Watching the peloton - Professional Road Racing thread 2026

RAD RACE - Berlin - of course it would be a Berlin undergrond scene! I as conflating Red Hook (Brooklyn fixie crits outdoors) and Rad Race - which is held in an inddor Go Kart track and of course isn't sanctioned by the UCI (yet. if they think money can be made off it, they'll swoop in, like they did with DownHill and Gravel).

 
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Seixas took your advice Stomp. Should have retired last night. Good controlled win for Del Toro, the young Aussie holds on to 2nd. Jorgensen slipped to 4th.

Tour of Switzerland has Pog, Pidcock back from his ravine dive injuries and a surprise MVDP.
 
I think Visma is in trouble for the Tour. Their best riders are older, their younger riders aren't stage winners, and UAE just looks like it's going to be over before it starts. We don't know Tadej's form, and Del Toro's form during a stage race can be peaky. He can be unbeatable for a stage or two and then blow on the third. Ayuso looks like he will peak at the right time. Seixas and Onley are total wild cards. So the Tour isn't over before it starts, but UAE is clearly the team favorite, and stage racing is so much a team sport.

More on nighttime crit racing, Red Hook, etc. later as I have to go to work.
 
Thanks to you guys, I'm learning more and more about pro racing every day. This season especially, I'm struck with the depth of the field and the lack of predictability that brings.

On any given stage or day-race, someone whose name I've never heard can win or put in a stellar ride as a helper. Or some big-name rider can get dropped. Then there are the crashes, ill-timed mechanicals, and illnesses.

It may sound evasive when riders tell reporters that they're taking things one day at a time, that they'll have to see how the race unfolds, and that the race ain't over till the last stage is over. But that's the reality, and it sure makes pro racing fun to watch!
 
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Jeremy McCreary said:
Thanks to you guys, I'm learning more and more about pro racing every day. This season especially, I'm struck with the depth of the field and the lack of predictability that brings.

On any given stage or day-race, someone whose name I've never heard can win or put in a stellar ride as a helper. Or some big-name rider can get dropped. Then there are the crashes, ill-timed mechanicals, and illnesses.

It may sound evasive when riders tell reporters that they're taking things one day at a time, that they'll have to see how the race unfolds, and that the race ain't over till the last stage is over. But that's the reality, and it sure makes pro racing fun to watch!
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I am really pleased to see your joy in discovering the sport I spent 20 years of my life competing in. I've left it many times, as it is so demanding, and I never had to support a family doing it, like they do. Many riders suffer with depression and mental illness due to the stress of competition, including some big names in both genders. It's that hard.

It would be awesome if we could have a watch party setup for the Tour, but time zones won't make that work.
 
Crit racing is what I did as a rider, mostly during the day, but nighttime races are the best. 000Usually set in a downtown setting, pubs and restaurants along the course set up outside seating right up against the barriers so the audience gets an idea of just how fast the riders are going. The best organizers will have people up and down the street passing the hat for prime money. It's not unusual to offer $500, $1000, even $2,000 for a prime win. Once that starts, it's contagious. Cash starts flying everywhere. The elite men's race is almost always the last race, after the audience is well lubricated. There are videos out there of the best races. Look up Athens Twilight, Sunny King, Air Force Classic for examples.

The Red Hook Racing Series was a fixie race series that started in Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY, and wound up as a series all over the world. In the beginning, they had major sponsorship, and would cover travel costs for all the riders so that they could do the whole series. Red Hook was set up at the Brooklyn Navy Yard. It was a temporary course in a parking lot that was barricaded all the way around. It was tight, fast, and technical. I went to one of them, as my oldest son lives in Brooklyn. I wore my credential jacket and got access to the whole course. That year was the year that the lead motor marshal's bike stalled out after the start, and caused a massive crash. Twice. You can find YouTube videos that show it. Crazy. Somewhere, I have pictures. I'll look for them and post if I can.
 
stompandgo said:
It would be awesome if we could have a watch party setup for the Tour, but time zones won't make that work.
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Great idea! We could do it by Zoom.* I'll be getting up at 0600 to watch what's left of each stage on Pacific time — typically 50-80 km. The TdF will coincide with the 2nd half of a big remodel, so I could get called away by workers before a stage ends, but still worth a try.

Started to say that we should target some particularly juicy stages. But it's now clear that any stage could turn into a big surprise.

@Rás Cnoic , can you join a Zoom meeting from the UK? Any interest, @BlackHand ?

* Free Zoom sessions are limited to 40 minutes, but you can schedule at least 2 back to back. No time limit on a paid Zoom acct. I married a Zoom expert. I'm sure she'd help us make it happen.
 
stompandgo said:
I think Visma is in trouble for the Tour. Their best riders are older, their younger riders aren't stage winners, and UAE just looks like it's going to be over before it starts. We don't know Tadej's form, and Del Toro's form during a stage race can be peaky. He can be unbeatable for a stage or two and then blow on the third. Ayuso looks like he will peak at the right time. Seixas and Onley are total wild cards. So the Tour isn't over before it starts, but UAE is clearly the team favorite, and stage racing is so much a team sport.

More on nighttime crit racing, Red Hook, etc. later as I have to go to work.
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A number of supposed GC-centric teams are coming up short. Net Company INEOS have had a low key Giro and bad Duaphine/Rhone. Boro still have the same top heavy issues as at the start of the season. Too many chefs not enough mountain doms. Can Decathlon protect their new jewel? Looks unlikely on this last week's evidence and UAE are just so well organised. Still, Jonas is on fire, Seixas is unknown and Pog hasn't raced for a while (though Switzerland will show exactly where he's at). I haven't looked at the parcours yet, and the start list not finalised so need to start getting myself properly interested & up to speed! INRNG will be helpful no doubt.
Jeremy McCreary said:
Great idea! We could do it by Zoom.* I'll be getting up at 0600 to watch what's left of each stage on Pacific time — typically 50-80 km. The TdF will coincide with the 2nd half of a big remodel, so I could get called away by workers before a stage ends, but still worth a try.

Started to say that we should target some particularly juicy stages. But it's now clear that any stage could turn into a big surprise.

@Rás Cnoic , can you join a Zoom meeting from the UK? Any interest, @BlackHand ?

* Free Zoom sessions are limited to 40 minutes, but you can schedule at least 2 back to back. No time limit on a paid Zoom acct. I married a Zoom expert. I'm sure she'd help us make it happen.
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Zooms are my life. Even meetings I'm happy to have in person say by hoping a train up to London are now all zoom post covid, handy, but I prefer face to face. Nobody I know pays, as we just reconnect staight away after the cut off, though it's irritating mid sentence. I'll be travelling for most of July, couple of Irish trips, one to Galway for meetings, then the annual summer family trip to Kerry, bike on rack, togs towels & raincoats packed! I'll try and catch what stages I can, and as ever will comment on here.

For no other reason other than I like the brand and I just cannot let an ebay bargain pass (a d d i c t e d!), I've just aquired a 20 year old Salsa cross bike. Like I needed another bike project. But it looks fast and is super light so I think come August I'll be tinkering with that one. Never owned or raced cx so always been curious about the bikes.
 
Just been listening/watching the two Welsh boyos, G and Luke Rowe's podcast called "Wattt's Occuring?" (What's occuring - famous Welsh greeting!) A fascinating post mortem on the Averghne Rhone Alps. It's a long slow chat basically so don't click if you want something exciting/short.

Luke Rowe was the excellent road captain for Ineos/Sky for years, now retired he's a new DS for Decathlon so gives an interesting behind the scenes breakdown of the race. G - Geraint Thomas, TdF winner Ineos/Sky over a very long career and newly retired, was also at the race, doing something behind scenes with Ineos? Not sure if he's DS or other role with Ineos. In other words both friends, both vastly experienced and both at the race & pretty open about the state of racing nowadays and how it's changed.

 
Thanks for the heads-up, that was an entertaining watch. They're both cocky SOB's and showed it there.

Thomas is the Director of Racing for Netcompany/INEOS. Usually, in that role, all of the DS's report to him. He guides the race selection, team selection, DS selection, and rider management for all teams under him.

It was interesting what Rowe said about Seixas coming back after his crash. He did not think that it was a good idea at all, but calling him off would have been worse. I had not thought of it that way. He went on to explain that he never expresses concern about parts of a course, like a dangerous descent, because it gets in the rider's heads and they don't perform well. He did defend Seixas pacing off his team car. Rowe said ten seconds, my eyes said a hell of a lot more.
 
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