the best cyclists? Petacchi is the best sprinter, Boonen is the best classical rider, Freire wins what those two let slip by, and Armstrong is the best Tour rider (with Cunego and Valverde the two main contenders to be the new Armstrong).

[Nicolas]

Belgians :wink: :D
http://www.cosgan.de/images/smilie/verschiedene/d080.gif

=D> :D

Watch that smilie for 4 hours, and you have an idea of what the cyclists in the Ronde van Vlaanderen, or Paris Roubaix have to endure (on a somewhat more sophisticated bike, but still). :D

[Candy]

I want to watch now just for the cobblestone mishaps. 8-[

I have no idea where to find what station and time this will air here in the States. I have a feeling it might be a pay-per-view event.

[Nicolas]

I want to watch now just for the cobblestone mishaps. 8-[

I have no idea where to find what station and time this will air here in the States. I have a feeling it might be a pay-per-view event.

little warning: in Nascar, it's the wrecked car that are shown. In cycling, it's the wrecked cyclists. And they tend to continue the race unless they REALLY can't go on with their injuries.

[Maksutov]

I want to watch now just for the cobblestone mishaps. 8-[

I have no idea where to find what station and time this will air here in the States. I have a feeling it might be a pay-per-view event.

little warning: in Nascar, it's the wrecked car that are shown. In cycling, it's the wrecked cyclists. And they tend to continue the race unless they REALLY can't go on with their injuries.
In addition the engine for cycling is a bit different than that for NASCAR.

http://img44.exs.cx/img44/3117/NEChampionshipsBikeRaceVT.jpg

[Nicolas]

We'll let Candy decide which engine is the most interesting one:

http://www.2cycle.be/images/TomBoonenFiche.jpg

or

http://static.howstuffworks.com/gif/nascar-engine.jpg

These both are in good condition.
I prefer seeing a wrecked Nascar engine above a wrecked cycling engine... :)

PS that first pic is Tom Boonen [Belgian :)], who won the Ronde van vlaanderen this weekend.

[Candy]

PS that first pic is Tom Boonen [Belgian :)], who won the Ronde van vlaanderen this weekend. As long as the advertisement on his neck is for a sponsor, then I will choose Numeral Uno. :P

[Nicolas]

PS that first pic is Tom Boonen [Belgian :)], who won the Ronde van vlaanderen this weekend. As long as the advertisement on his neck is for a sponsor, then I will choose Numeral Uno. :P

That's his sponsor "Quick Step". He sure is quick, but he can go on for hours.


On topic: what I like about cycling is that it is mainly about the persons. I mean they ride different bikes, but these all tend to be of about the same (high) quality. And everyone has about equal chances for mechanical failures. the cyclists (condition, training, teamwork, am orders...) determine the race much more than their equipment. I do like F1, like this weekend's race, where equipment is at least as important as the driver too. I think it's good there are both "mechanical" and "non-mechanical" races other than running.

[Maksutov]

PS that first pic is Tom Boonen [Belgian :)], who won the Ronde van vlaanderen this weekend. As long as the advertisement on his neck is for a sponsor, then I will choose Numeral Uno. :P

That's his sponsor "Quick Step". He sure is quick, but he can go on for hours.


On topic: what I like about cycling is that it is mainly about the persons. I mean they ride different bikes, but these all tend to be of about the same (high) quality. And everyone has about equal chances for mechanical failures. the cyclists (condition, training, teamwork, am orders...) determine the race much more than their equipment. I do like F1, like this weekend's race, where equipment is at least as important as the driver too. I think it's good there are both "mechanical" and "non-mechanical" races other than running.
What I find objectionable (and hilarious at the same time) is when the rednecks hereabouts refer to NASCAR drivers as "athletes".

Yeah, maybe it's a sport, but the participants are NOT athletes.


PS: That's my son in the posted photo, winning his age class in the Northeast US NORBA championship a few years back.

[Nicolas]

I'm not entirely out of racing drivers being athletes or not.

I can't really draw the line. Are sport sailors athletes? They don't swim, but they do need quite some condition and skill! Horse riders don't run, but they too need condition and skill. F1 pilots obviously need skill, and not anybody can cope with concentrated driving for 1.30h in 50°C while getting load forces up to 5G's in all directions constantly.

On the other side, there's things like people playing darts. Archers. And even chess players.

Again, I really can't draw a line.

[Candy]

PS: That's my son in the posted photo, winning his age class in the Northeast US NORBA championship a few years back.
I knew it. I believe you've posted it before. 8)

[Maksutov]

I'm not entirely out of racing drivers being athletes or not.

I can't really draw the line. Are sport sailors athletes? They don't swim, but they do need quite some condition and skill! Horse riders don't run, but they too need condition and skill. F1 pilots obviously need skill, and not anybody can cope with concentrated driving for 1.30h in 50°C while getting load forces up to 5G's in all directions constantly.

On the other side, there's things like people playing darts. Archers. And even chess players.

Again, I really can't draw a line.
I did a while back.

It had to do with meeting/competing with some of the participants of their respective sports. That resulted in NASCAR drivers, golfers, and their ilk being classified as "skills" people", whereas cyclists, sailors of two-man or solo boats (who had damned-well better know how to swim), or the crew of a three-man or more boat (especially the grinders), and racing horse riders (they have no "metal cage" around them and use muscle power and balance to stay mounted) were classified as athletes.

F1 I'm still adjourned on, but they're closer than those NASCAR pedal pushers. Y'all don' gotta be one a' them there atheletes t' run lilkker!


[edit/add 2 words]

[Candy]

Why not just call them all sportsmen? 8-[

[Nicolas]

I agree that there is a difference between sports (let's call it all sports) based on muscles and skills.

That would make muscle sports people "athletes". A good example are, well, athletics :).

Things like sailing, horse riding and F1 would be hybrids in my opinion.

Things like chess and darts would clearly be "skills" sports.

Nascar is somewhere on the edge between hyrbid ans skills I think. It seems to demand physically less from the drivers than F1.

But having "skills" on one side, and "muscles" (/condition of course) on the other side -with those people beig called "athletes"- gives a good basis to sort things indeed.

[Candy]

That would make muscle sports people "athletes". A good example are, well, athletics :).
I'm an athletic supporter. :P

[Maksutov]

That would make muscle sports people "athletes". A good example are, well, athletics :).
I'm an athletic supporter. :P
Move over, the prolific poster formerly known as "Candy"...accept your new nickname:

JOCK!

Unless you want to be oh-so-sophisticated, in which case,

JACQUELINE! =D>

[Fram]

There is not only the question of 'do you use muscles or not', there's also the question of: do you do all the work or not? In F1, the car is the most important, the driver is secondary. A brilliant driver in a Minardi will never win. Therefor, to me this is more a game and less a sport. The same goes for horseriding.
Following this criterium (and not the muscle thing), chess is a sport. But of course you can combine the two, and then only things like cycling, athletics, ... are sports.

Oh, and rule number one: if it contains synchronicity or if a jury gives the points that decides who wins, it's not a sport!

[Nicolas]

Oh, and rule number one: if it contains synchronicity or if a jury gives the points that decides who wins, it's not a sport!

that would exclude team rowing.
that would exclude judo (more or less)

I do get what you mean with that rule however. Addition: if it's on music, it's not a sport :).

[Fram]

Oh, and rule number one: if it contains synchronicity or if a jury gives the points that decides who wins, it's not a sport!

that would exclude team rowing.
that would exclude judo (more or less)

I do get what you mean with that rule however. Addition: if it's on music, it's not a sport :).

I agree with your addition, I don't mind if judo is excluded from the sports, but I have phrased mu first condition wrong. Rowing is not to be included. The sports I mean fall under the jury system anyway, so I could better exclude the synchronicity rule. What I meant was sports where synchronicity is the goal, not the means. In rowing, the synchronicity is the means to row fast and straight. In synchro swimming or synchro diving or synchro trampoline jumping, the synchronicity is the goal. What's next? Synchro sprinting? You have to react, run and finish exactly at the same time? If possible with exactly the same smile? ...

Always a good sign of something that is not a sport: if the athletes are always smiling, you better watch out. Example: fitness. Worse example: Ballroom dancing (yes, people call this a sport as well!).

[Candy]

That would make muscle sports people "athletes". A good example are, well, athletics :).
I'm an athletic supporter. :P
Move over, the prolific poster formerly known as "Candy"...accept your new nickname:

JOCK!

Unless you want to be oh-so-sophisticated, in which case,

JACQUELINE! =D>
Well, it's time for this Jacqueline to go ride a stationary bike for 1 hour. 8)

[A Thousand Pardons]

Things like chess and darts would clearly be "skills" sports.
Bobby Fischer insisted upon doing daily road work, when he was preparing for Spassky in the seventies. Chess is arduous.

[Nicolas]

Things like chess and darts would clearly be "skills" sports.
Bobby Fischer insisted upon doing daily road work, when he was preparing for Spassky in the seventies. Chess is arduous.

I know very well that mental work is arduous. But whether you can lift 30 kgs or 150, whether you run the 100m in 10 or 20 seconds, if you've got the mental capacity you can play chess. In that way, it isn't a sport based on the use muscles.

You need a condition that allows you to stay focused for the whole game - something that all skill sports have in common. I do believe that working on your condition -and giving you mind some rest in the process- does help for sports like chess.

[Maksutov]

That would make muscle sports people "athletes". A good example are, well, athletics :).
I'm an athletic supporter. :P
Move over, the prolific poster formerly known as "Candy"...accept your new nickname:

JOCK!

Unless you want to be oh-so-sophisticated, in which case,

JACQUELINE! =D>
Well, it's time for this Jacqueline to go ride a stationary bike for 1 hour. 8)
Well, let's hope you don't get a visit from Tyrone F. Horneigh. :)

[Candy]

Well, let's hope you don't get a visit from Tyrone F. Horneigh. :)
As Tyrone F. Horneigh would say,
“Do you believe in the hereafter?
Well then you know what I am here after!” :lol:

[Heid the Ba']

I hate to drag this back towards the topic, but.......

I want to watch now just for the cobblestone mishaps. 8-[

I have no idea where to find what station and time this will air here in the States. I have a feeling it might be a pay-per-view event.

OLN are showing two hours of highlights 1700 - 1900. Don't know if anyone else is showing it. 275 kms in about 8 hours, if hot and dry like 2003 it will look like this (http://www.cyclingnews.com/road/2003/worldcup03/parisroubaix03/?id=photos); if wet like 2001 then like this. (http://www.cyclingnews.com/results/2001/apr01/proubaix/photos.shtml)

Tom Boonen isn't just a good rider, he is a good guy, and he owns a kilt. :o My younger brother was at the start of Paris Roubaix two years ago and was wearing his kilt. Tom Boonen came over and got chatting, they swapped a full set of Quickstep kit for a kilt and my brother still keeps in touch with him.

[Nicolas]

Old news, but not posted so here it goes:

pretty boy Tom Boonen did it again!! 8) :D

(Paris-Roubaix)