Thread: Competitive Cycling

Have you tried blogging?

Or getting laid?

Originally Posted by cyrille

Or getting laid?

The colostomy bag gets in the way.

The “and more” part.........

Naked bike parade turns 33

Revel in Seattle's artsy glory at the 33rd annual Fremont Solstice Parade, the celebration at the "Center of the Universe."

Why it matters: In a rapidly changing city, the Solstice Parade and adjacent events are a reminder of Fremont's — and Seattle's — proudly weird past, with naked cyclists, flamboyant homemade parade floats and the kind of summer cheer you can only have in a city so accustomed to soggy weather.

Driving the news: The parade steps off at 1pm Saturday, but get there early to get a good spot to watch.

• The parade route follows North 36th Street, hangs a right on Evanston and then another right onto 35th, where it hits the Fremont Fair's craft market (and a giant slide).
• For many, the party continues in the beer garden, local bars and nearby Gas Works Park.

Participation in the parade is open to every artist and everyone can be an artist, per the Fremont Arts Council.

• Feel free to strip naked, get your paint on and join the Solstice Cyclists, interact with performers or join in a dance along the way.
• The parade does not allow corporate sponsors, printed words and logos or motorized vehicles (other than electric wheelchairs).
• Non-service-animal pets are also not allowed (but there is a dog parade on Sunday).

Pro tip: "Apply sunscreen and give it time to soak in before applying paints," Tom Fucoloro of Seattle Bike Blog writes to nude riders. "If you have skin that tans and burns and don't wear sunscreen, you'll have your painted design imprinted as tan lines for the rest of summer."

Flashback: Low rents and "benign neglect" made Fremont a mecca for artists in the 1960s, which launched a mini-renaissance over the next few decades, per HistoryLink.

• Founded in 1989 by Barbara Luecke and Peter Toms, who were inspired by the Santa Barbara Summer Solstice Celebration, the Solstice Parade celebrates art, life and the longest day of the year.
• The Painted Cyclists are quintessentially old Seattle — and, many say, the highlight of the parade — but nude biking events have been hosted in cities across the world as a way to celebrate cycling and the human body.

Yes, but: There are quiet ways to celebrate the solstice weekend, too:

• Dance — clothed or otherwise — in your own space to music you like.
• Try a sun salutation, plant healing herbs, set out water for the birds or create a mandala from things you find.

Show a pic of your bike and cycle trips Spamdreth if you're so keen on the subject.

Longo Borghini retains Italian women's road championship with well-timed attack

Elisa Longo Borghini has once again claimed the Italian women’s road race national championship title. The Lidl-Trek rider executed a solo attack to secure her fifth career victory in the event, finishing the 130km course from Viola Park in Florence to Scarperia on Saturday.

In a race that saw a relatively flat profile, the 25km laps around the route included two minor climbs. The final ascent, located just before the finish, provided an opportunity for late attacks. Despite some early breakaways, including a notable effort by Elisa De Vallier of Top Girls Fassa Bortolo, the peloton remained largely together until the decisive moments.

As the race approached the final lap, Gaia Realini initiated an attack on one of the climbs, setting the stage for Longo Borghini’s decisive move. She broke away with 25km remaining, quickly gaining a 30-second advantage over the chase group, which included the UAE Team ADQ duo of Chiara Consonni and Eleonora Gasparrini. Despite their efforts, they couldn’t close the gap.

“At that point, I knew I had to give everything,” Longo Borghini stated post-race. “I felt strong and confident that I could maintain the lead.”

She’s been out of the jersey for just a few hours �� Longo Borghini wins the Italian champs ���� - YouTube

Georgi and Hayter take national titles on Saltburn Bank on final day of Lloyds Bank National Road Championships

Pfeiffer Georgi made it a hat-trick of national road race titles in the Saltburn sunshine, while Ethan Hayter was victorious in a fiercely contested men’s race, as the 2024 Lloyds Bank National Road Championships came to a close.

Flora Perkins and Bob Donaldson were the under-23 winners, and joined this year’s other national champions in collecting the coveted red, white and blue national champion’s jersey.

Taking in the iconic Saltburn Bank climb, the women’s race was contested over five laps and 130km, with the men’s race decided over seven laps and 182km, as thousands descended ontr the seaside to see our winners crowned.

Our 2024 winners

Time trial:

• Under-23 men’s time-trial: Tomos Pattinson
• Under-23 women’s time-trial: Josie Nelson
• Men’s time-trial: Josh Tarling
• Women’s time-trial: Anna Henderson

Circuit:

• Women: Emma Jeffers
• Open: Lewis Askey

Road:

• Under-23 men’s road race: Bob Donaldson
• Under-23 women’s road race: Flora Perkins
• Men’s road race: Ethan Hayter
• Women’s road race: Pfeiffer Georgi

Lotto Thuringen Ladies Tour: Vanpachtenbeke wins opening stage in Jena

Margot Vanpachtenbeke (VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling) secured the opening stage victory at the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour, winning a two-up sprint against breakaway companion Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health) in Jena.

The pair opened a gap over the peloton on the first climb of the day Großbockedra and increased their lead by nearly seven minutes en route to the finish line.

Although several teams played a role in trying to close the gap in the closing kilometres, the pair crossed the line 5 : 34 seconds ahead of a chase group where Linda Riedmann (Germany) sprinted in for third place on the day.

The opening stage at the Lotto Thüringen Ladies Tour offered the peloton a 118km race in Jena. The route included two categorised ascents: Großbockedra, 1.3km at 7% located at 52km into the stage and a final scent of Münchenroda, which is one of the longest climbs of the five-day race at 4.9km and 5% gradient located at the 100km mark. The field then raced across 10km of an undulating plateau before plunging into the finish line in Jena.

Eline Jansen (VolkerWessels Women's Pro Cycling) took the mountain points over the top of the Großbockedra before two riders escaped: her teammate Margot Vanpachtenbeke and Ruth Edwards (Human Powered Health).

Edwards and Vanpachtenbeke quickly gained a minute on the field, initially led by SD Worx-Protime, EF Education-Cannondale and AG Insurance-Soudal. Their lead then increased to nearly three minutes with 50km to go, even as Lidl-Trek and Ceratizit-WNT joined the pace-setting.

The pair raced into the base of the Münchenroda climb, pushing their gap out to nearly seven minutes, with Vanpachtenbeke taking the mountain points over the top.

Canyon-SRAM led the chasing field into the climb, where Kasia Niewiadoma made a move on the upper slopes. But even though there were constant attacks and splits in the field, the peloton came back together and remained mostly intact on the run-in to the finish.

With no concerted effort among the teams to bring back the two escapees, Edwards and Vanpachtenbeke still had a massive six minutes as the closed in on the finish line.

Edwards pulled the pair into the final kilometre and started her sprint early, but Vanpachtenbeke proved faster of the two, taking both the stage win and the leader's jersey.


Lotto Thuringen Ladies Tour 2024 Stage 1 Race Finish

Lotto Thuringen Ladies Tour 2024


Stage 2 Race

Stage 3 Race

Stage 4

Tour de France: Vauquelin wins stage two as Tadej Pogacar takes yellow jersey

2024 Tour de France, Stage 2 finish