MN Pro-Cycling Peloton - Spring Time Classics!! Starting with Milan-San Remo Sunday 23rd March

[PansBigChainring]

Resuming domestique duties ...we've raced away from the broom wagon that is a miserable winter and the dudes are up and racing on the Continent.

Milan-San Remo is first up with Cav looking to get his first race win of the season and with Petacchi and Renshawe in his lead out train (and one climb removed for safety reasons) this is where he could do it. It's live on Eurosport with highlights on Euro and Sky.

There are six other one-day classics before the Irish Giro in May, so rather than doing all the research, I'd commissioned the Beeb to do it for me!
So here is a nifty guide to all of them in one easy go

The Irish Giro may get a bit of pure local interest traffic, so I'd started a new thread just for that celebration of all that is green, lycra and on two thin wheels, here...The Irish Giro

I don't live there now! I just bike into it from the sunny gorgeous Peaks. Where today it's heaven on earth, and out with my sisters.
Amstel up next. Have a great day.

I think the Trafford Centre may have freaked me out a bit, when you aren't used to there being a lot of people around and the ones you see you recognise, I am out of practice at just being around it all! (Although the food court was amazing, so much different stuff, I like Vietnamese food apparently!) And millions of people cycling, millions and millions of them. Peak District is beautiful, I am going to the beach now to reset my brain and enjoy the sun.

You know you are letting cycling take over your life when you check the date on some food and think '22nd, that's ok then because the Amsel Gold is tomorrow'

Then let yourself down by ignoring the lack of a fully functioning 't' on your keyboard.

That's baaaad re the food thing. You may need counselling.
fwiw I grew up near to the Traff Centre and do literally remember when it was all fields - cabbage, potato, carrots - as far as the school boy eye could see from the school bus. It was beautiful, but now a site of pure ugliness. Apart from John Lewis of course.

And a moment of eulogy. I'm just back from giving by old TREK 73000 hybrid to my lovely nephew. It's 14 yo and has seen me through all sorts of rides - mucky, climbs, trails, flat tarmacs, pot holes, trees, bumps with cars, just about everything I asked it to. Now there is a space in my shed...

I was also riding it when the front tyre burst on a down hill bend, brakes effectively failed to stop the momentum and I put my left hand out in the near side dry stone wall to slow down...and broke two fingers and dislocated a third..that hurt at the time..a bit. But me and Geraint are made of stern stuff. Still, I'll miss it.

You know what a gap in your shed means though? Space for a new bike . Lucky nephew to have a lovely bike giving uncle. Ouch to the fingers, that must have hurt like buggery.

So what time does the coverage start tomorrow or do I have to try and follow on the internet?

Yes, my nephew though is gold. Just a beautiful young man.
Yes..new bike..I'd want a road bike..I don't need one. I just want one..Specialised Secatuer..

Hurt fingers, oddly not really as one would imagine. It was a sort of nasty sting sensation, then I looked at my hand and realised it had been rearranged in a way I was unused to looking at. Fingers bent and behind each other. My riding mate took lots of photos, as it was so odd. Good for him!

Amstel - am out with dd tomorrow in the Peaks. Amstel looks like a bunch sprint IF the teams work it out. Our Orica people have plans for this. I'm looking at highlights maybe. There is just so much racing right now!

Lucky nephew! Hope he was thoroughly delighted with his bike.

I'm around tomorrow & will be watching Amstel Gold. Sky+ is already set for Fleche Wallonne next week

Beautiful weather here over the past few days has brought all the cyclists out resplendent in their lycra.

Bloody windy round here today! Going to miss Everton v Man Utd live as well as Amstel. Kids eh? dd despises footie and has zero time for riding a bike. Where did I go wrong?Have lovely days!

Umm..have I lost it? I'm sure the highlights were advertised on Euro for 11pm. And that I'd set to record. Now there's nothing on.......and nothing being recorded.

Did anyone see Fleche-Wallonne today? Thought Dan Martin had timed it perfectly, but Valverde passed him at speed on the hilly approach to the line & took it. Martin's hopefully coming into form to defend his Liege-Bastogne-Liege title at the weekend.

I have it recorded, so no spoilers please.

Oh dear...

Oops...

Sorry!

of course we did. tbh I'm struggling to keep up with all of this racing! I'll watch the highlights tomorrow. I love watching the ebb and flow of the race anyway, though knowing who wins.

Just saw a bit of the Tour of Pembrokeshire (which they handily put going through my village not much effort required to get to this one ) bet you won't find it on catch up TV anywhere

Oh no I've just realised I'm going to a party this afternoon. What was I thinking?

Oh is there another 1 day classic today? Hurray! Doing a ride and a run today but will weave round the race. And yes, what were you thinking, actually having a life, hmmm??

Well that was a finish wasn't it??!!

Oh goodness it was (home early from party how did that happen ). Are we allowed to discuss or do we wait for catcher uppers.

That was exciting!!

Poor Dan Martin .

Had to defer watching LBL because we were watching Munster lose to Toulon in the Heineken Cup .

I've seen LBL and Turkey. Missed Pembroke though, damn.

I know, poor poor lovely Dan, I could barely watch after he fell but then OGE won with so I got over it pretty quickly .

Tour of Pembs was an epic, lots of squally rain on previously dry roads had them falling all over the shop, was talking very somberly to a beautiful 5 year old girl today on the subject of her fathers road rash. She's looking after him but not very keen on the black bits of scab on his blood.

Yes, very happy about the OGE win, especially beating Valverde.

I'm a member of the ABV club - Anyone But Valverde

And Cav won the sprint in the first stage of the Tour of Turkey - yay!