Watching the peloton - Professional Road Racing thread 2026

He is hard to catch with that rapid fire. But sometimes I like to hear his 'story of the race, beat by beat' where I've only caught highlights. Good for spotting key moments and merciless on idiot decisions!
 
Rás Cnoic said:
He is hard to catch with that rapid fire. But sometimes I like to hear his 'story of the race, beat by beat' where I've only caught highlights. Good for spotting key moments and merciless on idiot decisions!
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Speaking of highlights, why am I seeing only the last few km of any given race on YouTube now? Seems like a new trend since even last pro season.

Did some nefarious Bond villain buy up all the rights to earlier parts of pro races? Are timely true highlight reels that much more expensive to produce? Were all the editors let go to save money?
 
Jeremy McCreary said:
Speaking of highlights, why am I seeing only the last few km of any given race on YouTube now? Seems like a new trend since even last pro season.

Did some nefarious Bond villain buy up all the rights to earlier parts of pro races? Are timely true highlight reels that much more expensive to produce? Were all the editors let go to save money?
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Not sure what is available in US. In U.K. TNT/Discovery seem to release last few KMs and if an important race a brief 5 min highlights of the race both on YT. That's all you get for free. Live coverage usually starts halfway through the race if you have a $$$ subscription. And occasionally there will be not fully legal streaming on YT from other parties. The South Americans are fanatical about racing it seems and their commentary, if a Colombian rider (or now Mexican) is doing well gets very heated. With a VPN there are further options.
 
On the HBO Max/Peacock coverage, you get a race introduction, and the neutral to 0km. Then they go over the course, showing the features, and potential strategies that teams may use. Next, they may show some highlights (attacks, sprints, KOM, etc., and some lowlights (crashes, mishaps, etc.) before cutting into the live coverage with some amount of time remaining. It could be 80km, 60km, even 40km. Satellite time is expensive, so they try and time it to get the race finish, a podium, and an interview or two before signing off. If they get it wrong, the end is either rushed or drawn out. They pay for their satellite time in advance, so they try and use all of it.
 
Jeremy McCreary said:
Strade Bianche this Saturday — Pogi's first race of the year!

Strade Bianche 2026 | Official website

Visit the official website of Strade Bianche 2026 and discover all the latest updates and info on the route, teams plus the latest news.
www.strade-bianche.it www.strade-bianche.it
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One of my favourite races of the year.

Startlist - will be constantly updated as we get closer - but so far Del Toro, Seixas, Van Aert (former winner), Ben Healy, Bernal, Pidcock (former winner), Pog and many more. Increasingly popular Classic despite only 20 years old, with calls for it to be made a Monument.

No sign yet of Remco, only 3 of Boro team listed, but he loathes gravel anyway, not his kind of race, probably doing Paris Nice or Tirreno-Adriatico both starting the next day and day after.

Startlist for Strade Bianche 2026

Competing teams and riders for Strade Bianche 2026. Top competitors are Tadej Pogačar, Isaac del Toro and Thomas Pidcock.
www.procyclingstats.com www.procyclingstats.com
 
If you average all the hugs winners give or get after the finish line, bet the women have the men beat at least 5 to 1.
 
Once again, Le Samyn (UCI 1.1, the second lowest category UCI road race) delivered. It's a long course, but it's by no means a climbers course. The terrain is rolling with a few short climbs, but the main features are narrow roads, dirt and short cobble sections (one right before the finish), concrete slab sections, and wind, of which there was none today. The pace was fast, and the break never got very far away. In the final KM's, Per Strand Hagenes of Visma got away solo. Meanwhile, behind him, Visma put on a clinic of covering and blocking, nobody more than Wout Van Aert. Hagenes was caught at 200m, with Jordi Meeus getting the win.

Ben Oliver was the last man standing for Modern Adventure. He was right where he needed to be at the red triangle, but being a solo rider on a new team, he got pushed and shoved and ridden into the barriers by the leadout trains, and ran out of gas in the last 50m, but finished 11th. MAPC is at the bottom of the UCI points rankings, because teams are ranked by the last 12 months before the season starts. This puts every new team at the bottom. Getting invitations to UWT races is very dependent on UCI points. They have to use their connections to get there.

The race was sponsored by Ename, one of the best Belgian ales that I have ever had.

Next up for the big guys is one of my favorite races, Strade Bianche. MAPC will be sending a primarily U23 team to the Porec Classic.
 
I wish I grabbed a screenshot. They are not flat, and have gaps filled with tar vertically in between them. When they open up, they can catch tires.
 
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