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Project 2100 - 2nd edition!
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| Selwink |
Posted on 29-01-2014 16:01
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Grand Tour Champion
Posts: 8856
Joined: 17-05-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Photobucket has always worked for me
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| Jesleyh |
Posted on 29-01-2014 16:02
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 15274
Joined: 21-07-2012
PCM$: 200.00
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Photobucket is okay to me.
Just remember to disable direct linking to the picture(which is with the URL code as well). You can do that in options I believe.
There is a limit per month, but with 1 story, that shouldn't be a problem.
Feyenoord(football) and Kelderman fanboy
PCMdaily Awards: 12x nomination, 9x runner-up, 0x win.
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 02-02-2014 14:34
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3936
Joined: 31-07-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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2024
The end of an era
2024 started with saddening news. The man considered by many to be perhaps the greatest sprinter of all time, Marcel Kittel announced his retirement. This was to be the last season in a fantastic career, but he ended it on a high note. He leaves the sport of cycling with an impressive tally; 49 Giro-stages, 6 Giro-point jerseys, 8 GP Quest-Plouay, 7 Vattenfalls, 3 World Championships, 4 Paris-Tours and a countless number of other wins.
Sep Vanmarcke also decided to hang up his wheels this year. As with Kittel, he leaves a number of records in the cobbled classics, but he will perhaps be remember most for his impressive 8 wins in Ronde van Vlaanderen, a record which might never be beaten.
But as old legends leave, new ones appear. The young italian Daniele Bellini took one of the biggest wins in his career in the Tour Down Under. Perhaps a surprise to some, but it wasn't the only one. Relatively unknown names such as Dunn, Lutsenko, Macjen and Kapper brought home the bacon in the early spring races, showing that a new list of names was starting to break the mold.
Perhaps the biggest surprise of the year came in the Giro. France, a nation starved of major wins, was finally able to come first on the podium in a Grand Tour. Thibaut Pinot, who for most of his career has been carrying the hopes of an entire nation on his shoulders, finally succeed! Perhaps too little, too late, some might argue, but the fact of the matter is that France has taken the first GT-win in 29 years!
Mickal Kwiatkowski had shown great form earlier in the season and many were wondering wether or not he could take Betancur down in the Tour. Betancur on the other hand was looking for his 6th TdF, being just one win short of taking on of the most prestigious records in the world for himself. This was not to be, as Kwiatkowski was leading the race with two minutes on the Colombian early on, a lead he never let slip. Betancur needed a decent lead on Kwiatkowski before the last time trial, but the Pole countered every attack, not giving away more than two seconds of his lead before the final TT, a stage in which Betancur lost even more time.
Having dominated the Tour, but struggling a bit the last two seasons, many are wondering Betancurs GT-winning days are over? However, he did take several wins in the week long races, so perhaps there is still some powder left in the cannon?
With Betancur coming up short in Franc,e this looked to be the first season in many years where Colombia didn't win a GT, but along came Quintana. Nairo Quintana descimated the field and won with over 9 minutes down to number 2, who was a big surprise, Even Mork of Norway. The Vuelta top 10 gave us several new names from un-herald nations such as Cuba and Chile. Perhaps a sign of a shift in cycling?
Peter Sagan has been a familiar face at the top of the podium for several years now, but coming up to the end of the season he hadn't produced a single major WT-win, looking away from his two point jerseys. Coming up short in the WC, where he was beaten by Caleb Ewan, he finlly pulled out all the stops and took Giro di Lombardia. Was this season a fluke, or are we seeing the end of Sagan?
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| baseballlover312 |
Posted on 02-02-2014 14:36
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 16429
Joined: 27-07-2011
PCM$: 10438.70
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How old are Quintana and Pinot by now?
RIP Exxon Duke, David Veilleux, Double Feature, and Monster Energy |
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| Ad Bot |
Posted on 23-11-2024 01:09
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Bot Agent
Posts: Countless
Joined: 23.11.09
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 02-02-2014 14:40
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Kwiatkoksi certainly getting better with age  |
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 02-02-2014 14:41
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3936
Joined: 31-07-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Nairo Quintana: 34
Carlos Betancur: 35
Thibaut Pinot: 34
Fun fact; thanks to Quintana, Colombia has won atleast one GT every year for the last nine (9!!) years.
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| TheManxMissile |
Posted on 02-02-2014 14:42
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 18187
Joined: 12-05-2012
PCM$: 0.00
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Another sprinter world champion  And still a shockingly small number of new names, but it's getting there now
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| 547984 |
Posted on 02-02-2014 16:22
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Grand Tour Specialist
Posts: 5008
Joined: 29-01-2013
PCM$: 200.00
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Lutsenko became a cobble rider!
baseballlover312, 06-03-14 : "Nuke Moscow...Don't worry Russia, we've got plenty of love to go around your cities"
Sarah Palin, 08-03-14 (CPAC, on Russian aggression) : "The only thing that stops a bad guy with a nuke is a good guy with a nuke"
Big thanks to jdog for making this AMAZING userbar! |
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| Dippofix |
Posted on 02-02-2014 16:44
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3904
Joined: 29-01-2013
PCM$: 300.00
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Ah, the next Sean Kelly has his first big result!
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| filmmaker14 |
Posted on 03-02-2014 13:12
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Stagiare
Posts: 236
Joined: 29-03-2008
PCM$: 200.00
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Vanmarcke needs a lot better competition in this database.
Winning de Ronde van Vlaanderen 8 times is just silly. |
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 03-02-2014 13:49
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Time for the new blood to take over properly |
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 04-02-2014 21:48
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3936
Joined: 31-07-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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2025
A duel in the mountains
An American duo left us this year. Several time WC ITT-winner Taylor Phinney and Tejay van Garderen both announced this would be their last year in the ring. Phinney can look back at several great results, most notably his many WC ITT-titles. van Garderen on the other hand might not feel a bit dissapointed that he doesn't leave behind him a bigger name, and many might feel the same.
However, determined to go out in a blaze of glory, the American way, Phinney ended his career with taking a highly surprising win in RVV and P-R, aswell as pulling out all the stops to take yet another WC ITT-win! A fitting way for him to leave.
Patrick Konrad has gotten several good results in the GTs, among them his 2nd place in last years Giro. Well, he was back and hoping to improve yet again. And so he did! Not only did he take his first ever GT-win by winning the Giro, he took a 2nd one while he was at it! Winning the Vuelta is a great acchievement, however some might argue that the competition wasn't the strongest.
Konrad wasn't the only one to have his big break late on, Simon Yates came out of nowhere and won, not only the World Championship, but also a 3rd place in the Giro. All in all, this was a great year for the English-speaking riders, especially in the World Championships with the podium in the Time Trial being occupied by the US, Australia and Great Britain!
This review might seem to lean heavily towards the Grand Tours, but this is certainly a time to do so, especially one. For the last years the Tour de France has mainly been a batlle between two riders Carlos Betancur and Mickal Kwiatkowski. Having 8 TdFs between them, both came to Frnce looking for glory; Betancur aiming at a record breaking 6 wins, whilst one more for the Pole would make him the only rider alongside Froome to have four.
For the first two and a half weeks everything seemed to go Colombias way, yet again. Having held the yellow jersey for most last week, the five-time winner looked very strong. On the 17th stage, Betancur was leading with almost 5 minutes on Kwiatkowski in 2nd place and his win seemed certain. Only an accident could prevent it. But as history has shown, if something can go wrong, it will! On the 18th day the front of the peloton was riding hard over the climbs which preceded a flat ending into Pau.
At the foot of the last climb, Betancur found himself far back in the field. When the tempo went up, he was blocked and was miles away when Kwiatkowski went on an attack! The final stretch to Pau was marked by riders everywhere, some with only seconds seperating them. Mickal Kwiatkowski crossed the line in 7th place, whlist poor Betancur, wearing the yellow jersey, finished 9'45'' behind. Having chased the Tour-record for so many years, it was as good as in the bag, but now he sees what might have been his last Tour at a competitive level.
So close, yet so far away.
Edited by cactus-jack on 06-02-2014 08:33
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 04-02-2014 21:55
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Too bad for Betancur in the Tour there. But that's cycling. What if, what if, what if.
Phinney can be glad of his career indeed. Van Garderen... not so much  |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 05-02-2014 12:31
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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The 2025 season stats are not visible  |
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 05-02-2014 12:45
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3936
Joined: 31-07-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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Try loading the page again, sometimes it dissapears for me too.
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| 24sebaf1 |
Posted on 06-02-2014 02:44
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Under 23
Posts: 88
Joined: 22-01-2014
PCM$: 200.00
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"whilst one more for the Pole would make the only rider to have four." If i'm not counting wrong Chris Froome also have 4 Tours |
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| sutty68 |
Posted on 06-02-2014 03:03
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 34654
Joined: 22-08-2010
PCM$: 200.00
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Can see it again now  and Simon Yates the World road race Champion |
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 06-02-2014 08:32
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3936
Joined: 31-07-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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24sebaf1 wrote:
"whilst one more for the Pole would make the only rider to have four." If i'm not counting wrong Chris Froome also have 4 Tours
Ah yes, I forgot!
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| cactus-jack |
Posted on 06-02-2014 16:10
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Classics Specialist
Posts: 3936
Joined: 31-07-2009
PCM$: 200.00
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2026
Thunder from Down Under
Seen as one of the biggest talents in cycling a few years back, Caleb Ewan hasn't really emerged as the bright star many thought he would be... untill now. Having had a few big results during the last couple of years, among them his 2025 WC-title, many felt he needed to perform over time to live up to his potential. And you might say he did just that this year. He started of by winning Milan-Sanremo and the point jersey in the Giro (plus 7 stages) before ending the year with wins in the Eneco Tour, Vattenfall and his 2nd World Championship title.
The spring also brought with it another rider who solidified his legacy even further. Peter Sagan has won nearly everything a rider of his type can win, and then some. The Ronde van Vlaanderen hasn't really been a competition at all before Vanmarcke called it a day, but after his retirement a few other have taken the race home. Sagan did just that for the first time, meaning that he now has won 4 out of the 5 Monuments, only missing Paris-Roubaix. He came painfully close to finishing the job, crossing the line in 2nd place, only 22'' behind the winner Mads Würth Schmidt, the 2nd Dane to win the cobbled hell.
Colombia was back on form with Quintana taking his 5th Giro-title, before Rodriguez and Castilla gave Spain the Tour-Vuelta-Double. It should be mentioned that Kwiatkowski, last years winner, was leading the race, but crashed out during the 11th stage. Betancurs demise, as some predicted, may have come into fruition. Finishing in 9th place is a dismall performance for someone the likes of him and his shot at a 6th title must all be over now. The same might be said for Kwiatkowski who would surprise many if he was ever to win his 5th Tour.
Honorabel mentions goes out to Raphael Zedlacher and former Tour Youth-competition-winner Yeray Ballesteros who came out of nowhere to finish on the podium in both the Tour and Vuelta.
There's a fine line between "psychotherapist" and "psycho the rapist"
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| Ian Butler |
Posted on 06-02-2014 16:13
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Tour de France Champion
Posts: 21854
Joined: 01-05-2012
PCM$: 400.00
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Don't you mean Mini Grand Slam with LBL instead of GW?
A nice season, it seems. Ewan finally coming out to prove his talent |
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![imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg](https://imgur.com/KlJUqDx.jpg[/img[img]]https://imgur.com/yUygrQ.jpg)
