Tom Pidcock's move!!
It seem a strange choice for Tom Pidcock to leave the Ineos Racing team, where he still has 3 yrs of this current contract to run, to join the Italian C36.5 team, a relative new cycle team, and one that is a Pro team, in effect one in the second level of cycle racing competitions. It will be interesting to see where and when he competes, as he is an extremely versatile rider. Hope that he reaches the success he seeks.
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There were rumours earlier in the year that he wasn't best happy, especially when he appeared to have some difference of opinion when he went off to cycle cross championships.
Just on another front, albeit cycling. I note that Tadej Pogacar's exploits this year hasn't even qualified him to be included on the ever decreasingly important SPOTY list for best foreign sportsperson award. This probably due to the lack of air time that the BBC now have for a lot of sports that it used to cover, such as cricket, rugby union, golf to name but a few. I do wonder if Tom would have made it onto one of their lists if he had won TdF?
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cannot believe TPog hasn’t been included on overseas list, that is outrageous considering what he has won this year, and indeed how he has won his races. We have watched almost all the big races this year, the Tours, the Classics, he has almost swept the board every time he has turned up.
Doesn’t surprise me Pidcock is leaving Ineos. He hasn’t looked happy all year to be honest, and the whole team has seemed to lack direction at times. You never know if he is up for GC or as a Stage contender in the Tours most of the time. His Amstel Gold win was very good, and of course he won another Olympic Gold in the Cyclocross. There are a few strange looking moves going on at the moment. Not sure if it’s Ineos or his personal team that have prompted the move. He’s about to commence his Winter Cyclocross season this month, along with Wout van Aert, and Matthew van der Poul.
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It will certainly be interesting how well be does against such strong opposition on the Winter Circuit. He definitely seems to be his own man, and perhaps felt constrained by being with Ineos. Only time will tell if It is the right move for him.
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I think they will build a team around him, and see what he can do. Q36.5 are a very interesting team, sort of under the direct umbrella of the UCI, and there to give up coming riders from places like Africa a big boost. The do take part on in lots of the big races, and are often a wild card team on the big tours. In an earlier incarnation they were Team Quebeka, and had some big riders, including Mark Cavendish, Mark Renshaw, etc….. I think the SD might be from that era before they lost sponsorship and had to fold.
Everyone thought Primoz Roglic was daft to leave Jumbo Visma last year, but it paid off for him joining Red Bull Bora, as he won the Vuelta. I don’t think the Ineos team was built around TP to be honest, been a poor year all round for them to be honest. Too many big names underperforming, no real strategy at times. Gee did well in Giro, TP won Amstel Gold and that was about it really.Another big rider making a move is Juliann Alaphilippe, he is leaving Soudal Quickstep after 11 years with them, and going to a newish Pro team set up by Fabianne Cancellara, Tudor. Another interesting move.
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That is interesting about JA. Perhaps these Pro teams that are taking on well known rider hope for wild card invitations to the big tour events, where being considered to be the underdog they attract special attention, which will please their sponsers.
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@nelliethehooker yes, very interesting. JA was badly injured for start of last year, and yet came in for a lot of very acrimonious criticism from the SQ Team Manager, so it’s not surprising he has decided to move on. He still performed very well for them once he was fit, and was a superb foil for Remco Evenepoel the pair of them combining well to liven up a lot of races. Tudor look like they are going to be a good team, so hopefully it will be a good move for him. We have watched most of the big races this year, and seen how well they have done. Some of the mid range teams have done really well, mind Jumbo Visma were all but wiped out for most of the year after the horrific crashes in one of the Classics and the Tour of the Basque. Do you know Remco Evenepoel was badly injured last week on a training ride? Someone opened a car door as he was passing…..wham! I think they operated on him a couple of days ago. They really must be the toughest athletes going. 🫣
Happier days at the start of the Tof Britain in Sheffield. Although neither of them won the whole race, he and Alaphilippe were brilliant throughout the race this year. His gold cycle is stunning🤩
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Yes I did see that report on Remco. Hopefully he will recover in good time for him to participate during the main road racing season. I see that Eddy Merckx has suffered a fractured hip in a call from his bike when it skidded away from him, with no other vehicle involved. He is to undergo an operation at the same hospital where Remco had his surgery last week!!
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My mistake🫣 Mark Cavendish was with Dimension Data, not Quebeka.
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Rather than start a new thread about cycle related topic I thought I might piggy back on this one.
I noticed that Sheffield has become only the second city (I think Cambridge was first) to introduce a Dutch style Cycle roundabout which is going to cause all sorts of consternation and initial problems. For those unfamiliar with them they are effectively a sign to the motorist that any cyclist approaching the road, usually on a designated cycle path, has right of way automatically and it is mandatory that the motorist must give way. These roundabouts may well have markings like a pedestrian crossing on them but in the Netherlands we often found that there were no actual markings but an early warning sign and have actually had to stop at one when 3 youngsters, school age, just rode across our path without blinking or acknowledging we were there.
So Sheffielders beware.
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@Wherenext I just wonder how soon it will be before a cyclist is seriously injured there, either by being knocked off accidentally or by a driver with road rage giving chase and then deliberately crashing into them.
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@nelliethehooker There was an increase in collisions in Cambridge when it was introduced and that's a city which should be used to seeing a lot of cycles on the road. There will invariably be an increase in Sheffield, for whatever reason. There are too many non cyclist petrol heads in this country who think cyclists don't belong on public roads and until we build the specialised infrastructure found in the Netherlands we will always have an anti cyclist brigade. It was probably easier for the Dutch to embrace how vulnerable cyclists are as action was only taken when death and injury levels rose to unacceptable levels 50 or so years ago and Parliament was forced to act to protect the population. It helps that there are more bikes in the Netherlands than people but nevertheless their will to build the infrastructure and educate drivers should be a lesson to other countries, but it won't be in the UK.
Well done though to Sheffield for trying.
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I will admit not to have ever been a massive cyclist but we have cycled in Holland. Strangely I found it quite intimidating, not by motorists but by the Dutch cyclists! It is a totally different attitude over there compared to the UK and I would suggest other European countries. I suppose in time you would get used to it? As far as cycling in the UK is concerned in major cities I think I would prefer to use public transport?
David
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This is a video link about the roundabout, and there are others. It’s quite a busy place, but seems well signed, and anyone who drives in Sheffield centre has to literally cope with anything coming at them to be honest, the Trams and the Tram Train both operate in the busiest areas, with all the rails for these, plus the bus gates, there are lots of cycle paths around the City Centre as well that are very well used. It would take a very stupid driver to consider driving at any great speed amongst all these hazards, so it’s more likely to be a rear end shunt between two cars that might occur. The official opening included ED Clancy, and a good number of grateful cyclists. There are plans for something similar at the Ickles Roundabout in Rotherham which is a link route to Meadowhell and on into Sheffield City Centre, an alternative to the scenic but often closed cycle route that goes along the Don Navigation into Sheffield Quayside. Cycling is huge in our area, despite/because it is very hilly. OH had six months temporary promotion based at the big Fire Station in Sheffield towards the end of his career, and the car traffic was so bad he commuted on his bike………30 minutes of mainly traffic free cycling v 2 hours of driving to travel all of seven miles😱 It once took him 45 minutes to do half a mile😱
It’s early days for this roundabout, and I’m sure there will be some incidents, anything new confuses people, and when the Trams first came along in the mid 1990’s, some drivers didn’t respect the hazards enough, and there were accidents. Hopefully, there won’t be too many. But awareness does need raising. Sheffield is best visited by alternative transport and it is blessed by some good options. My BIL oversaw the Tram Train project, and we use this every time we go into City Centre. Free for us now, once we get a bus pass🤩
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