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[T8SC]

Cycling |OT| - Watt? Shut Up Legs

OT for all forms of cycling. Road, mountain, gravel, cyclo-cross, time-trial, velodrome, urban, BMX etc.

This OT will also cover all the yearly UCI world tours such as the Giro d'Italia, Tour de France and Vuela a Espana alongside all other cycling events such as the MTB World Championships & the various indoor & outdoor Olympics events.

Everyone is welcome, whether you have a bike, you're considering getting one for health & fitness or just enjoy watching the races on TV.

2025 Event Dates

The Giro d'Italia started on 9 May in Durrës, Albania and finished on 1 June in Rome.
The 2025 Tour de France will start in Lille on 5 July, and will finish with the final stage at Champs-Élysées, Paris, on 27 July.
The 2025 Vuelta a España will take place in Italy, France and Spain between 23 August and 14 September 2025.
The 2025 UCI Mountain Bike World Championships will be held in the canton of Valais, Switzerland, from August 30 to September 14.

Socials, News & Reviews

Road.cc
Cycling News
Cycling Weekly
Global Cycling Network
CADE Media
British Cycling

 

[T8SC]

Reserved.

 

[Boralf]

Just posting here to join the conversation. Started last week again.

Wonder if Pogi will dominate the tour again, that would be boring.

 

[T8SC]

Just posting here to join the conversation. Started last week again.

Wonder if Pogi will dominate the tour again, that would be boring.

Welcome! Glad there's someone else on here that is into cycling.

Hopefully the TdF will be interesting this year. Pogacar remains favourite but Vindegaard is also up there as a contender. Be nice to see an outsider sneak in there too, like Evenepoel.

I'm in the market for a new bike too, so curious to see who's riding what, specs, tyres etc.

 

[jshackles]

My wife and I watch the Tour every year! She is massively into cycling IRL.

I have a bike and try to keep up, but I'm getting too old / fat to ride it.

 

[Boralf]

Welcome! Glad there's someone else on here that is into cycling.

Hopefully the TdF will be interesting this year. Pogacar remains favourite but Vindegaard is also up there as a contender. Be nice to see an outsider sneak in there too, like Evenepoel.

I'm in the market for a new bike too, so curious to see who's riding what, specs, tyres etc.

Evenepoel isn't good enough in the hills compared to Vingegaard and Pogacar to be a serious contender. He will only win time in the time trials, that's his specialty. We've seen this in Dauphine already recently.

Don't really know much about the hardware side of things. I got my bike from my parents years ago My dad knows much more about it. I only know that Ultegra and upwards is always good to aim for with everything revolving around shifting and gears. And depending on where you're biking you want to take in mind the choice for gears. I have an old Focus frame, aluminium and a bit of carbon. My gears are a bit scuffed and need to change my shifters. They're incompatible with my back derailleur. I had an accident a few years ago which broke my bike so some stuff was changed back then so now I have half Tiagra and half Ultegra stuff.

 

[T8SC]

My wife and I watch the Tour every year! She is massively into cycling IRL.

I have a bike and try to keep up, but I'm getting too old / fat to ride it.

Welcome! All the more reason to ride the bike, lose weight, get fitter & stare at your wifes ass as she takes the lead .... I find it's on par with swimming for fitness as you get older, running will just knacker your knees whereas cycling & swimming are impact-free. (Swimming is cheaper though).

Evenepoel isn't good enough in the hills compared to Vingegaard and Pogacar to be a serious contender. He will only win time in the time trials, that's his specialty. We've seen this in Dauphine already recently.

Don't really know much about the hardware side of things. I got my bike from my parents years ago My dad knows much more about it. I only know that Ultegra and upwards is always good to aim for with everything revolving around shifting and gears. And depending on where you're biking you want to take in mind the choice for gears. I have an old Focus frame, aluminium and a bit of carbon. My gears are a bit scuffed and need to change my shifters. They're incompatible with my back derailleur. I had an accident a few years ago which broke my bike so some stuff was changed back then so now I have half Tiagra and half Ultegra stuff.

Yeah true, I need to get up to speed with everything before it starts. I used to read and watch all sorts when it was the Team Sky era, to know as much as I could.

I'd argue that anything 105 and above is good enough for the regular rider. The main reason is that 105, Ultegra & Dura-Ace are pretty much totally interchangeable as they're the same speed/number of gears. Lower groupsets have less gears and don't have electronic versions though still have some stuff that can be mix & match. Focus make good bikes! I know a few folk who either have them or have had them in the past. They're hard to find in the UK though, very few places seem to stock them these days which I find a bit strange.

My current Summer bike is a Cannondale Supersix Evo with a Sram Red22 groupset (Which is the bike I'm looking to replace), also have a Winter bike that's just a POS heavy custom thing with 105 gears and my time trial bike is a Cannondale Slice with Dura-Ace di2.

Bikes cost so damn much these days, a top S-Works costs almost as much as a Honda Civic Type-R from 2005! Infact the Trek Madone SLR9 Interstellar costs £16,350 which is pretty much the same! Crazy prices.

 

[Boralf]

Welcome! All the more reason to ride the bike, lose weight, get fitter & stare at your wifes ass as she takes the lead .... I find it's on par with swimming for fitness as you get older, running will just knacker your knees whereas cycling & swimming are impact-free. (Swimming is cheaper though).




Yeah true, I need to get up to speed with everything before it starts. I used to read and watch all sorts when it was the Team Sky era, to know as much as I could.

I'd argue that anything 105 and above is good enough for the regular rider. The main reason is that 105, Ultegra & Dura-Ace are pretty much totally interchangeable as they're the same speed/number of gears. Lower groupsets have less gears and don't have electronic versions though still have some stuff that can be mix & match. Focus make good bikes! I know a few folk who either have them or have had them in the past. They're hard to find in the UK though, very few places seem to stock them these days which I find a bit strange.

My current Summer bike is a Cannondale Supersix Evo with a Sram Red22 groupset (Which is the bike I'm looking to replace), also have a Winter bike that's just a POS heavy custom thing with 105 gears and my time trial bike is a Cannondale Slice with Dura-Ace di2.

Bikes cost so damn much these days, a top S-Works costs almost as much as a Honda Civic Type-R from 2005! Infact the Trek Madone SLR9 Interstellar costs £16,350 which is pretty much the same! Crazy prices.

I would say Pogacar is the favorite with Vingegaard as a serious outsider based on previous years and the recent Dauphine. There's seemingly no one else that can keep up with those 2 in the hills. Unless I'm missing some newcomer.

Yeah see, I just don't know enough of the hardware Really have to read up on that sometime. I don't even know what electronic versions of groupsets are. As long as my bike works I'm fine with it I feel like most of the difference in speed comes from my legs anyway. I only know SRAM from the following video:



And Cannondale is very good too right? At least I remember they make quality stuff. They're located almost next door to me in Oldenzaal.

But you mention a time trial bike. Do you bike professionally or take part in races?

And I feel like biking has become more popular for a lot of different reasons, especially since the corona period. It was one of the only sports you could keep doing because it was outside and you can do it on your own. Also thriathlons and bikepacking have become more popular. And I feel like every sport that is also individualistic is also more popular (running, gym, biking), because it has no dependency on time or other persons. You can do it whenever you want or don't want. It doens't require you to be a member of a sports club or team.

 

[T8SC]

I would say Pogacar is the favorite with Vingegaard as a serious outsider based on previous years and the recent Dauphine. There's seemingly no one else that can keep up with those 2 in the hills. Unless I'm missing some newcomer.

Yeah see, I just don't know enough of the hardware Really have to read up on that sometime. I don't even know what electronic versions of groupsets are. As long as my bike works I'm fine with it I feel like most of the difference in speed comes from my legs anyway. I only know SRAM from the following video:



And Cannondale is very good too right? At least I remember they make quality stuff. They're located almost next door to me in Oldenzaal.

But you mention a time trial bike. Do you bike professionally or take part in races?

And I feel like biking has become more popular for a lot of different reasons, especially since the corona period. It was one of the only sports you could keep doing because it was outside and you can do it on your own. Also thriathlons and bikepacking have become more popular. And I feel like every sport that is also individualistic is also more popular (running, gym, biking), because it has no dependency on time or other persons. You can do it whenever you want or don't want. It doens't require you to be a member of a sports club or team.

That video takes me back! I got shown it a lot from all my Shimano friends.

I mean I agree that when its a one horse race it does get a bit boring (One of many reasons why I don't watch F1 anymore) but you have to admire the sheer skill, power & athleticism he has. Day after day being able to do that, at that level and it's not like any rider in the TdF is slow and then he's like another level above. A bit like Froome & Wiggins from years ago. I always admired Contador too. I know he had an accident but I thought Egan Bernal would be up there still.

I do race yes, but I'm not a pro, I just do a mixture of crit races, time-trials, endurance sportives, that kinda thing. Although I'm getting a bit old now, youngsters are catching me ... so obviously I need a new bike right? At my peak I was roughly around Cat 1-Cat 2 classification with my FTP output.

I've noticed a shift to gravel riding in recent years, it's really big now and something I'm tempted to take up heading into Winter, something new/different to mix it up. The problem cycling has is that it can be expensive and that can put people off. It doesn't have to be, you can get perfectly good bikes for £1000-2000 (though that's still a lot of money). But if you want to progress and the bug bites you, things really do ramp up ... from £150 jerseys & £300 helmets to £3000 groupsets & £12,000 bikes. But at the end of the day it's your legs that make it move and if you train well, eat well and just keep riding, you'll always get better. It can offer a lot of freedom and people who need that head space or just to get away from the world for a bit, it's ideal.

You mention triathletes, I class them as freaks! I've tried it but i'll never be good enough at running or swimming. I always say if you can do one of those 3 sports well, then well done that's a good achievement. If you can do all 3 well, then you're a freak and im jealous.

 

[Icymanipulator]

I do a fair amount of trail riding in the spring and summer. I have a decent mountain bike. Nice to see there's some fellow bikers on GAF.

 

[T8SC]

I do a fair amount of trail riding in the spring and summer. I have a decent mountain bike. Nice to see there's some fellow bikers on GAF.

Welcome! Gravel & trail riding has seen a huge increase in popularity lately in my area. Nice to see more cyclists on GAF!

 

[T8SC]

Tour de France 2025

RIDERS

184 riders representing 23 teams will line up for the start on Saturday 5th July.

ROUTE

100% French.

The 2025 Tour de France won't be making any sorties beyond France's borders. This has not happened since 2020. It will visit 11 Regions and 34 departments.

STAGES

There will be 21 stages: 7 flat stages, 6 hilly stages, 6 mountain stages with five mountain finishes at Hautacam, Luchon-Superbagnères, Mont Ventoux, Courchevel Col de la Loze and La Plagne Tarentaise, and 2 time trials. There will be 2 rest days.

MOUNTAINS

• This 112th edition will feature climbs and summits in the Massif Central, the Pyrenees, the Alps and the Jura.​
• The Col de la Loze (2,304m) will be the highest point of the 2025 Tour. For the first time, the climb will tackled via its eastern flank from Courchevel.​

ELEVATION GAIN

The total vertical gain during the 2025 Tour de France will be 52 500m.

2 TIME TRIALS

The 5th stage, Caen > Caen (33km), will provide ideal terrain for rouleurs who specialise in solo efforts. The terrain and gradients will be quite different on stage 13's 11km TT between and Peyragudes.

TIME BONUSES

Time bonuses will be awarded at the finish of each stage, with 10, 6 and 4 seconds awarded to the first, second and third riders, respectively.

NEW STAGES TOWNS

From a total of 39, 8 stage towns/locations will be joining the Tour club:

• Lauwin-Planque (start of stage 2)​
• Bayeux (start of stage 6)​
• Chinon (start of stage 9)​
• Ennezat (start of stage 10)​
• Le Mont-Dore Puy de Sancy (finish of stage 10)​
• Bollène (start of stage 17)​
• Vif (start of stage 18)​
• Mantes-la-Ville (start of stage 21)​

 

[T8SC]

It doesn't get much better for Pogacar. A great start to the TdF for him.

 

[Boralf]

He might actually lose all of them again today.