2014 Worlds RR

[earlfoss]

I read this article in Velonews and the jaw dropper for me was that the course includes about 13,100 ft of climbing in nearly 160 mi. Holy cow!

http://velonews.competitor.com/2014/09/news/farrar-disappointed-miss-worlds_346729

Though I don't think anyone on the U.S. team will figure in the finale except maybe TvG, USAC picked the best possible team they could. It would be cool to see any of those guys do well that day.

[jlwdm]

I read this article in Velonews and the jaw dropper for me was that the course includes about 13,100 ft of climbing in nearly 160 mi. Holy cow!

..

Road race is a lot of laps. 1000' of climbing per lap. Not all in one climb. So the leaders normally stick together til near the end.

Good climbing and good descents.

Jeff

[ultraman6970]

I would have loved to see Horner again in this cup.

[torquer]

Saw some complaints recently about how some years a flat course makes for a "sprinters' world championship" (Cippolini in 2002, Cav in 2011) but what about a "pure climbers' world championship"?
Closest (most recent) I could find was Zoetemelk in 1985, but even that appears to have ended in a sprint finish with LeMond and Argentin. (Trivia: that year's women's winner was Jeannie Longo.)
Not sure that Joop can really be considered a pure climber; so how far back do we need to go? Ferdie Kubler (1951)?

[BdaGhisallo]

Don't forget Colombia in 1995. That was a brutal circuit with much climbing at altitude. And, of course, the classic course at Sallanches in 1980 when Bernard Hinault put everyone to the sword to answer his critics after his withdrawal from that year's TdF.

[CunegoFan]

It is my opinion that there should not be World's races designed for sprinters or climbers or whatever "class" of riders someone feels needs to get to have a chance of being world champion. The 2011 course was a disgrace. The RR should be a long race of attrition.

As for climbers, it is sad that the Classique des Alpes died.

[MattTuck]

My feeling is that the Worlds should be as 'complete' a course as possible, so as to select as complete a rider as possible.

Climbing, descending, flats. That's cycling, and the rider that can do those the best should be there in the end.

I agree it should be a race of attrition to some extent. Selections help to winnow the field and separate the wheat from the chaffe or (cream from the milk, whatever your preferred metaphor).

If you have a big field getting to the finishing straight, then the winner is essentially a coin flip - so much factors in outside of pure fitness, position, wind, other riders, etc. If you 4-10 riders get to the line together, that have been on the right side of 4 or 5 selections made over 160 miles, you know those are the toughest/strongest riders that day.

[Hawker]

Yep, with this much climbing it would have been great to see Horner wrap us his career here. Can't imagine he is going to race another year?

[CunegoFan]

Yep, with this much climbing it would have been great to see Horner wrap us his career here. Can't imagine he is going to race another year?

One thing you can always count on is that when it comes to Olympics selection, world's selection, team hiring, whatever, Horner will likely get screwed. He wants to race another year or even two but finding a WT team to hire him will be hard after spending nearly the whole 2014 season injured.

[oldpotatoe]

One thing you can always count on is that when it comes to Olympics selection, world's selection, team hiring, whatever, Horner will likely get screwed. He wants to race another year or even two but finding a WT team to hire him will be hard after spending nearly the whole 2014 season injured.

How 'screwed'? Considering his age and injuries in 2014, if he does get a team I'd say he was lucky. If he doesn't, I'd say inevitable because of items mentioned. He's a nice guy but if he doesn't end up on a big team, hardly think it's unfair.

[CunegoFan]

How 'screwed'? Considering his age and injuries in 2014, if he does get a team I'd say he was lucky. If he doesn't, I'd say inevitable because of items mentioned. He's a nice guy but if he doesn't end up on a big team, hardly think it's unfair.

Screwed as in the 2012 Olympics was the first time he was selected for the U.S. team because he was never part of the inner circle of national team riders. Screwed as in he was never hired into teams like Postal/Disco with riders who had a fraction of his talent. Screwed as in even when he won the big one, the points ended up being worthless because for the first time ever there were no teams needing points for a Pro Tour/WT team slot. He was even screwed out of his Vuelta defense because he had to use a corticosteroid to recover from sickness and his team is a member of the MPCC; meanwhile Froome's team is not a member of the MPCC and has no issue with him racing on 40 mg of steroids a day.

Agreed that he will be fortunate to land a spot on a WT team for 2015. Regardless of his age and maybe because of it, he gets injured/sick too easily.

[nooneline]

If you have a big field getting to the finishing straight, then the winner is essentially a coin flip - so much factors in outside of pure fitness, position, wind, other riders, etc.

...

If you 4-10 riders get to the line together, that have been on the right side of 4 or 5 selections made over 160 miles, you know those are the toughest/strongest riders that day.

I think you're just not applying the truths of what you point out in the second part to the first part.

Think about all the concentration and perfection that the second part requires - making all these splits, saving your energy in as many places as you can and then using it super judiciously... kind of like how echelon racing requires you to have your ···· together every freakin' second.

Winning a race in a sprint isn't a coin flip. It takes an incredible amount of concentration and perfection over the final kilometers. You touch your brakes once, and you're gone. You get swarmed, you miss the line, you're gone. You open up your sprint too early, you're done; too late, you're done; on the wrong side of your leadout man, you're done.

I mean, yeah, I'd rather not see too many RRWCs end in a big sprint. But I've got no illusions about what it takes to do it well.

[jmoore]

Why Tyler Farrar would think he should even be considered for a spot is beyond me.

[Shortsocks]

Why Tyler Farrar would think he should even be considered for a spot is beyond me.

http://i1080.photobucket.com/albums/j323/prelude97si/AE26DB91-A906-4932-912B-A11266960836.jpg

[CunegoFan]

Why Tyler Farrar would think he should even be considered for a spot is beyond me.

That is part of the USA's secret plan: Let Farrar crash out the competition.