MN Peloton's Road Racing Spring Classics 2015 - trois, deux, un..

[derailleurdePan]

We've had training camps in Catalunya and the Canaries, eaten desert dust and limbered up in Strada Bianche yesterday. Some keen team riders have even been on turbos and rollers....or watched other people do that...which is the same thing really...so we are good to go!

If anyone is new to road racing, the spring classics are generally one-day events (but 150-200 kms long!), usually in Northern France or Belgium and are the hors d'oeuvres to the Grand Tours of Italy, France and Spain. Some though, like today's start on the Paris-Nice are multi-stage of a week or so in length.

The remaining UCI-advertised classics up the Giro d'Italia are here..

08.03 15.03 Paris – Nice France
11.03 17.03 Tirreno – Adriatico Italy
22.03 22.03 Milan – San Remo Italy
23.03 29.03 Volta Ciclista a Catalunya Spain
27.03 27.03 E3 Harelbeke Belgium
29.03 29.03 Ghent – Wevelgem Belgium
05.04 05.04 Tour of Flanders Belgium
06.04 11.04 Vuelta Ciclista al Pais Vasco Spain
12.04 12.04 Paris – Roubaix France
19.04 19.04 Amstel Gold Race Netherlands
22.04 22.04 La Flèche Wallonne Belgium
26.04 26.04 Liège – Bastogne – Liège Belgium
28.04 03.05 Tour de Romandie Switzerland

So shall we roll out of the neutralised zone, and start sweating??
_

They should have had P-N and T-A in the Peaks! It was a bit cold to start but later the clouds scudded over and a blue sky shone through! Spesh was spesh, though I still dislike descending rapidly and twisting hands over the brake levers to get some..well..leverage.

Big up Porte, eh? Sliding along the tarmac one day, but then picking himself up and creaming it on the TT uphill. Chapeau indeed.

Mr Sagan. About time, son.

Hello, I'm checking in. Lots of stuff recorded which I need to catch up on!

only 22 sleeps to Paris-Roubaix.....just saying...

...and only two sleeps until Milan-San Remo...

true..am planning a splurge of info on M-S in the morning, after me and Bianchi buddy and a new recruit 'do' our big climb tomorrow morning....
...M-S is really long - we need to be prepared....

Just hope it's not raining for M-S like it was last year...

Enjoy your climb tomorrow!

thanks! We Ride At Dawn. well actually about 10'ish but that doesn't sound as dramatic,

Pan I'm hoping for good weather tomorrow too. I'm off for a little spin with DP.

Had to delete everything I'd recorded as I literally don't have time to catch up!! So annoying

Felix excellent!. Tell me you'll be on your beautiful Bianchi? AND....on cleats? I've going to have to relax mine - they are waay too stiff to unclip easily.

Yes! I have shiny new bottle cages and Speedplay pedals to use today Had DP's old Look pedals on before but found them far too difficult to clip in and out so I'm hoping the Speedplays are better. I'm excited!!

Well, how did you both get on? If the weather where you are is anything like here you'll have had a beautiful spring day for it

DH went out with a friend for the first time this morning. He was a bit worried that his mate, who's been a cyclist for years, would be too fast for him but was pleasantly surprised to find he's fitter than he thought he was

DA - it was another sunny and breezy ride for the newly-formed Hadfield Velo Club! We had a DNS as other matey (new member) had family stuff today, so me and Bianchi matey had a good stretch of the legs in the hills.
Using *cleats and so permanently cranking gives hamstrings and glutes a good work out that strap pedals on the hybrid doesn't do. But do need to consult Dr Youtube in how to reduce the tension for getting in and out. The useless flappy mudguards have come off though (before they fell off).

*need another word for cleats - I go 'ewww' at the sound it makes, like it refers to some intimate physiological item or procedure.

Milan-San Remo

Tap it and it does it's thing!

300 kilometers - strewth! The longest single stage race on the calendar which means sitting in the saddle for over 6 hours! And I'm afraid some rain is forecasted for the region tomorrow. I'm reading that with the Via Roma finish this year, it shortens the route by 2 km which means any breakaway coming off the Poggio climb has a better chance of surviving.
Greipel, Sagan, Kristoff (winner last year) Fabien C are all in there, but when you look at the Etixx line up (Cav, Kwiatkowski, Sabatini and Renshaw included) then it may be worth a chain ring to put on The Missile?

Sounds like a good ride Pan. Alpaca well done to your DH!

Ride has been postponed until tomorrow as we were meant to drive up to PIL's early but didn't get off until the afternoon as I didn't feel well. Hopefully the weather will hold out for us tomorrow.

oh big shame thereFelix - good luck tomorrow.

just read on twitter @dwuori that MSR "is 293km/182miles, which means you probably couldn't win it even if you started now."

Just seen the closing kms of Cav's win in 2009. The descent off Poggio is really tricky with numerous switch backs at high speed. He was saying to have a chance you have to be at/near the front at the top of Poggio as there are very few passing opportunities and a consistent speed on the way down as the peloton is stretched out, and obv the front can pick their own lines.

Just watched the last hour. That descent looked very scary indeed. Will say nothing more in case people not seen it yet.

This BBC article was interesting (for me, who didn't know much about the classics having only been able to watch them this year)

www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/cycling/31958848

Really usefulEndo! Saves loads of links in the coming weeks!
It is utterly amazing isn't it? 182 miles later and they still sprint. Big up Degenkolb and real shame Kristoff had to go for it sooo far out. And still only know the bearded lead out guy from Katusa as the texter-whilst-riding!

fwiw I was re-tweeted by CyclingNews today...infamy at last!

Was still ill until this morning but felt better this afternoon. DP took me out to this weird blocked off road near his parents house. It's basically a 2 mile long service road which leads to a small sub station but it's really wide and freshly tarmaced. New pedals aren't as stiff to clip in and out of but very difficult to position right. I really struggled and ended up taking a tumble and cried like a baby out of frustration knackered my hand and grazed my knee but weirdly my horrifically expensive Rapha bib tights came out unscathed! I want normal pedals again

oh dear! Sounds v trying. But excellent on the tights!
I'm not sure what you mean by getting the position right - you mean how far forward the clip in the shoe goes? Tricky....but once you get it right it's worth the scrapes and tears and everything else.
On Saturday I practiced my no-hands riding, you know, for when I next take a stage win and have to raise my arms in victory? Have managed about half a second so far.

Big G had a great day, didn't he? He's started the season so well. And Adam Yates has come out of the blocks really well too - its all been a giddy start to the season.

Stick with it Felix - power of three. You have had one fall, two to go and you are away. Honestly, it makes life so much easier once you crack it. I went for a gentle spin with DD1 on Sunday and was clipped in. It was only when we got back that I realised I had paid no attention to the clips at all - I was too busy marshaling her - and finally they are second nature. Last year I would never have cycled with the kids whilst clipped in.

Do you mean you are finding it hard to align your foot to the pedal to achieve the nice click? I found that it is more of a forward sliding motion rather than a downward press. So you slide/scoop your toe over the pedal until it catches, then press down to click in. Took me a while to get that bit!

Am nipping to the Evans store at the Manchester velo/national cycling centre at lunch time ( I can do this as I work a few pedal strokes away) to get some Shimano M520 pedals ( same as on Spesh) for the Boardman hybrid for commuting. ShutUpLegs is right - do stick with it? and mither as many people as possible about it. I've a couple of climbs into work from the Peaks, and permanent cranking will be fab.