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Which Ardennes Race To Watch!

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Which Ardennes Race To Watch!

Old 04-15-15, 09:59 PM
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Which Ardennes Race To Watch!

What's your favorite Ardennes race?. What should we (I) get up at 4 am for?. Or is it time to turn off the pirate feeds until the Giro?
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Old 04-15-15, 10:52 PM
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I've gone back and watched a few Lieges from the last few years. It's always a great finish with the winner in doubt into the last km, but at the same time, whoever's in there at the finish has earned his way there.
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Old 04-16-15, 05:59 AM
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It seems like Universal Sports and NBC/SN are taking a cycling break for awhile.

Nothing scheduled until mid-May. Weird, being that they were all over the cycling coverage up until now...
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Old 04-16-15, 06:37 AM
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Originally Posted by Giacomo 1
It seems like Universal Sports and NBC/SN are taking a cycling break for awhile.

Nothing scheduled until mid-May. Weird, being that they were all over the cycling coverage up until now...
I show both Fleche Wallonne and Liege being broadcast on 4/29:

NBC Sports Group 2015 Cycling TV schedule - NBC Sports | NBC Sports


S
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Old 04-16-15, 06:41 AM
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This is the Universal Sports and NBC Sports schedule:

Universal Sports:
2/23-27 Vuelta a Andalucia (replays).
3/4 GP Samyn.
3/27 GP Harelbeke.
3/31-4/2 Three Days of De Panne.
5/6-11 Four Days of Dunkerue.
5/23-24 Worlds Port Classic.
5/27/31 Tour of Belgium.
6/13-21 Tour de Suisse.
7/26 La Course.
8/10-16 Eneco Tour.
8/22-9/13 Vuelta a Espana.
8/30 GP Plouay.
9/6-13 Tour of Britain.
9/16 GP Wallonie.
9/20-27 UCI Worlds.
2015 USN Cycling Schedule | Cycling Videos and News | Universal Sports


NBC Sports:
3/8-15 Paris-Nice.
3/29 Criterium International.
4/13 Paris-Roubaix.
4/29 Fleche Wallonne.
4/29 Liege Bastongne Liege.
5/10-17 Tour of California.
6/7-14 Citerium du Dauphine.
7/4-26 Tour de France.
8/14-23 USA Pro Challenge.
9/21-27 UCI Worlds.
10/11 Paris-Tours.
NBC Sports Group 2015 Cycling TV schedule - NBC Sports | NBC Sports



The rest should be covered by BEIN Sports channel.


S
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Old 04-16-15, 08:01 AM
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Originally Posted by Slackerprince
I show both Fleche Wallonne and Liege being broadcast on 4/29:

NBC Sports Group 2015 Cycling TV schedule - NBC Sports | NBC Sports


S

Doh!

How did I miss them?

Thanks for posting it.

I actually have my DVR set to record anything that comes up with cycling, so I'm good to go!
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Old 04-16-15, 06:12 PM
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Amstel Gold was just added to the Verizon schedule.


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Old 04-16-15, 06:54 PM
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All of them! De Brabanse Pijl was a cracking race. And I can't wait for Amstel Gold. Living in EDT is great: catch a steephill.tv feed on a weekend morning from about 8-11. Or watch the last Ks on YouTube by Noon or so.
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Old 04-19-15, 10:35 AM
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Interesting finish at Amstel Gold. (SPOILER)















I hadn't realized the winner had that sort of finishing speed. Yes, the best sprinter in the final pack had maybe burned too many matches trying to lead up the Cauberg. But it's not like the winner had been hiding up that climb, he was digging too. And he beat a number of riders who are also considered reasonably fast finishers, and who went up the Cauberg behind him.
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Old 04-22-15, 04:18 PM
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Yawner at Fleche Wallone (spoiler)








Yes, the final climb of the Mur is impressive to watch, but otherwise I didn't get too much interest from this race. Unsurprising winner, I guess. Froome crashes, which he seems to do a lot?
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Old 04-22-15, 05:47 PM
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They might want to take the finish away from the Mur. Summit finishes in general have become a bit predictable in recent years, with the favourites almost always together at the foot of the final climb, but at least in the Alps or Dolomites or Rockies or wherever it means there's a good 30-40 minutes of racing to get up that climb.
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Old 04-22-15, 06:59 PM
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I like a summit finish after a long climb, or better yet a series of long climbs. The Horner-Nibali duel on the Angliru in the 2013 Vuelta, for example. Or, more recently, the mountain battles between Contador and Froome in the Volta this year.

And short final climbs after a race that has created separation are great too. Strade Bianchi's final ascent into the Palio of Sienna, for instance.

This finish, and the parcours that precedes it, are not as good.
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Old 04-23-15, 09:37 AM
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Good point about Strade Bianche. I guess it's not the Mur's fault if the breaks can't get away sooner.

I guess my point about the summit finishes is that it takes away from the climbs earlier in the day. What's the point in going over the Tourmalet or the Galibier if the only real racing happens on Hautacam or Alpe D'Huez?
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Old 04-23-15, 12:10 PM
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I figure the earlier climbs are for breaking down the peloton. We don't see the GC guys breaking away with three categorized summits to go any more - no more Hinault suicide attacks - but at least they come to the final climb with just a couple of teammates instead of the whole train. Usually.

I see the Mur climb takes 2m:40s nowadays. I mean, less than three minutes of pushing and grimacing and that's it. When I do that, the reaction is "is that it? are you done already?" :-)
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Old 04-26-15, 08:52 AM
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A very deserved win by, well, I won't spoil it. Stayed at the front, covered the attacks, with no teammate, when he made his move, was clearly the strongest. Pity about the crash. A couple favorites got surprisingly dropped in the last climb.
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