GB is top

[mick the click]

I always miss the good bits...never mind...it's bound to be on 'You've Been Framed' for the next thousand years...

[Neil Young]

[Neil Young]

Men riding bikes. Two are ahead of the others. Cars behind them with bikes on top. People at the side of the road. All the riders are pedalling. Shot from the helicopter. They look like cows from up here...only, cows on bikes.

[Mumsafan]

I only like the cycling in the velodrome. Much more exciting.

[Neil Young]

Men riding bikes. Two are ahead of the others. Cars behind them with bikes on top. People at the side of the road. All the riders are pedalling. Shot from the helicopter. They look like cows from up here...only, cows on bikes.

No-one recognise the Partridgism?

[Neil Young]

I only like the cycling in the velodrome. Much more exciting.

It is. And it's not but I know what you mean.

[Neil Young]

CAVENDISH STORMS TO FOURTH SEASON WIN

Tuesday 22nd May 2007 - By Alasdair Fotheringham in Perafort
Tour of Catalonia 2007
Cycling Weekly link

A day after he turned 22, British fastman Mark Cavendish blasted to yet another convincing victory - on this occasion in stage two's tricky uphill sprint finish at Perafort in the Tour of Catalonia.

In a year in which the T-Mobile pro is going from strength to strength, this was Cavendish's fourth professional win and first in the ProTour category.

Arguably it was his most difficult to date, too: the final kilometre into the tiny village of Perafort contained a number of wide downhill hairpin bends which lined out the bunch.

“it was tricky but I moved into the right place, about fifth from the front, and then it was a question of hanging on and hanging on 'cos we started climbing again for the last 500 metres.” Cavendish told CW's website.

“I knew it was a tough uphill so I didn't want to go too early, and finally I jumped 50 metres from the line.”

Second behind the Briton was Australian Aaron Kemps - whom Cavendish slated for “trying to switch me when he knows I'm faster than him and I'm going to get past him.” - and third Colombian Leonardo Duque.

At the finish, Cavendish was given his winner's trophy by Tour de France boss Christian Prudhomme, present as a guest on the race. The Briton is now also the leader of the points competition. Overall Spaniard Imanol Erviti leads.

Cavendish also made afterwards a point of thanking his British U-23 coach Rod Ellingworth for “teaching me how to get results through hard work and sacrifice.”

Whilst tomorrow's stage from Perafort to Tarrega may be too hilly for Cavendish and on Thursday the race hits the Pyrenees, he already has his eye on Saturday's stage to Lloret de Mar. “That's the other one I think I can win, even though I came here to get more experience about climbing.”

Asked yet again about the Tour, Cavendish responded that he thought he was “still too young. It's a pity, especially with it starting in London this year, but it'll have to wait for now.”

To put it into context, with over half the season left Cavendish is on course to beat the record of 8 victories (although I thought it was 10 but no matter) in a first season as a professional. The record is held by McEwen, three times green jersey winner in the Tour of France.

In other words, this lad could be a star.

[dww]

To put it into context, with over half the season left Cavendish is on course to beat the record of 8 victories (although I thought it was 10 but no matter) in a first season as a professional. The record is held by McEwen, three times green jersey winner in the Tour of France.

In other words, this lad could be a star.

Pardon my ignorance but what is the difference between the points competition and the overall one?

[Guest]

I'm not interested in mountain biking.

I got into road cycling through watching the TdF highlights on Channel 4. Then, after seeing a stage in France from the side of the road, I started watching whole stages, or at least the last hour or so of stages on Eurosport and it was completely different. You start to appreciate the tactics and other complexities of the sport.

The Grand Tours in particular get a rhythm to them and you can feel riders' fortunes ebb and flow throughout the race. When something potentially decisive happens it's really exciting.

Similarly I find track racing a lot more interesting since going to a meet a few years ago. Having said that, although the athleticism is impressive, it doesn't have the same complexity as road racing.

I absolutely love cycling (though I don't practice it much), and particularly the Tour de France, which is a fantastic event, one of the best sporting event there is. Yes, it has been tarnished by doping events along the years, but which sport hasn't ?

[dww]

I absolutely love cycling (though I don't practice it much), and particularly the Tour de France, which is a fantastic event, one of the best sporting event there is. Yes, it has been tarnished by doping events along the years, but which sport hasn't ?

Darts?

[Guest]

Darts?

[Neil Young]

Pardon my ignorance but what is the difference between the points competition and the overall one?

The overall ("General Classification" or "G.C.") is easier to explain - the winner is the rider who covers the course in the shortest total time.

The Points Competition works as follows: points are awarded for the placing of the first twenty or so riders in each stage - 25 for the winner, 22 for second, 20 for third, etc (it varies from race to race and from year to year and I think can vary from one day to another depending on the course, but the principle remains the same). There are also points awarded for "intermediate sprints" set at designated places on a day's stage; there are usually two or three of these on each day (excluding time trials) with, typically, 6, 4 and 2 points awarded for the top 3. The winner is the one who collects most points. The idea is to enliven the racing on flat courses and add interest and it rewards the most consistent finisher. The sprinters aren't in contention for the G.C. because they're usually too big to climb the mountains well and lack the stamina in their muscles to race fast over time trials so they lose large amounts of time on stages like these. In the past contenders for the overall often did well in the points competition (Eddy Merckx won both PLUS the King of the Mountains competition in the 1969 Tour de France) but sprinting is dangerous so the top riders tend to stay clear of bunch sprints in case of accident*. The sprinters therefore carve up most of the points in most of the stages so the points jersey is usually won by a sprinter. However, since you only win a jersey if you finish the race, the winner has to get over the mountains inside the time limits which is something some great sprinters never manage.

The King of the Mountains by the way is awarded on a points basis as well, with points awarded to the first three over designated climbs and more points are on offer for the harder climbs.

There are other competitions within stage races as well (young rider, team award, daily "combativity" prizes for the most aggressive rider of the day and one or two others that vary from race to race) but those are the big three.

The other thing about stage races to note is that they are really a series of one-day races - winning a stage of any race is an achievement and it's a huge thing to win a stage of one the three Grand Tours - so again it's not all about the G.C. as it can appear from the outside.


* This happened yesterday in the Giro - about twenty riders fell at the line and the overall leader (although not really a contender for the overall as he'll drop time in the mountains and time trials) slid over the line on his backside.

[Helios Creed]

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[Helios Creed]

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[Neil Young]

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A really good stage in the Giro today.