New and Improved Points System; Pogačar to Giro Shakes Up 2024 Calendar; MAX to Stream RCS Races in U.S.; Lessons from College Football; Will Gambling Help Sustain Sports?
New and Improved Points System; Pogačar to Giro Shakes Up 2024 Calendar; MAX to Stream RCS Races in U.S.; Lessons from College Football; Will Gambling Help Sustain Sports?
Key Takeaways: ● Pogačar to the Giro ● A New and Improved Ranking System? ● RCS Races Will Air in the U.S. After All ● Structural Lessons from College Football ● Does Legalized Gambling Help Sustain Niche Sports? Tadej Pogačar shocked the cycling world on Sunday when he announced he would race the 2024 Giro d’Italia.
MAX is only live streaming right (no on-demand)? That's not going to work very well for most people. Or are they adding on-demand streaming in February?
I think Pogi approach to the Giro will be to be there to win some individual stage races but not competing for the general classification, at least at the beginning. Probably a move dictated by sponsors to understand if in 2025 can really pin that in his calendar
I'm very interested to see what this new Velon ranking system delivers, and if it might be applied to historic races. There's some real wackiness in some of the ranking systems out there. PCS, I'm looking at you.
A few examples:
1. Sure, he won M-San Remo 4 times and six TdF green jerseys and a bunch of stages, but how does Erik Zabel outrank Miguel Indurain - winner of 5 TdFs (with the same number of TdF stage wins as Zabel), 2 Giri, a world title, an Olympic gold and numerous other races - in the PCS all-time rankings?
2. How does Vincenzo Nibali, a winner of four GTs with only one TdF, outrank Chris Froome who's won 4 TdFs, 2 Vueltas and 1 Giro?
3. How does Robbie McEwan - a prolific GT stage winner for sure with 3 TdF green jerseys, but never a Monument Classic winner - outrank Gianni Bugno who won consecutive World Road Championships, a Giro that he led from start to finish, 2 monuments in the form of Flanders and M-San Remo, plus numerous GT stage wins and numerous semi-classics?
And that's only within the top 100 of the PCS ranking. There are numerous other examples. And, of course, this is not just an issue with their historic rankings, imo, because the same race win weightings are used for present day races.
MAX is only live streaming right (no on-demand)? That's not going to work very well for most people. Or are they adding on-demand streaming in February?
I think Pogi approach to the Giro will be to be there to win some individual stage races but not competing for the general classification, at least at the beginning. Probably a move dictated by sponsors to understand if in 2025 can really pin that in his calendar
I'm very interested to see what this new Velon ranking system delivers, and if it might be applied to historic races. There's some real wackiness in some of the ranking systems out there. PCS, I'm looking at you.
A few examples:
1. Sure, he won M-San Remo 4 times and six TdF green jerseys and a bunch of stages, but how does Erik Zabel outrank Miguel Indurain - winner of 5 TdFs (with the same number of TdF stage wins as Zabel), 2 Giri, a world title, an Olympic gold and numerous other races - in the PCS all-time rankings?
2. How does Vincenzo Nibali, a winner of four GTs with only one TdF, outrank Chris Froome who's won 4 TdFs, 2 Vueltas and 1 Giro?
3. How does Robbie McEwan - a prolific GT stage winner for sure with 3 TdF green jerseys, but never a Monument Classic winner - outrank Gianni Bugno who won consecutive World Road Championships, a Giro that he led from start to finish, 2 monuments in the form of Flanders and M-San Remo, plus numerous GT stage wins and numerous semi-classics?
And that's only within the top 100 of the PCS ranking. There are numerous other examples. And, of course, this is not just an issue with their historic rankings, imo, because the same race win weightings are used for present day races.