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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

So: - Pidcock says IDT was working for McNulty - Ciccone says Mads and MVDP wouldn't cooperate - lots of "2nd group" noise from commentators Listen, folks. USA had the deepest team and rode the smartest race. The rest is just excuse-making from those who were outplayed. 1/

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 29/09/2026

Wout lost his WC in July. The crash that caused him to drop out of TDF led in turn to his racing at La Vuelta, which left him with no time to recover for WC. (Indeed, no one who did La Vuelta finished well in Montreal). Too bad. It was there for him, and probably his last real shot.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

“He (Mas) is the savior of this Vuelta doing what he just did” - Christian Vandevelde That this is not a ludicrous statement is a measure of how ludicrous this has become.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 27/08/2026

Pogacar is the most dominant athlete in the world. And it’s not close.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

Kruijswijk to retire…natural, but sad. Since I began rooting in 2019, TJV/TVL has always had fabulous elder statesmen - Tony Martin, Robert Gesink, Steven K. Wout and Sepp may age into those roles, but not for some years if at all. The team will miss that presence.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 10/08/2026

As the saying goes, if you come at the king you best not miss. Niewiadoma-Phinney was just crushed by Vollering and her team on and off the bike after her comments about the barrier incident.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 05/08/2026

Arnaud De Lie one spot behind Wout Van Aert in the UCI rankings is farcical. It doesn't really matter (other than perhaps for contracts), but it really is silly that the governing body of the sport releases something so disconnected from reality.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

UCI now admitting that the 2 AM doping checks were not based on any intel, but just because they can. Ludicrous. Jonas, Pog, and everyone else affected has the right to be outraged. Not only disruptive, but gives fuel to the “they’re all doping” crowd.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

Visma and other top teams struggling to find sponsors. Baloise-Flanders just the latest Belgian team to fold. The sport is in crisis, and those who reflexively fault Richard Plugge for pursuing radical alternatives are missing the point. Some painful changes are on the way.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Her Cafe Ride with Matt Stephens is well worth the watch.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Photon finish actually looked like Wout won.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 30/07/2026

Visma gave Wout no leadout and he was in the wind too long. No idea where the team was for much of the finish, but that was mishandled.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

If there is a crash anywhere in the world, Wout Van Aert goes down. Maybe I’ll crash my bike on purpose to see if he appears.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 29/07/2026

Half the peloton down in Denmark, including, wait for it, most of Visma. Awesome.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 27/07/2026

Seixas getting heat for not launching wild attacks and “only” finishing 4th is a kind of sickness. All sports have it, but cycling has its own brand. Between the “they’re all doping” crowd and those who carry on about “ciclismo,” many fans like tearing down the sport more than they like the sport.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Only got worse. Jonas out, MVDP winning in Paris, Sepp crashing a victory (and nearly his life) away, and other lowlights made for a shambolic TDF. In my first TDF as a TJV fan they won 3 stages and put SK on the podium. Huge success ever since. This is less fun. We’ll get’em next year.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 24/07/2026

Richard Carapaz is the Nuke Laloosh of pro cycling. Million dollar legs, 10 cent head.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 21/07/2026

From February 2024. Interesting quote: "..a report in Marca drawing on sources in the Spanish anti-doping authorities suggests...dopers can use banned substances before bed that are no longer detectable by the next morning"

escapecollective.com

A trial in France, a probe in Spain, passport anomalies, and steroids

Several doping stories are in the headlines this week.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 20/07/2026

You know why I’m calling bullshit? Because it’s only these two. Not their teammates, not Seixas and Remco and others whose performance is 99.9% the same. And while cheaters are often good liars, neither gave off a hint of nervousness after. I’ll consider evidence, but for now there isn’t any.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 16/07/2026

Mads has been a bright light as both a rider and a personality since I became a fan of cycling. If I hadn't more or less arbitrarily picked Wout as my favorite, I might have picked Mads and that would have been a lot of fun as well.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

Pog getting lots of heat today. As a TVL-loving, UAE-hating diehard, l say: 1)Pog is not a bully and Jonas is not a victim. This is elite sports, folks, not the school playground. Not only silly to accuse Pog, but frankly an insult to Jonas, who is TOUGH AS LEATHER. cont’d

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Three teams with 2 riders ahead of Jonas (well, nearly so for UAE) is WILD. Jonas is not a post-rest day guy, but dang.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Criticism of Visma’s tactics in 3…2…

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 14/07/2026

Pog interstellar. Jonas gapped by lesser rivals. Matteo crashed. Sepp dropped. Wout and Laporte at home. We are approaching “other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how was the play” territory.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

TVL: - had the most iconic win of last year (Wout on Montmartre) - has had the most celebrated win in many years (Wout at Roubaix) - has won 3 of the last 4 GTs, plus host of other races And still can’t find major sponsorship? And couldn’t last time? Feels more and more like a crisis.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

If, as appears to be the case, Jai Hindley has turned down Visma to stay with Bora, I will again wonder what impact the sponsor issue has on Visma’s ability to recruit. That Hindley stayed at a team with more competition for his role, but more secure funding, is interesting.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

As an American: Trump is a sickened, odious monster who is rightfully despised by most Europeans. But if you think he is the corrupt party in the RC scandal, you are mistaken. He has no authority in this matter, and FIFA had no obligation to listen.They made the decision, and they deserve the heat

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 07/07/2026

So Visma has been in talks with Seixas for a year (Wierlifts). Leaving everything else aside, I don’t get how this plays out when they can’t even get a sponsor for next year.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 06/07/2026

First: take this as intended. Pog is the king, I get it. But what if UAE sends IDT up the road a la Sepp at '23 Vuelta? Would Jonas, Remco, etc ignore it and stay with Pog? Follow and risk burning up themselves and/or their domestiques? UAE could make a predictable race much more interesting.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 05/07/2026

Remember, Visma is always wrong.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 26/06/2026

Riding the Swiss countryside…villages with young families and vibrant cafes, farmhouses surrounded by wildflower and wheat, smooth pavement. Quite a place.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 25/06/2026

I will say it again and again: ban the fucking TT bikes. No reason *at all* to have them in road racing. They serve zero purpose other than to show who can generate power from a useless , dangerous position. Keep the TTs, do them on road bikes. “Yes, but…” me all you’d like. I’m right.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 23/06/2026

In Lausanne, got to ride the end of the stage Wout won in 2022. Started on Lake Geneva and went up the hill to a finish just beyond the Olympic stadium. Nowhere near as iconic as Montmartre, but a tough, tough hill. Steep, irregular, and twisting, would be terrible to race up.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 20/06/2026

I can’t figure why this is controversial in the slightest. The whole point of the jerseys is to honor non-GC specialists. Changing the points system to reflect that makes perfect sense. I’d change the KOM for the same reason, and I’d make the white jersey for a first-time rider only.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 17/06/2026

Wow. After Roubaix we all thought top Wout was back. What a stunning, sickening development.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

1. Great ride by Matteo. Just a few seconds off two of the page one climbers in the world, and ahead of some other top riders. 2. Seixas is great, and will be much greater in the future. But GOAT status will have to wait a bit.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 12/06/2026

Just when you thought…whatever it is you were thinking.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 10/06/2026

Peacock’s cycling presentation. A shoddy look for a shoddy show.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

No way this is Wout’s form as a generalized matter. He is sick or hurt, and even that seems complicated. TVL knows what his power numbers were at camp, and before today’s race they clearly thought he was good. So while it is shocking to see, I’m not sure we can draw any larger conclusions yet.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Seems like a lot of good riders are struggling today.

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Midnight Rider @theflandrien.bsky.social · 07/06/2026

Peacock showing commercials for post-partum depression medication. No way this is due to the demographics of the audience. Not 1 American woman in 1000 could name this race, and most of those that could are older and married to men who follow cycling.

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