Zuri Metztgete

[saab2000]

The Zueri Metztgete is being held today. As I predicted when I saw the change of date from early August to early October the weather stinks. It is currently 48 degrees Fahrenheit and raining. Nice way to spend 240 KM on the bike.

I predict that fewer than 40 riders will even bother to finish. It is a hard race with some hard climbs and dangerous, fast descents.

The start finish is about 20 km from where I used to live, so it is a cool race for me to watch. But I can't believe that they changed the date. Anyone from there would know that the weather at this time of year there is sketchy at best.

[Dr. Doofus]

loud and clear, saab

1994 was the last good year for pro racing fans

rotten weather and a second-rate field for zurich

great that boonen won the worlds, so a real rider has the rainbow jersey, but look at the group he won the sprint from...boonen would have won any sprint, but it would have been more satisfying for him to have trounced the best of his generation (think Maertens beating Hinault in Prague) than beating a bunch of second-stringers and a couple of stars worn down from a long season....

[keno]

I found the following site which purports to show the race live, but, unfortunately, only provides 30 second updates with a still photo. Ugly weather that we could really use in my neck of the woods.

http://216.239.39.104/translate_c?hl=en&u=http://www2.cnlab.ch/tourlive/zuerimetzgete/&prev=/search%3Fq%3DZueri%2BMetzgete%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D

keno

[jerk]

loud and clear, saab

1994 was the last good year for pro racing fans

rotten weather and a second-rate field for zurich

great that boonen won the worlds, so a real rider has the rainbow jersey, but look at the group he won the sprint from...boonen would have won any sprint, but it would have been more satisfying for him to have trounced the best of his generation (think Maertens beating Hinault in Prague) than beating a bunch of second-stringers and a couple of stars worn down from a long season....


the belgian team rode all the other "stars" off their wheels. they couldn't stick and the best man from the best team won and peter van petegem proved once again how tough he is. boonen did trounce the best of his generation, with alot of help from his team.

jerk

[Dr. Doofus]

Doofus,Who Am I, will be so stupid as to disagree with the understandably nationalistic jerk

if the Worlds had been in the middle of August and Boonen had outsprinted a group of Armstrong (in his last race), Ulrich, Hincapie, Flecha, Bettini Vinokourov, and O'Grady (the aussie who survived a tough classics-man circiut -- oops, we didn't have that this year, either), we would all go out and buy Ridleys, as doof has done, and drink Leffe long into the next month. But it didn't happen.

The Belgian team ran the race, and Boonen sprinted away from Bettini , with the best fastmen in cycling behind because they missed the break. Tornado Tom was the best rider in the race. The Belgian team was the best team in the race. No doubt.

And the field wasn't as deep as when the World's were held in August and the top 20 was a who's who of the sport.

Make no mistake, Boonen is a freak -- Frank Hoste meets Roger De Vlaminck -- and is the best World Champion since Bugno (what Armstrong did *after* his world's win made his career...he was a dark horse that year), and make no mistake, Boonen would have won that race no matter what circuit it was held on (unless it was like Duitima) and no matter who showed up.

I just wished he'd beat some guys who were sitting at home, so I wouldn't have anything to gripe about.

just don't saw my bike in half or put a 110 stem on it for spite, herr senor...ok?