re: 2021 Pro Cycling Thread-Julian Alaphilippe is Your World Champ Again!

Not surprised with today's result. With 15 teams still lacking a stage win, the break was going to be big and Deceuninck was the only team with an incentive to pull them back.

Doing it in Paris makes for a better story for Mark but the pressure will be a lot higher to be perfect but with his form and Morkov leading him out he is the odds on favorite. Honestly, watching Morkov I think he has the form to beat Cav if they were on different teams with equal leadout trains.

The Shhhhh and zipped lip?

Not a great look if your team has been accused of doping to the gills

Omerta

quote:

---

Lance did it just because Simeoni testified against Ferrari. He didn't say anything specifically about Lance in his testimony.

---

Simeoni probably got the worst of Armstrong's during race bullying. I think the Zip It was 2004 IIRC. Armstrong and Postal would track down any break Simeoni was in and Lance let the peloton know that no break with Simeoni would survive so the breaks would force him to go back and he got bullied and spit on my multiple non-Postal riders.

They sued and countersued each other for a couple of years. Simeoni did I suppose get the last laugh when he testified against Lance in the 2012 USADA investigation giving them the witness tampering angle.


On a different note re Bobke and Lance if you have never heard the podcast Bob did with him at least listen for about 4 minutes from where this link takes you to. It explains their relationship.

YT

quote:

---

How many Cofidis riders were in the breakaway this time?

---

Just one, Christophe Laporte who came in... second.

quote:

---

who came in... second.

---

That’s a huge improvement for those clowns. The champagne and wine may flow tonight.

From Cyclingnews

quote:

---

A report in Swiss newspaper Le Temps cited three unnamed riders who expressed concern about “strange noises” emanating from the rear wheels of the bikes of four teams, including yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates squad.

"There is a strange noise. I can hear it while riding. It comes from the rear wheels. A strange metallic noise, like a badly adjusted chain. I've never heard that anywhere," said one rider, according to the report.

---

It's like when Cancellara went up the Kapelmuur in the saddle the year he won Flanders and Roubaix easily. There were motor doping truther vids analyzing his ride for signs of something fishy and there was one where, I think it was his bike, was on the ground after a crash and the crank kept turning.

Maybe it's possible Pog is motor doping but the UCI would have to be in on it because they say they are doing extensive bike checks including the stage winners. I guess I wouldn't put it past them although Pog isn't exactly who you would pick for an international poster boy so there would have to be big money flowing to the UCI to keep the palms greased.

quote:

---

Just think you have a chance to ride for Cofidis or some regional team…if I want to win I’m taking the regional team

---

quote:

---

Maybe it's possible Pog is motor doping but the UCI would have to be in on it because they say they are doing extensive bike checks including the stage winners. I guess I wouldn't put it past them although Pog isn't exactly who you would pick for an international poster boy so there would have to be big money flowing to the UCI to keep the palms greased.

---

There were accusations of Rog motor doping at Amstel Gold this year. Seems debunked though.

Given the option of juice or motor assuming getting caught was my only concern I would be juicing. If the UCI impounds a bike and find a motor I don't the Van den Driessche defence of "I was just holding it for a friend" will work any better for them. I would rather go done swinging like Lance did for years just denying and blaming the tests and any other boogeyman I could conjure up.

I will say the internet sleuths are probably looking at every single frame of video of Pog this TdF. If they can make ANY sort of case the vids will start hitting tomorrow.

Now here is a weird conundrum, why am I ambivalent to chemical doping but would be happy if anyone that got caught motor doping was drawn and quartered (figuratively). I suppose chemical doping still requires all the suffering and work to get the benefits just more and faster.

I am also dubious of any team running a motor that would be audibly detectable in the peloton even if the other riders were dogs. If it had been one rider maybe it malfunctioned and got noisy but riders in four different teams... that seems a stretch.

quote:

---

A strange metallic noise, like a badly adjusted chain.

---

quote:

---

bikes of four teams, including yellow jersey Tadej Pogacar’s UAE Team Emirates squad.

---

It just hit me, there are four teams including UAE riding Campagnolo this year. There is no question Super Record sound different than Dura Ace. While I assume the unnamed riders have heard Campag SR EPS they could have made a tiny change to the cog teeth or jockey wheel teeth/material or chain. Hell, I can hear the difference between a Campag, KMC, and Wipperman and the difference between a SRAM or Shimano and definitely any of them and a Ceramicspeed UFO KNC chain.