Whats your greatest cycle race finish

isonomicjedi · 3 Apr 2013 at 16:11

Just watched a cracking finish in stage 3 of Tour of Basque Country with Sergio Henao (Team Sky) throwing his bike at the line to beat AG2R's Betancour.

What is your favourite finish.

Anyone remember the stage in Vuelta when Chris Froome and either Contador or Rodriguez swapped places 3 or 4 times in last 200 metres?

What year was that.

One More Solo · 3 Apr 2013 at 16:58

isonomicjedi said:
Just watched a cracking finish in stage 3 of Tour of Basque Country with Sergio Henao (Team Sky) throwing his bike at the line to beat AG2R's Betancour.

What is your favourite finish.

Anyone remember the stage in Vuelta when Chris Froome and either Contador or Rodriguez swapped places 3 or 4 times in last 200 metres?

What year was that.

That was the 2011 Vuelta I believe, cracking race which Froome would have won had he been the team leader from the outset.

I'll have to have a think about my favourites, there's a few.

[DOD]Asprilla · 3 Apr 2013 at 17:08

Mark Cavendish rinsing Thor Hushovd on the Champs Elyesse in 2010.

isonomicjedi · 3 Apr 2013 at 17:19

Just remembered another memorable finish when Djamolidine Abdu-Push'EmOff crashed at on Champs Elysse

Big Chris · 3 Apr 2013 at 18:06

[DOD]Asprilla;24054547 said:
Mark Cavendish rinsing Thor Hushovd on the Champs Elyesse in 2010.

Not sure if it's this one I'm thinking of, but it's the last few hundred metres of a sprint in the TDF and the camera is on a rider in the bottom of the shot, the commentator says, "I'm not sure where Cavendish is at this point," then Cav goes along the top crouched over his bars at about 500mph and smokes the rest of the sprinters to the line

EDIT

Yeah this is it, brilliant:

from about 50s in

6thElement · 3 Apr 2013 at 19:58

Would be interested to know how fast he was going there :eek:

One More Solo · 3 Apr 2013 at 20:38

[DOD]Asprilla;24054547 said:
Mark Cavendish rinsing Thor Hushovd on the Champs Elyesse in 2010.

Good shout, that was an incredible turn of speed.

Sagan's win at Ghent-Wevelgem the other day was similarly awesome, sitting in the breakaway and doesn't even get out of the saddle, just turns his legs that little bit quicker and makes the rest of the chasers go backwards.

semi-pro waster · 3 Apr 2013 at 22:40

Cavendish in the 2012 TdF stage 18 when he launches past the rest like they're not really in the same race, the way he comes up through the field he looks like he's playing peek-a-boo for a bit then just says "stuff it" and pulls out before decimating them all heading to the line, you can even see the bike skip once or twice because of the power he's putting down.

Maybe not the type of race you're thinking of but Sir Chris Hoy winning the Keirin Gold in the 2012 Olympics was nothing short of astonishing. He took it on with two laps to go and won it, I don't think I've ever seen that done in the Keirin. Max Levy was even nudging in front at the start of the final lap and yet finished somewhere at the edge of Hoy's back wheel - it was amazing to watch someone go at pretty near full tilt for a whole lap and then find a whole new level for the second lap with the rest of the field also flat out and yet still win convincingly. From about 10 minutes in for anyone who wants to skip to the good bit - I've watched it a good half dozen times since the Games and it's still a stunning win.

Supercow · 4 Apr 2013 at 08:24

Danny Hart throwing a massive whip for show, after coming down the steepest, gnarliest track, in the pouring rain and mud, after demolishing the world's fastes racers by a mind bending amount of time.

Sorry boys, he wasn't wearing lycra

[DOD]Asprilla · 4 Apr 2013 at 08:44

I've seen that Danny Hart run a few times and the bike control is just epic.

Berger · 4 Apr 2013 at 09:42

I think it was the tour of Qatar last year, there was a breakaway of a few riders, and they slowly drop off and get caught by the peloton. One guy stays ahead and the peloton doesn't realise he is away, the guy drops his bike on the side and the chain comes off a few km from the finish. Scrambles back on and goes on to win. I'm sure someone else will know what I'm talking about!

marl · 4 Apr 2013 at 21:02

The 1989 Tour de France was the 76th Tour de France, a race of 21 stages and a prologue, over 3285.3 km in total.[1] In the closest tour in history, 1986 Tour champion Greg LeMond was trailing two-time champion Laurent Fignon by fifty seconds at the start of the final stage, a time trial into Paris. LeMond rode for an average speed of 54.55 km/h (34.093 mph), the second fastest time trial ever ridden in the Tour de France, and won the stage. Fignon's time in the stage was fifty-eight seconds slower than LeMond's, costing him the victory and giving LeMond his second Tour title. LeMond and Fignon were the only two men who led the Tour beginning with the fifth stage, and the two men were never separated by more than 53 seconds throughout the race (the lead held by LeMond after the sixteenth stage; Fignon erased the deficit in the following stage by posting a time over a minute faster than LeMond did). The final margin of victory was only eight seconds. Defending Tour winner Pedro Delgado finished third to join LeMond and Fignon on the podium.

^^^^^
This is the most memorable for me!!!

Lartyconshayo · 4 Apr 2013 at 21:39

that bit in American Flyers where he picks up the bike and crosses the line IIRC

isonomicjedi · 5 Apr 2013 at 00:39

Berger said:
I think it was the tour of Qatar last year, there was a breakaway of a few riders, and they slowly drop off and get caught by the peloton. One guy stays ahead and the peloton doesn't realise he is away, the guy drops his bike on the side and the chain comes off a few km from the finish. Scrambles back on and goes on to win. I'm sure someone else will know what I'm talking about!

It was in Tour of Turkey last year. Rider was something like Iljo Keisse, crashed less than 1 km from line and Carlton Kirby was commentating for Eurosport with Brian Smith (I think) and they were going nuts.

booyaka · 5 Apr 2013 at 14:23

Supercow said:
Danny Hart throwing a massive whip for show, after coming down the steepest, gnarliest track, in the pouring rain and mud, after demolishing the world's fastes racers by a mind bending amount of time.

Sorry boys, he wasn't wearing lycra

never fed up watching that - and the commentary is always stupidly funny!

Supercow · 5 Apr 2013 at 14:44

booyaka said:
never fed up watching that - and the commentary is always stupidly funny!

I don't think it's fair to link Danny's finish, and not link Sam's Val di Sol run….which are really, very very similar runs, with two very different outcomes.

Sam demolishes the competition, just to drift out of control right before the end on what was one of the most incredible race runs ever seen.

(I blame the lycra)

Russinating · 5 Apr 2013 at 15:09

semi-pro waster said:
Cavendish in the 2012 TdF stage 18 when he launches past the rest like they're not really in the same race, the way he comes up through the field he looks like he's playing peek-a-boo for a bit then just says "stuff it" and pulls out before decimating them all heading to the line, you can even see the bike skip once or twice because of the power he's putting down.

Name and even team name has gone from my mind, but the rider in the orange jersey's reaction sums it up too: "Who is this guy and why do I bother?"

kiteloopy · 5 Apr 2013 at 16:07

different type of race...

isonomicjedi · 5 Apr 2013 at 16:57

Russinating said:
Name and even team name has gone from my mind, but the rider in the orange jersey's reaction sums it up too: "Who is this guy and why do I bother?"

The rider in orange is Samuel Sanchez who rode for Rabobank team team (Rabobank now only sponsor womens racing)

Incidentally Sanchez just finished 2nd in todays stage of Basque tour behind Sky Pro Cycling's Richie Porte.

Ride of the day (in terrible conditions) was poor 22 year-old Omar Fraile who was out on his own for last 40km-ish in worst of conditions but couldn't hang on to win.

semi-pro waster · 6 Apr 2013 at 12:19

Supercow said:
Danny Hart throwing a massive whip for show, after coming down the steepest, gnarliest track, in the pouring rain and mud, after demolishing the world's fastes racers by a mind bending amount of time.

Sorry boys, he wasn't wearing lycra

It's an astonishing performance, to take 10+ seconds out of a World class field is amazing and I enjoyed the whip but I find that performances against the clock just don't have the same visceral and emotional impact for me as watching athletes compete against each other on the same course. It's the same reason why I wouldn't put Wiggins' ride at the Olympics up there either - he obliterated the competition in the time trial as he had done in pretty much every time trial during the year but while technically excellent and it should be as "worthy" as any other win it just doesn't excite me in the same way.

I did feel a bit sorry for Sam Hill in the other video you posted though, he lost so much time with the wipeout and still was only just behind Peaty at the end.

Russinating said:
Name and even team name has gone from my mind, but the rider in the orange jersey's reaction sums it up too: "Who is this guy and why do I bother?"

I can imagine it's quite a common feeling when you're in a bunch sprint with Cavendish, his record is superb from that sort of situation. From what should be near enough a lottery he's managed to turn it into almost an expectation that he will win when he's in the right position.