so i'm trying to watch the tour this year, but it's tough to follow since i don't really know shit about road racing.
cx -- pedal hard
track -- pedal hard
xc mtb -- pedal hard
dh mtb -- don't crash lol
bmx -- pedal hard
crits -- ???
le tour -- ?????????
what are sprint points?
do riders on the winning team get like bonuses or something if their GC dude pulls off the win?
what incentive is there for someone who is not a real contender to win a stage, besides prestige?
― gbx, Monday, 14 July 2008 14:57 (sixteen years ago)
how come ladies can't race in the tour? surely the physiological differences between men and women aren't as important in a long-distance race?
what about the sprinters? are any of them, say, track specialists that just happen to be handy for grabbing sprint points for a team?
― gbx, Monday, 14 July 2008 15:01 (sixteen years ago)
how much does a professional cyclist get paid? not like a "serious" contender, but like a domestique on a mid-level team?
― gbx, Monday, 14 July 2008 15:03 (sixteen years ago)
did ricco get a signal to attack yesterday, or did he just say 'fuck it' and go for it?
― gbx, Monday, 14 July 2008 15:05 (sixteen years ago)
road racing = try not to pedal hard as much as possible. conserve, stay out of the wind. relax. after you've read the race and determined where to make a move, rip your stem off and pedal as hard as you've ever done in your life.
crits = pedal hard, stay at the front, especially in the corners. you don't want to waste energy trying to jump back to the front, and you don't want to crash. keep pedaling hard, make sure you're in the top 5 coming into the last couple of laps. try to solo away if you're not a big sprinter in the last lap.
sprint points are a different way of getting good results in the race. you may not be winning overall but you will win the green jersey for points and some kudos.
ladies don't race in the tour because of logistics i think. it would be just too much to organize? ladies will never race alongside men, because yes, the physiological differences are huge.
many sprinters in RRs come from the track. sprinters are the big guys. except cavendish, who does come from the track, but is a tiny little man. fast twitch muscles as opposed to slow twitch of climbers and TT'ers, sprinters can rapid fire huge amounts of power fore a short period of time, rocketing themselves to victory in a flat stage.
unless yr lance and getting paid to do all sorts of appearances and commercials, pro cyclists don't get paid much at all. they don't have to spend any money doing what they love, if that is any consolation. free bikes, free travel, free everything.
many attacks are solely based on instinct--reading the race and going when others look tired and don't expect you to go.
― cutty, Monday, 14 July 2008 15:34 (sixteen years ago)
Domestiques for a major team earn about $40k a year.. It's not a lot Even those with special roles like leading out sprinters don't get much more. the bigger money seems to come from co-owning a team, being a contender or endorsements.
Incentives to win a stage, well prestige is one, teams have win bonuses for riders because it get the sponsor's name on the podium. Plus winning a stage gets you noticed and might get you paid more.
― Ed, Tuesday, 15 July 2008 10:02 (sixteen years ago)