Abel Balderstone

Latest comments

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  santiagobenites18-08-2026
  The end is near for Ineos.
• Pogboom17-08-2026
  Hopefully he didn't sign the contract too hastily. Winning a tour obviously increases your value and showcases you to all the top teams.
• RidesHills17-08-2026
  Agree with Hills33, this is a sad moment of endings.
• OCexile17-08-2026
  @mistermaumau: yes, it becomes an ever-expanding spider web of accountability, complicity, guilt by association, etc. In the cycling world it’s not SIX DEGREES OF SEPARATION from some major figure who doped. it’s maybe one or two, at best.
• OCexile17-08-2026
  that’s exactly where i’m at with lance armstrong. apologies because i’ve said this exact same thing before, but i couldn’t care less about armstrong doping or lying about it (why dope then NOT lie). i dislike armstrong precisely for the reason you mention. he’sa fundamentally bad person in my opinion. i think it might be more useful for everyone to rail against THAT when they say armstrong should be cancelled forever because he was a doper, because i don’t really think that’s the fundamental problem people have with him. i haven’t chosen to hold johan bruyneel or george hincapie responsible for the behavior of armstrong, but i respect the position of those who do. “if they choose to associate with someone like that then you get judged by the company you keep.” i understand.
• Hills3317-08-2026
  That's sad.
• Hills3317-08-2026
  Th
• RidesHills17-08-2026
  Given how he front-loaded his schedule, Vingegaard has raced 51 days this season. For those who think he's quitting early, it's worth looking at the numbers. For example, that's more race days than Pogačar had in 2023 and 2025, or Evenepoel raced in 2021 or 2025. Notably, some of those seasons also included injuries. Seems like his choice is similar to theirs, no?
• RidesHills17-08-2026
  Vingegaard has never been much of a classics racer, and he isn't going to start at this age and with these constraints to his career (the importance of family to him, Pogačar at the Tour, things like that). When he has raced Liége-Bastogne-Liége or any other classic, he's been fine, but not great. He last raced a monument in 2022. I've said before that his 4 grand tour wins put him on par with just 15 other riders in cycling history. Were he to win another Vuelta or Giro, he'd tie for 9th place - were he to win two, he'd be tied for 8th. That's a hell of a career, and there's nothing wrong with specializing in grand tours and GC races. Contador did the same, Froome as well. Vingegaard right now has the same grand tour record that Nibali did (and the same number of wins, 54!), but Nibali won 3 monuments, while Vingegaard has been more successful in the GC races. Point being, Vingegaard won't be missed at the world championships because he's never been the kind of rider to win them. And that's perfectly fine.
• bobo17-08-2026
  Duh...