Merge Left
Ten laps to finish a long course: that creates some logistical challenges. Here, the breakaway of three (Marco Marcato, David O’Loughlin and Thomas Berkhout, from front to back) pass one of the last riders to enter the circuit. Unless I meet him someday, I'll never know how Number 54 rode the last bit.
I still haven't read the post-race analysis, but at the time, I thought: There's just one breakaway; this would be impossible if there were two or three. So the peloton has to make room for the breakaway if they meet. But if someone decides to attack from the peloton, in order to reach the breakaway -- what then?
As I quoted before, "Race officials allowed the leaders to go past the bunch to leave a straight fight between the three riders." I guess that ruling prevented any attacks from the peloton, in effect. The peloton certainly seemed to be taking it easy -- and the breakaway was NOT.
Merge Left
Ten laps to finish a long course: that creates some logistical challenges. Here, the breakaway of three (Marco Marcato, David O’Loughlin and Thomas Berkhout, from front to back) pass one of the last riders to enter the circuit. Unless I meet him someday, I'll never know how Number 54 rode the last bit.
I still haven't read the post-race analysis, but at the time, I thought: There's just one breakaway; this would be impossible if there were two or three. So the peloton has to make room for the breakaway if they meet. But if someone decides to attack from the peloton, in order to reach the breakaway -- what then?
As I quoted before, "Race officials allowed the leaders to go past the bunch to leave a straight fight between the three riders." I guess that ruling prevented any attacks from the peloton, in effect. The peloton certainly seemed to be taking it easy -- and the breakaway was NOT.